Annual Meeting 2011

The Annual Meeting (Formerly the AGM) for the Isle of Wight MS Society was held on Monday 11th April 2011 at the Riverside Centre Newport. The few people who attended were warmly welcomed by Tim, our chairman. He then opened the meeting and it was impossible to continue without making comment on the very poor attendance.
It is your MS Society and your chance to connect with your committee members, have your say and hear how the committee have been working for you in the past year. In the chairman's report Tim expressed his thanks to all the committee and the volunteers who worked tirelessly throughout the year for the benefit of all the members. The past year had been a great success.
Welfare - several people had been greatly helped not only with grants but with help in so many other ways.
Finance - despite the last few expenses being paid toward the MS centre, the accounts showed a healthy increase over last year.
Social - We held numerous socials throughout the year, cream teas, team quiz etc.
MS Centre and shop
We have in excess of 25 helpers in the shop. The move has been a huge success. Tim expressed his gratitude to all who helped with the shop and pointed out that their efforts directly helped people with MS on the Island.
Tim also outlined some of the plans for the future. Another auction is being planned for December. We are hoping that we can get the neighborhood help scheme running.

There followed a treasurers report showing a healthy balance and an increase on last year.

Election of officers
A couple of changes this time. Grace stood down as treasurer and in her place, Sue was duly elected. Sue was formerly the fund raising officer; a role now to be held by a sub-committee in due course. Tim Sell has joined the committee and we all look forward to working with him and also his wealth of knowledge he brings with him. All other officers were prepared to stand, were nominated, seconded and elected. (See below for details).

There was one proposal to consider. That was that the branch AM would be held in November in the future to bring it in line with National Centre end of year on 31st October. This was carried before any committee members realised that it meant they had to serve for least 18 months!!!

At the AM, voted onto committee were:
Tim Smith chairman
Jane Dollery Secretary/transport/membership
Sue Smith treasurer
Fay Smith Social secretary
Lezley Nicol News letter Editor
General committee
Daphne Lock
Tim Sell
Elizabeth Riddett
Peter Lano

At some point, every day, you empty your pockets before taking off your trousers. You put the car keys on the sideboard or hall table and chuck a handful of 'small change' into a pot, piggy bank or an old cup. I have a little tub on the sideboard where my wife rummages about looking for one pound coins of fifty pence pieces to pop to the corner shop with. I don't know what our female friends do. Do your purses get fat with coppers and those annoying little five pence things? (They used to be called shillings when I was a lad). I suspect they get put into charity boxes on the counters in shops, maybe.

Well - when some of the committee were sat around with blank minds, there was lots of empty space where ideas could germinate, - and one did!
If we asked every member to put all that old change in a box, in no time at all, there would be a reasonable sum in there. The cogs started working, slowly at first, then began to speed up. If every member put in just thirteen pence a day (on average), that would amount to £50 over a year. We have already agreed what a irritation the small change is, so - that nuisance would become SEVEN THOUSAND, FIVE HUNDRED POUNDS if all our members used the little box idea.

The boxes will be included with your newsletter, and further supplies can be obtained from the MS shop or by asking at any of our socials.

How about asking visitors to empty their worthless change into your box, or better still get them to take a box home. They will appreciate it when their trouser pockets last longer!

PS. No committee member has yet been able to assemble the collecting boxes in less than 15 minutes, so please don' ask them to help!