Annual General Meeting - Minutes
Minutes of BCC Annual General Meeting held at Oxford Instruments, Tubney Woods on
28th November 2007
Attendees (BCC Trustees):
Harry Jones (Chairman)
Charles Monroe (Secretary)
Phil Cook (Treasurer)
Beth Evans
Oleg Kirichek
M'hamed Lakrimi
Paul Noonan (Host)
Ralph Scurlock
John Vandore
Ralph Westby
Attendees (BCC Members):
Hamish Nichol - ICE Oxford Ltd.
Rodrigo Ormeno - ICE Oxford Ltd.
1. MEMBERS PRESENT
Beth Evans and M'hamed Lakrimi were welcomed as new members and trustees.
Apologies for absence were received from Paul McDonald and Damian Hampshire.
2. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES
The minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 31 May 2006 were approved
nem. con. by those present at the meeting.
There were no matters arising.
3. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT 2006-2007
It is in fact considerably more than a year since the last AGM, it's 18 months. This is because
the BCC stalled during the year. I think it is well known that I am very much in favour of a"rapid response" management committee with suitable powers delegated to it by the
Executive Committee.
The idea is that we can get things done. The inertia caused by having
to defer to the EC at 6 monthly meetings was a serious obstacle to the revitalisation of the
BCC, which is (must be) our primary objective. Another theme that I am convinced we must
follow is the outsourcing, on a commercial basis, of as much as possible but this means, of
course, we have to spend money and this means that we must make much more.
This means
we must restructure in a more professional and commercial way. Unfortunately, the days of
the dedicated volunteer are largely over because of the time and financial constraints we are
all under. These themes were being pursued but there was some disagreement.
I decided to resign (in April) as I could not see a way forward for the BCC in the climate. As
this was around the time prior to the AGM, constitutionally it had to be cancelled in order to
solicit more nominations in time. None was forthcoming in spite of requests from, e.g., Nanna
Heiberg. Eventually (July), I was asked to reconsider and I asked colleagues who had also
decided that they couldn't continue, to think again and the nominations that are before us
today emerged. An AGM / ECM was rearranged but the announcement did not get on to the
website in time so the meetings had to be postponed again. So, here we are.
Hopefully, the
differences that caused the stalling are now resolved and we can move forward.
Other matters for your attention:
- I would like to pay tribute, on behalf of all of us to Nanna Heiberg who decided to
resign as Deputy Chair and from the BCC Executive Committee after nearly 20
years of dedicated service. Fortunately, Nanna will stay as an individual member
and I hope that she can be persuaded to help us out every now and then. I would
like to propose marking her departure from the committee in some way.
- We also lost the services of Andy Atkins who has moved on from Siemens Magnet
but we are indeed fortunate that Dr M’hamed Lakrimi has agreed to take his
place. M'hamed and I have worked together for many years and I can vouch for
his expertise and extensive knowledge in research and industry with a strong
cryogenics component.
- When Nanna Heiberg resigned, there was the immediate prospect of an all male
committee, which is not the way things should be going. However, the other "new
blood" we welcome today is Dr Beth Evans from Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
so the balance, precarious as it is, is maintained. Beth comes very well recommended by her colleagues and we look forward to her input.
- Paul McDonald has agreed to take on the safety portfolio. This is very welcome.
Just as welcome is the fact that he will be supported by Phil Cook who has a
wealth of experience in the field of industrial gases and cryogenics. This is good
news as safety is a central plank of the BCC’s platform.
- We are very grateful to Phil again for coping with the Newsletter after we lost our
last editor somewhat unceremoniously. Phil has done an excellent job in getting a
LTN out and keeping our profile up. John Vandore has an interest in gradually
assuming the Newsletter mantle has he has lots of ideas for its future as well as
on-line supplements.
- I would urge that we all, individuals, corporates and committee members give
priority to the newsletter, in whatever form since it helps to maintain our profile.
For instance, I have been approached, for the third time, by a consortium who
want academic cryogenic expertise in a research proposal; all as a result of the
BCC Newsletter and Website. Our corporate members frequently issue
press/product releases etc. and we should ensure that they are publicised in the
Newsletter.
- Open Meetings: Unfortunately, the proposed open meeting on Cryocoolers was
delayed due to some difficulties with organisation and administration but, thanks
to Paul McDonald, it is back on course and we hope to hold it in March 2008 at
Southampton. I would like to thank Charles Monroe and John Vandore who did a
lot of hard work investigating possibilities and models for this meeting. However,
this initial work will not be wasted as we now have ideas for more meetings and
how they should be organised.
- Now we need to move things forward. We need, above all, more members both
individual and corporate. We also need to strive continually for more new blood in
the committee(s) to bring in a wide range of experience and new ideas. Let us
pursue this aim with commitment and enthusiasm.
4. TREASURER'S REPORT
Copies of the Accounts for the year 2006 were circulated to all attendees. The
opening and closing balances for the year were reported to be £5642.77 and £4512.75
respectively. It was noted that a major item of expenditure during the year was
the sum of £1,124.38 for setting up the BCC website by Grove 21.
The main sources
of income were reported to be:
- A total of £525 from the three Sponsors: Institute of Physics, Institution of
Chemical Engineers and Institute of Refrigeration.
- A total of £260 for the sale of manuals (via the IoR)
- £1,365 from membership fees
- £187.74 from royalties
The main items of income to date for the year 2007 were £800 for the sale of
manuals and £525 from the three sponsors. There is a need to generate more
revenue to meet anticipated expenses. The bank balance as of 6th November 2007
stood at £4,194.22.
Ralph Scurlock questioned the website maintenance cost breakdown. Charles Monroe
explained that the costs were likely to remain at this level or increase and said that a
local person would be desirable for the post of website manager. Ralph Scurlock also
questioned the hourly rate paid to James Thomson but this was seen to be
reasonable.
Phil Cook commented that no invoices had been submitted by James
Thomson (Grove 21) for website maintenance for several months.
5. ELECTION OF OFFICERS
All the nominations for officers received for the period 2007-2008 were accepted
unopposed:
The following were duly elected:
- Harry Jones - Chairman
- Damian Hampshire - Vice-Chairman
- Charles Monroe - Secretary
- John Vandore - Treasurer
The Management Committee needs to be able to operate in a rapid response mode
and some concern was expressed that Damian Hampshire might experience some
difficulties because of his location in Durham. Harry Jones expressed the view that
Damian Hampshire's location represented a good counter-balance for the "Cryogenic
Valley" of the south.
6. APPROVAL OF CONSTITUTION
The new BCC Constitution agreed at the Executive Committee meeting on 15
November 2006 was formally submitted without changes as "BCC
Constitution071128" at this Annual General Meeting for approval. The new
Constitution was approved nem. con.
7. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Phil Cook asked whether individual members are requested to give their contact
details on joining, as there was a problem in sending out the last newsletter during
the postal strike since some members had not supplied their e-mail addresses and
telephone numbers. Much time and effort was necessary to obtain the contact details. It was felt that contact details should be requested from all members, both individual
and corporate, on joining the BCC.
8. DATE OF THE NEXT AGM
The date for the next meeting was agreed as 29th May 2008.
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