WISTA - UK
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WISTA - UK |
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MINUTES OF WISTA-UK LTD AGM
HELD AT THE OFFICES OF INCE & CO
MONDAY, 5th JUNE 2000
In attendance:
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Margaret Llewellyn opened the meeting at 6.30 pm.
ML reported on the success of the International Conference held in London in October last year. She advised that one of the most difficult aspects of the Conference was trying to obtain sponsorship from the market. Many people were keen to offer their support but not necessarily in financial terms.
ML reported that since the Conference, members of the board have received many letters, emails and telephone calls from delegates and guests commanding WISTA-UK on the success of the Conference. We have also had a couple of criticisms, some rather unconstructive. Unfortunately, there are those who expect Associations such as ours, run by volunteers with full-time jobs, to be managed as efficiently as Associations with full time staff. The fact is that the Conference, which hosted from between 150 and 350 people at the various events, was organised by four people with full time jobs on limited resources. WISTA-UK is therefore extremely grateful to those who have shown their appreciation of the commitment shown by the organisers.
ML reported that we had last year successfully raised the profile of WISTA in the market in particular with a couple of events that were open to the market generally and were very popular with the men.
Accounts
ML produced draft accounts which showed assets of approximately £ 13,800. Formal accounts are being prepared by an independent accountant and will be sent to all members after the company's accounting reference date at the end of June. ML pointed out that the figures were very pleasing with a profit being made for the current year. She did however point out that this year's figures are only good taking into account profit made on the Conference. The annual running costs of WISTA-UK for the year 1999-2000, not surprisingly, exceeded the 1999 annual membership fee of £25 per member. 1999 has however been a year when WISTA-UK's image and profile has been greatly improved with the design of professional letterhead, brochures and literature. The costs in this regard have therefore already been incurred and need not be repeated again this year. This, together with the rise in the annual membership fee, should ensure that WISTA-UK will continue to run in credit.
ML advised that the stationery expense in the UK accounts includes postage, brochure/letter head design and printing costs as well as taxes, couriers and envelopes. Some of these expenses and the expense of some of the 1999 lectures have however been subsidised by Ince & Co.
JA queried when the cut off date for membership was. RR replied that membership runs for the calendar year. JA suggested that it should be 1 July to 30 June each year to accord with the accounting year. However LK advised that we have kept it as the calendar year to renew in line with the International membership year. The easiest way to deal with this would be to lodge a notice of change of accounting reference date with Companies House to 31 December as opposed to 30 June.
WISTA-UK Ltd
There was much discussion regarding the corporate status of WISTA-UK Ltd. MD queried whether this was necessary and asked why we could not go back to being an informal association. LK advised that the company was set up for limited liability reasons last year, following a close call. One of the members had entered into a contract with a third party without seeking approval from the rest of the board. This contract was ultimately thought to be unbeneficial and it was necessary for us to extricate WISTA-UK from the situation. Fortunately we were able to do so without any liability. It was following this incident that it was decided that WISTA-UK should have limited liability in order to avoid any potential personal liability on the part of the members.
MD queried if it was necessary to have a company now that the Conference was over. LK advised that WISTA, as an Association, will still be hiring rooms, organising catering etc for ftmctions, lectures and meetings. There is still therefore scope for liability. Furthermore, if we go back to being an informal Association, any member, would, potentially, have the apparent authority to bind WISTA-UK to any agreement without the approval of the officers of the Association or indeed any other member.
ML agreed and advised that furthermore, after a successful year, the Association now has a reasonable amount of funds. Membership has grown significantly and there has been an increase in the membership fee. The Association is now therefore responsible for an amount of money which is not insignificant. It is therefore no bad thing that the Association should be obliged to provide formal written accounts to Companies House.
The meeting concurred with this view.
Elections
All votes and proxies were put forward to the Chair. ML, LK and MD had been appointed proxies by various members. LK calculated the votes. It was reported that we had only had four nominees for officer positions, namely:
| Secretary: | Mariel Monk |
| Treasurer | Joan Allson |
| Board Member | Patrizia Dario |
| Board Member | Maria Dixon |
Accordingly, all four nominees were voted into their elected positions.
Margaret Llewellyn offered her congratulations to the new officers.
As regards the election of the new directors, the highest votes were for Patrizia Dario and Maria Dixon, both of whom agreed to accept the appointments and responsibilities as directors of WISTA-UK.
Sara Burgess of Gard UK had previously been nominated for the position of Chair. MD queried why this nomination had been withdrawn. LK reported that Sara had withdrawn her nomination as she felt she would be unable to dedicate the time required to perfortn the function of Chair due to work commitments. Accordingly it was reported that there has been no nomination for the position of Chair. Further nominations would be sought and a further election would need to take place.
The current officers, Margaret Llewellyn, Louise Krenca and Catherine Bloomfield formally resigned their positions. ML and LK will however remain as directors until the Company accounts have been filed after which there will be a formal resignation and registration of the new directors at Companies House.
Calendars
MD advised that she had sold many calendars and had indeed made a profit. She also advised that she has some calendars left if anybody would like one.
Baltic Exchange Lunch
LK reported on the lunch held on Friday 26 May at the Baltic Exchange. All those who attended (about 10) said that they enjoyed the informal lunch and would be at the next one. The lunches will continue to be held on the last Friday of every other month. The next one is due to be held on Friday, 28 July.
Breakfasts
MNC reported that there had been an informal WISTA breakfast meeting at Terminus in the Great Eastern Hotel last month which proved to be successful with a few members and guests attending. RR reported that one of the guests had joined the Association following the breakfast. MNC further advised that there would be another breakfast on Friday 9 June and that an email would be going to all members advising them of the date.
International Spring Board Meeting
Maria Dixon reported the following on the International Spring board meeting held on Friday 25 May.
Maria Dixon reported that there is talk that the International Conference for either 2001 or 2002 be held in Italy on a cruise ship. The cost they are looking at for the Conference is US$800. Maria also advised that there was talk of the 2001 Conference being held in Israel but this will be subject to the political situation. There will be discussions between Israel and Italy prior to the International AGM in September when an announcement will be made.
The current board of WISTA-UK will officially hand over the necessary paperwork to the new board after 30 June. The new board will then organise the next function for members.
Meeting closed: 8.00 pm.