Minutes of the Annual General Meeting
Held on Thursday 13th March 2025 at 7. 30 pm.

1. Welcome.

Peter Hodnett, President, opened the Meeting by the ringing of the bell. A one-minute silence was held to remember those who had passed away during the year.

2. Apologies.

Dave Hunt.

3. Minutes of the Previous Meeting.

The previous meeting was held on 19^th March 2024. The Minutes were read out to the meeting by the Club Secretary, Carl Southwick. Peter Hodnett asked members if this was an accurate recollection of accounts. All Members agreed it was a true record, the President then signed the minutes from 2024, and they will now be put on the website.  

4. Matters Arising.

       There were no matters arising.

5.  Auditor’s Report of Accounts Year Ended 31 December 2024.

Neil Smith of Folkes Worton, Auditors, noted that the Committee had worked tirelessly and acknowledged their efforts, he then presented the following report:-

Income. The Bar takings were up this year by £6,813, Catering takings were slightly down by £3,784 although the gross profit had increased overall by £3,091. 

There had been a drop in shop rent this year as one of the shops had been vacant and was in need of renovations. The refurbishment has now taken place and the shop is rented again. 

Room Hire income was down this year by £2870, however subscriptions increased by £9,511. It was reported that all the sub sections are thriving. 

Car park rates have suffered slightly this year with a drop of income of £2368 compared to last year.

Overall there is £8,601 increase in income from the year before.

Expenses. These continue to rise and are up by £43,431 on 2023, this is due to a number of factors. Wages costs have increased due to minimum wage and national insurance requirements and there is a £20,907 increase from last year. 

Light & Heat costs have been high due to having signed fixed contracts a while ago. These have now come to an end and we are with a new energy supplier so we should see these costs coming down throughout the coming year. 

Repairs have been increased this year with a lot of upgrades to the club premises for general wear and tear. We have also had electrical upgrades, replacement window costs and shop repairs. £11,000 from the maintenance fund has been used to cover costs. There is an overall deficit therefore of £26,532 this year, however, we have a 2 month’s reserve to cover eventualities he suggested we should be trying to grow to 6 months. 

Following the report there was a question from Dave Horton who asked about the large bank deposit increases. Neil Smith explained that this was due to the refund situation with Positive Energy which is why credits are increased. 

Dave Horton queried what the total nett current assets figure was down. Last year it was £105,043 and it is down this year to £73,089. Neil Smith explained the Club had made a loss this year of £26,532, however, 2025 should break even.

6. Adoption of Report Accounts for 31 December 2023. 

Peter Hodnett asked if the accounts could be adopted, Linda Wright was the proposer, and Steve Rice seconded. The accounts were adopted and signed off by the President.

7. Vote of thanks to Retiring Officers and Committee.

Peter Hodnett gave thanks to those committee members who were retiring Eric Buchan, Alison Bowdler and Jerry Roper, all are up for Re-election. 

Peter paid tribute to the Committee, for all their personal effort, time, hard work and dedication they have put in. They have overcome senior staff departures which had put pressures on the smooth running of the Club. Peter informed the members that there have been building fabric issues both in the main building of the Club and in our two shops. The General Building firm of ‘Roper & Brown’ together with other volunteers have worked tirelessly to get a multitude of works sorted out, it has cost a few thousand but in doing the works themselves it had saved the Club many more thousands in professional charges.  A round of applause was given to the Committee in recognition of their efforts. Peter thanked the Committee again for keeping the Club in viable working order. He then thanked the Vice President, Linda Wright for her help and support throughout the year.

8. Response and Report by Chairman of the Committee.

Jerry thanked Peter for his report and said that it had been a massive commitment, and he was pleased with what had been achieved. 

Jerry stated that 2024 had been a very busy and challenging year for the Club Employees and Committee members with managing the physicality of the Club premises, staff changes and maintaining and improving services to members. 

The last two years had been financially hard due to the high energy contract that had cost over £60000 last year. This two-year period has now ended so we anticipate approximately half the energy costs next year. There have been significant increases in the minimum wage and National Insurance costs as well, together with increases in supplier costs.

Repairs and renewal costs. The Committee members team, which includes their wives, relatives and friends, who gave their time on a voluntary basis, have been able to fix, renovate and redecorate our main shop in Market Street to a condition where it can be re-let. These works were estimated at a cost of over £65,000, but with undertaking the works ourselves it has cost just under £4,000, saving the club at least £60,000. The good news was that we now had a tenant signed with a six year rental agreement for £9,000 per year which would bring in funds for the Club.

Further works completed by the Committee include redecoration of the Function Room and extension of the stage, renovation of the Council Chambers and 2^nd floor kitchen. We have also saved substantial costs by fixing and repairing in house many of the faulty things over the year. Jerry thanked the Committee and their teams who have invested significant time and expertise over the last year to save the Club a considerable amount of money. He estimated a minimum of £100 per person on membership fees.

Moving forward the Committee is going to apply for more grants for us to use. One from the Police to increase the security of the Club and Dudley MBC are also making some grant money available to help us with finances and increase heating in some parts of the building.

With help from the Committee and staff, we are in the process of up grading and changing our computer systems in the office to support the new Microsoft office 365 and to comply with GDPR requirements.  

Lighting for the snooker tables and throughout the rest of the Club is having to be upgraded to LED as replacements for existing fluorescent lighting tubes will no longer be available after the end of the year.

We have recently received a generous anonymous donation from a member for £10,000. Jerrry gave his thanks to the person concerned.

Jerry had received some expressions of disappointment from members that we no longer offer our restaurant service, particularly on Sundays. Jerry told members that it had not been sufficiently supported and on analysis it was losing money so reluctantly the decision to close it had to be made. We have maintained our bar meals and we are looking into doing more variety and we will continue with this service. 

Jerry then gave his thanks to all members for renewing their memberships for the coming year and to those that come in to use the blub and enjoy what it has to offer. Jerry also thanked the members for supporting and running the many sub sections and events of the social Club.

Jerry wished everyone an enjoyable year and many more to come.

Peter asked for any questions.

Linda Wright asked if we get sufficient support from members will we reintroduce restaurant style meals. Jerry responded that we need demand commitment to be shown for it to be viable. Linda will encourage members to come forward if they want hot meals in the week. 

9. Election of President.

Peter stepped down as President. 

Jerry proposed Peter for another year, seconded by Kath Harvey, the members agreed by a show of hands. Peter thanked everyone for re-election and said he would do the best he can. 

10. Election of Vice -President.

Peter thanked Linda Wright for her support as Vice President. This year there are three nominations for Vice President, Eric Buchan, Linda Wright and Alison Bowdler.

Linda Wright was proposed by Steve Rice and seconded by Deb Owen, members agreed by a show of hands.

Eric Buchan was proposed by Nick Brown and seconded by Deb Owen, members agreed by a show of hands.

Alison Bowdler was proposed by Steve Rice and seconded by Jerry Roper, members agreed by a show of hands.

Barbara Cole asked if they could stand up so members knew who they were, they all stood. 

11. Life Members.

None.

12. Election of Treasurer.

Peter thanked Steve Rice for keeping figures on track.

Steve Rice was proposed by Nick Brown and seconded by Neil Pearson, members agreed by a show of hands. Steve was re-elected as Treasurer.

13. Election of Auditors.

Folkes Worton were nominated by Steve Rice and seconded by Nick Brown, members agreed by a show of hands. 

14. Election of Committee Members. 

This year’s nominations were Eric Buchan, Alison Bowdler, Jerry Roper and Phil Adey. Peter asked Phil Adey to introduce himself to the Members. Phil stood up and told the meeting that he had been a member for 5-6 years, his parents had also been members for a long time. He volunteers for a charity shop and he has a business Living in the Pink. He will bring his skills to the committee and if elected will do the best he can.

Eric Buchan was proposed by Jo Burtron and seconded by Neil Peason, members agreed by a show of hands.

Alison Bowdler was proposed by Deb Owen and seconded by Jo Burton, members agreed by a show of hands.

Jerry Roper was proposed by Kath Harvey and seconded by Steve Rice, members agreed by a show of hands.

Phil Adey was proposed by Deb Owen and seconded by Nick Brown, members agreed by a show of hands.

All nominations were voted in. 

15. New Trustees.

Rob Owen was nominated, Peter asked Rob to introduce himself to the meeting. Rob stood up and addressed the meeting. He explained that he was Deb Owen’s husband, his father was Rod Owen and he had been a member since 1979. He had helped in the past when it was needed for his Dad and the Committee.

Rob Owen was proposed by Eric Buchan, seconded by Steve Rice, members agreed by a show of hands. 

16. Correspondence.

None.

17. Any Other Business. 

None.

18. Vote of Thanks to The President. 

Jerry Roper proposed a vote of thanks to the President for running the meeting.

19. Meeting Closure.

The Meeting closed at 8.25pm.