Friends of Chadkirk AGM 2024
Record of the Friends of Chadkirk annual general meeting 2024. Thursday 7 March 2024, Chadkirk Chapel, 11:00am.
Attendance: Seventeen including seven committee members
Apologies: Three
JP welcomed members to the meeting and confirmed quoracy.
Minutes of the Previous Meeting
The minutes of the meetings held on 04 January and 08 February 2024 were accepted. JP summarised the main items from each meeting:
04 January
Water leak in Vale Road was now repaired
To commemorate the death of Mark Matthews a number of his pictures had been displayed in the Chapel and a photography competition to be held later this year will be named after him
£300 grant received from Stockport Hydro and this had been used by AA to purchase power tools for use by the gardening group
A step stool had been purchased
St Chad’s Day had been a great success
New membership form was now available
08 February
Emergency lighting fitting was now complete
A rota of key-holders responsible for Open Days had been issued for the next few months
There was a need for a further volunteer co-ordinator to cover Open Days
Easter Services were in-hand and would take place on 31 March
This year the plant sale would be part of an Open Day
A new project to create a Covid Memorial Footpath was in the early stages
Chairman’s ANNUAL Report
JP said that FoC had had another very busy and successful year and wished to give thanks to all those volunteers who had contributed so much. In reviewing the year’s activity, he mentioned among a number of items:
Continuing success of Open Days especially in terms of the work of the kiosk team and the musical entertainment
Continued work of the gardening group
The Well-Dressing
Garden party
Art Competition
The refurbishment of the kitchen.
He also said that FoC had become part of a number of initiatives, most especially, a project in conjunction with SMBC to create a Covid Memorial Path. This would involve the refurbishment and upgrading of a fully accessible circular path around the Coronation Meadow. The estimated cost would be in excess of £20k which would be provided by SMBC, FoC and contributions from the social funds other local organisations.
Treasurer’s Annual Report
BT tabled Annual Report and said that, although there had been major expenditure on the kitchen refurbishment, the FoC financial situation was very healthy and that this was very much thanks to the efforts of volunteers.
Kiosk Annual Report
FH said that the kiosk had had a successful year and highlighted:
The major project to refurbish the kitchen which involved a complete re-design and updating.
Feedback from visitors had been very appreciative and positive in terms of both the general presentation with table cloths and flowers and also the variety of the food and drink offering.
The new rota system made for an efficient use of members of the team and A comprehensive system of working had been developed.
AC proposed a vote of thanks for the tremendous effort and results that had been achieved by the Kiosk team.
Election of Committee
The following all agreed to stand again to serve on the committee for the year 2024:
President - Pat Baker
Chair - John Pengelly
Treasurer - Brian Thompson
Marketing - Peter Labrow
Membership Secretary - Wendy Southam
Kiosk - Frances Holmes
SMBC - Angie Clark
Minutes Secretary - Roger Pearce
PL had expressed to JP his willingness to be re-elected was therefore elected in his absence. It was widely acknowledged by all present that PL had made a considerable contribution to the work of FoC and that the standard of publicity materials was superb.
RP had expressed a wish not to continue but in the absence of a volunteer to come forward at the meeting,
Amendments to Constitution
JP said that the FoC Constitution only allowed for amendments to be made at an AGM. However, at this meeting, no changes were recommended by the committee or had been proposed by the membership.
Membership subscription/frequency
No changes proposed. It was agreed that the £5 membership fee for new members would in future be waived if that member joined as a volunteer.
A.O.B.
Covid Memorial Footpath - JP said that, as mentioned above, a new project of a Covid Memorial Footpath was being considered and that this would be at an estimated cost of £21k.
Lockable Gallery Storage – JP said that this would be at a cost of about £2k.
Kitchen access for other users of the Chapel – PB said that she had received a request from the SMBC Events Team to have access to the now locked storage. This was not approved because the main purpose of the refurbishment was to ensure the hygienic and secure storage of all foodstuffs for which FoC were responsible. This was now treated with increased importance given the recent concerns that have been raised regarding these issues. It was suggested that there might be separate secure storage for the proposed purpose.
Open Day Volunteers – KD said that she would be willing to join the proposed team of volunteers to be present on Open Days.
Font Floor Tiles – CB said that there was a design for this project, that a supplier had been identified and a tiler contacted who estimated the work would take one day. The cost would be in the region of £1k – cost of tiles ca. £800 and £180/day labour. It was agreed to proceed with this once agreement had been obtained form SMBC.
Sunken Floor Feature - this was something of a draw for visitors to the Chapel but the glass cover had become opaque obscuring the view of the feature. It was suggested by CB that a project be started to refurbish this feature. JP said that an appropriate starting point would be to consult Stockport Museum Services.
Easter Egg Hunt – publicity for this event was discussed.
Vote of Thanks - CB proposed a vote of thanks to the committee for all their efforts over the past year.
The meeting closed at 12.20
Next meetings:
Committee 04 April – 1900 hrs. at JP’s house
Open meeting 02 May – 1900 hrs. in the Chapel
