Agenda for the 2015 AGM

The Kennet & Avon Canal Trust

Notice of Annual General Meeting

The 53rd Annual General Meeting of The Kennet & Avon Canal Trust will be held at West Lavington Village Hall Sandfield, West Lavington, Devizes, Wiltshire, SN10 4HL on Saturday, 16^th May 2015, commencing at 10.30 am, to conduct the following business.

Ordinary Resolutions (See note i below):

1.     To receive and adopt the Council’s Report and Accounts for the year ended 31^st December 2014.

2.     To elect Members to be Trustees:

a.     Daisy Mundy and Tony Nares retire in accordance with Articles 50 and 51 of the Trust's Articles of Association. They, being eligible, offer themselves for re-election.  (Note: The above persons make up the number of annual retirees required by Article 50 of the Trust’s Articles of Association.)

b.     David Copley retires in accordance with Article 39 of the Trust’s Articles of Association.  He, being eligible, offers himself for re-election. 

c.     Nominations for election to Trust Council have been received for Mr Will Job.

3.       To resolve to adopt the revised “Objects” of the Trust as published and notified to members in April 2015 as follows:

The Kennet and Avon Canal Trust seeks to:

a) promote, facilitate, and assist in the conservation, protection and improvement of the Kennet and Avon Canal and its associated watercourses, towpaths, structures and buildings;

b) advance the education of the public in general of the significance of the Kennet & Avon Canal and its associated structures

c) protect and conserve, objects, sites and buildings of archaeological, architectural, engineering or historic interest on, in the vicinity of, or otherwise associated with the Kennet & Avon Canal;

d) promote and facilitate recreational use of the Kennet and Avon Canal by a wide section of the community in order to improve conditions of life for the public;

4.     To approve the adoption of the revised Articles of Association of the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust as published and notified to members in April 2014.

A copy of the draft minutes for the AGM 2014 and the agenda for the AGM 2015 are available on the Trust website.

By Order of the Board of the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust

Daisy Mundy Company Secretary

10 February 2015

Notes:

i.       A member entitled to attend and vote may appoint a proxy to attend and vote in his/her stead.  A copy of the proxy formis attached to this letter.

ii.     Notes for guidance together with nomination forms are available from the Secretary by e-mailing secretary@katrust.org.ukor in writing to The Secretary, K&A Trust, Canal Centre, Couch Lane, Devizes, SN10 1EB. Closing date for receipt of valid nominations is noon on 24^th April 2015.

iii.    The Board of Trustees is currently seeking individuals specifically with skills in fundraising, marketing and volunteer management.

Registered in England and Wales: No 726331. Registered Charity: No CC209206

David Copley is one of the many canal users who enjoy waterways from the towpath and trip boats. He has explored most waterways in Britain and many in Europe. Whilst working, David was a Chartered Member of the Institute of Logistics and Transport. He has now retired from his work as a passenger transport planner, initially for a public authority and later as a consultant, but retains his interest in most aspects of travel and transport. David has been a Trust member since 1972. He joined the Reading Branch committee in 1974 and has been Branch Chairman for the past 5 years.  He is a long standing member of Trust Council and now focuses on the seemingly boring but necessary items such as drafting the Trust response to Government consultation on waterway reorganisation and revising the Trust constitution. David values the role of volunteers and was one of the members of the Newbury and Reading branches of the Trust who completely restored Bulls Lock in the 1970s. More recently he was heavily involved in volunteer assistance with operation of the Aldermaston Visitor Centre prior to transfer to franchisee operation and is now working to redevelop the Visitor Centre facilities following restoration of the buildings. He also arranges the annual waterway clean-up events in Reading.

Will Job recently moved to Horton where he is starting to renovate the cottage he has bought.  Will is keen to be an active member of the Trust and use his business experience to good effect. He has lived within a few hundred yards of the Kennet and Avon canal for a lot of his adult life, in Newbury, Reading, Hungerford and Devizes. Until a year ago, he ran a cost management consultancy, which helped companies and charities keep their overheads under control. He now owns a small property company with his partner and feels he has some spare time to volunteer.   He was president of Newbury Rotary club last year and had a very good year, raising over £20,000 through a variety of activities, including a successful Boules tournament in Newbury Market Square. As a Newbury Rotarian he helps out marshalling the crafty craft race at Newbury Lock, and each year hires a Bruce’s Trust barge for a week, to take disabled or elderly guests for a day trips on the canal. Will has a passion for history, notably steam engines and particularly the GWR, and getting out and about in the lovely Wessex countryside. Since joining the trust this year, he has volunteered at Crofton during the steaming weekend at Easter and is looking forward to doing more there and at other Trust events and locations.

Tony Nares is a Chartered Accountant who has worked in the hospitality industry for over 30 years, including public company and board responsibilities with considerable experience of relationships with stakeholders and funders. He was Finance Director of the Company of Proprietors of the Stroudwater Canal from 2008 to 2012 and has been involved on the boards of other charitable organisations. Tony has been the Trust Treasurer for the last two years.  He lives in Devizes adjacent to the canal.

Daisy Mundy is a Senior Training Consultant who retired from the Army two years ago, having completed 24 years’ service.  She has an Honours Degree in Further Education and Training, a Master of Science in Computer Based Learning and Training, and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development.  A keen boater, Daisy and her husband, Terry, have been joint members of the Trust for the last eight years and have their own narrowboat moored in the Midlands.  Daisy was elected to Trust Council in 2011 and has since served as Company Secretary for both Trust Council and the Enterprise Board.  Terry was elected to Trust Council in 2010 and has worked as the curator of the Devizes Museum for the last six years.