BMW CLUB – SCOTTISH SECTION.

THE 27^TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE BMW CLUB – SCOTTISH SECTION WAS HELD ON SUNDAY 11^TH OCTOBER 2009 IN THE BRIDGE OF CALLY VILLAGE HALL AT 12.NOON.

Present :                                          Dick Boyd                             Chairman

                                                        Marjorie Burnett              Secretary

                                                        Jim Lepley                            Treasurer

                                                        Ron Male                            Committee Member

                                                        Ron Deacon                            Committee Member.

42 members and Associates.

Apologies for Absence

Norman Robertson, Jason Goodwill, Liz Sandland, Derek Horne.

Chairman’s Opening Remarks.

Dick Boyd said that in 2009 the Section had organised 14 camping weekends with many of those having B&B or Hotel facilities in order that all could join in the weekend.   Dick then referred to the Kelso Showground, and said that possibly this would be a good place for a National Weekend if other motorcycle clubs could be included to bulk out the numbers and decrease the expense per head.

Dick ended his report by saying he was standing down as the Chairman of the Section because of other commitments and hoped that the Section would carry on from strength to strength and if the membership wished he would like to stay on as a member of the Committee.   Dick then extended best wishes to his replacement and thanked those members who had supported him.

Adoption of 2008 Minutes.

William Meikle commented that the time of the meeting was wrong in the Minutes; this should have been in the afternoon.

The Minutes were then adopted as a correct  record.  Proposed by William Meikle, seconded by William Weir.

Matters Arising : Nothing raised.

Adoption of Annual Accounts

Jim Lepley spoke to the Accounts and outlined how the expenditure had occurred. It was noted that there was a deficit of £90.00 and the closing balance was now £2733.26

Jim Lepley then referred to the insurance for the trailer which had been overlooked, but confirmed that the trailer had been insured from the 5^th October 2009.  The amount of insurance paid would be shown on the 2010 accounts.

Dick Boyd advised that the membership was 375, a deficit of 40 members over the previous years.

Accounts accepted. Proposed: W.Gault. Seconded: M. Burnett

Officers Reports

Social Secretary- In his written report Jason said that he had inherited a full calendar of events for 2009 which had been reasonably successful and apologised for not being able to attend all the events due to work commitments.  He then advised that bookings for a bunkhouse weekend in April in Rogart had been done and hoped to plan more events of a similar nature for during the winter months.  Jason said that suggestions for events would be welcomed.

Secretary – Marjorie Burnett advised that she only took over a Secretary of the section in July, and was quite willing to continue in post if voted in at the AGM

Section Webmaster’s Report - This year saw the introduction of a new design of Scottish website using the latest ‘cloud computing’ technology. The site is hosted on the Club’s official bmwclubuk.net domain and linked to the Club’s main site.

Its main features are: dynamic content (interactive Diary of Events with links to Google Maps and countdown to section events), links to external sites, a search facility and an online survey. The site is also easy to maintain

Dick Boyd asked how many members used the website and it was noted that about 50% used the site on a regular basis.  Dick advised that the website had been redesigned and it was anticipated that this would prove to be more helpful to members.

Election of Officers.

Chairman

Nominated : Harry Walton.

                    Proposer : Jim Wright.           Seconded : William Weir

Nominated: Gordon Fyfe.

                    Proposer : William J Meikle    Seconded : David Blackwood.

Dick Boyd asked the candidates to speak to the Meeting.

Harry Walton gave a brief outline of his history with regard to the BMW Club and said he had joined the Northern Section in 1979 prior to the formation of the Scottish Section in 1982 of which he was Chairman for 5 years.   Harry said he had been National Secretary of the Club for 3 years, and had organised many local and National events throughout the years.

Harry Walton said he regretted the divisions which had appeared in the Section as in his mind even though he was English but had lived in Scotland for 36 years, he considered the Section to be for all motorcyclists in Scotland and said he was confident he could help to heal the divisions and unite the Section.

William Meikle then expressed concern at the lack of communication which people in the south west received and the fact they were not welcomed at events.  A short debate took place with members putting forward their views.  Marjorie Burnett stated that when she and her husband joined the Club initially the atmosphere was not very friendly, but when they returned to the Club later they were made welcome at any event they attended.    Mike a new member from Perth said that the Blair Atholl event was the first BMW Club event he had ever attended and he found everyone very welcoming and friendly.

Harry Walton was then asked if he was elected what he would do to heal the divisions and unite the Section.   Harry Walton said he did not believe in a north/south divide or an east/west divide, but firmly believed we were all Scottish members and should be made welcomed at any event we choose to attend. If he was elected Chairman the healing of this division would be his first priority and he said he would be honest, fair and reliable in all dealings with members.

Gordon Fyfe said that he had been back to motorcycling for a few years, and had been a member of the BMW Club for a couple of years but had held management and administration posts in other sports clubs for many years.    Gordon said he would try to bring people together and stated they had a good group within the Glasgow area and that he would endeavour to create the same impression throughout the Scottish Section.

Vote : Harry Walton                                          29

              Gordon Fyfe                                          18

Harry Walton was elected Chairman.

Ron Deacon stated that this was a new beginning for the club and that the West of Scotland members would support the new chairman.

Secretary

Nominated Marjorie Burnett.

                 Proposer : Ronald Male              Seconder : Bill Downie.

Carried.

Treasurer.

Nominated : Jim Lepley

                       Proposer: Elizabeth Sandland. Seconder:Jason Goodwill.

Nominated: William Meikle

                   Proposer : Donald Scott          Seconder:Walter Meadowcroft.             

Jim Lepley stated he had been Treasurer for 3 years, and was now retired and would be quite happy to carry on.  Jim had been an active member of the Club for many years and wanted the Section to succeed for many years to come.

William Meikle said he had been a motorcyclist for many years and would welcome more input from the Scottish Section as a whole and considered that more people should stand for election onto the Committee in order to get wider views of what the membership wanted.  William also said that looked forward to the Section moving ahead in a less divisive way in the future.

Vote :  Jim Lepley                          28

              William Meikle                            17

Jim Lepley was elected Treasurer .

Social Secretary

Nominated : Jason Goodwill

                    Proposer : William Weir              Seconded : Dick Boyd

Carried.

Scottish Section Webmaster

Nominated :  Elizabeth Sandland:

                            Proposer : Douglas Kerr              Seconder : William Weir

Carried             

At this point Dick Boyd stepped down as Chairman of the meeting and Harry Walton assumed the Chair.

Committee Members

Jim Lepley proposed that all the people nominated to be Committee Members, together with the unsuccessful candidates for the Chairman and Treasurer posts should be elected to serve on the Committee.    Seconded by:  M. Burnett. After a brief discussion this was agreed unanimously.    The Committee Members for the forthcoming year are :

William Meikle, Gordon Fyfe, Dick Boyd, David Blackwood, Carole Meikle, Ron Deacon and Ronald Male.

Any Other Competent Business.

Harry Walton took over the chair and the members discussed at length how the section could become more united, and it was noted that it was important that a Social Calendar should be produced for 2010 as soon as possible.  Jason Goodwill should take the lead role in this and all suggestions for events should go through Jason and be costed so that members are aware of the financial implications prior to attending the event.

West of Scotland members said that they hoped the new committee would manage to represent all the members of the Scottish Section, but if it didn’t work out then they would be interested in forming a separate section. They would wait for now and see how things went.

Harry Walton thanked everyone for attending the Annual General Meeting and asked all Office Bearers and Committee Members to stay behind for a brief meeting to discuss the way forward for the Scottish Section.

Dick Boyd then presented the 100,000 mile award to George Ritchie and his K75RT.

A buffet lunch was then served which was enjoyed by all who attended.

JW/14.10.09