Minutes of the Annual General Meeting 2012
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Newark and Nottinghamshire Agricultural Society, held on Monday, 10
December, 2012 in the Sir Stuart Goodwin Pavilion on the Showground, commencing at 7 pm.
PRESENT:
Messrs: A D Allen, C I Applewhite, A Aspbury, J P
Brydon, Sir Andrew Buchanan Bt KCVO, R F Coulter,
N L Crockford, Mrs J Farr MBE DL, Mr C Ford OBE
LLD, Mrs A R Gascoine, Messrs: C R Hall, R C Hallam,
Mrs A Hardstaff, Messrs: R Jackson, L A Joynes, D
Lambert, C C S Lawrence, Mrs G M Lewis, Lady
Helen Nall, Col R Merryweather TD DL; Messrs: R E
Pykett, J Reid, F A Reynolds MBE, D Rhodes, Prof J A
Saint OBE DL, Messrs: M B Sheldon, R A Sheldon, R H
Sheldon, G Spence, J W Squires, C A Strawson, Mrs C
Thomas, Messrs: R Thomas, A E Tivey, Mrs M Tivey,
Messrs: J S Walker, C A Watson, C White and W F
Whysall.
Also in attendance: Mr S Eccleston, Mrs M Hopkins,
Mrs U Palin (Minutes) and Mr P J Sparks.
APOLOGIES:
Apologies for absence were received from Mrs A M
Barton OBE, Messrs: P Croft, B R Dunn, J Hallam,
Mrs E Hawthorne, Messrs: A M Johnston, P
Staniforth, R M Stevenson OBE DL (President).
Item 1
Chairman’s Address
1. Mr Sheldon welcomed everyone to the AGM and
said how 2012 had been an encouraging year. The
Chairman was delighted that Council had
unanimously voted to call the show the
Nottinghamshire County Show and thanked the
President, Mich Stevenson, who had worked
tirelessly to bring our County town and the County
Show closer together. It had been an improved year
but we must not be complacent and must
continually ‘fine tune’, ‘tweek’ the Show and
continue to be forward-looking.
2. The Society is investing some £45K to improve
drainage and has made modifications to the cattle
rings which mean they can be easily removed, all of
which will improve the Showground for our
customers. The staff know that they have to
constantly look at ways to meet the requirements of
our customers and compete with our competitors.
Mr Sheldon said that as he stepped down as
Chairman, after four years, he believed that the
business had moved forward and had increased its
turnover to in excess of £2M. He said that with a
staff of 28, we have to continue to improve our
leadership skills to make the most of the fine array
of skills that they possess. He believed that whilst
the Society may have ‘weathered’ the initial
recession storm, that storm continued and there
was still a lot of work to do to retain our existing
customers and win new ones.
3. In closing, Mr Sheldon thanked his Vice-Chairman,
Mr John Brydon, for his brilliant support, Mr Whysall
for his safe and sensible chairmanship of the
Finance Committee, and all Council for their valiant
support. He also wanted to give an enormous
thanks to Adrian Johnston and the staff at Newark
Showground for their hard work and input into the
future of the Society. He remarked that the last
few years had not been easy and he was afraid that
the next few years would be as hard but the staff is
the Society’s most important asset and he looked to
them to pull together and ensure a successful future
for the Newark & Nottinghamshire Agricultural
Society.
Item 2
To receive and adopt the Minutes of the
Annual General Meeting held on 5
December 2012
4. The Minutes of the Annual General
Meeting held on 5 December 2011, having
been circulated with the Annual Report,
were proposed by Mrs C Thomas,
seconded by Mr R E Pykett and
unanimously approved by the meeting.
Item 3
To receive and adopt the accounts for
the Year Ending 30th June 2013,
together with the annual reports of the
Council and of the auditors
5. Mr Whysall said it gave him great
pleasure to propose that the accounts are
received and adopted and, in these grim
economic times, it is a tremendous
performance to have achieved a profit of
£120,000 and the Society owes a huge
debt of gratitude to its staff.
The
resolution was seconded by Mr D Lambert.
The meeting unanimously accepted the
proposition.
Item 4
To propose a vote of thanks to the
President, Mr R M Stevenson OBE DL
6. The Chairman proposed a vote of
thanks to Mich Stevenson who was unable
to attend due to a prior commitment. Mr
Sheldon thanked the outgoing President,
and his daughter, Becky Valentine, for
their
hard
work
in
getting
Nottinghamshire County Council and the
Nottingham media to come along and
support the County Show.
The
President’s Challenge, with a prize of
£1K, had been a fantastic initiative by
Mich Stevenson to promote the County
Show to the schools of Nottinghamshire
and the Society would ensure it continued
into the future. The Chairman said the
help and support from Mr Stevenson and
Mrs Valentine in getting the name of the
show changed to the Nottinghamshire
County Show had been invaluable. It had
been a privilege and a pleasure to have
Mich Stevenson as our President and the
Chairmen extended the thanks of the
Society and its staff for everything that
the President and his family had done
during his term in office.
7. Mr R A Sheldon endorsed the
Chairman’s words and added that he too
had been privileged to work with Mich
Stevenson and said that the attention to
detail that Mr Stevenson and Mrs
Valentine had brought to the role had
been refreshing.
Item 5
To welcome Sir Andrew Buchanan Bt
KCVO KStJ as President of the Society
for Year commencing 1 January 2013
8. Mr C A Strawson said he was pleased
to welcome Sir Andrew as President for
2013
and
gave
some
interesting
background on him, including the fact
that he had worked as Chartered Surveyor
for Strutt & Parker and that as the
Queen’s Lord Lieutenant he had been
involved in this year’s Diamond Jubilee
Royal visits to Nottingham. Sir Andrew
and Lady Belinda live and farm at
Hodsock Priory and Mr Strawson pointed
out that Sir Andrew is a ‘Sir’ twice over –
as a baronet and latterly as KCVO, an
honour given for distinguished personal
service to the sovereign. Mr Jackson
seconded the proposal and hoped that Sir
Andrew has an enjoyable year as
President. Sir Andrew then received his
badge of office from Mr Strawson.
9. Sir Andrew thanked Mr Strawson for
his kind words and for coming to Hodsock
in the first place to persuade him to take
the Presidency. He has been coming to
the Show for many years. He recounted
how his mother had loved showing her
Pedigree Jersey cows and he had been
with her when she showed them at the
Nottinghamshire Show in the very early
1950s.
It was lovely to have this
connection again with the show. Sir
Andrew added his congratulations to Mr
Stevenson who he had appointed as a DL
and whom he thought did a marvellous
job in his term as President. Sir Andrew
concluded by saying how much he is
looking forward to working with all who
work so hard at the County Show.
Item 6
To elect the Deputy President of the
Society, Col Roger Merryweather TD DL
for the year commencing 1 January
2013
10. Mr J P Brydon said it was a pleasure
and privilege to proposed Col Roger
Merryweather TD DL as Deputy President.
Col Merryweather was born and bred in
Southwell and had attended Dolphin Prep
School at Langford Hall.
During his
national service with the Royal Corps of
Signals, Roger had served on Christmas
Island through the nuclear tests. He has
been Commandant and Honorary Colonel
of the Nottingham ACF, a member of the
Nottinghamshire Army Benevolent Fund
since 1969, and Chairman since 1993.
Roger has also served on Newark District
Council and been Chairman of Southwell
Town Council. Colonel Merryweather is
President of the Royal Society of St
George for Nottinghamshire and a Vice
President of the Nottinghamshire Branch
of the Royal British Legion. A Deputy
Lieutenant of the County, he was High
Sheriff of Nottinghamshire in 2008/9.
11. With his brother John, Roger was at
the helm of the renowned company of
Henry Merryweather and Sons Ltd. This
year the Merryweather family kindly
donated 16 Bramley apple trees, which
are planted on the far side of the Newark
Ring. It was Roger’s grandfather who first
took a cutting off the apple tree at
Bramley Cottage in Southwell in 1856,
thus creating the world famous Bramley
Apple. He is Chairman of the Bramley
Apple Society and of the Southwell
Bramley Apple Festival and a Liveryman
of the Worshipful Company of Fruiterers.
He lives and farms in Southwell with his
wife Angela. Professor Saint said it gave
her very great pleasure to second the
proposal.
She had known Roger and
Angela for many years and knows he will
do a fantastic job for the Society. The
proposal was unanimously accepted.
12. Col Merryweather said it gives him
particular pleasure to be supporting Sir
Andrew who he has known for many
years. He commented on his own keen
interest in agriculture and horticulture
and said he will use his power and
knowledge to help and support the show
and the great work that it does which is a
beacon in the county. Under Sir Andrew’s
Presidency it will continue to move in the
right direction.
Item 7
To re-elect people en bloc to serve as
members of the Council for a further
period of three years
13. The following retiring Members of
Council, eligible for re-election to serve
for a further term of three years, were
proposed by Mr C A Walker, seconded by
Mrs J M Lewis and unanimously reelected:
Mr C I Applewhite
Mr C R Hall
Mrs E Hawthorne
Mr R H Sheldon
Mrs A R Gascoine
Mr R A Sheldon
Mr N L Crockford
Mr R C Hallam
Mr R Jackson
Mr C White
Mrs A Hardstaff
Mr W F Whysall
Item 8
To elect new Members of Council
14. Ms H Barton and Ms J Parlby had
declined to stand for personal reasons.
15. Mr R Jackson proposed Lady Helen
Nall, a professional artist and author who
he said was a true countrywoman and also
an excellent shot. He added that there
was an established family connection as
Lady Nall’s father-in-law is a Past
President. Mr Jackson said that Lady Nall
gets involved in anything that she takes
on and would bring a lot of enthusiasm to
the Society. Mr R H Sheldon was pleased
to second Lady Nall’s nomination.
16. Mr Jackson also proposed local farmer
Richard Thomas who he has knows since
his ‘Young Farmers’ Club days.
Mr
Thomas is also a good shot and is known
for his water conservation practices, very
necessary on his sandy land. Mr Thomas
is President of the local CLA and
Chairman of Notts NFU so may not have
as much time as he would like to devote
to the Society. Mr F Reynolds seconded
the proposal and commended Mr Thomas
on the many hundreds of metres of
plashed hedging on his land and said that
he is the sort of person who likes to do
things correctly. He would be a great
asset to the Society.
17. Mr C A Strawson was proposed for
Council by Mr D Rhodes who said the Past
President is greatly admired for his
business achievements and as a great
ambassador
for
the
county
of
Nottinghamshire. Mr J P Brydon endorsed
Mr Rhodes comments and said Mr
Strawson would be an excellent member
of Council.
18. The Chairman welcomed all three
new members of Council and said he
looked forward to working with them.
ITEM 9
To re-appoint Streets & Co as auditors
and to authorise Council to fix their
remuneration
19. Mr N L Crockford proposed that the
Society retained Streets as its auditors
and that Council was authorised to fix
their remuneration.
Mr J Squires
seconded the proposition which was
unanimously passed by the meeting.
ITEM 10
Any Other Business
20. There being no further matters of
business, the Chairman thanked everyone
for attending and declared the meeting
closed at 7.45pm.