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OVERSEAS TELECOMMUNICATIONS VETERANS ASSOCIATION

55th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING MINUTES

Meeting held at NSW Bowler’s Club on Friday 17 June, 2010 at 11am.

Members present: Ernie Anthoney, Tom Barker, Ross Beaumont, Peter Bull, Ross Craig, Alex Ebert, Bob Emanuel, Allan Hennessy, Jeff Hindwood, Ray Hookway, Brian Hoschke, Bill Jolly, Colin Kelly, Arthur Major, John McDermott, Ted Miles, Don Montgomery, Keith McCredden, Maurie O’Connor, Geoff Oldman, John Phillips, Trevor Pike, David Richardson, Jim Simpson, Tony Stuart, Cyril Vahtrick, Bernie White, Brian Woods, Neil Yakalis.

Apologies: Chris Bull, Henry Cranfield, Bob Dentskevich, Joe Dingli, John Eades, Fred Kannard, Bob Lions, George Maltby, Noel Martin, John Mattes, Brian Nell, Doug Temperley, Ken Theaker, Brian Tudehope, Attilio Ventura, Will Whyte, Don Withers.

Opening and Welcome: The president opened the meeting and welcomed those present.

One minutes silence was observed to remember those members who had passed away in the last year.

Minutes: It was moved by Tom Barker and seconded by Bob Emanuel to confirm the minutes of the last Annual General Meeting held 18 June 2010.

President’s Annual Report:
Welcome all to the 2011 Annual General Meeting (AGM) for the Overseas Telecommunications Veterans Association (OTVA)
Congratulations to the members of the outgoing Committee whose achievements in 2010-11 are:
 The organisation of the regular social events at which our members celebrate the camaraderie of the OTC family through our collective memories; and
 the continuing cataloguing of OTC memorabilia stored in the Telstra Museum at Bankstown; and
 the ongoing engagement of our members to identify how our members want to be engaged and what you want from your Committee; and
 the progression of actions taken to change the method of delivery of the OTVA Newsletter to meet the requirements & expectations of the OTVA membership; and
 the enhancement of the OTVA Newsletter by bringing a different set of skills and perspective to the task of providing readers with interesting and topical stories that rekindle our memory and imagination; and
 the ongoing enhancement of the OTVA web site to provide members with greater access to communications with each other and access to information & stories considered vital to continuing to tell the story of OTC and the history of telecommunications in Australia in the 20th century.

Once again the membership of the OTVA fluctuated in 2010/11 with the passing of several of our members and its extended family and the introduction of several new members. The current membership of the OTVA stands at 219 with 95 financial, another 100 up for renewal this month and the remainder unfinancial for no more than 2 years.

Please join with me for a minutes silence for our friends and colleagues that passed away in the last 12 months.

I thank you the membership of the OTVA for the support that you have given to me and the other members of the OTVA Committee over the past 12 months. Your encouragement is what keeps the OTVA progressing forward.

I thank my fellow Committee members for their support and energy in the last 12 months and look forward to continuing our good working relationship over the next 12 months.

Treasurer’s Annual Report: The Treasurer, Bernie White, reported that our funds were down by approximately $1,000 this year due to a fall in subscriptions, however were able to subsidize the annual Christmas reunion. The Treasurer thanked Ken Theaker and Tony Farrugia for their assistance in auditing the accounts. The President noted that Bernie has decided not to nominate for the position of Treasurer this year and thanked him for his many years of devoted service to the OTVA.

Life Membership The President nominated Allan Hennessy for Life Membership of the OTVA and presented him with a framed certificate. Tom Barker acknowledged Allan’s long contribution to the OTVA and the meeting agreed by acclamation.

Election of Office Bearers:
Tom Barker acted as Returning Officer.
After declaring all positions vacant, the Returning Officer called for nominations and the Meeting resolved unanimously to make the following appointments:

President Peter Bull
Vice-Presidents Will Whyte and Henry Cranfield
Secretary Will Whyte
Treasurer Alex Ebert

Committee Members: The above office bearers and
John Eades
Bob Emanuel
Colin Kelly
Allan Hennessy
Bernie White
Ray Hookway
David Richardson

Auditors: Ken Theaker and Tony Farrugia.

Incoming President’s Remarks:
I thank you, the membership of the OTVA, for electing me to the position of President of the OTVA once again. In accepting the presidency of the OTVA I recognise that your support is a reflection of the excellent work performed by the Committee of the OTVA throughout 2010/11 and welcome the challenges that will confront us in the next 12 months.

I congratulate Bernie White for his 12 years of dedication to the Committee and the membership of the OTVA. I thank him for the excellent job that he has done in managing finances of the OTVA in the face of the GFC and its flow on effects within the financial environment in Australia. He has left the OTVA in excellent financial position.

I welcome aboard Alex Ebert, son of Tony Ebert, who has accepted the roles and responsibilities of the Treasurer of the OTVA for the next 12 months. It would be most difficult for the OTVA to continue to operate without an efficient and effective Treasurer. I look forward to working him in this capacity for the next 12 months and thank him for accepting this role.

I congratulate the other members who have been nominated and accepted positions on the Executive for year 2010/11.

I look forward to working with this team over the next 12 months to meet the challenges and deliver satisfactory outcomes to the membership of the OTVA.

In the next 12 months the Executive will continue to improve the flow of information to you, the members of the OTVA, and we commit to listen to you in relation to what you want to see as benefits from being members of the OTVA

We, your Committee, require you the members of the OTVA to tell us how you want the OTVA to evolve and grow over the next few years and what vision you have for the 5 year plan for the OTVA. To this end we will continue to seek your input.

Once again thank you for this opportunity.

General Business: 1. It was agreed to grant free membership and newsletters to any remaining female OTVA members.
2. There was some discussion about the archival and artifact materials stored at the Bankstown Telstra Museum. The President expressed his concern about the difficulties of keeping the Asset Register up-to-date.
3. It was noted that the Centenary of Telecommunications will be celebrated in 2013. Strong interest was expressed in OTVA being involved in this event. This matter will be discussed in more detail at committee meetings, in future editions of the newsletter and on the OTVA website blog.

4. It was agreed that Vales would no longer be included in Newsletters. The President requested members to send him any interesting photos of themselves or of OTC activities that could be used to build a historical album.

5. In order to reduce the workload associated with distribution of the Newsletters, it was agreed to utilize electronic transfer more effectively. It was pointed out that the newsletters are already posted on the OTVA website. The President invited all members who are willing to receive a soft copy of the newsletter to send him their e-mail address.

6. A motion of appreciation was moved for the amount of work that Chris Bull puts into maintaining and improving the OTVA website.

Meeting closed: The meeting closed at 12:30pm after which most members stayed for an informal lunch.

Peter Bull
President