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Minutes of:

FLAGS Committee Meeting Friday August 16^th 2002

Present:

Susan Meikle (Chair)

Ian Maxtone (Secretary)

Lesley Ovens (Treasurer)

Alan Varley (Ordinary Committee Member)

Eleanor Bow (Ordinary Committee Member)

John Mallon (Ordinary FLAGS Member)

Bill Knox (of CVS)

Minutes of Previous Meeting:

Minutes of previous meeting were read by all present; Committee wished it to be clarified that members present at Thursday’s meeting accepted the resignation of the entire former committee.

Otherwise, the minutes were accepted by all.

Retrieval of Property:

Ian Maxtone had prepared a draft letter to be used in order to request the return of FLAGS material from the former Treasurer. He informed the committee that the letter required a date, time and location for retrieval in order to be completed.

Bill Knox advised the addition of the fact that all members who were present at the public meeting agreed to accept the verbal and written resignation of the committee as such the organisation wishes to retrieve all material the former committee still possesses; also that the group should ensure that either copies of minutes are sent with the letter or copies are otherwise made available to the recipients.

Fears were expressed that the Former Treasurer may not be resident within the Falkirk area anymore; it was also raised that it was previously minuted that the computer was donated to the organisation.

It was agreed by all present that a neutral meeting place was required and that the Old Sheriff Court in Falkirk was not suitable.

It was also agreed that the letter should be altered to ask the former treasurer to contact the Secretary and organise details of retrieval in that manner; was agreed that the email address and telephone number on the letter be altered to show the Secretary’s details on a one-off basis to facilitate collection of material.

Financial Standing of FLAGS:

The Treasurer informed the committee that the FLAGS bank account currently had a balance of £16.90 in credit; thus a total figure of £66.90 when the £50 membership fees (from Ian Maxtone during meeting of 15/08/02) is considered.

The Treasurer gained this information from the previous Chairperson who is at present still a signatory and received a statement from the bank on the morning of the meeting.

The location of £20 in membership fees that the former Treasurer received was confirmed as unknown (transaction exists in books, but not in the bank). The receipts of these fees were passed to Lesley Ovens by Ian Maxtone.

The meeting was informed by Bill Knox that in order to alter the signatories of the account, the group would have to request a mandate from the bank to alter, add or remove signatories. In order to remove the former Treasurer as a signatory it would be necessary for him to sign the mandate himself; however the group could function without it for now, at least until the group wishes to close or move the account; a course of action that would also require his signature.

Committee was also informed that the bank would send out copies of all previous statements as it is currently unknown how many have been issued and where these statements are.

It is believed by the committee that the account is a Treasurer’s account for a Charitable Organisation.

The Committee will also require the signature of the former Chair in order to authorise his removal as a signatory.

New Signatories:

§ Accepted that Lesley Ovens must be a signatory due to her post as Treasurer.

§ Ian Maxtone proposed that Alan Varley and Eleanor Bow should be the other 2

§ Ian was unwilling to be a signatory as he felt that it would be questionable given his recent heavy involvement with the organisation; he felt that some members may look unfavourably on it.

§ Susan Meikle was also unwilling to be a signatory due to connections with Lesley; she felt that it could create an apparent conflict of interests.

§ Both Alan Varley and Eleanor Bow agreed to being signatories; this was accepted and agreed by all.

It was agreed that replacement cheque book and relevant materials should be requested of the bank now that new signatories have been decided upon.

The importance of doing things correctly was stressed in order to ensure that others begin to trust the organisation again after recent events.

Proposals to Increase Membership:

It was agreed that the social evenings in Bar Kudos stated on the website (Aug 22, Sep 5 and Sep 19) should go ahead as it was important that attempts be made to increase funds and also that people be made aware that FLAGS still exists.

Ian Maxtone voiced fears regarding the posters that had been used to advertise the evenings; these showed full details of the times and locations of the evenings; it was agreed that this was dangerous and as such that future posters will omit the location and instead give an information source in order to find out the location.

It was raised that it might be appropriate to ask Non-members for a donation upon attending social evenings to show their interest in FLAGS. It was said that this could both increase funds and show the benefits of being a member. It was raised that this would have to be cleared by the Management of Kudos as they at present do not charge FLAGS for the use of the room. Possibly it could be stressed to the Management of the charitable nature of FLAGS. This is encouraged by the belief that at the least popular social evening, Kudos took approx £200 in takings.

It was agreed that FLAGS Meetings should be restricted to members only.

It was stressed that if non-members were to be asked to contribute financially, it would require something to be organised for each social evening rather than it just being a gathering. It was raised that Eleanor could look into this.

It was agreed that membership forms should be available at all social evenings

The need to cater for as many as possible was discussed by the committee as was the problem of those unwilling to come to Kudos for their first contact with FLAGS. The possibility of having social events that are other than bar/club related was discussed.

It was raised that after the dates on the website pass, something different could be organised such as a Halloween fancy dress disco or similar.

It was agreed that an announcement or similar should be made the evening of Thursday 22 August informing of the recent events and changes that have occurred within FLAGS and to encourage further uptake in membership. The possibility of doing this on paper was discussed to prevent latecomers etc missing information. Also that the original aims and objectives of FLAGS should be stressed once again – it was raised that this was not done enough to ensure that newcomers knew of and understood these.

AOCB:

It was raised that the current mailing address of FLAGS is no longer that of the founder and is now that of a committee member (due to changes in residence). It was agreed by all that no-one’s home address should appear as an official mailing address.

Thus, the possibility of having a mailing address at CVS was raised; membership of CVS will allow mailbox and a telephone answering service; Bill Knox informed the committee that it may be possible to create a temporary mailbox for now; something that Bill would endeavour to find out ASAP.

It was agreed that a Post Office Box would be considered should circumstances require it.

Bill Knox informed the committee that an application to join CVS had already been made by the former committee; the application will be considered at the end of August.

It was raised that Scotsgay are still sending out issues to "GayFalkirk"; it was thus agreed that they along with the Falkirk Herald should be contacted to ensure proper advertising of the group and their knowledge of change of management committee.

It was agreed that it should be made known to all that Scotsgay Magazine is available to all members; it was acceptable to all that Scotsgay continue to be delivered to the original address on the proviso that the address be altered from "GayFalkirk" for safety reasons.

The location of the banner made for the Pride March in Glasgow was enquired about. It was the consensus that it is either in the possession of a specific member or of Iyyah from CTDU.

The location of further committee meetings was discussed. It was raised that having them in the present premises was financially impractical, especially if funds do not increase in the near future. It was stressed again that the organisation must increase member numbers quickly.

The possibility of holding committee meetings in Kudos was raised as was the possibility of a local government grant to assist in running costs; this was already applied for by the former treasurer but frozen due to the recent changes in the organisation.

Concerns were expressed regarding to the former treasurer having FLAGS headed notepaper with his address printed on them. The group was reassured by Bill Knox that although he would be able to apply; no body would issue cheques to a single person; only to the organisation itself. They would also ensure that any cheques issued are cashed.

The committee are unsure as to what specifically has already been applied for.

Bill Knox will endeavour to gain a copy of the original FLAGS constitution and of the amendments that were being worked on for the next meeting to allow the group to accurately know where FLAGS stands regarding constitution.

The committee was reminded that the constitution states that they have the right to terminate the membership of any member. It was proposed that the former treasurer’s membership be scrutinised in light of recent events. After discussion it was agreed that this decision should be deferred until a later date.

The chairperson proposed that the committee co-opt a further 2 members to join the committee; namely John Mallon (for minutes ability) and David Carson (for knowledge and experience and the trust that all present have in him). It was agreed that this decision also be deferred until such time as David’s opinion on the matter be known. It was agreed that Eleanor Bow will be responsible for speaking to David regarding this matter.

Alan Varley asked those present for suggestions regarding the website. It was agreed that he should be allowed to design something he feels suitable and then to display this to the rest of the committee. He was asked to ensure that the Pink Lion be included as this was an accepted emblem of FLAGS and that it stress both the aims of the organisation and that membership is available to any interested party.

Regarding FLAGS email addresses for the committee, Alan Varley was asked to speak with Freda Brodie (Founder) to gain access to the current website and email facilities and create email facilities for the committee. An additional email address of admin@f-l-a-g-s.co.uk should be created to be directed to Ian Maxtone as Secretary.

Alan Varley agreed to investigate methods of ensuring that replying to emails does not allow recipients to gain access to personal email accounts of committee members.

He will also investigate the possibility of gaining ownership of further URLS on behalf of the organisation for the website.

Ian Maxtone intends to contact the former Social Co-ordinator to gain clarification of his requests made by letter at the last meeting.

It was agreed that all committee members will attend the social evening on Thursday August 22 to show existence, solidarity and commitment of Management Committee to FLAGS.

It was agreed that for the meantime John Mallon shall send the prepared minutes of each meeting to Ian Maxtone for distribution.