District 71
‘Inspire
with Passion’
District Governor: Teresa Dukes
Minutes of the District 71 Council Meeting 11.00am Saturday 13th November 2010 Alexander Hotel, Merrion Square 2, Dublin, Ireland 1. Call to Order (Invocation, District Mission, Welcome, Apologies, Minute of Reflection) District Governor Teresa Dukes opened the meeting at 11.03am and welcomed everyone. The following Past District Governors were in attendance and were recognised: Ted Corcoran, Cecil Kirk, Harry Knox, Mary Murtagh and David Thompson. a. Invocation The invocation was read by Nick Theato, Nenagh Toastmasters. b. District Mission The District Vision and Mission was read by Greg Ros, St Pauls Speakers. c. Welcome District Governor Teresa Dukes introduced those with District Offices sitting on the top table in the following order: LT Gov Marketing Freddie Daniells, Immediate Past District Governor Joe Gibbs, District Secretary Sandra Lawes, District Parliamentarian Cecil Kirk, LT Gov Education and Training Jim Hegarty, District Treasurer Michaela Talbot, District PRO Lucia Hughes, District Statistician, Rory Marriott. d. Apologies Apologies for absences from Area Governors were read by Sandra Lawes: Barry Rix – Area 1, Eddie O'Mahony Area 3, Joe Bishop Area 10, Glenn Williams Area 13, Alan Donegan – Area 14, Helen Elliott - Area 21, Julia Kowalle – Area 33, Ewan Wong – Area 34, Philip Landergan – Area 35, John Burke – Area 38, Jim Reynolds – Area 44, Chris Rose – Area 37, Warren Sheng – Area 20, Shirley Thompson – Area 42, Phil Gladwell – Area 46, Natasha Goggin – Area 48, Ulick Stafford – Area 50. Apologies were also received from 89 Presidents and VPEs. e. Minute of Reflection A minute of reflection was held for all District 71 toastmasters who died during the year including: Carmel Shannon, Tom Kelly, Joe Hardy and others. f. Procedures for meeting Speaking from the floor: Please stand, wait for the microphone, state your name and club clearly when proposing or seconding motions or asking questions. Only members of the district Council are entitled to participate in this mornings meeting i.e. Area Governors, Division Governors, Presidents and VPEs of each club (or their nominated proxies)plus members of the district executive. 2. Adoption of Agenda Sufficient notice of the Council Meeting having been given, a motion that the agenda be adopted was proposed. Proposed by: Michael J Clarke. Seconded by: Tina Swani. Agreed by the Council. 3. Report of Credentials Committee, Appointment of Tellers Cecil Kirk gave the report of the Credentials Committee. He informed the Council that the number of Club’s eligible to participate was 229 thereby giving a quorum of 77. The number of other eligible persons (Division Governors, Area Governors, Members of the Executive) was 65. The number of clubs registered was 89 (178 votes). The number of other persons present numbered 38. This gave a total number of 216 votes. A simple majority of 109 votes would be needed should a vote be required. John Hennessy, Oscar Merkx and Donoghue Leonard were proposed as tellers. Proposed by: Cecil Kirk. Seconded by: Nick Theato. Agreed by the Council.
http://www.d71.org
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District 71
‘Inspire
with Passion’
District Governor: Teresa Dukes
4. Minutes of Council Meeting 15th May 2010 Acceptance of the minutes; Proposed by: Ann Dineeen. Seconded by: Gordon Piggott. Agreed by the Council. 5. Confirmation of District Officer Appointments A list of officers was provided on Page 7 of the Council Pack. Proposed by: Mary Murtagh, Seconded by: Maire Corbett. Agreed by the Council. 6. 2009/10 Year End Audit Report The Year End Audit for 2009/10 was presented by Geraldine Smith, Immediate Past District Treasurer. Geraldine thanked the Audit Committee. The report has been submitted to the Audit Committee and also to WHQ and has been approved. Joe Gibbs, IPDG, thanked Geraldine Smith and the Audit Committee. He explained that as membership increases in the district, so funds increase and so does the demands and scrutiny on District 71, which he welcomed. The money available is now planned and budgeted for by the Executive, which has a duty to spend the funds wisely but nevertheless there was an underspend last year. This was due to 2 factors: 1) activity planned by the district but not done and 2) funds allocated but not drawn down by clubs, Areas and Divisions. Questions were then asked from the floor: • Patrick Devaney stated that a surplus of funds was a good thing and could be turned into free publicity across Ireland in the current economic situation. Teresa Dukes responded that PR was the responsibility of Lucia Hughes the District PRO who would discuss the suggestion with Patrick • Mary Murtagh suggested that the reluctance to draw down funds could be due to the culture of ‘voluntarism’ in the organisation. Joe Gibbs responded that attitudes vary greatly and some people do not draw down the maximum available and that it is necessary to separate the funding due to individuals (e.g. mileage allowance to Area Governors and the funding due to clubs e.g. for new clubs or for marketing). • Michael J Clarke offered a suggestion which he pointed out was not a criticism that funds need to be used appropriately and effectively to ensure visibility of Toastmasters so that it did not remain a ‘best kept secret’. He recommended that the structure of the District Executive should be examined to look for and include those with specific expertise to use the funds and make sure the organisation is widely known. Joe Gibbs responded that it is understood that Toastmasters International had put forward alongside Proposal A the idea of restructuring the way the Executives were elected. However this was rejected. Acceptance of the Audit was proposed by John Joyce and seconded by Phil Heath. Agreed by the Council. 7. Adoption of District Budget and Treasurer’s Report District Treasurer Michaela Talbot presented the 2010/11 budget, explaining the changes in the rules on exchange rates and how the overall budget had been broken down over the areas of expenditure. Questions were then asked from the floor: • Ronnie Gillanders asked whether in view of the surplus last year, the allowances for Area and Division Governors could be increased. Teresa Dukes responded that District 71 is restricted by WHQ on the percentage of the total budget that can be allocated to each of the six areas of expenditure in the budget. Only 30% of the total budget is currently allowed for travel and there is an ongoing dialogue with Toastmasters International on this matter. However, some people do not take up their allowances and Teresa asked that all Area and Division Governors should record all their official Toastmasters mileage and submit it to the District Treasurer at the end of the Toastmasters year. The Executive will review the situation at that time and increase the payments if possible. Joe Gibbs reminded the meeting that this had been done at the end of 2009/10 but that Governors must keep accurate records and put in their claims.
http://www.d71.org
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District 71 ‘Inspire
with Passion’
District Governor: Teresa Dukes
• Michael J Clarke asked about the status with HMRC about VAT and Corporation Tax for the organisation. Teresa Dukes responded that the District has set aside $7500 in the budget to look at VAT and tax issues. World HQ know that Districts outside North America are not recognised legally as they should be. There is to be a new regulatory/tax specialist in WHQ and District 71 is to be the first ‘guinea pig’ in the move to make the organisation more viable and more properly regulated and recognised. WHQ is to speak with HMRC as the first step on the road to a positive solution. • Hilary Briggs asked if this move may allow Divisions to have their own bank accounts. Teresa Dukes responded that it was not currently the policy of District 71 to do this due to the heavy administrative burden it would place on the District Treasurer. Michaela Talbot confirmed that District 71 would keep this directive until we hear from WHQ on the outcome of the legal and regulatory situation of the district. • Keiran Moore spoke of the need to invest in management training for the District Executive and the need to invest money in deposit accounts. Teresa Dukes explained that the District Executive are trained in August and January of each year and Area and Division Governors are also given the correct type of training for their roles twice yearly. On the subject of bank accounts, District 71 is not allowed to put money into high interest accounts due to the not-for-profit status of Toastmasters International. Michaela Talbot pointed out that funds are largely held at WHQ and are only drawn down as required. • Jerry Quinlan of Swords spoke of the need to think creatively to generate PR for the organisation by supporting communities that are suffering in the current economic situation. Lucia Hughes as District PRO will investigate this. 8. Reports of Division Governors and District Officers Written reports from District Officers were included in the Council Pack. All Division Governors and District Executive Officers presented verbal reports in the following order: Div A Maire Corbett, Div B Andy O’Sullivan, Div C Peter Kieran, Div D Pat Foley, Div E Phil Heath, Div F Siobhan Doherty, Div G Graham Frost, Div H Gordon Piggott, Immediate Past District Governor Joe Gibbs, District Statistician Rory Marriott, District PRO Lucia Hughes, Lt Gov Marketing Freddie Daniells, Lt Gov Education & Training Jim Hegarty and finally District Governor Teresa Dukes. 9. Initial Proposals for the Realignment of Division E Taking an action from the Council meeting in May 2010, Phil Heath has approached various leaders to review options on the realignment of Division E, which is currently too large. A report will be circulated in the New Year to examine creating a fifth Division in the UK and moving some of the Division E clubs into Divisions G and H. A formal proposal will be put before the Council meeting in May 2011 with regards to a UK Realignment. Proposed by: Phil Heath, Seconded by: Gillian Caldicott. Agreed by the Council. 10. • • • •
Bids for District Conferences Nov 2011 Autumn Conference - Oscar Merkx, Jane Cameron and Avril Stringer put forward a proposal to hold the conference in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Glasgow 11-13 November 2011. A shared room for the full conference will cost a maximum of £275. Council gave approval to go forward with this proposal. May 2012 Spring Conference - Bettie-Marie Burger-Smit proposed a conference in Wexford 11-13 May 2012. No other bids were received for May 2012. Council gave approval to go forward with this proposal. Nov 2012 Autumn Conference - John Colbert proposed a conference in Garryvoe near Cork in November 2012. Council gave approval for this bid to be progressed. May 2013 Spring Conference - Michael J Clarke presented a proposal on behalf of the one year old club A1 Speakers to host the May 2013 conference in Newcastle. Proposal to progress the bid approved by Council.
No other bids were put forward to host any future conferences.
http://www.d71.org
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District 71 ‘Inspire
with Passion’
District Governor: Teresa Dukes
11. •
• • •
Any Other Business Ted Corcoran congratulated Joe Gibbs on the District’s achievements in 2009/10 and the current Executive team on this Council meeting and the progress so far this year. He stated that District 71 was held in high esteem for its unity of purpose and continuity of leadership. He said that we learn as we proceed and that although the District had no problem with growth, there was a continuing difficulty with the achievement and registration of Competent Communicator awards that were always left to the last moment. Evangeline Leonard called for a vote of thanks to the District Secretary for the task of putting the Council pack together. Noel O’Beara congratulated the conference on having legible name badges, requested that WHQ should update its ‘Ice Age’ map of the world, pointed out that Mary Maura Ruddy had also achieved her DTM and asked why there had been no mention of the Dublin Spire during the conference. Gilliam Caldicott asked if the paper District Directory was value for money and appropriate in an electronic age. Teresa Dukes responded that although the information was replicated on the website she still receives a stream of enquiries. She undertook to conduct a survey of Directory recipients to determine if it was wanted and what we could omit from it to save cost. Sandra Lawes pointed out that it is ‘greener’ and more cost effective to print it in bulk and distribute it in hard copy than to publish it electronically and have individuals print it out on home computers.
12. Announcements and Adjournment The District Governor announced that the briefing for judges and other functionaries for the Humorous Speech contest would take place with lunch provided in the Annsley Suite immediately after the Council meeting. The sound checks for contestants would be done in the Ascot Room at 1pm. The keynote speech by Sean Kennedy Communicator of the Year will commence promptly at 2.00pm and the audience should assemble by 1.50pm. Teresa Dukes then adjourned the meeting at 12.58 to reconvene at Old Windsor, Berkshire, UK on 7 May 2011.
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