The draft agenda is as follows and will be finalised the day before the AGM.

1. Apologies for Absence and nominated proxies
2. Reading and Approval of the previous year’s minutes of the AGM
3. Matters arising from the previous year’s minutes (and when they will be addressed within the agenda).
4. Reports from Committee members
   1. Chairperson
   2. Secretary
   3. Membership Secretary
   4. Safety & Training Officer
   5. Equipment Officer
   6. Communications Officer
   7. Non-Portfolio Officers
   8. Treasurer, including a review of the club’s finances
5. Auditors Report and Approval of Accounts
6. Appointment and remuneration of Auditors
7. Review of the membership fee for Regents Canoe Club
8. Motions for consideration by the members
   1. Club membership fees for 2019/20
   2. Amendments proposed to the Constitution by the 2018/19 Committee
9. Election of the Management Committee for 2019/20
10. Any Other Business

Each member of the Committee will provide a brief summary of the activities they performed on behalf of the club over the last year

The annual accounts for the club will be reviewed with an opportunity to ask questions about any particular items or the general overview of the club’s financial position.

The appointment of the auditor for the club’s accounts for the next year will also take place.

All Management Committee posts become vacant at the AGM and are open to current full members to stand for.

You don’t need to be an expert paddler to be on the Committee; new members with new ideas are great and it’s a good chance for you to get to know other club members and be at the centre of what’s happening. We have a wide variety of people on the Committee, ranging from people who have been with the club for a number of years, to people who are much newer to paddling and to the club.

Please consider standing for a Management Committee position. Helping to run the club is hugely rewarding and it’s great to have new blood on board. The deadline for nominations is Sunday 14^th April at 19:30. Details of how to do this are below.
Management Committee Posts

There are ten roles on the Management Committee, described within the Club’s Constitution (see page 10). Each position becomes vacant at the Annual General Meeting:

• Chair
• Secretary
• Treasurer
• Safety & Training Officer
• Equipment Officer
• Membership Secretary
• Communications Officer
• Non-Portfolio Officer 1
• Non-Portfolio Officer 2
• Non-Portfolio Officer 3

How to stand for the Management Committee

All Management Committee posts are all voluntary. While the jobs are not onerous, some are more of a time commitment than others and certain positions do require a fair amount of time and effort. Please feel free to speak to any current or past Committee members if you wish to get more of an idea of what’s involved. Their contact details and other Committee information can be found online [you will need to login to the web site: username=members, password=smallgreenmamba]

Anyone wishing to stand for a role on the Committee (including anyone currently in post) needs two other club members to “nominate” and “second” them for the post. Confirm with the person who is nominating / seconding you, or the person you are nominating, and send details to both the Chair ([email protected]) and the Secretary ([email protected]) before 19:30 on Sunday 14^th April, stating:

• the person standing and the post they are standing for
• who is nominating
• who is seconding the nomination

This notification can come from any of the three (person standing, nominator or seconder) as long as all three will attend the AGM. Nominators, seconders or nominees unable to attend must before the meeting inform the Chair ([email protected]) and the Secretary ([email protected]).

Nominations can only be taken during the meeting for positions where no nomination has been received in advance, or where a position is unfilled because a previously nominated person is unable to take that position.

Nominees can be nominated for as many posts as they like. However, if they are voted into a post, their nomination for all other posts will be revoked. If this means another role has no nominations in advance, nominations will be called from the floor.

In the event of a contested position, each candidate will be given the opportunity to address the meeting, followed by questions being taken from the floor. The vote will then be taken by secret ballot.

We will let all club members know who has been nominated for which positions in the NfC issued on Sunday 14^th April at 21:00.

All nominations received within the nomination period for Committee positions will be published here 24 hours prior to the start of the AGM.

Chair: None (Nominations can be taken at the AGM)
Secretary: Liza Sumpter
Treasurer: None (Nominations can be taken at the AGM)
Safety and Training Officer: Ben Ainsworth
Equipment Officer: None (Nominations can be taken at the AGM)
Membership Officer: None (Nominations can be taken at the AGM)
Communications Officer: Andrew Hughes-Onslow
Non-Portfolio Officers (x3): Steve Betts (Additional nominations can be taken at the AGM)

The current Management Committee wish to propose some minor amendments to the Regents Canoe Club Constitution. Each of these proposals is set out in the document linked here. You can also view the current Constitution here and a copy of the amended Constitution here.

We welcome any feedback or queries members have on these proposals in advance or during the meeting. Please send feedback to the Chair at [email protected] ideally before 10:00 on Saturday 13th April so any major concerns can be considered in advance of the meeting. If members wish to raise a query at the AGM on the proposals, but are unable to attend themselves, they may ask in writing to the Chair for them to raise such query on their behalf.

At the meeting the Chair will read out each of the proposals in turn. The floor will be open to any member questions or discussion on each proposal.

The Chair will then put forward a motion to votes on the each proposed amendment individually. Voting will be done by a simple show of hands. If there is no obvious majority a count will be undertaken and members with proxy votes will be asked how they wish each of their votes to be counted.

Any fully paid up member may propose items for consideration not already on the agenda.

These MUST be made in writing to the Chair [email protected] before 19:30 on Sunday, 14th April. However it would be really appreciated if you send these to us as early as possible so we have time to organise the agenda.

Time permitting and at the discretion of the Chair, additional AOBs may be called from the floor on the night.

Voting at the AGM

The AGM is the chance for you to have your say about the running of the club so it’s really important to attend. You’ll be able to hear what we’ve been up to this year and what we hope to do in the future. Votes are through a show of hands or, if there’s a contested position, a secret ballot.

If you cannot attend the meeting in person, the club’s constitution does allow for proxy vote – this means picking someone to vote on your behalf. The member giving their proxy accepts that their proxy will vote in the meeting according to their own conscience. The proxy nominator has no right to instruct their proxy to vote a certain way on any item – they are simply giving their opportunity to vote to their proxy.

The instrument of proxy must be in writing and sent (via email) to the Chair ([email protected]) prior to the start of the AGM – please do consider sending any proxy instructions by the evening of Sunday 14th April if possible.