Marlow Riders – Annual General Meeting
Friday 13th March 2015
The third Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Marlow Riders saw a turnout of around 30 members
attending, which was chaired by Rod Woodland.
Apologies were received from Chris Heath, Debs Heath, Sian Thomas, Karine Maillard & John
Penberthy-Smith.
Chairman’s Opening remarks
Rod opened the AGM by welcoming everyone to the meeting.
He thanked the management team for their time, support and commitment over the last year; he
also welcomed Charlotte Hussein and Colin Lavis to the team.
Rod confirmed that last year the cub lost around 40 to 50 members however welcomed the same
amount of new members. At the time of the 2015 AGM the club had a total of 167 members.
It was confirmed that the 2014 Red Kite Ride had over 600 entries and raised £5k for the clubs
charity, Cyclists Fighting Cancer (CFC) and that the 2015 event would take place on the 6th
September.
Rob thanked the ride navigators for all their hard work.
He also commented on the clubs social culture and the importance of this to members.
Rob explained that last year investment was made in club branding, a new kit and in enhancing the
rider experience for those entering the Red Kite Ride,
The club held a number of events last year for members, including, the Alpine Raid, Bridge-to-Bridge,
Mallorca & the Apostles Way.
Rod confirmed that the management strategy of a lot of people doing a little was still a focus for the
club.
There was reflection on the friends and members lost over the last year and the Good Friday
memorial ride which will take place annually, this year on Friday 3rd April.
Minutes from previous AGM & Action Points
The previous minutes were accepted, proposed by Adrian Scevity and seconded by Mark Humphrey.
The outstanding action from the 2014 AGM included:
 Mountain Bike section to include within the club – it was concluded that this was not
something Marlow Riders wanted to pursue.
 Gift/Welcome to new members – it was confirmed that new members now receive a water
bottle and ID tag when they join.
Election of Officers
It was confirmed that all current officers had agreed to stand for the coming year 2015/16.
Position
Chairman
Sportive Chairman
General Secretary
Captain
Vice-Captain
Finance Officer
Nomination
Rod Woodland
Steve Tolmie
Charlotte Hussein
Adrian Sevity
Karine Maillard
Jane Johnson
Proposer
Richard Rees-Davies
Willi Moore
Andy Atkin-Smith
Ken McCrorie
Adrian Sevity
Andy Lee
Seconded
Andy Atkin-Smith
Ken McCrorie
Jonathan Smith
Ken McCrorie
Jane Johnson
Richard Rees-Davies
Marlow Sports Club
Roger Dye from Marlow Sports Club (MSC) attended the meeting to provide an update on the MSC.
Roger provided some background to the purchase of the freehold (10 acres), the clubs community
charity status and the fundraising effort for the site development. He also explained that the MSC
was clearing its debt through club revenue and had seen its membership increase beyond
expectation.
Roger talked about the next phase of the clubs development and the plans to upgrade the pavilion
due to the current facilities being unfit for its purpose. He confirmed an investment of £2million was
needed to build a new facility that would focus on the needs of all sections at the MSC.
The new land would allow new sports to come to the MCS and new facilities to be provided.
Rogers confirmed that the development of the MSC was being done in consultation with the
relevant sport sections, including Marlow Riders.
Rod confirmed that discussion with British Cycling over having a cycle track on some of the 10 acres
was ongoing.
Marlow Riders members had a number of questions for Roger, including:
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Where will the £2million to build the new pavilion come from? Rogers confirmed that
applications for funding had gone to the Sports Council and Sports England and that they
were also investigating corporate links.
Are you applying for lottery funding? Roger explained that through Sports England and
working with the local council this could support MSC in gaining further funding.
What are the timescales for the new pavilion? Roger responded saying that they are putting
an application in to Sports England over the coming months and it will take up to 6 months
before a response is received, following this they will have a better understanding of the
timescales.
Rod thanked Roger for attending the AGM and for his update.
Financial Reports
Colin presented the clubs financial reports for year 2013/14.
He confirmed that:
 The club had been charging subs for the last two years
 That investment had been made in club branding
 That the club provide £10 per member to MSC
 There was a loss for the club from MSC summer ball tickets.
Colin provided an overview of the sportif funds.
Colin also commented on the fantastic job Jane Johnson has done in managing the clubs finances,
and thanked her for the support she was providing him as the new treasurer.
Colin confirmed the actions for the future:
 Increased management controls of bookkeeping and audit
 Look at credit follow for the coming years
 Budget setting for year 2015/16
 Sinking fund for the future.
There was confirmation that the membership fee for 2015/16 would remain at £40, this was
proposed by Jonathan Smith and Seconded by Andy Atkin-Smith.
Financial report was proposed by Andy Lee and seconded by Willi Moore.
Keith Mayo was proposed as Auditor by Jane Johnson and seconded by Mike Ker.
Club Management Software
Andy Lee explained that a new system was being used to manage the sportif, this would allow the
club great flexibility in managing the event and provide increased control which was not available
through the British Cycling system which the club had used in previous years.
Andy also confirmed that the software could provide functionality to support the club in managing
its membership; the system would provide the benefits of reducing workload, removing a time
heavy manual process and providing better record keeping.
Andy confirmed that the system cost 70p per member, which would be covered from the annual
membership fees.
The system could also be used to manage the kit shop.
CTC (The National Cycling Charity) & British Cycling Membership
Charlotte explained that currently around a third of Marlow Riders where a member with either CTC
or British Cycling.
She confirmed the benefits of joining either of the two organisations and in particular the liability
insurance which is offered by both.
Following discussion over if there should be a mandatory club rule for members to have
membership/insurance, it was agreed that further investigation and discussion by the management
team was need, including a review of the practices in other local clubs.
It was also agreed that a dedicated article would be sent out to members highlighting the
membership benefits of CTC and British Cycling.
Sportive Report
Steve Tolmie explained that the 2015 event which will take place on the 6th September would be the
fourth Red Kite Ride, and having sold all 600 places in 2014, this year’s event would increase to allow
for 700 entrants to take part. He also confirmed that a fourth route of 126 mile route had been
added.
Steve commented that with more entrants and the additional route more resources would be
required and asked for members support.
Steve confirmed that Jamie Baker was currently working on publicising the event which would be
launched on the 23rd March.
Last year the sportif raised £5k for Cyclists Fighting Cancer, of which £3k came from the raffle and
catering. Steve thanked Chris Health and Gill Newman for their hard work.
Steve commented that the success of the ride was down to the event atmosphere and the Marlow
Riders members, he thank all those who had support the 2014 Red Kite Ride.
Election of Charity
It was confirmed that only one charity nomination had been received for Cyclists Fighting Cancer,
and thus CFC would benefit from Sportive Charity donation in 2015.
This had been proposed by John Penberthy-Smith and Gill Newman seconded this during the
meeting.
Rod remarked that the clubs constitution allowed the for charity donations to other charities should
they wish to do so.
Pru100 Ballot
The club ballot for the 2015 Pru100 was carried out during the AGM, with those members who had
been unsuccessful in the main ballot being selected for a club place. The application to British
Cycling for club places was due to be submitted over the coming weeks and members would be
allocated places in order of selection from the clubs ballot.
Any Other Business
Communication – Andy Lee explained that the club was looking for a more comprehensive and
constructive approach to communication by looking at the range of communication methods.
Andy asked for ideas, thoughts and suggestions on how the communication could be done better,
and for people to help with how this could work going forward. Andy was looking for help in
coordinating and auctioning a communication plan.
Club kit – Charlotte Hussein provided an update on the club kit, confirming that three orders had
been placed with Endura since the kit was launch in the summer of last year.
Charlotte also confirmed that just under half of all members had placed orders for kit and she
encouraged members who did not have club kit to place an order next time.
Charlotte confirmed that the management of the kit would be passing to Cripin Towner. She thanks
Crips for offering his support in picking up this task.
There was discussion over the ordering process and ordering kit in bulk, it was agreed that this
would be taken forward and discussed by the management team.
Young People – A question was raised over the club encouraging young people to join, it was
confirmed that there was a youth policy in place and that young cyclist were welcome. It was agreed
that the encouragement of students and young adults would be taken forward and investigated by
the management team.
Sportif Profits – a questions was raised over the money made from the Red Kite Ride and if this some
of the profits should be put back in the club. It was agreed that further discussion was required.
Closing remarks from the Chair
Rod closed the 2015 AGM by thanking Adrian Sevity and Karine Maillard for their support in
organising the coffee stops for the spring/summer season.
Rod also remarked that the management team were working on the clubs five year strategy, which
included improving cycling and increasing safety. Rob encouraged members to provide their input.
Rod confirmed the 2015 calendar of events:
 Friday 3rd April (Good Friday) – ride to Benson, followed by hot cross buns at Jonathans and
social cycling at the Brit
 18th to 26th April – club Mallorca trip
 10th May - ride chartridge
 18th to 21st June – Pecos trip
 21th June – Woman Tour of Britain, starting in Marlow
 27th June – Bridge to Bridge (London to Marlow)
 12th July - Old Farts Summer Soiree
 23rd to 26th July – Marlow to Paris
 2nd August – Pru100
 22nd August – Club rides the RKR routes
 6th September – RKR
 September/October – Captains ride (the New Forest – TBC)
 9th to 12th October – Rome trip
 6th November – Old Farts winter Warmer
Annual General Meeting 2015 closed.