Minutes of the General Meeting held on 7th June 2021

University of the Third Age Moraira-Teulada

Minutes of the General Meeting held on 7th June 2021

a Zoom Meeting

 

Those taking part: Committee Members:  Prue Jackson, Janice Wilson, Peter Johnson, Pat Clarke, Tony Old and Stephen Higham.

 

1.      Apologies for Absence: None

2.      President’s Address

Prue Jackson welcomed everyone to the meeting and then gave the following address

This is the first time we have had any sort of General Meeting since March 2020. It is a very different type of meeting as we are now seeing each other on computer screens instead of face to face. All a bit strange, but we having been living in strange times for this last year. Our Secretary, Peter Johnson is looking after the technical aspects of our zoom meeting this morning. I hope we don’t have any problems but please bear with us if we do. Peter will at some stage be asking you to answer a question online. This is just a test to see how it works. It’s just a fun question.

I am looking forward to the time when we can meet as we used to. I am very much aware that our members didn’t attend General Meetings just to hear our reports, fascinating as they may be. What members liked to do was to come and meet other members, have a coffee with friends, meet some of the group leaders and sign up for groups and trips. We have not been able to do this for over a year due to Covid

The impact of this pandemic has affected our groups, our travel trips and our social events. Some of our members who are not resident in Spain have only just been able to return. Some of them have holiday villas here they have not been able to visit. The whole situation has been unprecedented. Let’s hope we can now return to normal as soon as possible.

During this time we have had elections of our Committee. Nominations for Committee posts were invited at the beginning of this year. There were no contested positions, and therefore those who were nominated were elected unopposed for the year commencing March 2021. These positions will be ratified at some point, but this is a formality

Let me introduce you to our Committee. Apart from myself we have;

Tony Old – Vice President

Peter Johnson – Secretary

Pat Clarke – Membership Secretary

Janice Wilson – Deputy Treasurer

Stephen Higham – Membership Liaison Officer

Mark Mentha joined our Committee this year as Treasurer. Mark has done an excellent job for us, but he has decided to stand down from the Committee for personal reasons.  He has said that he is happy to continue doing the accounts for us until we find a replacement, and he has also offered his services in the future to help with specific projects. I would like to thank him for the professional approach he has taken and for everything he has done for us.

 

Titch Crossfield also was nominated as Deputy Secretary, having been Secretary for a number of years. She has retired on health grounds, but is still supporting us in the role of Care Coordinator and Support Group leader, a role she took on from Rona Hurst who has moved out of the area. Our thanks also go to Titch and Rona for all they have done for our U3A

In addition, three members have been co – opted on to the Committee for a period of three months. They are David and Eileen Haxon, and Paul Sankey.

I would also like to mention some members who give a lot of support in non – Committee positions

Peter Bayliss our Webmaster

Sharon Taylor Communications Officer

Jayne Wintle who looks after our discounts, Facebook group and bookings with the Town Hall

Titch Crossfield Care Coordinator, (whom I have already mentioned)

And of course all the group leaders and other volunteers

Without all these people our U3A would not exist in its current form

Another first this year was waiving the membership fee for 2021, and the introduction of electronic membership cards. This enabled people to remain as members without having to attend a meeting. Consideration is being given to how we manage next year’s subscriptions.

We need more people. We are still looking for a Groups Coordinator, and a Deputy Secretary, and now a Treasurer. If you are interested, you could join us on the Committee for a time just to see whether it would suit you. Please think about this. We have a lot of members, and I hope that some of you will come forward to help us in order to ensure we can continue the work we are doing for our members.

During last year we have tried to keep members up to date with the latest news concerning the Pandemic and its effects, and of course we have had the added issue of Brexit this year. I hope all of you who wished to register as residents in Spain managed to do it in time and without too much hassle

I remain hopeful that we will see a return to some kind of normality for our U3A in the autumn. In the meantime, I would like to see your suggestions on what type of activities you would like to see us offer, whether it be more social events or different types of groups. It would be good if we could get more volunteers to help with these activities as well. Please remember, this is your U3A, and it is run for your benefit.

Following this meeting we will be looking at the best way to go forward with General Meetings. Ideally we would like to be able to have them as before with people coming to meetings for a variety of reasons and spending time before the meeting chatting to other members. That might take a little while before enough people feel confident enough to mix in large groups, and of course whatever we do needs to be in tune with the restrictions.

3.       Treasurer’s Report

Mark Mentha presented an excellent overview of the association finances and projections which can be viewed on our website.

4.       Groups and Travel

Prue Jackson gave a brief report on the current situation which has by necessity been very quiet regarding groups and travel due to the Covid 19 pandemic. We are however looking forward to making plans and “gearing up” as the year progresses with events and travel being reinstated in the autumn. Prue said there was some money available to help groups purchase equipment they needed and to help new groups start up.  Applications for these funds are awaited

 

5.       Social Report

Tony Old reported that although no social activities had been allowed for the best part of 18 months now, plans are in place for a “Hog Roast” organised by Peter Griffiths on Thursday the 16th September at Font Santa, Teulada, and a quiz night will hopefully be organised in the late autumn.  Plans are being made for our formal social events to recommence in 2022.

6.       Membership Liaison

Steve Higham stated that although he had nothing to report at this time, he would like to remind members that he is always available by the usual communication methods, and would like to assure members that all communications regarding Membership Liaison are kept strictly confidential.

7.       Guest Speaker

Our guest speaker, Sara Richardson, Councillor, Teulada – Moraira, gave a very informative address to the members in which she detailed several matters concerning the Ayuntamiento.

The town hall are focused on completing projects that are already underway, and improving communications with the community using social media, Email, WhatsApp, and the local press.  It is hoped to reintroduce the weekly newsletter to residents in both Spanish and English.  She was happy to report that the Covid 19 vaccination program in the local area was progressing well, with full use of the Teulada auditori being an excellent vehicle for this.  She was able to answer several members’ questions about parking and the new speed restrictions that have been introduced, and that the removal of graffiti was an ongoing project.

The President, Prue Jackson, thanked Sara for taking the time to attend the meeting and for her excellent presentation to the Moraira –Teulada U3A.

8.       AOB

No other business

The meeting closed at 12:00pm

 

 

Proposed as a true and accurate record of the meeting held on 7th June 2021

 

 

Secretary of the Meeting ………………………………….Peter Johnson