OVERTON BUSINESS ASSOCIATION

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING HELD ON WEDNESDAY 4 April 2022

at The Greyhound, Winchester Street, Overton

Attendees:

Martin Fielder (Parnell, Jordy & Harvey); David Grist, H-C Travel; Ian Harrison, Ian Harrison Osteopath; Davina Hodgkiss, Bader Quince: Elizabeta Ivoncience (Treasurer), Piece of Cake Accounting; Kate Llewellyn, The Content Consultancy; John Mitchell, Wessex Business Insurance; Danielle Savine, The Party Booth; Jo South, Jo South Artworks; Lucy Sloane Williams (Chair), The Little House Management Ltd.

1. Apologies

None

2. Chairman's Welcome

Attendees were welcomed and offered light refreshments

3. Review of 2021 AGM Minutes

These were accepted as a true record, proposed by MF and seconded by JM

4. Chair's Report (with open forum)

Feedback from the recent Planning for the Future event held in St Luke's identified key areas for action, namely: Constitution, Organisation, Employment, Networking, Training, Website Development, Social media, Events, PR, Market Research and External Factors. On the basis of this, some easy wins had been highlighted. Some already been initiated while further actions were identified at the meeting:-

·        A Whatsapp group had been set up by Davina Hodgkiss (networking)

·       Davina Hodgkiss offered to update the OBA websites' Privacy Notice

·       An invitation had been issued by Kate Llewellyn via the OBA Members FB page to monthly working day networking meet ups. Response had been low and it was felt that a daytime activity might be best handed back to the proposer who participated in the 'Ribbons' network.

It was AGREED instead that social meetings would be held on the first Thursday of each month bar the initial social which would be on Thursday 8th June in the Red Lion to allow for the Jubilee celebrations the previous week.

·       Other options for B2B networking were being explored by John Mitchell/Davina Hodgkiss.

·       An events strategy was to be prepared by John Mitchell/Martin Fielder. The Chair offered to produce any required event press releases.

·       Martin Fielder was preparing Union Jack flags/sticks for placement in the high street Xmas tree sites on  May ready for the Jubilee on 8 June.

It was AGREED that OBA would fund and Martin Fielder produce a Jubilee banner that could be displayed on a building such as over Prestons/Blueberri or 1 George Street.

·       The concept/benefits of collaborative events had been raised with one (Olive Blossom/the Party Booth) being postponed until September.

·       The OBA had organised a stall at previous Scarecrow Festivals but this conflicted with OBA members running their own stalls.

It was AGREED that members would be invited to create scarecrows for a central display in the OCA forecourt. (An instruction manual was available) Martin Fielder would provide OBA stickers to stallholders.

·       Late notification of the need for  Work Experience places resulted in one offer from a children's nursery. John Mitchell explained that  insurance of minors was normally covered under public liability but employers needed to check their policy wording. The meeting noted that the school no longer held lists of potential employers and it was now left to parents to find a suitable placements. The managing consortium still inspected workplaces prior to approval. The meeting noted that work placements could be advertised for free on Indeed and social media.

·       Training especially in the use of social media had been requested by members.

It was AGREED that opportunities should be provided for a members only space in the OBA website for placing training material and other useful information. Email alerts could notify members of updates.

It was AGREED that the next members tasked meeting would focus on training that would improve members' use of Facebook.

5. Treasurer's Report

·       The Financial Report for the year ending 31 December 2021 had been circulated to all members. At year end balances were £2,768.64 in the current account and £3,125.91 in the savings account.

Balances as at 5 April 2022 were now confirmed by the Treasurer as £1087.74 with savings of £1,625.99 representing total funds of £2,713.73.

·       The Treasurer also stated that all events should work result in a profit and reminded the meeting that receipts for all expenses claimed were required.

·       Whilst the Treasurer was stepping down she kindly agreed to issue the annual membership fee invoices for 2022/2023.

6. Appointment of Committee members

With the exception of the Treasurer who wished to stand down, all members of the committee agreed to continue in their committee roles. Davina Hodgkiss also volunteered to join the committee.

7. Appointment of Officers

Lucy Sloane Williams agreed to continue as Chair. The recruitment of a new Treasurer was urgently required and it was noted that any business owner would be more than able to manage the OBA's simple accounts.

8. Annual Subscriptions

The Treasurer confirmed that the annual members' fees for 2022/2023 would be £36. This offered a discount, albeit not the 50%  offered in 2021/2022.

9. Dates for meetings  2022-2023

The meeting AGREED two members meetings with dates:

·       A Social on 9 June in The Red Lion

·       A structured training event on 16 June

The Chair suggested and agreed to explore the possibility of calendar invites to all meetings that generated last minute reminders. 

10. AOB  

None