Annual General Meeting minutes 2018
Minutes of the 2018 AGM of the WASSI - Matamata January 2018
Opening
The 2018 Annual General Meeting of the Walsh Aviation Support Society Inc (WASSI) opened at 2115hrs NZDT in the Matamata Aeroclub at Waharoa Aerodrome on Friday the 19th of January 2018.
Attended by:
Dean Beverley; Steven Bodt; Dene Busby; Taran Busby; Carlton Campbell; Gerald Carter; Wayne Coupland; Carolyn Craig; Phillip Craig; Chris Fraser; John Hamilton; Fred Hansen; Brian Haybittle; Kelly Haybittle; James Hillson; Jack Holworthy; David Jupp; Kate Lindsey; Penny Mackay; Sue Mealing; Rod Milne; Murray Miskelly; Mal Morters; Tessa Mowbray; Simon Nicholson; James Pengelly; Gordon Ragg; Jason Robson; Janelle Rouse; Nick Rowe; Steve Scott; Aaron Silcock; Andrew Sims; Jeshneel Singh; Jill Smith; Janet Taylor; Matt Tiernan; Nic Vanderschantz; Sam Watson; Mark Woodhouse.
Apologies were received from:
Tui McInnes; Gary Parata; Bronwyn Scott; Mellissa Silcock; Michelle Urquhart; Jeffrey Walton; Alex and Helen Warriner; Clive Williams.
Introduction
The meeting was opened by Mark Woodhouse, who welcomed the members to the AGM and thanked them for their attendance.
Mark noted that the meeting would generally follow established protocols but emphasised that questions and open discussion were invited and encouraged.
Mark then reminded the meeting of the purposes of the WASSI:
- Raise and hold funds toward the purchase of a fleet of training aircraft and any supporting facilities and equipment that can be used by the Walsh Memorial Scout Flying School;
- Acquire and maintain a fleet of training aircraft and associated facilities and equipment;
- The general and fiscal support and benefit of aviation and aviation students; and,
- Do anything necessary or helpful to the above purposes.
Minutes of Previous Meetings
Minutes of the Inaugural Meeting of the WASSI held in January 2017 were distributed to all members by email shortly after said meeting and were available at the AGM members to view.
A motion was tabled that the minutes of the Inaugural Meeting of the WASSI held in January 2017 be accepted as a true and accurate record of the meeting.
Moved by Andrew Sims
Seconded by Jack Holworthy
Passed unanimously.
Minutes of the Special General Meeting held by video conference in September 2017 were distributed to all members by email shortly after said meeting and were available at the AGM for members to view.
A motion was tabled that the minutes of the Special General Meeting of the WASSI held in September 2017 be accepted as a true and accurate record of the meeting.
Moved by Penny Mackay
Seconded by Gordon Ragg
Passed unanimously.
Chairman’s Report
The Chairman tabled and spoke to his report.
A number of copies of the Chairman’s Report were made available to the members at the meeting and a copy of the Chairman’s Report is attached to these minutes.
Treasurer’s Report
The Treasurer tabled and spoke to his report.
The Treasurer also spoke about the Strategic Plan and offered to discuss same in more detail informally with any interested members after the AGM.
While the critical need for gaining Charitable Status was acknowledged, the reason why the Lion Foundation application had been made was due to their encouragement and because they do not need us to hold Charitable Status, only IRD Tax Exemption status.
The Chairman made the point that no expenditure had occurred since the Inaugural Meeting twelve months ago, but that it was likely that a significant investment may need to be made to secure professional advice to help the WASSI achieve Charitable Status.
A number of copies of the Treasurer’s Report were made available to the members at the meeting and a copy of the Treasurer’s Report is attached to these minutes.
Election of Committee Members
It was agreed at the Inaugural Meeting of the WASSI in January 2017, that the term for holding a Committee position should be two years (refer minutes).
Also, there have been no resignations, nor has any notice been received of a desire to remove a committee member by vote.
Consequently, no election of committee members was required at this AGM.
Motions to be Considered
No other motions were presented, either before or during the AGM.
General Questions / Discussion
At 2137 hrs, Big Bad Brian arrived at the AGM complete with fanfare.
A member asked what aircraft types we were considering both in the short and long term. The Chairman and Steve Scott explained that initially PA38’s and C152’s were likely to be considered but that the Strategic Plan had us purchasing new aircraft of undecided type in year 6 (January 2024).
The Chairman made the point that the Air Traffic Controllers had asked that aircraft remain a balanced mix of high and low winged types. He undertook to maintain that balance.
A member asked whether we were concerned that the rate at which WASSI might purchase PA38’s and C152’s had the potential impact on the light aircraft market, and force up the prices. While the Committee had considered this possibility, it is believed that the rate at which we plan to purchase and refurbish second-hand aircraft (one per year in the first nine years) was unlikely to generate such a problem.
A member asked if we felt there was a need for more direct financial support from the Instructors Fund at this time. The Chairman expressed the Committee’s position that this was not appropriate this year.
The Chairman summed up the progress of the WASSI and thanked the members for their continued support. He also invited their continued contribution of ideas.
Closure
The Annual General Meeting of the Walsh Aviation Support Society Inc. (WASSI) closed at 2150 hrs NZDT on Friday the 19th of January 2018.
Walsh Aviation Support Society Incorporated (WASSI)
Chairman’s Report – January 2018
The purposes of the WASSI are to:
- Raise and hold funds to be used toward the purchase of a fleet of training aircraft and any supporting facilities and equipment that can be used by the Walsh Memorial Scout Flying School;
- Acquire and maintain a fleet of training aircraft and associated facilities and equipment;
- The general and fiscal support and benefit of aviation and aviation students; and,
- Do anything necessary or helpful to the above purposes.
Where have the last 12 months gone? Why have we not progressed further in that time? What have we achieved?
While only a modest amount may appear to have been completed during the last twelve months, behind the scenes a very large and significant amount of effort has been put into achieving ‘establishment’ objectives.
Baby steps… (Thanks MJM)
* In February we received our Certificate of Incorporation from the NZ Companies Office.
* In March the ASB opened a Society Bank Account for the WASSI.
* In April we applied for and were issued an IRD number for WASSI.
* In April the WASSI Committee held a meeting at the conclusion of a Walsh Management Meeting. A strategic plan for progressing WASSI’s aims was discussed and drafted.
* In May we began the process of achieving IRD Income Tax Exempt Status.
* In June we received a response from the IRD to our application. This required us to amend our rules, which required a general meeting. Obviously a challenge given the difficulty of getting sufficient members together in one place. Following legal advice we established that we could hold a Special General Meeting by video conference.
* In September we held a Special General Meeting by video conference to change the rules in response to the requirement by the IRD.
* In September we filed the amended rules with the IRD and with the Companies Office.
* In October the Companies Office acknowledged receipt of our amended rules and the IRD issued us with Tax Exempt Status.
* In November efforts began to prepare our application for funding from the Lion Foundation.
* In December Bronwyn Scott began developing the WASSI website. The site is complete and should go live in the next week or so.
* In January ’18 the WASSI Strategic Plan was updated.
* In January 2018 an application was submitted to the Lion Foundation for funding support. We hope to have an indication of its progress with a month. The Lion Foundation do not require WASSI to have Charitable Status, so we were able to put in the application ahead of gaining same.
* At various times the Chairman and Treasurer held meetings and teleconference calls with The Lion Foundation to scope out how best to prepare our application for their funding support of the WASSI.
* At various times teleconference calls were held between various Committee members to progress details of the development of WASSI.
At the Inaugural Meeting of the WASSI I felt and shared your enthusiasm for this BOHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal). I heard your enthusiastic suggestions of how and where we could generate funds for our cause and I feel sensitive that we have not yet begun acting on these valuable suggestions.
It is not because we do not care. It is not because we do not think they are good, effective suggestions. It is just that it has taken us this long to get the set-up right, and we are not all the way there yet.
No, we don’t know what we are doing, we’ve never done something like this before. But we are taking advice.
So, where to next?
One of the more important next steps is to apply to the Charities Commission for Charitable Status. We expect to do this within the next couple of months.
We also need to set up a XERO account for the WASSI, so that the financial administration of the WASSI can be optimised. This should not take too long.
Once we have Charitable Status we can begin actively exploring other funding opportunities - all hands to the pump.
Then one day we can identify the first suitable aircraft to purchase and prepare.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with baby steps.
Treasurer's report
The Treasurer's report is included in the PDF document of the whole minutes, available here.