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Minutes of the General Committee Meeting of the Westonbirt Association held at Westonbirt School,

on Sunday 7 October 2001, at 12 noon

Present: XXXX XXXX (President, in the Chair), XXXX XXXX (School Head), XXXX XXXX (Hon. Secretary), XXXX XXXX (News Editor), XXXX XXXX (News Finance), XXXX XXXX (Governor), 16 Section Reps (1, 2, 3, 12, 15, 20, 21, 22, 24, 27, 30, 31, 33, 34, 36, 37, 46, 48, 56, 69, Staff, Current Staff) and XXXX XXXX (School Development Manager).

1. Apologies for Absence were received from the Honorary Treasurer, and representatives of Sections 4, 10, 14, 16, 17 & 18, 25, 26, 32, 38, 39, 49, 50, 51, 52).

2. Minutes of the previous meeting held on Saturday 7 October 2000 were approved by those present and signed by the President, after the date of the meeting had been corrected.

3. Matters arising from previous meeting

   The heavy envelopes for posting Amaryllians to section representatives had not split in transit.

   The lacrosse tour had done well (winning more matches than they lost). Much of the team were still at the school.

4. Matters for Section Representatives

   XXXX XXXX was welcomed (in absentia) as Representative of those who left the school in 2001, forming section 70.

   Changes in Section Representatives were read out informally; they would be formally reported at the AGM.

5. Section Representatives’ Business & Reports

   Authority was given for the Honorary Secretary to subscribe £5 to Friends Reunited (a new, popular, internet site for enabling people to contact those from the same school.)

   The News Editor apologised for the delayed production of the News. After discussion it was agreed that the section representatives would be sent stuff by the third week in January; members would have until the end of March to reply to their representatives, who would send reports to the Editor during April. Anything late should be held back until the next year.

   The Committee discussed the problem of how to inform and remind subscribers of the need to send in money. This year, as a one-off, everyone would get statements. The News Editor and Distribution officers would discuss the matter during the year and report to the GCM in 2002.

   The Editor appreciates being sent reports on floppy disc, but not by email.

   News reports should include problems as well as successes.

6. Honorary Member

   XXXX XXXX (Head of Maths, retiring after 16 years at the school) would be offered honorary membership.

7. Election of Secretary, Treasurer, Networking Facilitator

   Secretary XXXX XXXX was elected for a further five years. (There had been no other candidates.)

   Treasurer No replacement had been found. The President would appreciate suggestions. The General Committee delegated authority to the Executive Committee to appoint a replacement for XXXX XXXX during the year.

   Network Facilitator

   The President had guidelines for use of the database, to be discussed at the AGM. She gave a brief outline of the planned procedure. The post of Network Facilitator would be a sensitive one; initially there was no knowledge as to how much time would be required; the President expected to work in tandem with her initially to help with problems. The database would not be ready for querying until after Christmas. The President would appreciate any volunteers or suggestions for the post.

   The General Committee delegated authority to the Executive Committee to appoint someone until the next GCM.

   Possible position of vice-president

   The proposal to have a Vice-President was discussed. (If there was such a position, the name might be different.) The suggestion was made that a member of Executive Committee could be appointed to act each year, but the President explained that all the Executive Committee were already very busy, and she felt it would be helpful to have someone else. It was suggested that the role needed definition - length of term, and a job description. This would help clarify the sort of person required. It was agreed that the Executive Committee would work on this and report back next year.

8. Any Other Business

   The question had come up as to whether the Representative to the Governing Body should have a shorter term; other Governors have terms of three years. It was explained that the Association’s Representative had a term of three years that could be extended by a further two. The President said that the situation would be checked, and the Association Rules would be changed next year if necessary.

The meeting ended at 12:50pm