2007 AGM minutes

Minutes of the 2^nd Annual General Meeting of HMS Dido Association held on board the Ashleigh-R on Saturday 21st April 2007 Portsmouth.
1. Apologies for Absence Apologies were received from :
	Dennis Swann Roy Baylis George Poole Steve Hall Alan Pothecary Ron Stronach Nick Harvey Roy McKee	Jim Ward Handley Gearing Rob Gradon Kevin Horn Derek Priest Steve Knight Bob Seaman Keith Dallaway	Bernard De Salis Eddie Howarth George Melly Paul Haigh John Abbott Steve Hawkshaw Mike Smith George Underwood	Jack Skinner Eddie Smith Tom Geeling William Martin Ian Roberton Alan Fox
And all their Guests
2. Minutes of 2006 Meeting held at Bolton The Minutes of the previous meeting were read and agreed.
3. Chairman’s Report Chairman Ralph Price welcomed everyone aboard. Ralph was pleased to announce that Cdr. Mike England O.B.E. had agreed to be President of the Association and was cordially welcomed by all present. Although there were over 100 actual members, there were only 59 (including guests) at the Reunion. The Chairman commented that the reason for the small numbers could be that some members felt they would not know anyone, but we should remember the common thread running through the Association was the privilege and honour of ‘serving on board HMS Dido’. The Chairman thanked the Committee for their hard work in organising the Reunion and bringing everyone together. The amount of work taken to organise such an event showed how much had fallen on Colin Bates’ shoulders in organising the Bolton get together in 2006. During the last year the following members Crossed the bar. The Chairman requested a short silence to remember them.Rear Admiral J.W.CookJames OsborneEric JeffsCharles Warren
4. Secretary’s Report Colin Bates, Association Secretary, reported that due to unforeseen incarceration with the NHS he was unable to do as much work on the website, as he would have wished, but hopefully will be more active this coming year.
5. Treasurer’s Report Mike England, Association Treasurer reported that the books had been Audited and everything was in order. Should you require a copy of the Balance Sheet it can be issued on request.
6. Membership Secretary John Bourchier, Membership Secretary, reported that the Association membership had gone from ZERO to 174 and hopefully will continue to grow. He asked that perhaps those present could encourage old shipmates they are in touch with, to join.
7. Election of Committee It was unanimously agreed by all present that the following Committee Members continue in their present posts :Mike England President. Mike is currently Treasurer but it was agreed that once all current outstanding bills were cleared, the post would pass to John Bourchier who would double as Membership Sec/Treasurer.Ralph Price ChairmanColin Bates SecretaryJohn Bourchier Membership Secretary
8. Future Events There was a general discussion as to choice of venues for the 2008 Reunion – among the places considered were : Coventry, Chatham, Plymouth, Bristol and Bolton. It was agreed that the Committee would discuss and consider what each town would have to offer and this would then be put to all members for their vote.
There was no other business to discuss and the meeting came to a close as the boat arrived back at Portsmouth Harbour.