PONTARDAWE FILM SOCIETY

Minutes of the AGM 12th May 2008

1. Apologies from Eryl Puzey, Gareth Evans and Sheila Evans
2. Minutes of the Extraordinary General Meeting of 29th May 2007, and previous Annual General Meeting of 31st October 2006 were both presented and agreed as an accurate record. The main issue for subsequent discussion was the decision to decide on our films earlier so they could be publicised better.
3. The Chairperson, John Puzey, reported:
   1. We have fulfilled our principal aim of showing 20 films
   2. The feedback over the past year has been good and getting better
   3. Membership is up from 40 to 50
   4. The members attending is up from 462 to 527, with an average of 27 members at each of our films
   5. The ‘walk-up’ was 1055 (941 last year)
   6. The mix of films is therefore attractive to members and non-members alike. This is partly because we have active members who attend viewing sessions. During the past year, they've attended sessions in Nottingham and Colwyn Bay.
   7. And that as we are coming up to our tenth anniversary (Sept 2009), we ought to be thinking about social events to mark the event and reinvigorate the Society.
   8. He then reported on our attempted work at last year ’s festival. It was rained off.
   9. We were unsuccessful in our grant application to the Film Agency for Wales (FAW)- which had been intended to pay for the printing of our publicity materials. This was disappointing and it was also disappointing that FAW had not acknowledged our application.
   10. The Chair then thanked the Executive members and the staff at the Arts Centre.
   11. He announced the “Michael Winner” award for the films least liked by our viewers: (3) Paris J’Taime, (2) Ten Canoes, and (1) Half Nelson
   12. Finally announced the winner of the “Ponty” award - the films we liked the most: (3) The Kite Runners, (2) The Counterfeiters, and (1) The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
4. The Treasurer presented the Society’s financial accounts. These were discussed and accepted. The main points in his report were:
   1. There was a loss of £337.43
   2. This was due to a large amount of money being spent on printing leaflets for advertising (£887).
   3. The Treasurer recommended we proceed with caution as regards the cost of advertising.
   4. The accounts however are in a healthy state, with a closing balance of £2128.99
   5. These may be important points for us to be able to reflect on, in next year's AGM.
   6. The principal point for discussion was the cost of printing (£887) which might be associated with having more members (£300) and more ‘walk-ups’. Funding would be sought again, perhaps from other sources. It was agreed we would continue with the printing and distribution. The Treasurer was thanked for presenting his report so clearly.
   7. It was proposed that the membership subscription would be increased to £35. The costs of film hire is going up and members also felt it would help with publicity costs. It has remained at £30 for several years and is cheaper than some other societies. The concessionary rate would continue at £25. This change to be effective from Sept 2008.
5. Election of Officers: John Puzey was elected as Chairperson. Richard Tems was elected as Vice-Chairperson. David Rea was elected as Secretary. Jim Rees was elected as Treasurer
6. It was proposed and accepted that, as all meeting were now intended to be open meetings, the Executive Committee should consist of all members.
7. A.O.B.,
1. Our presence at the Pontardawe Festival - and possibly the Sleeping Giant Festival - was discussed. It was agreed they presented cheap opportunities for publicising our Society and its activities. It needs volunteers to staff the stall for the day, and it needs publicity materials to be prepared for distribution. So, we would need to be able to publicise forthcoming films. We therefore need to start selecting films in early August.
2. Other ideas for increased publicity were discussed. It was agreed we needed a proper distribution strategy once the leaflets are produced. They need to be distributed in person to libraries, in Swansea as well as Neath Port Talbot. Also need to be distributed to local B&Bs, colleges, post offices, and elsewhere. There was some discussion of whether Book Clubs might be approached, particularly when we were showing films which had been popular book club choices (Kite Runner, Diving Bell and the Butterfly).
3. Was agreed there was a lack of information about how present members heard of us. The membership form will be altered to gather this kind of information.
4. Agreed our forthcoming Tenth Anniversary should be celebrated and we should be publicising it in the local media
8. The Chair thanked everyone for their comments.
9. The next full meeting was therefore arranged for the first week of August.