Our AGM took place on Wednesday 20th March. Chairman Roy Powell reminded us that this year had been a rather different one as we have held a Community Film Competition, which Alan Cross organised to attract new members, and we also took on the organisation of the Sussex Film Festival, both of which proved very successful.
He reminded us we also attended the Littlehampton Carnival and an open-day at Ferring Village Hall. These events succeeded in signing 3 new members to the club, bringing the total membership to 25.
Our film making has proved successful again both in-house and in outside competitions, with ‘Tripwire’ winning the Sussex Film Festival, ‘Durrington’ achieving 3-stars at BIAFF (British International Amateur Film Festival), as well as some members’ films achieving 3-star awards.
Our main source of income after subscriptions is the External Film Shows, which the club puts on for community groups. This year we attended 9. Roy expressed his thanks to those members who gave of their time to go out into the community and give enjoyment to many. This coming year so far, we have 9 shows booked, However, we do need some more volunteers to help at these events.
Roy then offered his sincere thanks to fellow committee members for their continued dedication to all matters of the club, and in particular a big thank you (with the presentation of a bouquet of flowers) to Pauline Reymond, for organising and managing our varied social events during the year.
Our Treasurer Alan Cross then referred to the detailed accounts he had previously sent out and outlined our financial position saying that the end of year balance was slightly down from last year, but we retain a healthy bank balance and we did invest in some great filmmaking equipment in the new LED bi-colour light, diffuser dome and stand.
Alan then extended his thanks to Howard Johnson for auditing the accounts and gratitude to all members, newcomers, volunteers, sponsors, and supporters for their dedication and contributions throughout the year.
It was agreed membership subscriptions should remain at their current level for 2024/25, i.e. £40 for Single, £60 for Joint and £20 for Associate and Joint membership.
Regarding the appointment of officers, 3 members of the existing committee (Roy Powell, Bob Summers and Mike Spanton) decided not to stand for re-election. Roy offered his grateful thanks to Bob on behalf of the club for the 11 years he has undertaken this task. Unfortunately there were no new nominations forthcoming for the key role of Secretary. However 3 members from last year’s committee were re-elected as follows: Alan Cross – Treasurer, Chris Morgan – Competitions Coordinator and Pauline Reymond – Social Coordinator. In addition Mike Spanton agreed to continue as Webmaster in a club support role, and Roy Powell agreed to continue as the club’s External Show Coordinator.
(Note: Since the AGM, new member Ian Ryder has volunteered to take on the secretary role, with assistance from his wife Christine).
Following a refreshment break, members discussed possible future programme events and other ideas for ensuring the club continues to offer varied opportunities for members to get involved and enjoy their filmmaking.