Sarratt Horticultural Society
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting Held in Sarratt Village Hall
16th October 2024
Present: 30+members and the committee.
Chair: Jennifer Haynes, who welcomed everyoneand said a few words about the passing of Brian Luckhaus - “It is with the deepest sadness that I have to report the death of our long-standing committee member, Brian Luckhaus. I am sure you will remember him extracting 20p for you on the door of the Horti Shows and his beautiful wood turning. He made the Luckhaus Plate for the Spring Arts & Crafts category – displayed on the table here”
1. Apologies:Graham Peiser, Steven Booth, Jenny Roberts, Emma Dickens, Muir Stratford
2. Minutes of AGM 2023 : Taken as read, approved and signed. Proposed:Kate Soothilland Seconded: Margaret Stratford Matters Arising: None
3. Society Secretary’s Report (Sandra Turner) : As always thanks to the committee who make my life a lot easier, as well as technology which allows us to communicate with the members through email to keep you all up to date.Agenda, minutes of last meeting sent out in advance to save the environment. Also the Schedule and Entry forms are now on the website along with reports and pictures from the Shows. When asked for subscriptions if you want a printed Schedule then they will be available but will also be online including entry forms. Any suggestions or feedback on what we are doing right or wrong would be much appreciated.
4. Treasurer’s Report (John Gill): Financial Report by the Treasurer for the year ending September 30th 2024. The society showed a deficit in the year of £127 compared with the prior year surplus of £446.Subscriptions and donations income for the year amounted to £588 which together with the income received from the Gardeners Question Time event and from the two shows brought total Income for the Society to £1,048 compared to the prior year £1,036.
Total expenditure for the year, which included subscriptions, memberships and administration costs, amounted to £1,174, up on the prior year expenditure of £589. These costs include the costs of the 2023 AGM which fall into the current year and also included the purchase of a stock of cards
for the shows which will cover a number of years ahead.
With the higher expenses in the year overall the Society showed a small loss for the year of £127
The overall financial position remains sufficient with closing funds at September 30th 2024 amounting to £4,020, the bulk of which is retained by the HSBC bank with the remainder held in cash.
Further information on income and expenditure is available on request.
· Accounts circulated prior to the meeting and accepted with a show of hands
· Comment from the Society Secretary: Last year we did ask if anyone had ideas of where we can spend monies to help gardeners in the village, for example buying some garden machinery or tool but we did not have any feedback. Any suggestions would be gratefully appreciated.
· Question: Margaret Stratford asked if any of the Cups needed replacing. The response: –all have been checked and at the moment are okay.
5. Show Secretary’s Report (Steven Booth)–This year, the society held its two shows as usual: in Spring and Autumn. As usual, the weather has an impact on what entries we have and this year was no exception.
The Spring Show had 260 entries which is consistent with recent years. The weather over the winter months had been warmer than usual which led to the Spring bulbs flowering earlier than usual. When taken in conjunction with the slugs that proliferated in the winter warmth, many entrants complained that it was difficult to find suitable exhibits.
The Autumn Show had 229 entries which again is similar to recent years. The Show was a little later than usual and the cold and wet weather had the entrants moaning this time! However, it was notable that there were only three entries in total in the Floral Art section. It is not clear why this occurred but the Committee will consider how best to promote this area in future.
Our shows survive thanks to the strong community of people who wish to exhibit their flowers, produce, arts and crafts. We are extremely grateful to everyone who contributes and helps to make the Village Hall a wonderful sight.
We are also extremely lucky to have a team of impartial judges available to evaluate the merits of the flower, vegetables, cookery, arts & crafts and floral art displays. Their support is much appreciated.
But we recognise that they are not getting any younger and a new generation of judges will be needed in the coming years. It is our aim to look for new judges where practical.
The other people whom I would like to thank are those who help create the show. Each one involves collecting the entries, writing the cards for each entry, setting up the village hall, opening the doors early on a Saturday morning to welcome the next crop of entries and at 11.00am letting the judges do their thing. It then resumes at 2.30pm with the entrants returning and many others coming to admire their work. There are teas and cake that have been lovingly prepared and are eagerly consumed. There is a raffle to buy tickets for and for the prize winners a small envelope has been prepared with their winnings! At the end, the cups are given out to the worthy recipients....and then it is time to auction the remaining produce and tidy up. A well-earned rest is awaiting the many volunteers who have selflessly taken part in all these activities
We are truly fortunate to have both the people who wish to share their skills and those who can make it possible. Thanks to all.
6. Membership Secretary’s Report (Audrey Hammett) –Membership remains steady at 213 members and including a few new members. Please do mention Horti to anyone you meet who is new to the village, I am always happy to drop off a membership form.
Many thanks to all the Committee members who collected subscriptions door to door in January. There will again be a box for subscriptions in the shop in January and it helps Committee greatly if members can drop their subscriptions in there (envelopes are with the box so you can provide your contact details) - we will then deliver your Schedule as soon as they are printed. Note that you only need to complete a membership form if your details have changed or you are a new member.
7. Chairman’s Report (Jennifer Haynes) –We started our year with Gardeners Question Time recorded here in our Village Hall on 21st November 2023. Two shows were recorded that evening with our audience of over 100 interested gardeners. It was a very exciting evening for us. There were three gardening experts on the panel, Bob Flowerdew, Pippa Greenwood and Matt Biggs expertly chaired by Kathy Klugston. If you missed it, you can still pick it up on BBC Sounds.
We organised an enjoyable visit to Beth Chatto’s Gardens near Colchester in July. We ran another Pop-Up Plant sale courtesy of Jane Fielder in her garden on the footpath behind the shop. All money from that sale was given to Sarratt Care and the Village Hall equally. We thank everyone who contributed to that sale.
We were disappointed to have very few entries in the Floral Art Section of the Autumn Show. We believe this was because we asked for no Oasis foam to be used. We did this because we run our Shows on RHS lines and they have said no Oasis to be used. However we will discuss this fully at our November Committee meeting. Rest assured we will take all opinions into account.
We always ask for any thoughts on how our Society can improve. If you have any ideas or would like to see something different in the Shows, please chat to one of us after our talk by Lisa.
Finally I would like to thank our Committee for their energy and support during the year. It seems like a large Committee but trust me we need all hands-on deck at the Shows. Our set up and take down runs very smoothly and quickly. We need you all. Thank you, all of you.
8. Election of Officers (following 2-year term) and Committee.
a) Chairman: Jennifer Haynes
Proposed: Audrey Hammett Seconded: Margaret Stratford
Treasurer: John Gill
Proposed: Kate Soothill Seconded: Ian McClelland
Show Secretary: Steven Booth
Proposed: CarolChorley Seconded: Cathy Vines
Committee elected on Block – show of hands
· New committee members – Julie and Nick Mansi.
Agreed on block.
9. 2025 dates
a. Spring – 5th April 2025
b. Autumn – 13th September 2025
c. AGM – 15th October 2025
10. Any Other Business
Ted North – Jennifer Haynes, Chairman, said a few words to thank Ted North for all his help as a steward and helping the Society as he steps down as a steward. “For more than 20 years you have been our stalwart steward for our main judge at all our shows. And now you are hanging up your steward’s hat. We will miss your kindness and help and our judges too will miss your guiding hand and quest efficiency. So in appreciation we hope you enjoy this token from the Horti and that you will continue to support our Shows but in a more relaxed way entering your wooden articles and having tea and cake!”
The business of the AGM closed. Unfortunately our speaker, with a talk afterwards byLisa Comfort was unable to make the meeting due to a family emergency so Cheese & Wine was taken early.