In lieu of the June 2021 Annual General Meeting (cancelled due to the Covid Crisis) a ‘Remote’ Meeting was held on 10th July 2021. The following documents posted in full below are circulated to all members for your attention:

A Message From The Chairman

A Limited Agenda

Revised Articles Of The Association

Revised Standing Orders For Annual And Extraordinary General Meetings

Due to the unusual circumstances surrounding this year’s AGM and the fact that the annual accounts are not being posted, this page will not be subjected to password protection.

FROM THE CHAIRMAN:

Dear Member

I am sure that this message will come as no surprise to you but, despite the best efforts of myself and the Committee, it has not been possible to arrange our annual Reunion and AGM this year, because the Marriott hotel, Northampton, our usual venue, has not been able to accommodate us, and we are unable to identify any other location which is both able and willing to provide the safe and tailored facilities we need.   Most of this is due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic which seems to abate, only to surge again in various areas, and the general pattern is one of uncertainly, confusion, discontent and, in some cases, mild panic.  However, pencil in your diaries the weekend of 17th to 19th June 2022 as we are in the throes of organising a spectacular Reunion for next year.  Negotiations are at an early stage as we have yet to confirm room prices, the ladies outing and Saturday evening entertainment.  Providing there are no more restrictions placed upon us or unforeseen bumps in the road, this information, along with a Booking Form, will be included with the September edition of the Association Newsletter.

We on the Committee are trying to keep things ticking over, despite the lack of face-to-face contact, and there are always matters cropping up that need attention.   In an effort to address a few of these, attached is a limited Agenda, for your consideration, which concerns three issues that can quite easily be dealt with as a paper exercise.   As you will see, they comprise a proposal not to increase the current subscription charge; the renewal of Association Committee appointments; and the scrutiny of a recent revision of our Articles of Association and Standing Orders.  You are asked to consider these proposals and respond to them only if you wish to vote “NO”.   If we do not hear from you by 31 July 2021, we will assume you have voted “YES”.  To do this, we have had to suspend Paragraph 2 of Standing Orders, just for this exercise, but we do not wish to allow a backlog of Association business to build up that could easily be disposed of via the above means.   Thank you so much for your assistance in this matter.

Don’t forget that regular visits to our website (www.rafadappassn.org) will keep you up-to-date with Association news and events as will our quarterly Newsletter, which also contains amusing and informative articles submitted by the membership.  The Website Manager, Alan Bell, and the Newsletter editor, Steve Day, are always on the look-out for contributions and welcome any articles you would like to submit, either via the website or by email.  So don’t be shy, because everyone of us has a story to tell.

The Royal British Legion has informed the Apprentice Associations that they are planning to hold this year’s Remembrance Day Parade at the Cenotaph as normal and we have been allocated tickets.  Therefore, if you would like to attend the parade on Sunday 14th November 2021, please let me know as soon as you possibly can to enable me to submit our application by the end of July: chairman@rafadappassn.org or 01933 443673.

Rest assured that I will keep you informed of any significant developments or changes in the current situation concerning Association meetings and venues.  I wish to thank each and every one of you for your continuing support and patience.

With very best wishes

Bryan Schofield

4 July 2021

RAF ADMINISTRATIVE APPRENTICES’ ASSOCIATION REMOTE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING TO BE HELD ON 10th JULY 2021  LIMITED AGENDA

Item 1 – Annual Membership Fees For The Year 2021       

Proposed by the Treasurer, Garry Hoyland (330th) and seconded by L Croucher (29th) that, because the Association remains on an extremely sound financial footing, there should be no increase in the current level of members’ subscriptions.

Item 2 – Election of Association Committee Members

The following re-elections to the Association Committee are necessary in order to regularise the appointments.   Present incumbents of Officer and General Committee posts have signified their willingness to stand for re-election for a further term of office.

Officers:

Chairman: Bryan Schofield (33rd) for a period of 3 years to 2024 – proposed by J Wilcox (5th), seconded by L Croucher (29th).

Vice Chairman: David Johnson (313th) for a period of one year to 2022 – proposed by L Croucher (29th), seconded by J Wilcox (5th).

The Association Secretary, Ben Croucher (29th) and Association Treasurer, Garry Hoyland (330th) were elected at AGM 2019 for a period of 3 years (to 2022) and will remain in post until then.

General Committee Members:

Bryan Hoare (307th), Tom McKnight (318th), Alan Bell (29th), Steve Day (304th), David Tinley (44th), Tony Hammonds (305th) – proposed to accept en bloc by B Schofield (33rd), seconded by L Croucher (29th)

Note:  On successful re-election, the General Committee members will serve for a period of one year and will remain in their existing appointments.   Any Association member who wishes to serve on the Association Committee should advise the Association Chairman accordingly.

Item 3 – Revised Articles of Association and Standing Orders

Copies of our updated Articles of Association and Standing Orders are attached.   Proposed by L. Croucher (29th) and seconded by B Schofield (33rd) that these revised editions are accepted by the membership for publication and incorporation into the Association’s routine administrative configuration.

What We Are Asking You To Do In Response To This Agenda

Please read through the information provided under Items 1 to 3 and consider how you would vote in response to the proposals submitted, if you were at the AGM.   If you would have agreed to a particular submission, there is no need to take further any action, as your no reply will be taken as a “YES” vote.    If, on the other hand, you do not agree with any of the proposals listed in the Agenda, please inform the Chairman immediately.   The deadline for a “NO” vote is 31 July 2021.

You may have seen in our latest Standing Orders that, under paragraph 2, we are forbidden from allowing proxy votes.   For the purposes of this Agenda only and in order to move forward on some outstanding matters in the face of COVID-19 and its attendant disruptions, we have temporarily suspended paragraph 2.

We look forward to organizing an “authentic, face-to-face” AGM (and Reunion) as soon as we are allowed by the prevailing restrictions to do so.

Bryan Schofield

Chairman, RAFAAA

ROYAL AIR FORCE ADMINISTRATIVE APPRENTICES’ ASSOCIATION – ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION

Article 1

The objectives of the Royal Air Force Administrative Apprentices’ Association (RAF Admin Apps’ Assn) shall be to promote and foster the friendship and esprit de corps of all members, together with the preservation of apprentice traditions and customs.

Article 2

Membership of the Association will be open to the following categories of personnel:
a. Member – all personnel who trained as Administrative Apprentices or as Ruislip Apprentice Clerks.
b. Affiliated Member – staff of Administrative Apprentice training establishments (other than above).
c. Associate Member – any person who trained as an Apprentice (other than Administrative Apprentice) or Boy Entrant who trained in the Clerical or Supply trades.
d. Friend of the Association Member – persons who actively support the Association, but who do not qualify for membership under 2a to 2c above.
e. Honorary Member – membership offered to widows of members of the Association, or otherwise offered to additional persons at the discretion of the Committee.
An annual, non-returnable, membership fee, due on 1st January, will be paid by members of the Association in categories 2a to 2d. The level of the fee will be recommended by the Committee and voted upon by members at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). In the last month of each year and up to the beginning of March the following year, members will be reminded, through the medium of Newsletters and/or other means, as appropriate, of the requirement to pay their subscription. Members who fail to pay their annual subscription within 3 months of the due date, i.e., by 31st March, will be deemed to have ceased their membership of the RAF Administrative Apprentices’ Association, with effect from the due date of their subscription, i.e., 1st January, and no further Association correspondence or Newsletters will be sent to them.

Article 3

The Association will be administered by an elected Committee from category 2a members, comprising a Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer (who will be known as the Officers of the Association) and a minimum of 6 other General Committee members.
b. The Association will have a President, who will be an Officer of the Association with the right to speak and vote at Committee and other meetings.

Article 4

Officers of the Association will be elected at the AGM, initially for a period of 1, 2, or 3 years and thereafter for 3-year periods. General committee members will be elected at the AGM for a period of 1 year. Duties of the elected committee members will be allocated by the Association Chairman and confirmed at the first committee meeting following the AGM. Officers and general committee members may stand for re-election to any number of 3 year or 1-year periods for which they may wish to serve – unless, previously, they have been formally removed from office, in which case they will be ineligible for re-appointment. The President will be elected to serve for life.

Article 5

Any Officer of the Association who fails to carry out his duties in a diligent and efficient manner, may – on the recommendation of the Association Committee – be dismissed from his position by the Association membership, at the next Annual General Meeting or, if called, at an Extraordinary General Meeting. Any general committee member failing to carry out his appointed duties in a competent and satisfactory manner may be removed from post by the Association Chairman, with the approval of the Association Committee. In the event of a vacancy arising within the Officers of the Association, the vacancy shall be filled by an existing member of the Committee at the next committee meeting, until the next AGM, when the temporary appointment will be confirmed, or a replacement Officer appointed from the Association membership. A vacancy arising within the general committee members may be filled by an existing committee member, or by an Association member who has volunteered to serve as such, in which case his appointment as a General Committee member is to be confirmed at the next AGM.

Article 6

The Committee shall meet, as required, to consider Agenda items and make decisions and recommendations, provided that a quorum (which requires a minimum of five members) is present. The Chairman, in consultation with the Secretary, may co-opt Association members to serve on the Committee in an advisory capacity, as and when required.

Article 7

Minutes of Committee meetings will be prepared by the Secretary and distributed in full to all Committee members. A summary of decisions taken at Committee meetings will be compiled by the Association Secretary and notified to all members of the Association, via the next Association Newsletter following the Committee meeting.

Article 8

Responsibility for the Association’s finances is vested in the Association Committee and administered by the Treasurer, via a bank account. Outgoing payments will be made by cheque, signed by the Treasurer and countersigned by, either, the President, Chairman, Secretary or Almoner, except when the payee is one of these. In this case, the cheque is to be signed by any two of the aforementioned Committee members, but not including the payee.

Article 9

The Association financial year shall run from 1st January to 31st December.

Article 10

A simple financial statement shall be prepared by the Treasurer and presented at each Committee meeting. A full financial statement is to be prepared and audited within 3 months of the close of the financial year and is to be circulated to the Association membership, prior to the AGM, for subsequent review and approval at that meeting.

Article 11

An Annual General Meeting (AGM) shall be held in June of each year and shall be conducted in accordance with RAF Administrative Apprentices’ Association Standing Orders for Annual and Extraordinary General meetings. The Minutes of an AGM will be circulated to all members of the Association. Resolutions and Agenda items for discussion at an AGM may be submitted by any member (in writing) to the Secretary, no later than six weeks prior to the date of the AGM

Article 12

An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of the Association may be called at the request of twenty paid-up members. The intention to call an EGM and the reason(s) for it must be notified in writing to the Secretary, in sufficient time for him to give fourteen days notice of the meeting to the membership. No business other than that which is the reason for the EGM will be considered. The meeting will be conducted in accordance with the RAF Administrative Apprentices’ Association Standing Orders for Annual and Extraordinary General Meetings. The Minutes of an EGM will be circulated to all members of the Association.

Article 13

In the event of the RAF Administrative Apprentices’ Association ceasing to exist, all finances – with the exception of any funds required to set-up and/or maintain a post-closure archival website, or similar, in commemoration of the Association, shall be donated to a charity, or charities, nominated by members at a Winding-up Meeting.

Article 14

The Headquarters of the Royal Air Force Apprentices’ Association shall be the address of the Secretary in office.

Article 15

None of the foregoing Articles of Association shall be revoked, or amended, except by a majority of members present at an AGM or EGM.

AMENDED AT REMOTE AGM 10TH JULY 2021

ROYAL AIR FORCE ADMINISTRATIVE APPRENTICES’ ASSOCIATION STANDING ORDERS FOR ANNUAL AND EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETINGS

1. Business Before the Meeting
The meeting will proceed in accordance with the Agenda before it.

2. Voting Procedure
a. Only Members in attendance will be entitled to vote at Annual and Extraordinary meetings.

b. Under no circumstances will proxy votes be permitted.

3. Casting Vote
In all cases where an equality of votes exists, the Chairman of the meeting may use a ‘Casting Vote’.

4. Resolutions and Amendments

a. Providing there is a Seconder in favour of a resolution, the person presenting it will speak first and present the case. Thereafter, relevant views may be put forward, but no one person may speak more than once, except that the person who presented the case shall have the right to reply, before any resolution is put to the vote. However, the Chairman may call upon any individual who has already spoken if, in the opinion of that Chairman, further constructive and relevant information should be sought.

b.(i) In the event of there being an amendment to a resolution, the amendment will be voted on first.

(ii) There should never be more than one amendment against a resolution.

(iii) If more than one amendment is put forward, the last amendment submitted will be the subject of a vote, together with the amendment presented immediately prior to it. This principle must apply until one amendment only remains to be voted upon and against the original resolution.

c. All resolutions and amendments must be proposed and seconded by a member from those attending the meeting. Any resolution or amendment not proposed and seconded will not be debated.

d. A resolution, or amendment to a resolution, will be deemed to be carried only if it secures more than half the possible number of votes (a simple majority) of members present at the meeting, except for resolutions of a financial nature, which will require a two-thirds majority vote.

5. Selection of Speakers

Comments and remarks must at all times be addressed to the ‘Chair’. When more than one person signifies a wish to speak, the first to signify will be given precedence, this decision resting with the Chairman. However, the person who signified immediately after the first spokesperson shall have the right to speak, at the close of the previous speaker’s address – again, with the decision resting with the Chairman.

6. Scrutineers

a. Scrutineers shall be appointed, from the members attending, before any voting takes place. Their duties are to count the number of votes and inform the Chairman accordingly.

b. Voting will be accomplished by a show of hands.

AMENDED AT REMOTE AGM 10TH JULY 2021