1.

Quorum

Steve Lambert, Chairman of the Bridge Club, noted that the necessary quorum of 25 members had been achieved and welcomed members to the meeting.

Apologies for absence had been received from Denis King, Roy Seaman, Jo Mason and Claus Crede.

2.

Minutes of last meeting

The minutes of the last Annual General Meeting held on Monday 18^th December 2023 were approved.

3.

Chairman’s Report

The Chair thanked members for their support during the year, particularly

• the Committee: Gill Lambert, John Duthie, Steve Lambert, Jayne Scaysbrook, Gary Kendall, Martin Sidders and Clare Garretty.
• the Directors: John Stobo, Gary Kendall, Mike Hann and James Rogers.
• the Scorers: John Duthie, Mike Parikh, Rod Adams and Mike Hann.
• the weekly helpers: Jim Fry, John Roberts, James Kleiner-Mann, Tony Hazell and Nigel Lewis.

The Chair asked that members sign-up to be duty officers from August, as insufficient volunteers are coming forward.

4.

 Election of Officers

Steve Lambert, Gary Kendall, Martin Sidders, Gill Lambert, Jane Scaysbrook John Duthie and Clare Garretty were unanimously re-elected.

Claus Crede was re-elected as Auditor. 

5.

Treasurer report.

The Treasurer, Martin Sidders, reported that the Club had achieved a surplus for the first time in four years. The surplus was £632 increasing our reserves to £5,355, though they are still below pre-Covid levels.

Last year on average we had 12½ tables on Monday and 11½ on Thursday. Largely due to rental costs, Monday nights made a loss of circa £1000, offset by Thursday nights making a surplus of £300 and net subscription income.

Funds balance @ 1 April 2023                       £4,723

Income                                                             £10,352

Expenditure                                                    (£9,720)

Funds balance @ 31 March 2024                 £5,355

Claus Crede has audited the figures.

The Treasurer tabled the accounts, which were approved by the members.

6.

 Membership and Table Fees.

The Committee proposed that the Monday table fees be increased from £2 to £3 as from 1^st July 2024.

An email was sent to all members about the proposal and no comments have been received.

The Treasurer reported that the reason for the increase is to provide a capital fund for the replacement of the Bridgemates and the club Laptop, in total estimated to be £4-£4.5k.  

Members voted to approve this proposal.

The Committee confirmed that the Annual Membership fee will remain at £10. Online fees will continue at $3 and Monday table fees for non-members will remain at £5.

Prize Giving for 2023/2024 Ladders.

The winners were presented with a pen.

The Gerald Everitt Monday pairs – Bob Turnham and Harry Silverman      

The Teams Ladder - Bob Turnham, Harry Silverman, James Rogers and Denis King.

The John Matthews Thursday Pairs Ladder – Paul and Fiona Littlewood

The Individual Trophy - Nigel Lewis.

The TaraStan X-IMPS   - Harry Silverman

 The Roy Seaman Trophy - Steve Lambert.

8..

Any Other Business

There being no other business the Chairman thanked the members for their support and the meeting ended at 7.20.