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Merstham Cricket Club Annual General Meeting
14th January 2024 held @ The Pavilion, Quality Street and via Zoom
Present (26)
Richard Feist, Chris Clayson, Jon White, Carol Pearce, Bobby Sharp, Jason Drewett, Amy Reeves (Z), Andrew Clark, Steven Duncan, Jason Kyte (Z), Richard Pitt, Martin Fisher, Phil Pearce, Jon Dean, Peter Tharp, John Jackson, Ali Rustige, Alex Reeves, Mike Griffin (Z), Simon Griffin (Z), Naveed Saeed (Z), Jamil Khan(Z), Ian Precious(Z), Kashif Noon(Z), Anthony Vincenzo(Z), Humayoon Nasir(Z)
1. Chairman’s opening remarks
Richard welcomed everyone to the meeting wishing everyone a Happy New Year.
2. Apologies for absence
Dick Mantell, Ian Lamont, Luke Saunders, Ben Jones.
3. Minutes of the previous AGM January 2023
The minutes were accepted as a true record having been previously distributed and read. Proposed Alex Reeves, seconded Jon White.
4. Matters arising
There were no matters arising
5. Chairman’s report
The Chairman’s report had been distributed as part of the Annual Report to all members.
6. Treasurers report and approval of annual audited accounts
The accounts were previously circulated as part of the Annual Report. Treasurer Chris Clayson spoke of the accounts explaining the detail. He highlighted a few things saying that the bar takings were very good, donations for the new roller had reached £9000, £14700 of the Battlebridge Find remained. He commented that the use of Spond to collect match fees had made a big difference to the income from match fees and sponsorship money was slightly down from the previous year. As for expenses the club had spent almost double on balls this year, there was a minor increase on the insurance premium. The gas and electric costs had almost doubled but this could be attributed to the overall rise in prices and that the immersion heaters had been left on constant (this has now been rectified). He said that all money showing under the debtors section had now been collected. Chris commented that membership numbers were about the same as the previous year, there had been 1 payment of £55 from the access to cricket fund which left £1600 in the fund. The 100 club had yielded £762 in winnings with another £429 profit for club funds. He then invited questions or comments. Peter Tharp asked about an update on the roller. The answer that the roller had been purchased with £5000 being raised towards the cost from the Just Giving fundraiser and a further £2000 donated from the Millenium Trust and £2000 from the Quality Street Fair. It was proposed by Martin Fisher and seconded by Ali Rustige that the accounts should be accepted.
7. Election of officers
a) President
Lord Hylton
b) Vice Presidents
Voted en bloc
c) Chairman
Richard Feist
d) Vice Chairman
Jason Drewett
e) Hon Secretary
Deidre Hugo
f) Hon Treasurer
Chris Clayson
g) Club Captain
Alex Reeves
h) Fixtures Secretary
Ben Wilshier
i) Communications Manager
Richard Pitt
j) Junior Liaison Manager
Jon Dean, Mike Griffin
k) League Representative
Bobby Sharp
l) Safeguarding Officer
Amy Reeves
m) Club Development Officer
Andrew Clark, Dan Feist
Carol Pearce (Hon Secretary), Bobby Sharp (Fixtures Secretary) and Simon Grifin (Communications Manager) had stood down from the committee. It was proposed by Richard Feist and seconded by Chris Clayson that Deidre Hugo be nominated for the position of Hon Secretary. It was proposed by Bobby Sharp and seconded by Alex Reeves that Ben Wilsher be nominated for the position of Fixture Secretary. It was proposed by Alex Reeves and seconded by Deidre Hugo that Richard Pitt be nominated for the position of Communications Manager. All other officers as above were willing to stand for re-election and it was proposed by Martin Fisher and seconded by Ali Rustige that they should be elected to the committee as there were no other nominations. This was accepted unanimously.
8. Appointment of Captains
a) Saturday 1st XI
Co Captains Noman Javed and Humayoon Nasir
b) Saturday 2nd XI
Luke Saunders (C) Bobby Sharp (VC)
c) Saturday 3rd XI
George Corrie (C) Struan Clark (VC)
d) Saturday 4th XI
Andrew Clark (C) Richard Pitt (VC)
e) Saturday 5th XI
Jon White (C) Thomas Kenny (VC)
e) Sunday 1st XI/Development
Afsar Khan (C)
f) Sunday 2nd XI
Steven Clark (C)
g) Ladies
Ali Rustage (Hard Ball), Claire White (Soft Ball)
9. Appointment of Hon Auditor
Mr Jason Kyte agreed to continue this role. Richard Feist gave a vote of thanks on behalf of the club.
10. Confirmation of Annual Subscriptions and Match Fees
Chris Clayson suggested a £10 increase across all membership categories with Social Membership increasing to £40 and match fees to increase by 20%. There was no increase last season. Martin Fisher asked about a family package, to be discussed at committee. Naveed Saeed asked the reason for the increase. The treasurer said that there were several reasons including the cost of putting on a match with increased costs in fuel and the ground preparation and maintenance. The increase was proposed by Richard Pitt, seconded by Jon White and accepted unanimously.
11. Amendment to Constitution
Having been discussed at committee level Chris Clayson proposed some changes to the Club Constitution. He had corrected some spelling and grammar mistakes.
- The first change was regarding the clarification of classes of membership to remove any questions as to what a Full Member is. He therefore proposed that the class of Full Member be changed to Adult Playing Member. This term to be used throughout the document in place of Full Member.
- The second change is election of officers where it is proposed that only the executive committee comprising of Chairman, Vice Chairman, Hon Treasurer, Hon Secretary and Hom Auditor should be formally elected at the AGM. Other non-executive officers can be appointed to the committee, by the executive officers as required. These officers should include at least, the following, Safeguarding Officer, Fixture Secretary, Communications Manager, Chairman of the following sub committees – cricket, junior section, estates and new projects, and development. Other officer positions can be created as necessity dictates.
- The following is to be added to the disciplinary section. If the member being disciplined is under 18 years of age, then the Safeguarding Officer and parent/guardian should be present.
12. Any other business
a) Richard Feist said that there was a problem with the scorebox, a huge crack had appeared. The insurance company surveyors have agreed it is subsidence and it is being monitored to assess what action needs to be taken. Ali Rustige asked if an alternative is to be put in place if the scorebox is not operational for the beginning of the season. This will be discussed at committee.
b) Jason Drewett reported that he is waiting for a second quote for work on a sunken water tank at the bottom of the ground so the club has its own water supply to water the square.
c) A list of upcoming events were given including a chilli night Saturday 20th January (thanks to Harry David), race night/auction in February and quiz night March/April.
d) Date for Get Set weekend to be advised
13. Date of next Annual General Meeting
Sunday 12th January 2025 at 6pm
14. Date of next committee meeting
TBC