Page 41 - ALG Issue 3 2018 (printable)

Obituaries
Darren Fazackerley and Tom Maynard.
The Darren Fazackerley Award was presented later in the proceedings.
President Phil Gomersall said a few words about his good friend Tom, who worked hard for years to promote allotments.
Annual Report
Tony Heeson, Chairperson of the Society, presented the Annual Report.
Acceptance of Report and Proceedings AGM 2017
Proposed Neil Dixon, seconded Dave Rawlins.
Chairman’s Statement
& Report
Tony Heeson talked about the fact
that we have now reached the end of the five year Strategic Plan programme; his report below outlines some of the previous year’s achievements.
He also drew the meeting’s attention to the new insurance benefit for members and
the work that is being done on the new database, which has the potential to offer an allotments management facility in the future.
“Before starting to write this year’s report
I took a look back at the last couple of
years. Maybe I should not be surprised, but
I was, at the repetitions. In June 2016 I was commenting upon the loss of Holly Clarke, Legal Assistant. This year I am informing you that our Legal Assistant, Christian Kirkpatrick, has recently left our employ to take up
a position with a mental health charity, something he has been involved in previously. I commented in previous reports about the
pros and cons of holding our Management Committee meetings at Corby. The Management Committee ultimately decided that the advantages of using our own office and the financial savings made were worth considering extending the boardroom, to improve not only the available space but also the facilities available to the delegates. By the time you read this report the work should be finished and the new room available for our use, and available to other member and non-member groups. Any income derived from such hire would of course be welcome. I should add that the organising and oversight of this not inconsiderable project
was undertaken by our newest member of staff, Sonia Gallagher, our Facilities and Office Manager.
The next item I would like to refer to was the election last year of our new President Mr Phil Gomersall. Firstly I must admit
to some bias, as Phil and I have worked together in different capacities for a number of years. I’m sure that those of you who know Phil will agree and those who do not yet know him soon will do, Phil is a virtual dynamo and I’m sure that the International Society has already found that out. No more dozing in the meetings or easy site visits if Phil has anything to do with it. Several new initiatives have been instituted already this year and I would be very surprised if Phil was not involved in some if not all of them. I am sure many of you will see Phil at meetings, shows or similar events throughout the year, and if Phil is there you will see him; that is
his style.
I mentioned last year that, after the
new National Rules had been accepted,
the subcommittee had agreed to return
to looking at the regional rules, a project
that had been postponed in favour of the National Rules. This time, however, the Regional Secretaries were involved from
an early stage and in fact it was their idea that the regional bodies should become branches of the National Allotment Society; this should be seen in the new regional names. The secretaries’ ideas and a fair
bit of hot keyboard work from Jeff Barber resulted in a final draft that was approved
by the Management Committee and then went out to the Regions for their approval and acceptance. In fact, several regions have already approved the use of the new Constitution along with the accompanying Standards and Procedures. In my view this was just as important a piece of work as was the Rules, and it will be great to have all the Regions singing from the same hymn sheet”.
hold three workshops during July 2018.
We currently have 60 Federation members throughout England and Wales and it is imperative that we continue to work together to build sound working relationships to secure the future of allotments.
Over the last few years discussions have taken place between the Management Committee and Shield to provide a scheme where individual plotholders could be insured for damage or injury they may cause to others whilst pursuing their leisure activity. This scheme is now a valuable benefit to the NAS membership provided at no extra cost to members. This has created a great deal of extra administrative work which is ongoing at present.
During 2017 a decision was also made by the Management Committee to extend the boardroom at Head Office and to give a larger storage area. All Management Committee meetings will be held at Head Office in Corby. We can also hold training days, planned workshops, regional meetings, and other business meetings in a professional environment.
The London Region came into existence, after much planning, at the first meeting
on the 12th August 2017. The Region has embraced the new Regional Constitution, with the Standards and Procedures and Code of Conduct. The October AGM formally agreed the interim Officer and Committee appointments made in August. The two halves of London have been brought together with the balance tending to be in favour of those members in eastern half of London. The regional group have
a programme of meetings throughout the year and are progressing well. Thanks must be given to Jeff Barber, Grant Smith, Steve Clements and the many others who have given time to this vital development, giving NAS eleven regions.
There is still a strong compelling requirement for a representative body to
Company Secretary’s Report Liz Bunting, Legal and Operations Manager
There is still a strong compelling requirement for a representative body to act as a voice for the sector of Allotments
act as a voice for the sector of Allotments, whether it is fulfilling our consultative responsibility to protect allotments or being involved in the development of new allotments around the country. The need to
“This year 2018
marks the end of our
five year strategy.
Looking back over that
time many changes
have been made within
the Society. In 2017 we have moved forward substantially, after the adoption of the new rules. Work commenced on the Regional Constitution, Standards and Procedures, and a Regional Code of Conduct. These documents are now being adopted throughout this year as the Regions hold their own annual general meetings.
attract and retain members means we must be very responsive to the changing needs of allotments and also the requirements of our membership.
So, in 2018 it is time to take stock of
the progress we have made and set new targets for 2019 – 2023. Part of this work will be carried out within the Regions; part will be carried out at the annual training event we hold at Hothorpe for regional representatives, mentors and staff. More importantly, the delegates at the AGM will be given the opportunity via a feedback format to put suggestions forward.
Communication with our membership is very important to us; we are therefore in the process of focusing our efforts on improving our online advice offering and making it easier for members to access resources. We have produced a new leaflet with ideas for activities with children, and also new leaflets explaining the Kings Seed Scheme and the
During 2017, due to the retirement
of the person who has undertaken the maintenance work on the NAS database, we have had a look at other systems to decide what we needed to take the Society forward. In December 2017 work began on our new database; once finally completed this will make the membership experience a much slicker operation.
We have already started work, during 2017, on how Federation membership fits into the structure of the NAS. We have compiled a questionnaire, which is being circulated to Federations, and we hope to
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