Minutes of the 2023 NTET AGM
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Saturday 18 November 2023 – 2:30pm
Held at the Golden Lion Hotel, Northallerton and as a Zoom Webinar
Attendees: 51 as per the register and 40 by Zoom
1. President’s Welcome – Andrew Semple
The President welcomed all to the meeting ‘back in the ‘Old Country’
2.1 Chairman’s Welcome – Rob Clifford-Wing
The Chairman welcomed all to the meeting, and commented what a pleasure it is to be in Yorkshire.
2.2. Apologies received from:
Les and Dee Searle, Allan and Patrick Marchington, Bill Starling, Michael Walters, Steve K Durrance, Robert Herring, Roger Mills, Tony Hunt, Nick Baker, Mary Ford, Brian Gooding, Louise Maunder
3. Minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting held on 19th November 2022.
Approval of the minutes was proposed by Rob Clifford Wing, seconded by Anne Whittingstall, and was accepted by all those who voted.
3.1. Matters Arising from the previous minutes.
No matters arising.
4. To Receive the Chairman’s Report – Rob Wing
The chairman started by introducing Paul Ritchie, the new Editor of Steaming and John Wye, the new Rally Organisers Chair to the members.
The Chairman stated that the only Section Leader who will report to the Meeting in full will be our Treasurer Amy, as all other section heads have submitted reports which are within the booklet. The Chairman noted that the last financial year which closed on 31st March 2023 saw a return to a ‘normal’ operating year’s activities. The trading year produced a Surplus of £9,321 and with this excess surplus commented that the Trust is headed towards a sound financial footing which will help to assure its future for us all.
The Chairman reported that our Steam Apprentice Club (SAC) benefited from the hard work and commitment of its Chairman and Trustees.
Special thanks go to Mrs Louise Maunder who managed the SAC playpen at our chosen rallies, resulting in a major increase in new members and renewals. The Chairman stated that we really do need more helpers on the ground as we are totally beholden to a very small band of volunteers who staff our events.
These are SO remunerative in signing up new Steam enthusiasts and are producing the engine crews and owners of the future. The Chairman reported that there are vintage car clubs which face dwindling interest and membership, solely for the lack of effective successional planning and plead that we’re not unwittingly driven down this path.
The Chairman added that amid a backdrop of Clubs nationally reporting reductions in their membership, NTET/SAC membership continued to grow during the period with overall numbers increasing by 10%. The chairman shared his thanks to all members who continue to support the Trust in this current challenging financial climate.
The Chairman reminded members that communication remains a focus for Trustees and gave his thanks to the newly formed ‘comms group’ for its time and commitment given to improving the flow of information to members. We are still looking for a Marketing/PR Trustee to head up this particularly important Trust work.
Trust will actively encourage collaboration with other likeminded organisations.
Progress is being made in multiple directions.
The Chairman reflected It would be remiss of him not to recognise the Trustees and members who man our presence in the events and rallies we have attended over the past year. It is their commitment which ensures our presence is felt up and down the country. On behalf of the members, the Chairman thanked them all for their hard work and allegiance to the Trust.
The Chairman also wanted to recognise the Trust’s sections and especially the Technical Service Unit (TSU). Newly appointed Trustee Tony Seddon has taken over the reins of TSU. David managed the TSU team for over twenty years and now focuses on technical support. Tom Atwood along with other members of the team have managed the Trust’s involvement in trialling new sources of coal and coal products.
Finally, the Chairman shared his gratitude to all members who have supported the Trust during the past year and especially to his fellow trustees who have continued to assist the membership and him during this time.
5. Questions from Section Head Reports
No questions raised from the floor for the section head reports contained within the AGM Booklet.
Rally Organisers – this section was not included in the booklet so John Wye introduced himself and gave some background on his experience as a rally organiser and safety officer. John advised that his focus is to get the health and safety training up and running and to also get the code of practice finally put to bed with links to The Purple Guide. Rally monitors have been a bit of an issue and John asked the members for volunteers to help with supporting the Authorised Events. John reiterated to the members that he can be contacted if support is needed.
Approval of Chairmans Report (to include the sub section reports) was proposed by Rob Clifford-Wing, seconded by Nick Bosworth and approved by the members
6. To Receive the Full Accounts & Balance Sheet – Amy Reynolds
The treasurer began by referring the attendees to their booklets to view the accounts to 3 1 March 2023 (Please also refer to the 2023 AGM Booklet for full details of the Accounts) and explained it had been a quieter year.
Amy shared that the Direct Debit system for membership renewals was now in place and was working well Gift Aid has also bedded in, which means we can claim back 25% on subs, provided the member pays enough tax, makes gift aid declaration and benefits to the member are less than 25% of the cost.
The Profit & Loss to 31 March 2023 showed a profit of £44,671, which includes a large donation from the Estate of M I Beeby of £25,000, for which a new fund has been created to decide what the Legacy should be spent on. Further are costs allocated to designated funds (education and scholarship, SAC Development, Environmental and 70th Anniversary fund) An income of £93,000 was £36,000 up on 2022 income.and attributed to an increase in both NTET and SAC subs of £8k an increase in rally authorization fees of £5k, return of the driver training course £7k and increased sales £16k, although this included GDSF.
After costs there was a gross profit of £38k, an increase from £34k in 2022. The treasurer stated that 2023/24 budgets are suggesting profit of £12k and at 6 months into FY24 there is profit of £12k already due to cost savings in various areas. Amy reflected that she stood here last year and talked about cash in reserves, which are now even higher (£194k) and shared that we are looking into investing an amount of cash into “safe” investments.
These should be invested for the future of the trust and meets our charitable aims, As trustees, ideas have been discussed and we’re open to ideas from the membership if there is something you think we should be investing in for the future of the club.
Questions opened up to the room. Copies of the accounts are available on request.
The Treasurer’s Report was proposed by Amy Reynolds, seconded by Anne Whittingstall and approved by the members who voted.
7. To Appoint Independent Examiners Charles Lovell & Co.
Proposed by Amy Reynolds, seconded by Rob Clifford-Wing and approved by the members who voted.
8. To Elect / Re-elect General Council Members in Accordance with Article 19.
Election Results:
Chairman re-elected: Rob Clifford-Wing
General Council members re-elected: Louise Maunder, Kathy Smith, Mark Waite
General Council Members elected: Charlotte Garbett, John Wye
9. AOB
BESTT: Andrew Semple
The President reported that BESTT has been running for many years, started by Gordon Newton, offering training courses in a range of engineering and safety subjects. Andrew shared anecdotes of incidents that have been affecting the railway world to illustrate the point of the value of these courses. Andrew advised that there is a website where you can sign up to courses.
Bob Siddall reported that the Boiler Code of Practice committee are working through a set of guidance notes and mentioned quality issues that arise with metals such as copper, steel, boiler tubes and the manufacture of these. Bob reminded the members that we do keep a watch on this sort of thing and invited the members to share any concerns that he can raise at the committee to look into.
Details of Tomo Thompsons funeral shared.
The chairman formally closed the meeting to enable the President and Vice-President to conduct the trophy presentations.
Meeting Formally Closed at: 15:20