The Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held at Rushwick, Worcester on April 8th, 2000.

Committee members present, N. Williams, (Chairman). J. Pearle, (Secretary). W. Reid, (Editor). B. Savage. (Technical). P. Guy. R. Pearle.

1. Apologies were received from G. Lowe. S. Craske, (Treasurer). E. Weatherill. W. Brown. K. Craske kindly agreed to speak for the Treasurer where possible. 2. The minutes of the 1999 Annual Meeting have been published in the CRC News (No 95, p3; copies were also available at the Meeting) and were accepted without dissent as a true record.

3. Matters arising. The (amended) Club Constitution had been adopted at the 1999 AGM for a period of one year. A copy had been sent to each member. Two suggestions had been received from Frank White. One, that the word "funds" be changed to "assets" and the other that the basis of Area contributions to central funds be changed. During the following discussion it emerged that there was no central record of the assets of the Club - each Area holding its own details but not necessarily passing them on to the Treasurer. Bill Reid suggested that all Areas be asked to supply details so that the Treasurer has a complete record of assets. The Secretary would write to Area Co-ordinators. Although he had reservations, Kevin Craske proposed that the 1999 Constitution be accepted. This was seconded by Graham Eardley. A vote produced 13 in favour and none against. W. Reid asked that thanks be recorded to Geoff Lowe for the work he had done on this.

4. Reports to Members. a. From the Secretary. A written report was available to those present. The Secretary thought that the year had been a good one for the Club and thanked the previous Secretary, Pete Guy, for the work that had made this possible. There were two "projects" during the year. The appearance of the CRC at Photo Action 99 saw the Club put on a good display which attracted much interest. Five new members joined at the show and two more later. The Secretary thanked all those who had helped - especially those who were on the stand. The second project was the Questionnaire. This arose from the 1999 AGM and was to seek the views of Members about the future direction of the Club including a possible change of name. All members on the list supplied by Bill Reid had been sent a copy (149). About half (76) had been returned. A quick analysis had been done but Geoff Lowe had suggested that the February 29th, 2000 deadline be extended and reminders published in the next News. Those present thought that 50% was a good level of replies and that the results should be published. The Secretary will produce a summary of replies. When asked to give any obvious points from the replies, John Pearle said that most people wanted the Club to cover more than just colour reversal - in many cases to be closer to a "normal" photographic club, with more exhibitions, local (area) meetings etc. They wanted a new name and that Photographic Imaging Club - or something similar - was favourite.

b. From the Treasurer. Although the Treasurer was not present, Kevin Craske presented the central fund accounts. and offered to answer questions as best he could. He explained that some of the large differences from the previous year were due to the (old) Area 22 changes which had affected the 1999 figures whilst other differences were caused by some items being paid by different people. As a result, the year 2000 figures should be compared to 1998 rather than 1999. This showed that assets had increased by about £130 over this period. Pete Guy asked where the (old) Area 22 money (the Portman Building Society Account) appeared in the accounts. Kevin Craske was not able to give a definitive answer but could try to contact the Treasurer later. The central fund accounts were not accepted until the Portman Account funds are clearly identified. The Committee will publish revised accounts in the next Newsletter (July, 2000).

c. d. From the News Editor and Membership Secretary. Bill Reid once again asked for more material from members. He also said that copy often did not arrive until the last minute, this made production more difficult. The use of colour in the News had caused some problems because of the cost and the the fact that text, B&W graphics and colour graphics needed different types of paper for good results. It was agreed that, since the News was the main channel of contact with members, colour should be used wherever it was appropriate. Work was also in hand to make some articles from past issues of the News available on the CRC website. A problem had arisen recently which led to the CRC website being removed since it was not under the editorial control of the Club. Kevin Craske and Bill Reid were working to provide a new site which would be under the control of the CRC. Pete Guy pointed out that there had been no mention of the 2000 AGM in recent Newsletters. Although members had been sent details, the "mailshot" had not been sufficient. There must be better publicity in future. Derrick Forster asked about the publication of members' articles which might contain copyright material. Bill Reid replied that where this appeared to be the case, the material would not be used unless appropriate permission was given. This also applied to material published on the Internet.

e. From the Film Sales. Because of cheaper sources elsewhere, Ron Croad is no longer supplying single cassettes, although 10m and 30m lengths are still competitive. The quality of the film was excellent. Sales, however, were falling despite having several regular customers.

f. From the Chemical Sales. A written report was given. Sales had improved significantly, making a profit of over £70 for the year, despite many members now either not doing their own processing or using commercial kits. The greater volume of sales meant that prices were lower. John Pearle did not think that there was much scope for further improvement unless this trend could be reversed. However, there were plans to extend the range.

g. From the Librarian. The library was not being used as much as it could be. Bill Reid was working with Brian Asquith to produce an up to date list - which might also appear on the website - and to give the library a higher profile. Additional material - recipies for example - was being added.

h. From the Slide Portfolio. A written report from Glyn Willicombe was given by John Pearle. More members are needed. Comments on one's work from fellow members was valuable and more useful the more members there were. The time taken to circulate could be a problem, however. John Pearle asked that people pass on the folio as soon as possible and also asked if anyone could devise a system that would minimise the time taken with a greater number of participants. Bill Reid remembered that there was once two folios in circulation.

5. Election of Officers. None had indicated that they were unwilling to continue, although the Chairman said that he would not oppose anyone else who wished to stand. The other officers present agreed with this, Kevin Craske agreed on behalf of the Treasurer. There were no volunteers for any posts. Noel Dean proposed that the Committee be re-elected en-bloc. John Pearle specifically asked for volunteers for the posts of Treasurer and Auditor. One Member offered help although this would be from a non-Member.

Pete Guy said that Mrs. Guy would be willing to take on the post of Treasurer. Brian Savage then put forward an amended proposal that the Committee be elected en-bloc with the Committee to appoint Treasurer and Auditor from the offers received. Noel Dean seconded, 20 members voted in favour and none against. 6. Photo Action. John Pearle explained that this item was to have been about this year's event (2000), but Jessops had decided that there was to be no Photo Action this year. There was no indication that the event would be staged in future. He again thanked those members whose efforts had made previous events a success.

7. Any Other Business. Bill Reid reported that the cost of the venues used for the Didcot meetings had increased significantly, and asked whether they should be continued. It was unanimously agreed that they should.

Bill Reid reminded those present that next year was the 30th anniversary of the founding of the CRC. It would be fitting if some special event could mark this. Ideas are welcome. The meeting closed with the presentation of a small gift to Pete Guy from the Committee and members of the Club in recognition of all the hard work he had done over the years both as Chairman and as Secretary, this was supported enthusiastically by those present.

John Pearle, Secretary. June 10th, 2000.