MINUTES AGM

Ealing Outdoor Club  

Draft Minutes of the 85th Annual General Meeting  

Held at 8.00 pm on Monday 24th November 2025  

At St. Stephen’s Church Hall, St Stephen’s Road, Ealing W13 8HB  

  

Present:  

Chair                                            David Cross  

Treasurer                                          Steve Wilson  

General Secretary                            Pam Sharma  

Outdoor Secretary                            Neil Burns  

General Committee Member            Jean Harper-Pryce  

General Committee Member   Maria De Martin Pinter  

General Committee Member            Marianna Ben -Nathan  

  

As well as 21 other club members.  

  

1. Chair’s Opening Remarks   
The Chair welcomed all those present to the meeting.   
 
2. Apologies for Absence   
Alan Bel, Hilary Padmore, Mary Ruane and Eleri Jones  

  

3. Minutes of the 84th AGM – Adoption and Matters Arising  

Matters Arising:  

The Chair confirmed that the location of the new Chiltern Society gate had been circulated to all members.   

He also confirmed that bike rides are also being included in the AGM report now.  

The Chair also confirmed that a form has been set up for new members to complete online but nobody has used it yet.   

The 84th Minutes were adopted, proposed by Jim Swan and seconded by Graham Fowler.   

  

4. Chair’s report – Adoption and Matters arising  

The Chair’s Report was adopted, proposed by John Crowther and seconded by Barbara Stryjak.  

  

  

5. Treasurer’s Report - Adoption and Matters Arising  

Matters Arising:  

Margo questioned the funds that the club holds and asked if they were contingency funds or if we have any plans for the surplus.   
 
 

The Treasurer explained that last year we sponsored a gate in the Chilterns and previously we had also sponsored two other gates with our extra funds in the past.  He also explained that we also need to keep contingency for trips.   
 
 

The Chair said it was a good idea to look at our surplus funds and if in the future anyone has any other ideas we can discuss.  
 
 

The Treasurer also expressed his concern that we do not have a policy for more expensive trips such as those abroad e.g when a member is paying all the funds to another member who has organised the trip. If something happened to the organiser the Club perhaps could underwrite some of the funds on smaller trips, but not expensive foreign trips.  He felt once we had a better understanding of this then perhaps we will know how best to donate some of our surplus funds.   
 
 

Graham mentioned that there are occasions when we have had members who wish to claim from the club. He recalled a member who wanted compensation as she had to take a taxi home after a walk. Steve mentioned that our new insurance is far more comprehensive than we have previously had and that in such a case our insurance will act on our behalf, provided we have taken a professional approach in handling the situation and have policies like risk assessments and our Club constitution, which we do have.   
 
 

Margo questioned the £30 we pay the organisers of the trips, which she felt was little for all the effort that they put into it and asked when was it last reviewed?  

The Treasurer said he will check when it was last reviewed. (Action: Steve)  
 
 

Avis, who organised the Isle of Wight Trip, said she was delighted when she got her £30!  

  

The Treasurer said that perhaps every 3 years we can review the cost of petrol, organiser trip gratitude payment and payment cost for away trips. (Action: Steve)   
 
 

The Treasurer’s report was adopted, proposed by Margo and seconded by Graham  

 

 

6. Outdoor Secretary’s Report - Adoption and Matters Arising  

The Outdoor Secretary’s Report was adopted, proposed by John Crowther and seconded by Jean Harper-Pryce. 

  

7. Appointment of Auditor for 2025-2026  

Steve Wilson explained that Jane Pauley has been the club’s auditor for more than 25 years. Steve Carr has agreed to now take over and to be the new auditor. 

Pam mentioned can we also hand Jane a gratitude gift for he hard work that she has carried out for so many years. (Action: Committee) 

Proposed by Barbara Stryjak and seconded by Brigid Boyle. 

  

  

8. The revised Club Constitution  

The revised Club Constitution was unanimously adopted by a show of hands by all members.  

The Chair thanked Steve and Jean for all of their efforts in reviewing and updating the Club Constitution, and Barbara also thanked them. 

  

9. Club President was elected  

Graham Fowler was officially elected as Club President and Jim Swan as Club Vice President.  

The Chair thanked both of them for their unwavering support that they have given to the club. 

  

10. Election of Officers and Members for the 2025-2026 Committee  

All existing members will continue in their roles.  

  

Members were asked if anyone else wishes to join as a general committee member.  

  

Denise Read volunteered to join the committee.  

John Crowther nominated Denise and Nicky Crowther seconded her.  

  

11. Any other business  

Jim requested if we could have a members’ directory of personal contact details, which he does have for another club, that he is a member of. He wanted to know what other members thought. Margo said she would also like a membership list.  

A discussion was had by members, this included that the club needs to understand their GDPR position.  

Graham shared they used to have members’ numbers and got in touch with existing and past members.  

Rosemary said that the club should not keep details of members who had left and she had previously deleted old data.  

However, it is the club that can’t keep past members’ data, but individuals can keep their details.  

Debbie suggested could members approach the club’s committee for other member’s contact details if they needed to contact another member. 

Iain asked if we have a privacy policy.  

protection. All committee members should be familiar with it.  

Steve said we do not have one and if a member leaves the club then their details should be deleted.  

John asked for a show of hands to pursue the legalities of the list and a quarter of the members at the meeting were keen for the club to consider and understand our GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) position.  

  

The Chair shared emergency contact cards you can carry around – they were warmly received. 

Jim said maybe people can also add their NHS number to their card, which would be useful if there was an emergency. David said that anybody can personalise their cards and add any more details. 

  

Graham asked about New Year’s Dinner. Steve said a new form has was sent out today.  

Barbara said could we have a word document for the menu form - David said he would create a word document. (Action: David) 

  

Margo said can we thank committee for all of their hard efforts.  

The Chair also thanked the Committee.  

  

Barbara shared that she will do another Christmas Evening walk in central London on Wednesday 17th December. 

  

Tommy shared details of a proposed 13-day trip to China in May, that Lity is organising. It would include an English speaking tourist guide, visit to the Terracotta army, the Great Wall, four locations, three or four star hotels, all inclusive. Cost approximately: Flights about £600, Visa £100. Total approximately £ 2,4000. She would like around 20, to keep the price low.  

  

By January Lity would want to finalise approximate numbers who wish to go from the EOC, and if there are not enough members interested then she will open up the trip to non EOC members. 

  

John asked to show appreciation for this year’s trip organisers. (Which we did with a round of applause)  

  

Marie Anne said she has again been in touch with the Dutch cycle organisers and is looking into organising another trip for 2026.  

  

The meeting closed at 21:11pm.