Page 27 - Demo

THE REVIEW
Extra Ordinary General Meetings of
The All-India Anglo-Indian Association
Chennai, Tamil Nadu -15 June, 2019
Two EGMs of The All-India Anglo-Indian Association were held at St George’s Anglo-Indian Higher Secondary School, Chennai, Tamil Nadu on 15 June. Here is a brief summary of what took place at the EGMs, separate minutes of which have been sent to branches.
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Present at the EGMs were:
Mr Barry O’Brien, President-in-Chief (in the chair)
MLAs, ex-MLAs, Governing Body Members, and 221 members from the following branches
- Ayanavaram, Bangalore, Bangalore City, Calcutta, Cochin, Delhi, Erode, George Town, Goa, Hyderabad-Secunderabad, Lucknow, Madurai, Mumbai, Pallavaram, Patna, Perambur, Pune, Santragachi, St Thomas Mount, Tiruchirappalli, Trivandrum, Vepery, Villupuram- Pondicherry, Visakhapatnam and Vypeen.
The following branches sent in letters of apologies: Adra, Agra, Asansol, Bhusawal, Bilaspur, Coonoor Devlali-Nasik, Guntakal, Jabalpur, Jamshedpur, Kharagpur, Korba, Ooty, Rajahmundry, Vijayawada.
The President-in-Chief welcomed all delegates, especially those who had come from branches in different parts of the country. He thanked Dr Geoffrey K Francis and the principal and staff
of St George’s Anglo-Indian Higher Secondary School for so graciously agreeing to host the Extra-ordinary General Meetings. Dr Francis, a former MLA, is Correspondent of three Anglo- Indian Schools and three CSI Matriculation Schools, as well as Director of A.M.Jain College, Chennai. He is also the President of the Anglo- Indian Association of Southern India and has been so over two decades.
Dr Oscar Nigli (ex-MLA, Vice President and Governing Body Member) also thanked Dr Francis and spoke about his contribution to the community.
The President-in-Chief informed the House that Mr Rudolf Woodman, Honorary General Secretary, was unable to attend due to the tragic death of a loved one; Mr Glen Galstaun (MLA), the Honorary Treasurer, officiated as the Honorary General Secretary for the meeting.
Besides the branches present that reiterated their trust and confidence in the decisions and initiatives taken by the President-in-Chief and the Governing Body, letters of support were received from the following branches: Adra, Agra, Asansol, Bhusawal, Bilaspur, Cochin, Coonoor, Delhi, Devlali-Nasik (Igatpuri), Goa,
Guntakal, Hyderabad-Secunderabad, Jabalpur, Jamshedpur, Kharagpur, Korba, Lucknow, Mumbai, Ooty, Pune, Rajahmundry, Trivandrum, Vijayawada.
The President-in-Chief informed the General Body that it would be time-consuming to read them all out; however, if any member wished to see them, they would be made available. He then invited Mr Justin Clarke (Governing Body Member in charge of Goa) to read some of the messages received by the Governing Body.
The President-in-Chief thanked the Chennai branches for all their support, as he had been participating in the World Anglo-Indian Reunion in Chennai when Mrs Joyce O’Brien, his mother, suddenly took ill. The Chair requested the General Body to observe a minute’s silence to remember the former Governing Body Members (Mrs O’Brien, Ms Della Godfrey and Mr I S D’Costa) stalwarts and members who had passed away in recent months.
All other items on the two agendas were placed before the House.
Mr Glen Galstaun, Honorary Treasurer, presented the Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2018.
Mr Moses Pears (Madurai) commented that in the Income and Expenditure Account, the sum of the voluntary contributions had increased from Rs 6,25,000 in the previous financial year to Rs 14,77,000—this was an increase of Rs 8,52,000. He congratulated the President-in- Chief and Governing Body for the significant increase in voluntary contributions. This was followed by loud applause from the House.
Mr Shannon Vassou (Tiruchirappalli) proposed and Mr Moses Pears (Madurai) seconded that the Income and Expenditure Account, Balance Sheet and the Auditor’s Report for the year ended 31 March 2018, be passed. The proposal was put to the vote by the Chair. Since there were no objections, the Chair declared it carried unanimously.
The Governing Body recorded its deep appreciation to the Calcutta branch for its generous contribution of approximately Rs 11 lakhs towards the purchase of the new
administrative office. The Governing Body also placed on record its gratitude to all donors, benefactors and branches for their generous contributions made to the Association from December 2016 till date; the most significant of these was a single contribution of Rs 9,50,000 from Suzlon Energy Ltd organised through the good offices of Mr Frank Freese. The Governing Body also thanked several branches for coming forward with their spontaneous contributions ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 3 lakhs—including Pune, Mumbai, Patna, Visakhapatnam,
Cochin, Danapur, Tiruchirappalli, Coimbatore, Kharagpur and Trivandrum; without this financial assistance, it would not have been possible for the Governing Body to take this vitally important step of purchasing a property, meeting the Association’s administrative expenses, and reaching out to members through the branches. The Registered Office would continue to be in Delhi and would be renovated in due course.
The Honorary Treasurer was delighted to inform the General Body that—through the good offices of the President-in-Chief, the late Mrs Joyce O’Brien, Mrs Denise O’Brien, members of the Calcutta branch, and friends of Mr
Barry O’Brien—the Head Office had received several contributions in kind, which had saved the Association expenditure of several lakhs
of rupees. These donations included office equipment from donors, as well as curtains and several pieces of furniture in good condition that belonged to the late President-in-Chief Mr Neil O’Brien and Mrs Joyce O’Brien, including a sofa, tables, chairs and four cupboards.
The Honorary Treasurer informed the General Body about the contributions and sacrifices made by Governing Body Members, as the President-in-Chief and Governing Body Members often spent their own funds while doing Association-related work. Had it not been for this, the Association’s expenses would have been significantly higher. Further, some Governing Body Members did not request any reimbursements for their expenses, while the rest accepted only a part of the amount spent by them. The Governing Body recorded its sincere thanks to each one of the Governing Body Members for this noble and generous gesture, as well as to Mrs Denise O’Brien, the First Lady, who spent her own funds while accompanying the President-in-Chief on his