Annual General Meeting

It was a really good turn out, considering the truly dreadful weather lashing down outside.

Jen gave her report, summarising the events of a busy year and thanking all those who helped make the programme happen. The Salisbury Hospital Exhibition and Summer Exhibition had been great successes with good sales (considering the state of the economy), attendance at programme events was improving and membership was gradually growing.  There was grounds for optimism. Going forward, she had some excellent artists lined up for the 2025 programme along with the possibility of blocks of beginners art classes run by a professional teacher.

Jan gave her treasurer's report, which indicated that the club's financial position was much stronger, having made a surplus on both the year as a whole and the Summer Exhibition.  Subscriptions could therefore be held at £25 for next year and consideration could be given to investing in a heavy duty trolley to help move the display boards for the next Summer Exhibition. The club accounts were now all held at Lloyds, which had made the management of the finances much more efficient. However, Lloyds had informed us that they (in line with the other big banks) were imposing more charges on small clubs and charities from now on . From this point, RAS would be charged £4.25 per month for the account and £0.50 for each cheque paid in and paid out. It was therefore very important to encourage members to move their financial transactions with the club online via BACs.

After this, the committee elections were held, confirming the committee for another year. Happily, we now have three additional members of the committee.

A motion to operate a most popular art work vote throughout the 2025 Summer Exhibition was discussed and agreed. 

The AGM finished with a fascinating talk by Maggie Farmer on creating patterns for soft furnishings.