News

Highlights of the 2014 AGM - 04/04/2014 18:48

Highlights from the AGM held on 15 March 2014

 

  • Liz Farrow was elected as the club’s new chairman.

  • Jonathan Isaacs stood down from the committee after many years’ excellent service as chairman and as a member of the committee.

  • David Gaitley also stood down from the committee and Roger Sutton joined the committee.

  • Jonathan and Chrissy Isaacs and David Gaitley were warmly thanked for all their work for the club.

  • The accounts showed a deficit for the year of £2,286 which was after expenditure on relaying lawn 8 (net of a grant of £4,000 from the CA) and the cost of a new gearbox for the mower which came to over £5,000 between them.

  • Income from the Academy was well up on the previous year. Other areas showing improvement were catering, bar and corporate. Subscriptions and tournament income were down. Expenditure other than on lawn 8 and the mower was steady.

  • 2014 should see good income from tournaments with the World Team Championships (AC tier 2.2) being held at the club in May plus the return of well attended tournaments – Seniors AC, Golf Open and the Challenge & Gilbey.

  • The lawn maintenance contract was tendered and new contractors (SJK) were appointed. SJK work with a number of croquet and other sports clubs and come well recommended. They will be using their own extensive range of equipment.

  • Member numbers rose from 134 to 144 in the year to December 2013 as new member recruitment produced a good number of new members.

  • Internal coaching was well-received and has contributed to an increased buzz around the club.

  • Volunteers are sought for assistance with catering and other tasks (contact Liz Farrow or Clive Hayton).

  • A major new initiative was announced to raise funds to completely renovate the lawns which have become compacted from over 100 years of use with a thick layer of thatch causing unevenness and poor drainage. The intention is to strip down and re-seed 3 to 4 lawns each winter to improve their drainage and evenness. A target of £50,000 has been set for the Lawn Improvement Fund whose steering group will be chaired by Jonathan Isaacs. Jonathan stated that the cost should not fall on members. The offer of a limited number of life memberships was proposed and agreed by the meeting. Further funds will be sought from grants from the CA, SECF and other bodies as well as other initiatives like car boot sales. Members were requested to contribute items to sell.