British APL Association News

Transcribed from the printed issue; not yet reviewed. Read it in the PDF of the issue, page 9

Minutes of the AGM of the British APL Association
Friday 8 June 1990 at Over-Seas House, London¶

The meeting commenced at 14.05 with about 25 people present. John Sullivan, the Treasurer, was in the chair standing in for Peter Donnelly who was suffering from a damaged achilles tendon.

1. Approval of the minutes of last year's AGM.

   The minutes are recorded in VECTOR 5.4. Anthony Camacho proposed they be approved and Ray Cannon seconded the proposal. By a show of hands the meeting confirmed its approval, nem. con.

2. Chairman's report.

   John Sullivan read the report that Peter Donnelly had prepared. Please turn to page 11 for the full text.

3. Treasurer's Report.

   A provisional unaudited statement of income and expenditure for the year ended 30 April 1990 was circulated to those present. The Treasurer pointed out the surplus of income over expenditure of £8,500, greater than last year's £1,800, which was largely due to recovery of last year's debts. He had had great difficulty understanding last year's accounts, particularly concerning subscription income. Audited accounts would be published in VECTOR as soon as they were available.

The Treasurer asked for questions. Mel Chapman asked what the committee were doing about increasing the membership, which the Treasurer had reported were declining in numbers. Jill Moss, the Recruitment Officer, explained what had been done over the last year to increase membership numbers, including adverts in VECTOR, a competition with a prize of a free place at APL90 for someone drawn from those who had introduced a new member to the Association, an advert in BCS's newsletter, a mailshot to lapsed members and soon Alison Chatterton is going to send a mailshot to those on APL People's mailing list who are not members of the Association asking them to consider the benefits of joining. Graham Parkhouse said that the figures he had to hand showed that membership numbers for 89/90 were very similar to those for 88/89. David Ziemann suggested it would be a good idea to have membership information on an overhead at the AGMs, and that membership invitations should be included in the VECTORs to be distributed at APL90. Alan Sykes said that six people had responded to the suggestion that they should join the BAPLA as a result of the questionnaire in Education Vector.

Herbert Walton asked whether the Association kept in touch with lapsed members by continuing to send them details of meetings etc. John Sullivan and Adrian Smith both confirmed that this did happen.

Adrian Smith asked why we need members any more in view of the small proportion of revenue coming from subscriptions. John replied that the membership was the Associations's reason for existence and therefore increasing the membership was important. Mel Chapman, speaking from his knowledge of the BCS, said they expected their specialist groups to balance expenditure with income, and that large reserves should not be an excuse to lose interest in subscription income. John Searle suggested that it would be entirely compatible with the aims of the Association to spend some of its reserves on securing new members.

Herbert Walton remarked that he could not see in the accounts any contribution to the BCS. John Sullivan replied that the only contribution is from the BCS to the Association in the form of £500 worth of mailing expenses. There is no affiliation fee.

Jonathan Martin noted the increase in committee expenditure which the Treasurer explained included payment for Alison Chatterton's hours, which were up on last year's. Graham Parkhouse took the opportunity to record his appreciation for her hard work: he was impressed with the amount of work she got through in the hours she booked.

1. Any other business.

   There were no further questions and the AGM closed at 14.25.

Graham Parkhouse
9 June 90

Chairman's Report
Peter Donnelly¶

In my report last year I admitted that despite considerable individual efforts the administration of the British APL Association left much to be desired. I am happy to say that due to the continuing efforts of Alison Chatterton and to the excellent teamwork of this year's committee the administrative problems have largely been resolved.

On behalf of the Association I would like to thank Graham Parkhouse for his hard work and boundless enthusiasm. Graham has been a really excellent secretary and has served the association well.

Adrian Smith is also retiring this year as editor of Vector, but will continue to be involved in its production. During his period as editor, VECTOR has always been interesting, topical, and a 'good read'. It is highly regarded by APLers throughout the world and we can justifiably be proud of it. Adrian and the Vector working group deserve our praise and thanks. Adrian's successor as editor is Jonathan Barman, a highly experienced and respected figure in the APL community. Thank you Jonathan for taking on such a demanding role; I wish you luck.

Of great significance last year was the instigation of the APL Statistics Library project. This project is partly funded by the British APL Association, but is otherwise dependent on the unpaid efforts of individuals. The project is well managed and is by all accounts going very well. Thanks to all involved.

The meetings last year benefited from an increased use of live presentations using colour projection equipment. The committee intends to encourage this trend still further and is actively seeking an alternative location where such equipment is provided at a more reasonable price.

To conclude this rather short report, I would like to thank the members of the committee for their hard work and support last year. Few committees in recent years have been so free of politics and willing to get on with the job. It has been a pleasure to serve on it.