back to menuThe Thirty-sixth Annual General Meeting, held in York on September 12th 1999, was attended by 52 members and visitors. Baroness Judith Wilcox, President of the Federation, opened proceedings. She reaffirmed her support for NfCG and told us that she had been able to make reference to the work of the Federation in the House of Lords, which had been subsequently recorded in Hansard. The unique position of NfCG and its local base had been reflected by the Group presentations at the conference, and the importance of this and the independence of NfCG she regarded as its greatest strengths. The President thanked everybody for their hard work and involvement over the year.
The Minutes from the previous year were corrected and the voting numbers removed, as the vote had been unanimous. It was pointed out by Ray Heyworth that if it was unanimous there should not be one vote against! People wonder why secretaries hate AGMs!
The Chairman, Marie Jennings, introduced the Annual Report, which was duly adopted. She commented that during the year an in-depth look at NfCG had been taken and the success of the organisation considered. The work load had increased and new initiatives had been introduced, including the Hot Issues Group, the Personal Finance Network, and the Science and Technology Network. The constituency level of NfCG and the quality of membership made it special.
The Honorary Treasurer, Esther Rose, presented the audited statement of accounts. The DTI grant had continued at the same level as last year, together with an additional grant for display equipment, and we were grateful for this support. Subscription income had increased and so had sponsorship. Costs relating to Consumer News had increased due to a much wider circulation. The statement of accounts was accepted by the meeting.
Esther works extremely hard keeping our finances in order, and, on top of that, she was heavily involved with the Annual Conference which had obviously been a great success. Her work and commitment are greatly appreciated.
The meeting unanimously elected Baroness Wilcox as President for a further year. The election of Vice Presidents then took place. John Hosker was thanked for his support in the past and Sue Payne was welcomed. - The Chairman Marie Jennings and Honorary Treasurer Esther Rose agreed to continue for a further year in their roles. There was dismay however when it was announced that our Honorary Secretary would be giving up her post in January owing to pressure of work at Leeds Metropolitan University and undertaking a further degree.
Sylvia Blandford (Exeter Group), Moyra Haynes, (Oxford Group) and Richard Townshend (Tyneside Group) were newly elected to the Executive Committee and their presence will be most welcome. Richard Corless (Plymouth Group) and Helena Twist (Individual Member) were re-elected.
Two Resolutions were presented to the meeting.
The first, from the Oxford-Group, was debated and agreement reached fairly quickly. The agreed Resolution is "This meeting urges the Government to review the legal position of private utilities in relation to their statutory rights".
The second Resolution, proposed by Bath Group, on genetically modified foods was not so easily resolved due to the nature of the subject area which is vast and extremely complex. Croydon Group offered an amendment which was accepted, but after lengthy discussion and comment from the members present, Gerry Lanchin proposed that the matter be referred to the Executive Committee for clarification and a vote not taken. The Bath and Croydon Groups accepted this amendment.
I was relieved not to have to take a vote as the earlier discussions with regard to voting highlighted the complexity of the current system. Stuart Coverley bravely volunteered to devise a simpler system which he would propose for the future. Margaret Williams gave special thanks to John Hosker and Ken Frere for their long service and commitment to NfCG. Ken is not disappearing altogether, only from the Executive Committee, and we are depending on him to help reorganise, update and extend our database.
Marie Jennings proposed. a Vote of Thanks to the Conference Working Party, and all the membership who work to keep the Federation successful. This was agreed with enthusiasm. Remember, she said, it is the quality of the membership that makes NfCG special.
Stella Walsh, Honorary Secretary. Vice Presidents Lord Borne of Abbots Morton Lord Ezra of Horsham Janet Graham MBE David Hatch CBE Hamish Henderson Gerry Lanchin Cynthia McDowall MBE Tom Miller Sue Payne James Woodward-Nutt Newly and Re-elected Committee Members Sylvia Blandford, Area 6, South Western, Bath, Plymouth and Exeter Richard Corless, Area 6, South Western, Bath, Plymouth and Exeter Richard Townshend, Area 2, North, Midlands, Tyneside and Birmingham Moyra Haynes, Area 3, Oxford and Central Herts Helena Twist, Individual Member, Deputy Chairman, Executive Committee. Legal, Decent & Honest
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