SBC AGM & CHRISTMAS PARTY REPORT

We chose to return to the Barn Restaurant (the venue for our highly successful August BBQ) for the SBC combined Christmas Bash and AGM. This allowed Members, accompanied by their partners, to enjoy a full three-course meal with wine, in place of the usual cold buffet table.

And very fine it was too – a full Christmas turkey plate with all the trimmings, followed by a choice of steamed puddings, cakes, and the cheeseboard and coffee, with as much wine as you could drink. If you came with your partner, all this would have cost you a fiver a head as part of your membership sub (or £2.50 for HeadStart members – beat that!) There were even second helpings of every course for those who could manage it, and the serious ‘foodies’ among us (including Stephen Lewis, Brian Finley and Phil Jones) made the most of the opportunity!

Before the festivities commenced, the Club AGM was despatched with our usual clinical efficiency within fifteen minutes, and Club Chairman Keith Grover conducted his customary Christmas Quiz and stand-up routine to round off the evening. The atmosphere was very much that of a convivial private dinner party – without the washing up afterwards! – and our thanks go to Jean and Jackie and their staff for making it all seem so effortless, and joining in the fun.

Merry Christmas, everybody!

Click here for photo slideshow

CHAIRMAN'S REPORT

SBC Chairman’s Report to the AGM - 4 December 2007

We have had another good year this year in many respects. Our standards have remained high both in terms of the quality of our speakers and our venues, and the Club has delivered excellent value for money for those Members attending our meetings.

Unfortunately, meeting attendances and our membership numbers have continued to decline very slowly during 2007. This time last year we had 53 Members and we are now hovering around 45, and meeting numbers average around 25. As Ian’s Treasurer’s report shows, we have been prudent in our management of the limited funds at our disposal – but we have chosen not to cut corners to the detriment of our meetings. To survive in the longer term, the Club simply has to attract more members. There are many other local networking groups out there, and all those I have spoken to are finding it hard to grow or even maintain numbers. In effect, there are too many calls on the SME’s networking time and budget. It seems that businesses who can afford to join several groups are then finding they’re too busy to attend, whilst those with less business can’t justify paying the membership subs for any.

However, I’m pleased to say we are currently still solvent and pressing forward with our programme for another year.

We continue to try out new venues – such as here at the Barn Café for our barbecue – which no doubt thanks to our support has become the Barn Restaurant. We wish Jackie and Jean continued success. We are also actively pursuing the idea of joint meetings with other business organisations, and hoping to find some like Business Link, who are able to host our meetings and thus help us to keep costs down.

Our meetings timetable for 2006 looked like this:

• January Finance & Factoring for SMEs - Dave Rutter, Cuddington
• February: Writing your surreybiz.net Web Directory Entry workshop, Atrium
• March Setting up a successful Online Business - Gerry B, sponsored H&S
• April Speed Networking / Trading in Today’s Global Economy – BJ O’C
• May: Business Link - latest news / Free Open source Software Woking
• June: NetWalk - joint walk/networking (w Guildford Ecademy, Peaslake)
• July: 6 Secrets of Powerful Communication – Jean Hamilton Fforde StJ
• August: Club Summer BBQ – Barn Cafe
• September: Managing Change & Goals Workshop Richard Cooke (w LBA pw)
• October: Speed Networking / Improve your Networking Skills KG & PC
• November: Negotiating & Sales Techniques – Mark Harrison, Cuddington
• December AGM & Quiz Barn Restaurant

The Club continues to have a significant online presence. Our website has for years been the UK’s best business club site, and is now better than ever in terms of content and usability. The vast majority of our guest attendees and future members find us via the website – which is just as well, since we have no separate marketing budget.

Most Club business, including Committee work, is now conducted by email, which makes it possible for even the busiest of people to get involved in the running of the Club. Please fell free to join in!

In summary then, we still have the infrastructure in place to provide members with countless networking and professional development opportunities for another year, but growth is necessary if this is to continue over the longer term. If the present trends persist, there’s a real possibility we could be insolvent within 2 years.

The Club still offers the best-value proposition of any business networking and professional development group, so we should all be spreading the word. A pdf flyer is now available which you can send out to any contacts which we will make available on the website – so my message to you is ‘go forth and multiply’!

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SURREY BUSINESS CLUB AGM 2007

Minutes of Surrey Business Club Annual General Meeting held at the Barn Restaurant, Newlands Corner, Surrey at 7.30pm on Tuesday 4 December 2007

It was noted that the meeting had been properly convened and that a quorum was present.

Committee apologies for absence: Deryck Svensson, Vice-Chairman – on holiday

Richard Jones was elected Chairman of the Meeting.

1. Minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting. The minutes of the AGM held at the Village Hall, Abinger Hammer, Surrey at 7.00pm on Tuesday 5 December 2006 were read out to the meeting. The Chairman moved that they be accepted as a true record. The motion was passed by acclamation and the minutes were signed by the Club Chairman.

2. Keith Grover, Club Chairman, presented the Chairman’s Annual Report which was accepted by the members by acclamation. A copy of the Chairman’s Report appears on the Club website.

3. Ian Kent, Club Treasurer presented the Treasurers Annual Report which was accepted by the members by acclamation. A copy of the report is available by application to the Club Treasurer.

4. Election of Committee Members

The Chairman reported that no new nominations for election to the Committee had been received.

Philip Jones proposed that the meeting continue the suspension of the requirement of the Constitution for Committee Members to stand down after two three year terms, thus allowing long-serving Committee Members to remain on the Club Committee. The proposal was accepted unanimously by the meeting.

Philip Jones proposed that the existing Committee members: Paul Cawthorne, Keith Grover (Chair), Linda Haynes (Membership Secretary), Ian Kent (Treasurer) , Richard Jones and Deryck Svensson (Vice-Chair) be re-elected en masse, and the proposal was seconded by Paul Cawthorne, and accepted unanimously by the meeting.

All candidates offered themselves for election and were duly elected by acclamation.

5. Any Other Business

5a. A vote of thanks to Deryck Svensson (in his absence) for his excellent management of the Club website was proposed by Philip Jones and carried unanimously.

5b. A vote of thanks to the Chairman and Committee for their efforts in administering the Club’s affairs was proposed by Andrew Tyrrell and carried unanimously.

5c. Stephen Lewis proposed that copies of the minutes of the previous AGM be provided to attendees in future to avoid the need to read them out, which was noted by the Chairman.

No notice of any other business had been received by the Club Secretary from Members. There being no other business, the meeting was closed at 7.50 pm.

Keith Grover, SBC Committee Chairman