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  Prior to the Meeting The Chairman presented a cheque for £1107.85 to Kevin Tate, Charge Nurse,for equipment at the ICU of Kettering General Hospital in memory of Pat Thomas.

Minutes of the 52nd Annual General Meeting of the Northants District Association held on March 24th 2007.

The Central Counties Region was represented at the Meeting by Mrs Ann Smith.                                                                                                      Apologies   Were received from Wally & Jean Winsor, Ray Compton, Marge and Bob Lowe, Sheila and Pete Wright, Sheina and Nigel Smith, Mary and John Jeffery, Barry Potter, Audrey Gillham, Sue Thompson Pettitt, Jose and and Pat Coaley, Maureeen and Keith Brown, Maureen and Dave Jordan.

Minutes if the last AGM was agreed as a True and Correct record.

There were no Matters arising.

No correspondence was received.

Chairman's Annual Report: The camping season started with this meet last year, our AGM at Cogenhoe. 11 campers attended which was a reasonable start for the season. Unfortunately due to bridge structural problems we had to cancel Sharnbrook. Carol and Phil were your hosts at Naseby, where the deluxe facilities of the hall dwarfed the revellers attending. A slight hiccup with Out and About meant that our Easter Meet at Greetham was not advertised prior to the meet. However if anything this resulted in a far larger turnout than the previous weeks weather would have led us to believe possible. A super weekend's entertainment was provided ranging from string hunting, to rambling with Fred, and culminating with a murder mystery evening that kept everyone guessing and proved that the DA had some fine luvvies and drama queens!!! Our ever popular Yarwell Mill attracted 39 units and five vans met at Chelveston for a quieter weekend behind the pub. The following week, Catherine and Sam had a good introduction to stewarding at Stanford Hall when 34 units arrived to spend the weekend.  Sam did a very good job of fitting fairly large vans into fairly small places. Unfortunately due to the sites policy on tents we are unable in future to use it as a DA venue. The following weekend was spent at Ashton Rugby Club but due to our busy schedule this year it was not used as our usuak Charity venue. Because of torrential rain our Bank Holiday Meet at, always popular, Stratford upon Avon had to be cancelled and due to the lateness of the cancellation we were unable to find an alternative site. Bob and Yvonne did however go to Stratford with their caravan to test the depth of the water! Only to return to Lyndon Top where some DA members were camping to report that Stratford was in fact closed.  The following weekend was the Working party for the Regional meet at Lyndon Top. The weather was glorious; proving that that the worry of the week before that we may have to cancel the meet due to standing water was groundless. Nigel and Shiena stood in very kindly stood in at short notice to steward this meet. Our Regional Meet followed, and I'm sure there is no need to repeat myself regarding what a successful meet this was. Lyndon Top proved to be the ideal venue and the meet was a resounding and profitable success due to all the hard work put in by our DA members and volunteers from the Region. Special mention must be made of the Mardi Gras when the DA won the Trophy with a great effort involving many members.                                                                                                                     A quieter weekend at Whilton  where the Williams family provided a tranquil and pleasant time. Children were out in force at Islip where John and Audrey were Stewards. The children were organised and entertained by Lorraine and Jason Brown and friends and the weather assisted them in giving the children a memorable weekend. We returned to Claybrook Magna with Glennys and Barry Stewarding. It was all Stetsons, boots anad gingham for our Country and Western weekend at Woodford Halse, Fred, Gloria and gang provided once again a great weekend. We returned to Lyndon Top for our Holiday Meet where Pat and Jose, Keith and Mauren, Bob and Marge, Brian and Ann were stewards. It was once again a resounding success, and I hope we can repeat the exercise this year. Lorraine and Jason stewarded at Towcester for a quieter weekend. I visited the site on Saturday evening when Pat Coaley informed me they had just had the worst ever storm he had seen in his life!! Luckily all campers and equipment survived. Maureen and I however, thought how pleasant an evening it was.                                                                       Nig and Sheina assumed the position of Stewards at Kimbolton, closely watched by Dave and Maureen Once again great weather and site provided another great weekend. Pete Wright provided a very quick walk round quiz of the village, which certain campers felt to be on the easy side. The now eagerly awaited rocket flying drew more entries than ever before> However some of the more seasoned i.e chairman rocketeer found the new electronic launching system was hard to master. Vic was was a very lucky winner with a cobbled together effort that I think must have taken 10 minutes to prepare. He was lucky that the Chairman's well thought out design and constructed entry didn't win!!! It was waders and keep nets to the fore when Napton was an ideal venue for the fishing fraternity. A good turnout of 20 units proved that this was a popular site. A quiet weekend at Foxhills followed  with Maureen and Keith. Next was the Balloon Festival meet at Milton Malsor with Jackie and Colin and family dipping their toes in the stewards pond. Unfortunately adverse weather meant a change to their planned itinerary. The weekend was still enjoyed by all. At the Bank Holiday Meet DA members were spoilt for choice with Beeston stewarded by Candy and Pete ably guided by Dave being the choice of coast lovers, and Henley on Thames a new site, stewarded by Glennys and Barry. Henley has all the properties to make it a very good site. Close enough to walk into town, large enough to handle a good DA turnout, and quiet enough to ensure a good nights rest. Ron and Sue were preparing for the rush at Rushton but unfortunately only one other DA member turned out to camp with them. The Chairman did visit to ensure that site rules were being maintained. At Harpole Julia and Allan stewarded this ever popular meet. The following weekend was our Rock n Roll meet at Cogenhoe. A small site booking error prior to this meet provided the Stewards with a 2 minute panic, however, once this was resolved a good weekend was had by all campers and the band was really superb. This is possibly a meet that may need a revamp.  Next was our FOL at Claybrook Magna when once again some super displays were produced. The adult winning window by Wendy and Colin was superb. Mark Tompkins was a worthy winner in the closely fought Youth section This site is an ideal venue facility wise for the FOL. Great entertainment was provided by Linda Keith and famil, although I did feel that some of their music questions were a trifle easy! Nigel seemed to know them all. Following this was a very good turnout for our conker meet at Sibbertoft. Mary and John attracted 24 campers, the contest as usual was fierce and despite early warnings of a poor conker crop the selected fruits provided more than enough competition. A quieter weekend with Joan and Paul at Sharnbrook Mill was enjoyed by all and proved oncce again the popularity of this venue for people who go. After a very wet and worrying entry into the field Rose and Nigel provided one of the most interesting and competitive weekends camping. Their interpretation and presentation of various popular TV shows meant that no camper was left unchallenged. Well done. Our Halloween Meet at North Kilworth proved as popular as previous bonfire meet at this venue. Saturday night's entertainment started with many different and varied characters being judged and the standard was very, very high. Games followed all of which were popular with the children and young at heart adults! Our guest DJ for the evening was the Regional Chairman who whipped up a bit of a storm on the decks! as for myself I must get a working mike. It was hard work, even for an ex drill instructor to shout all night. Our Christmas Card meet at South Kilworth  village hall was popular and well attended. After a visit from Santa for the children with presents for all. The serious business of the evening began, when six rounds of dog racing with all monies going to the charity. The Charity Card proved once again to a good and popular alternative to card exchanging. Unfortunately we had to cancel the DA dinner dance because of the numbers dropping below the minimum booking numbers. The caterer was unable to provide a meal for the numbers and he was reluctant to proceed. This is one subject we may discuss in the Ipen Forum at the end of this Meeting. The visit to Peterboro dogs was enjoyed by all who attended. A couple of syndicates had limited success but one family seemed to have found the winning formula and finished the evening talking about returning ASAP!        The visit to Kettering Bowl took place the following day and was reported to be a great success. Although apparently very little hard competition took place, if any professional bowlers interested in attending next year you could well clean up. The Annual ramble this year substituted by a car treasure hunt which for a non rambler and a keen driver I found a lot better. The route took you through some glorious countryside on a really lovely day. The treasure was a little more illusive for some hunters!!! a very good first effort.     Overall the year has been a very good one for the DA, we have ended the year in profit, and whilst numbers are slightly down we maintain a good average.                               Slight worry with one of our members having a heath hiccup at Napton when Jose was taken ill on site. She was comforted and helped by Rita and Jackie and is now after rest and recuperation and a further operation for a non related problem is on the road to recovery. Finally, my thanks to all the stewards for their efforts throughout the year. And for the first time stewards who have really pulled out all the stops in their efforts to make camping fun. Special thanks to Brian and Ann Moore, who, due to work commitments has had to relinquish the role of sites officer. To Cheryll who has picked up the admin side of Sites officer, To Pat for running the DA Website so ably, to Brenda an helpers on the running of so many raffles, and to fellow committee members for their assistance and support in all things camping.  

  Treasurer's Report: 

The Top sheet shows the assets that are owned by Northants DA. The next sheet shows the surplus and deficits on meets. There was only one meet that made a loss before other costs this year. After other costs were added on a total of 3 meets lost this year. The total number of units camping this year was 771, down from 986 last year. The figure includes the very successful Holiday Meet at Rutland Water. The average number of units camaping was just over 26. The following sheet shows the Holiday site, Regional Meet 2006 accounts and Regalia Stocks. The Balance sheet shows a surplus of for the year of £689.84. This is the Balance at at 31.12.06, the date on the Balance sheet is the date I printed it and I am unable to change it. If you include repayments and liabilities carried forward. 

 This gives an actual surplus of £1606.14. Receipts and Payments account which gives a breakdown of where the money comes and goes.  

On behalf of the Club I would like to extend my thanks to all those that helped raise money for the charity and all those that have helped with weekend meets. I would also like to thank Irene and Georgina for auditing the accounts. This is my final year as Treasure and  I will cease to be treasurer on 31.12.2007. That concludes my report for the year ending December 2006.

 There was no Official Youth Officers Report as Youth Leaders were not elected until October 2006. 

Election of Officers:

Treasurer: David Thomas - Meeting approved outgoing Committee's nomination.  

 Youth  Officer: Glennys and Barry Potter. Meeting approved the outgoing Committee's nomination. 

 Election of Committee: 

 Cheryll Lowe  Prop: Glennys Potter   Sec: Brenda Sturgis

Brenda Sturgis Prop: Maureen Ginns Sec: Duncan Ginns   

Maureen Ginns Prop: Cheryll Lowe    Sec: Jean Brown

Colin Tompkins Prop: Fred Watts     Sec: Glennys Potter

Colin Addington Prop:Jean Brown     Sec: Larry Brown  

With no other nominations, the above were duly elected                                                 

Election of Auditors:                                                                                                 

Irene Compton     Prop: L Brown     Sec: M Ginns

Georgina Harris   Prop: M Watts    Sec J Gillham                                                         

Election of Social Committee  

Brenda Sturgis continues a Raffle organiser assisted by Jackie Tompkins.

Notices of Motion: None Submitted.                                                                             

OPEN FORUM

Stewards Fees : After discussion it was agreed to continue with the DA paying the Stewards fees. 

Dinner Dance: The Chairman asked for suggestions to replace the DA Dinner Dance.     Suggestions made will be considered when next years Winter Programme is made.            

Plaques: Insufficient numbers have been purchased over the past year to obtain the required order minimum(10),. It was agreed that plaques would only be sold at larger meets.                                                                                                                    

Meet Cancellations: Fred Burford raised the point of late cancellation at a meet he was due to steward. Chairman said that names and telephone number were available for contact if members were not sure if meet was on.                                                                       

Regional Meet 2007: The Chairman gave members details of the Meet and Theme. Colin Tompkins would organise the entry for the Mardi Gras.                                                    

Regional AGM: The Chairman told members that the DA was hosting the Regional AGM at Naseby.                                                                                                                       

Pennons/ Equipment: Chairman apologised for the non availability of the DA pennon early in the year. He also stated that it would be helpful if stewards could determine what equipment they needed as early as possible.                                                              

Newsletter: The Chairman thanked Sarah Williams for her offer to produce the Newsletter.                                                                                                              

Regional Chairman, Larry Brown, thanked the Chairman for an excellent Regional meet and gave details of the 2007 Meet and the 2011 NFOL where help would be required.           Nene Valley DA:  The Chairman told members that Nene Valley DA had been unable to form a Committee and would not be organising any activities. Members would be very welcome to join Northants DAs activities..

;ed Duncan Ginns

f you include prepayments 

  


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