Present:

Dave Dann, Maggie Stewart, Esther Mann, Anne Tucker, Charles Mossman, Sarah Green, Dee Ross, Rebecca O'Sullivan, Jennifer Denford, Simon O'Sullivan, Tim Harris, John Craythorne, Doreen Mullen, Polly Kirby, Nicola Frost, Gerald Conyngham, Imogen May, Emma Mitchell, Cathy Wathen, Alan Murray, Michelle Lock, John Ross (Town council), Mel Harvey (CAG).

Apologies:

John Everitt, Lucy Smart, Emma Martin, James Martin, Sue Brown, Frances Anson.

Minutes of the previous meeting

The minutes were approved.

Treasurers Report

Anne Tucker presented a summary of the audited accounts to 31^st December 2017 which showed an overall balance of £4,412.93. We are grateful to Peter Moffatt for once again auditing the accounts.

Group Reports

Representatives of action groups presented a summary of the year's events.

Sarah Green reported on the Core Group and thanked Ian Beech, Tim King and Peter Mason for their help with the "Song for Crediton" at CredFest last year.

Sarah also outlined the reason for this "Special" AGM: For the past couple of years it has been evident that while some groups in Sustainable Crediton are thriving, as a whole we are struggling to get volunteers. There has been much discussion in the Core Group on how to resolve this which were summarised as 3 options:

• Death: dissolution of Sustainable Crediton - a last resort which no-one wanted!
• Dormancy: maintaining the status quo but with the Core Group reverting to a minimalist admin role
• Re-Birth: actively re-energising the organisation, possibly by consolidating Action Groups into a single 'Ideas Hub' with an informal, monthly meet-up.

A majority decision was taken by the Core Group last year in favour of "Dormancy" with agreement to raise this for further discussion at this Special AGM.

Discussion of future opportunities

Charles Mossman and Mel Harvey facilitated a discussion about member's motivations for being involved in Sustainable Crediton and the roles immediately required.

Election of Core Group and Officers

Three members were standing down from their roles in the core group at the SAGM: Sarah Green, (Chair) Charles Mossman (Vice Chair) and Anne Tucker (Treasurer). Sam Robbins, Mick Dumper, Anton Massey and John Downes stood down earlier in the year.

The following people were elected unanimously:

• Chair: Dee Ross
• Treasurer: Esther Mann
• Secretary: Emma Mitchell

The following people volunteered for additional roles:

• Newsletter and Membership Coordinator: John Craythorne
• Social Media Coordinator: Michelle Lock
• Web Editors: Charles Mossman, Sarah Green, Anne Tucker and Nicola Frost
• Town Council representative: John Ross
• Action group representatives: Dee Ross (Food Group), Esther Mann (Waste), John Craythorne (Wood group). All other groups are inactive.

This completed the basic compliment of roles, though other help may be required and can be co-opted at a later date.

Other Business

Charles Mossman, Anne Tucker were thanked for their many and exceptional years of service on the core group for Sustainable Crediton. Charles and Anne were presented with bespoke awards designed & supplied by More Creative. Sarah Green was thanked for her service as Chair and especially for the recent work in preparation of the new constitution.

All those who volunteered for the core group were thanked for standing for the roles.

Constitution

The revised and simplified Constitution was presented and accepted unanimously.

Close

The meeting closed approximately 9-30 pm.