National AGM 2023

On Wednesday 20 September, the team at Landscape House welcomed Accredited members for the BALI National AGM 2023.

Tessa Johnstone, National Chair, opened proceedings, welcoming everyone and introducing the executive board. Tessa encouraged everyone to become more involved at a regional level. She talked about one of the key reasons she got involved with the Association which was via regional events. This not only helped her evolve her knowledge across landscaping but also increased her peer network, allowing her to reach out for support, ask for help and share ideas. Tessa also thanked the National Landscape Awards judges for their ongoing commitment to ensuring the exemplary standard of the awards.

The formal proceedings of the meeting started with apologies from those members unable to attend, followed by approval of the minutes from the 2022 National AGM.

Wayne Grills took the opportunity to thank Nigel Bowcock, former National Chair, who took the difficult decision earlier this year to step down and focus on recovery following illness. He also thanked Tessa Johnstone, Chair, and Adrian Wickham, Vice-Chair, for coming forward and taking on these positions in addition to the work they continue to do on equality, diversity, and inclusion. Wayne also recognised Richard Stone, Honorary Treasurer, and Matt O’Conner, Immediate Past Chair, who has agreed to continue in this role, noting the consistency this is providing the Board and support for Tessa and Adrian in their new roles.

He noted how the Board have been focused on reviewing and revising the strategy, and how this can be further embedded within the organisation, as well as the wider membership of the Association. Wayne also took the opportunity to highlight some of the key points from his Chief Executive’s report, including:

• Evolution and implementation of the strategy

• Equality, diversity, and inclusion agenda

• Initiatives including GoLandscape and BALI Academy gathering pace

• The staffing issues throughout the industry and the role BALI is talking to support this, as well as working collaboratively with other industry bodies (including EHG and APPGHG)

• The ongoing success of the National Landscape Awards

He concluded that it’s all about membership and highlighted that, in his view, if members engage more with the Association they will benefit more from their membership. He specifically mentioned attending regional events or becoming a GoLandscape Ambassador.

Richard Stone, Honorary Treasurer, provided a brief overview of the financial accounts, noting a small trading surplus. He also noted a marginal increase in the number of members, with the Board and staff at Landscape House working hard to improve this.

Tessa Johnstone took the opportunity to reiterate her belief in the benefits of attending regional events during the review of the regional reports and noted the hard work undertaken by Francesca Bienek to ensure the committee’s vision of their events becomes a reality.

The AGM then focused on the propositions, all of which were carried:

• With continuing high inflation and supplier costs continuing to increase, the Association proposed a 5% increase in membership fees for the next membership year (2024/25)

• The Articles of Association require a proportion of the Board to retire by rotation and seek re-election. Accordingly, Matt O’Conner, Paul Downer, Richard Stone and Stuart Simpson, who have all served on the Board for 10 years or more, sought and received re-election

• Earlier this year, National Chair Nigel Bowcock made the difficult decision to step down from the Board. In response, the Board voted Tessa Johnstone as National Chair and Adrian Wickham as Vice-Chair. Richard Stone will continue as Honorary Treasurer as will Matt O’Conner, who will continue as Immediate Past Chair

• Proposal for Benee Consulting to be reappointed as auditors for the Association for the 2023/2024 period

This concluded the formalities of the National AGM 2023

Following the AGM, Wayne Grills gave a presentation covering what the Association has been focused on delivering to members, followed by providing an overview of the current process of resetting the strategy and explaining the vision, mission, values and four strategic imperatives. He concluded by encouraging members to get involved with the Association, through focus groups, regional events and committees, and engaging in the annual membership satisfaction survey.