Information updated to include nominations received by 4 April 2023
Date: 18th April 2023
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Venue: The Forester, 2 Leighton Rd., London W13 9EP
Committee:
Chair: Becky Fennelly
Coaching: Wei Hei Kipling
Communications: Vacant
Membership: Nick Davies & Babs Pinheiro
Race: Nils Liborg
Social: Maria Hazzard
Treasurer: Greg Fernandes-Lawes
Agenda:
1. Welcome: by Chair
2. Chairperson’s Report by Chair
As I reflect on my first year as chair it has been fantastic to see a full return to racing. We had some great turnouts for interclub events like summer league and cross country as well as the much-anticipated Welsh Castles and Green Belt relays and the return of the Blondin relays. Also, the track mile event which had its inaugural event in April 22 is returning bigger and better at the end of April 23.
Not only this but we will have had 2 London marathons in 6 months with many Eagles taking part including our successful ballot winners.
Our social calendar has filled up too with lots of events returning for the first time in 3 years. Many thanks to Maria for all her hard work organising these great fun events and raising money for our club charities in the process.
Membership and Fees
Following our post-pandemic membership drop we are now back at c. 790 senior members but also 97 junior members, an area of the club that is seeing significant growth. Our juniors moved to a new venue at Fielding school in January which is attracting even more young people to sign up and get involved in running.
Membership fees were reduced to £30 for 22-23, less than they were prior to the pandemic. This lower membership fee combined with ever increasing costs of all the things we subsidise as a club has meant that whilst the finances have improved from the previous year, we still find ourselves with a cash deficit this year. (See the comments from our treasurer, Greg, below.) As a result the committee has found it necessary to increase fees to £40 for the year from 1st April 23 to 31st March 24 which I think you’ll agree remains exceptional value at less than 80p per week.
Rob Willin
I was truly saddened by the recent passing of Rob Willin, a stalwart of the club, a dedicated beginners coach and an absolute gentleman. He will be sorely missed. As a lasting memorial to Rob the committee has decided that the Most Improved Beginner Award will now be known as the Rob Willin Most Improved Beginner Award reflecting his unwavering commitment to helping those starting out on their running journey. I hope you will agree that this is a fitting tribute.
Club Charities
Following a recent request for nominations for this year’s club charity we would like to confirm our choices for the next year. Rob Willin’s family nominated A Mile in Her Shoes in his memory which we will continue to support. We will also support the Ealing Abbey Counselling Service (EACS) since so many people suggested a local charity focused on mental wellbeing would be their choice. More details of the services they offer can be found on their website at www.eacs.org.uk. Both of these charities will remain club charities for at least the next 12 months.
Proposed New Committee Roles
Having been in role for a year, I have reflected on the current committee roles and at the AGM I will propose two new committee roles.
Firstly, whilst we do have a Juniors Officer in our constitution, we would like to upweight this role to a full voting committee member given that juniors now represent over 10% of our total members.
Secondly, I would like to add a Welfare and Wellbeing officer to our committee to help ensure we look after our members as best as we can.
Both of these roles will be voted on during our AGM and if approved we will also vote in the members during the meeting.
If you are interested in hearing more about either of these new roles then please contact me regarding the Welfare & Wellbeing role and Nils for the Juniors role.
Other Proposed Constitutional Changes
I will also propose 2 further changes to our constitution. One change I will propose is the reduction of the minimum age to join the club as a senior member to 16 years. The committee hopes this will help the transition from our growing junior section of the club to the seniors.
Secondly I would like to formally change the title of the Chair from Chairman to Chairperson for obvious reasons.
Both of these changes will be voted on during the AGM.
Thank yous
I would like to say a huge thank you to this year’s committee for your commitment to the club and everything you have done in the past year. I’m sure I speak for all our members when I say we really appreciate you.
Finally, I want to give a massive round of applause for all the people who have volunteered in one way or another some giving up a great amount of time to make sure the club runs smoothly. You are all amazing!
3. Financials by Treasurer
Total loss for the 11 months to 28 February is £6,072, the bank balance has fallen to £4,863.
We have had a tough year in the current year as we suffered from lost membership income and rising costs on both social and running events.
After paying membership fees to EA in the previous year, membership income is down by £7,717 from £21,345 (pre-covid) to £13,628 hence the need to re-assess our fees for the year ahead.
We also spent of £2,700 on our new gazebo that will be used across club events for future years.
Large upfront funds are required for events, such as Welsh Castle Relays and the Ealing Eagles 10km, so our cash balances will need to increase if we are to continue to put on or participate in these types of events.
The final accounts for the 12 months to 31st March will be shared before the AGM and two independent reviewers will be appointed as per the constitution.
4. Constitution Changes by Chair
See Chairperson's Report at 2 above for details.
Proposed New Committee Roles
Juniors Officer - full voting committee member
Welfare and Wellbeing officer
Other Proposed Constitutional Changes
Reduction of the minimum age to join the club as a senior member to 16 years.
Title of the Chair to be changed from Chairman to Chairperson
5. Election of the Committee by Chair
Committee members have a one-year term, so each role must be elected/re-elected at the AGM.
I’m delighted that all of the current committee have agreed to stand for election again for another year. I have thoroughly enjoyed my first year as Chair and hope you’ll have me for a while longer.
We do still have a vacancy for a comms co-ordinator which was not filled last year. Thanks to Wei Hei Kipling for continuing to cover this vacancy and to Sylvia Cordell and Jenny Bushell who have been a great support in producing the newsletter over the course of the year.
Proposed Chairperson: Becky Fennelly
Proposed Coaching Officer: Wei Hei Kipling
Proposed Membership Secretaries: Nick Davies and Babs Pinheiro
Proposed Race Officer: Nils Liborg
Proposed Social Officer: Maria Hazzard
Proposed Treasurer: Greg Fernandes-Lawes
Proposed Communications Co-ordinator: Vacant
Proposed Juniors Officer: Joseph Williams
Proposed Welfare & Wellbeing Officer: Liz Ainsworth
You can find a short description of committee roles on our website for existing roles.
If you are interested in applying for one or more of the committee roles, including the 2 new roles mentioned above then please feel free to contact me as the Chair or the current members of the committee to hear more about their roles.
You will need to devote 2 hours per month to a committee meeting and then the work required for your specific role. It is not onerous and we have a lot of fun too!
Timeline
4th April 2023 - To apply for a role you must email membership@ealingeagles.com by 11:59pm on 4th April 2023 - deadline extended for vacant position of communications co-ordinator
11th April 2023 - If more than one member applies you will be requested to send a short personal statement to membership@ealingeagles.com in the near future. This will be shared at the AGM ahead of the election of the committee.
18th April 2023 - Chairperson’s report, Financial accounts to date and election of the committee.
If you want to speak to me about the roles and expectations of committee posts please do contact me at chair@ealingeagles.com.
Becky Fennelly
Chairperson, Ealing Eagles Running Club