Studland United Nudists 1998 AGM - Report
There was a good turnout on November 11th, for which the Board thanks all
members, with 38 present at the meeting and over 100 having registered proxies.
After an address by the Chairman, Mark Nisbet, in which Mark reviewed
the events of the past year, the financial statement was given by the Treasurer,
Sue Dangerfield.
Mark Nisbet was re-elected as Chairman unopposed; Chris Phillips
and Jan Welsh were re-elected to the Board. Julia Sims having
volunteered her services was duly elected to the Board, which is now eight
strong.
Propositions Notified in Advance
Proposition 1.
That the annual membership subscription be increased to £3.
There was a brief discussion on the costs of various elements which have to
be covered by the membership fees. Suggestions offered were that new members
should be given a choice between a badge and a membership card; the Secretary
felt that this could prove unwieldy to administer and might prove more
expensive; a suggestion that a distinctive pennant or possibly an ear-ring might
be offered to members was referred back to the Board, which undertook to examine
all the options in detail.
It was proposed THAT, with effect from 1 November 1998 the membership fees be
increased to £3.00 per year, with an additional one-off joining fee of £1.00
for new members. On being put to the vote, the proposition was CARRIED.
Proposition 2.
Election of Honorary Life members
After some discussion, the following were duly ELECTED Honorary Life
Members: Gill Williams, Reg Chapman, Neil Bateman, Kal
Lees and Michael Standerwick. Proposition 3.
Change of Venue
After a brief discussion, the proposal to change the Noggin'n'Natter venue to
the Sir Percy Florence Shelley was CARRIED. The change takes effect from
the December 1998 meeting. Proposition 4.
Wider Campaigning for nudist beaches in Bournemouth and Poole Robert Baggs proposed that SUN Group campaign for the establishment of
nudist beaches in Bournemouth and Poole. Robert felt that there was a need for
this facility which would be of great benefit to nudists who for one reason or
another were unable to take advantage of Studland. He felt that, as a major
local body, SUN Group ought to support such a campaign and even to instigate it,
despite the restrictions imposed by the Articles.
There was an extensive discussion, with members expressing the fear that such
a facility might attract gawpers and undesirables, as had been the case at
Brighton. It was also pointed out that we are a single issue group and that
issue is Studland - we have not yet achieved our objectives there and if we
begin campaigning elsewhere it might be taken by the National Trust et al as an
admission of defeat.
The meeting noted that a small area of beach at Hengistbury Head, to the east
of Boscombe, is already used as an unofficial nudist area, being sufficiently
remote to discourage most gawpers and unlikely to cause offence. It was felt
that we should continue with our policy of vigorously promoting nudism without
offence, eventually thereby persuading the general public that nudism was
unremarkable, but that Robert's idea, although sound in principle, was ahead of
its time. The proposition was seconded by Julia Sims and on being put to
the vote was LOST.
[Jan Welsh asked if SUN Group would back members who stripped off on
ordinary public beaches: the Chairman replied that the legal position is,
briefly, that unless someone complains there is nothing to worry about, and SUN
Group would certainly stand up for any member acting within the law. Basically,
members should use their common sense: but we have good archive material and
some very influential contacts and we will use these to support our
members.] Proposition from the floor
Secretary given honorary life member
Bill Markham proposed that Honorary Life Membership be awarded to the
Secretary, Colin James. This was seconded by Marianne Grant and,
despite the Secretary's protests, on being put to the vote was CARRIED.
Proposition from the floor
That SUN consider a paid life membership fee Alan Kinsman asked whether paid life membership had been considered.
There was a brief discussion from which it emerged that it was difficult to know
what figure such a life membership should be pitched at. Clearly it would not be
fair to ask the same fee of a 60-year-old as of a 20-year-old, but there might
be an optimum figure that would be acceptable to all and the Board agreed to
give the matter serious consideration. (If there are any actuaries out there,
we would appreciate your comments and suggestions - Sec.)
Proposition from the floor
That SUN consider moving the AGM to an earlier
month in the year Alan Kinsman also asked whether it was feasible to move the AGM date
to earlier in the year, when the lighter evenings and higher temperatures might
attract a larger attendance. There was a lengthy discussion, during which Reg
Chapman made the point that, since the Group's financial year ends, as does
the summer season, at the end of September the best opportunity for a
comprehensive review of the year is November. Also, it was felt that there might
be difficulty obtaining accommodation for the AGM during the season. The
possibility of holding the AGM on the premises of a non-CCBN club was also
mooted, but there might be constraints on the numbers attending at a small club
like, for example, Rivendell. Bill Reeves pointed out that members living
outside the immediate area - which a majority of SUN members do - would incur
additional expenditure to attend and this might deter many. In summary, the
Chairman said that extensive social activity is really outside our remit - our
prime function is as a pressure group an while the monthly Noggin'n'Natter
meetings are a significant and important part of our activities, anything more
is rather ambitious. Proposition from the floor
That SUN have its own
website David Middleton asked if the Group had its own website. The Secretary
said that none of the Board was currently on the Internet, but that we had
received several offers of assistance in setting up a site. It was generally
felt that it would be worthwhile to do this, and the Board agreed to look into
it further. Robert Baggs mentioned the Dorset Library Service's free access
listing facility, DORIS, and offered to obtain details. (Since the AGM we have
submitted our details to the Library Service.) Proposition from the floor
That SUN should become more pro-active Sue Dangerfield led a discussion on next year's strategy. It was felt
that SUN Group ought to become more pro-active, instead of simply reacting to
National Trust
diktat. After extensive discussion, it was agreed that a complete weekend would
be devoted to an inoffensive nude-out to the tree line. The meeting recognised
that for this to be a success there would have to be a certain minimum number of
members involved; individual action is all very well, but those undertaking it
risk being labelled by the National Trust as trouble-making weirdoes who can either be
ignored or may be intimidated by National Trust heavies and their police puppets. A mass
demonstration would be much more difficult for the National Trust and police to ignore or
harass. Reg Chapman suggested that if we can prove that nudists and
textiles can mix without problems outside designated areas, this might prove the
trigger for the National Trust to abandon their ludicrous attempts to corral us, and might
lead to nudism on the main holiday beaches. Richard Wickham reminded the
meeting that the problem is the National Trust, not the textiles. The Chairman thanked Roy Ellis for his generous gift of a home-made
Christmas cake for the raffle, which raised £38 and was won by Roger Beech.
A vote of thanks was recorded to the Board for their ongoing hard work. There
being no further business, the meeting closed at 11.00 p.m.
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