Report on the Executive Committee meeting at Tisbury on Saturday 20th July 2024.
We agreed the appointment of Martin Ostler from Sturminster Newton in the Mere Branch as acting Assistant General Secretary. It is very pleasing to see all the Guild Officer posts now filled.
Besides the routine business of accepting the minutes of the previous meeting, checking the AGM minutes for accuracy and receiving a healthy financial report we were able to have discussions on varying topics.
AGM – past and future
The feedback relating to the 2024 AGM was very positive, all agreed it was a well organised and excellent event. It was felt we should in future make more of the Ringer of the Year Awards and try and encourage nominees to attend the AGM. The trophy for the Adult Award needs some minor repair and this is to be attended to.
The AGM in 2025 will be hosted by the East Dorset Branch, it will be held at Canford Magna on Saturday 10th May.
There was discussion regarding the AGM in 2026, it will be hosted by the Calne Branch and they would like it to be at Calne. Our custom is to hold the AGM on the second Saturday in May but, unfortunately, that date in 2026 will clash with the Calne Annual Duck Race which will make access and parking very difficult. The Executive agreed to the request from the Calne Branch to move to the third Saturday in 2026.
LEBRF Open Day
The annual LEBRF Open Day will be on 17th August this year in the Dorchester and West Dorset Branches. Details are now on the Guild Website; day tickets can be purchased in advance with an Earlybird discount.
Striking Competitions
The Guild Striking Competitions are being held at Bishops Cannings, 8 bell, and All Cannings, six bell and novice, on Saturday 14th September, again details can be found on the Guild Website.
Financial Matters
The following was agreed on financial matters:
The Guild Central Council Representatives would be offered up to £150 each towards their expenses if they decided to attend this year’s conference which is to be held at Exeter.
Due to the generosity of many people a surplus of money had been realised on the AGM tea. It was decided to split the surplus equally between the Young Ringers and the LEBRF.
We agreed to continue with our annual contribution of £25 to the Friends of the Central Council Library.
Expenses Policy
The workgroup reported on their proposal for a Guild Expenses Policy. A procedure for making and approving claims was proposed and formally adopted. More work can now proceed to develop a clear and fair expenses policy.
Insurance
A workgroup had been researching the Personal Accident Insurance which the Guild provides for members and whether it was value for money especially as premiums consistently rise without any increase in benefits from a potential claim. A lengthy discussion took place, it was decided to defer a decision following more clariification on certain points.
Central Council Levy
The Central Council was proposing to increase the annual levy placed on Affiliated Guilds, Associations and Societies to £1 per member by 2030, it is currently 20p per member. The reason given is to fund what is known as “Ringing 2030” a project to recruit and train new ringers to sustain ringing for the future. The fear is if we continue the same with recruitment as we are at present, within 20 years with the age demographic of ringers there will be very few active ringers left. The Executive Committee was not convinced by the financial forecast the Central Council had produced and asked our representatives who would be attending the conference to vote against the motion.
Membership
We received an update on how the registration by members was progressing on the new membership system, MemberMojo. So far around 50% of members have registered, we were asked to encourage members to register.
There is a new Welcome page available on the Guild Website for New Members. There is still more work to do on the proposed Welcome Pack, especially the production of a video, the workgroup would like some photographs please of happy ringers at various events.
H&S
The Guild Health and Safety Policy was reviewed as is required to be done annually. There was discussion relation to work which can be carried out by Steeple Keepers and what will need faculty approval, a workgroup was set up to produce a set of guidelines for Steeple Keepers which will be distributed across the Diocese and displayed on the Guild Website.
Recruitment and Retention
The subject of Recruitment and Retention was discussed, a workgroup will be formed to come up with suggestions of how to tackle this problem more successfully.
Training
The Guild Training Day was a success overall, there is likely to be a follow up day in October.
The new display banners are still in the design stage, it is hoped to have the proofs ready to be circulated for approval shortly.
Young Ringers
The Young Ringers had an excellent day at the Ringing World National Youth Contest in London, they were placed equal 7th in their class which they were extremely pleased with. Encouragement needs to be given to more of our Young Ringers to take an active part in their practices, the competition team will need new members for next year as some who have taken part in recent years are now excluded by age. Hilary, who organises the Young Ringers Group is seeking some help, she would welcome anyone who feels they could assist to contact her.
Communications
Job Descriptions for Guild Officers have not been updated for a very long time, these are to be reviewed and when completed will be available on the Guild Website. There will also be a controlled file for sensitive data relating to access to officers’ files in the case of an emergency.
We were all encouraged to send more items to the Communication Officer of Branch and Tower news for publication on the website and in the newsletter.
It was agreed that, subject to individual consent, names and contact details of Tower Contacts would be added to the website tower pages.
LEBRF
The LEBRF reported an income of £11,270 so far this year and the trustees had approved 12 grants to towers for proposed work. It was pointed out the importance of applying to the LEBRF for a grant before work on a project starts and how the award of a grant can be so beneficial in the kickstarting of fund raising for a project.
Finally, we were reminded how important it is for Branch Officers to enter Branch events onto the website calendar to avoid clashes between Guild and Branch events.
David Hacker
Guild Vice President
