Minutes of the Trustees meeting held on Wednesday March 28th 2007 at 21 Austen Avenue , Olney.
Present: Rachel Lintern (Chair), Tricia Selwood (Treasurer), Philip Davies, Graham Mabbutt, Claire Lintern, Rachel Lewis, Sheila Ware.
Apology: Sheila Woodhead , David Danskin
Welcomed: Andrew Betts
1.The minutes of the meeting held on January 10 th 2007 were amended;
• Saints Alive should read Saints Together
• Financial report should state £2266 as the balance
Amended copy was signed by the Chair
2. Charity Status
• This has now been achieved, and thanks were given to the Youlgreave, Derbyshire link, David Danskin and Liz Brewster for all their help and support.
• Charity number is now printed on all letter headings and other correspondence.
3. Newsletter .
- Thanks were expressed to Sheila Watts for her superb presentation of the January newsletter
- Items for the next newsletter are to be submitted to Sheila Ware by 20 th April for distribution by the end of the month (SW)
4. Annual General Meeting
- Venue needed changing as the Gravett Hall is unavailable on 18 th April
- Sheila Woodhead had contacted trustees and member representatives re the possibility of changing the date. As there was no advantage to doing this it was decided to keep to April 18 th .
- Philip has kindly offered the meeting room at St Peter and St Paul, and all participants are to be notified of the change of venue (SWood)
- Speaker, Martins Boakye- Agyemang, a trustee of UKOWLA and resident in MK, still to be confirmed (RL)
5. Leaflets
- A new leaflet has been designed by Laura Jeary and the trustees all praised her efforts
- Thanks were given to St Peter and St Paul 's for photocopying leaflets ready for skills day
- Printing costs to be investigated; 300 copies to be ordered initially for distribution around the town and to The Cowper and Newton museum who have already requested leaflets for a conference pack
- Some editing suggestions were made, and these are to be considered before final printing. Suggestions to be emailed to RL and a subcommittee formed to consider final layout. Rachel Lewis, Rachel Lintern, Tricia and Sheila Ware will form this committee
- Estimates to be taken for both coloured photocopies and glossy paper with initial run of 300. ( RLe)
6. Andrew Betts
- Andrew was invited to tell the committee a little about himself. He and his wife recently moved to Olney and they run a charity “Advantage Africa” which has over 7 parent organisations. He has also worked in Africa, both in Kenya and Uganda . He is currently a trustee of GEMK and is interested in becoming a Trustee of ONL. He offers a wealth of experience and knowledge as his own NGO has a turnover of about £200,000
7. Skills Day
- A huge thank you to all participants and helpers. The turnout was a little disappointing, but this was due in a large part to the weather
- The trustees extended their praise to the day, and the amount of work that went into the organising
- Publicity main issue, and lessons can be learnt for forthcoming events
- Thank you letters are to be distributed to all demonstrators and feedback requested
- If the day is to be run again, Olney Town council may be more forthcoming with help (the Major did stay all day!) and the initial organisation may change with jobs more widely distributed amongst committee members
- Newton have been contacted, RL spoke to Dominic Usmann and Bakarr Fofana. They have found a building that may be restored for the Skills Centre instead of starting from scratch. Estimates of the work needed to follow in time
8. Treasurers Report
- Present balance £1046.64
- TS provided a breakdown of the income/expenditure for analysis
- Cost of clearing customs when goods reach Freetown was discussed. The last consignment originally was going to cost £360, which is extremely high. RL contacted Robert Claire Ltd and they negotiated a final cost of £160 for the solar lights and £74 for the computer and books sent by ONL. Robert Claire Ltd suggested that the original price quoted probably due to corruption. A letter is to be written to Mark Lancaster MP to highlight the issue (RL)
- Andrew suggested pursuing possible computers from NGO's as they often provide both hardware and backup assistance instead of collecting second-hand computers and shipping them (AB)
9. Friends of ONL
- 27 friends have joined, raising a total of £450
- A membership form is now downloadable from the ONL website
- The database is to be used a little more frequently to highlight forthcoming events and asking if people would like to become more involved, such as volunteering to help out or with further publicity
10. Future Plans
- Trip to Newton – 30 th July – 10 th August. More interest is being shown, especially from professions. This will be discussed with Newton during the forthcoming trip
- Sheila Woodhead and Gill Hurley wish to organise a barn dance to raise funds. More details to follow
- Offer from Catherine Wright , a young musician from MK, to hold a concert. Expansion of this to include more local people to be investigated further (RL)
- Writing share – a day when the people of Olney and Newton both write what their day consists of. This is to highlight the differences AND similarities between the two communities. Possibility of this being done during the forthcoming excursion.
11. AOB
- Any spare calculators and laptops are requested. Contact RL for collection
12. Date of next meeting
AGM April 18 th .
- June 13 th Trustees meeting
- September 12 th Trustees and Members