Committee Meeting 24th July 2024

Registered Charity No.1192380

West Pennine Villages

Committee Meeting

24^th July 2024

Attendees:- 10  Observing: 1

Matters arising

1. Progress with Role Description adjustments. – A reminder of this possibility was given .Most of those who wish to make adjustments have made them.

• Update on Card Reader Convenor Meeting – The use of the card reader varies  from group to group,  Support is provided at Speaker Meeting and a similar support at groups might  see an improvement. It was again emphasised that its use is having a very positive effect on the Treasurer’s workload.

• Migration progress- further update -The position remains as it was at the last meeting and the Web Editor is now waiting for the remaining committee members to   ask for this.

• Policy adjustments progress -deferred

• Convenors get together/ IT evening-  After some discussion it wasresolved to hold this between 11am and 1pm on 5th September.

• Speaker Secretary replacement.- A committee member is willing to take on the role after consultation with the present Speaker Secretary.

• Newsletter issues-convenor information- Deferred

• Template for Facebook entries – It was clarified that the term ‘template’ simply meant common wording. The pitfalls of Facebook use were discussed. The treasurer volunteered to develop some common wording for use with a decision to be made at the next meeting.

• Club TV – The first model did not function well and is being replaced. In principal, it will have a positive effect in large meetings.

1. Photos for on screen display – Some have been collected but the quality was thought to be poor. The Membership Secretary offed to create a PowerPoint .

A further suggestion was made of a photographer to use for future publicity photographs.

1. August Speaker/ Suffragettes-  The perceived problem with the August speaker has been dealt with. It was noted that in future the issue would need to be monitored.

The Suffragette presentation has been temporarily postponed owing to a medical issue.

1. Copyright Issues ( document circulated) –Attention was drawn to the TAT advice dealing with copywrite, indicating that there is a broad range of cover for u3a purposes. With reference to a proposed film group- a licence will be required and will be requested at a subsequent meeting.

It was also thought that anyone with queries re. copywrite permissions should be referred to this document as it is detailed and comprehensive. The Treasurer offered to prepare a set of bullet points for use.

MAIN BUSINESS

1. Financial  report  ( Document circulated)-An explanation was given of the deficit shown. This is because TAT fees are paid prior to membership fees being collected.. The Treasurer was thanked for his work.

Discussion followed on the idea of opening an interest bearing account.

Resolved: to open a 12month Fixed Term account.

• U3A Friends Extra -see link – https://www.u3a.org.uk/get-involved/u3a-friends

The membership are informed of this in each newsletter issue.

• Speaker Secretary Report(document circulated)

A date for the Twelfth Night screening has been requested and fixed as 9^th October with a standard charge of £2.

The Speaker Secretary was thanked for his work.

• Membership Status –There are currently 224 members. The subscription reminders are due to be sent out along with the document providing guidance with things such as password setting. It was thought that an additional guide on how to pay might be useful.

It was emphasised that members of other local u3as need to become an associate member before participating in a group.

• Web Editor Report  ( Document circulated)- Some shared drives are established.  There will be a committee workshop on 28^th August before the Drop-in at 9.30.

A newsletter archive now exists and is available for use.

A document has also been circulated re. analytics and the contents were clarified and explained.

The contents were thought to be informative and interesting. A quarterly report  was thought to be frequent enough. The Web editor was thanked for his work.

• Groups report- There are currently 36 groups with 2 currently ‘sleeping’

As previously mentioned, a new film group is about to be launched.

A proposed Tap Dancing group has not materialised.

Some group convenors are not engaging with emails , therefore not receiving enquiry emails.

• Partnership/ POTM update. – The Website menu is up and running and being kept updated. There is a slight lull at present owing to University Vacations. Suggestions for future events were invited. The Summer sessions of PotM have begun.  Attendance for is slightly down, probably because of holidays. The Power of the Mind sessions have begun successfully  at Mawdesley u3a. A request was made for extra publicity for a session in August as the Speaker is a well-known expert.  It was felt that the OU link on the website was very useful and interesting.

• Summer Fair- A date was fixed as 23^rd August from 12 noon until 3pm. The gathering is for existing members, as a thankyou and in order to showcase groups.

A suggestion was made for the cateringprovided the numbers are doable.

Resolved to ask for indication of numbers, possibly through the newsletter.

. The Sub- Committee will finalise details.

AOB.-

• After attempting the PowerPoint the images from the web-site were confirmed as  not of a good enough quality. Images taken by the local photographer suggested will be of  better quality and will be researched.
• There has been a request for cold drinks at Drop-ins. These will be made available.
• A sign -up list has been requested for refreshment volunteers. This will be provided next to the sign in register.

The date of the next meeting was set for 4^th September