AUSTRALIAN ARMY BAND CORPS ASSOCIATION MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING THE TRADEWINDS HOTEL, FREMANTLE, WA SATURDAY 22 OCTOBER 2016

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1 AUSTRALIAN ARMY BAND CORPS ASSOCIATION MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING THE TRADEWINDS HOTEL, FREMANTLE, WA SATURDAY 22 OCTOBER 2016 Item 1 Meeting Opened / Welcome The President, John Franklin opened the Meeting at 9.30am and welcomed all members who were present (total 43). He asked that a vote of thanks be recorded in the minutes for this year s reunion organizing committee led by Chris Mullen, Ian Milne and David Baker. He also requested Chris Mullen pass on our thanks to the OC/Music Director AAB-P MAJ Peter O Conner and the band for their support. He also passed on the thanks of the association to the Manager of the Tradewinds Hotel for the use of the hotel and its facilities during the reunion. This was carried by acclamation. Item 2 In Memoriam The President asked all members present to stand and requested the Treasurer Trevor Beswick to say a prayer. Following the prayer the President read out the names of those Association members, ex Army Musicians and family members who passed away during the year (2015/2016). They included: Max Jones, Doug Hocking, Roy Simpson, LTCOL Bob Taylor (Retd), Ern Trotter, Garnet Rogers and Col Webb. The President asked all present to remain standing for a minutes silence honouring the memory of seven Army Bandsmen who were killed in action or died on active service since the Second World War. Those acknowledged were: Harold Clark, Jock Tannock, Chris Clark, Merv Wilson, Alf McCormack, Liam O Carrol and Mick Poole. The Ode spoken by the President Lest We Forget Item 3 - Apologies The Secretary advised the meeting of the following apologies: BRIG Jim Shelton, BRIG Ian Hearn, Neville Lloyd, Stephen Hladio, Stephen Button, Rod Hingston, Sterle Buchanan, Craig Johnson, Brian Evans, John Hughes, Peter Guest, Mario Vidal, Steve Knagge, Kevin Furness, Bruce Munchenberg, LTCOL Ian McLean, Howard Ward, MAJ Dan Hiscock, Ian Grant, Danny Buckley, Dave Farrell, Geoff Grey, Graham Curran, Graham Lloyd, Gregg Amies, Eric Anderson, John Seagg, John Parsons, Keith Walker, Lindsay Hobden, Michael Gojan, Michael Smith, Noel Cornwill, Peter Hill, Ron Bennett, Sean O Boyle, Ian Cocking, Deb & Stephen Deakes, Dirk Duyzer, Shirley Turner, Stan Holland, John McGregor, Stewart Clark, Scott Goulay, Doug Thorenson, Len Dodds, Chris Jurres, Paul Peloe, John Faul, (Total 50). Item 4 - Minutes from the Previous Meeting - The minutes from the previous meeting held at the Warradale Barracks Sergeants Mess, Adelaide in 2015 was posted on the website and placed on chairs for members to read at the AGM. Moved: Bob Keatch Seconded: Fred Gfeller Item 5 - Business Arising There was no business arising. Item 6 - Presidents Report The Presidents Report was provided (see attached) Moved: Ivan Cocking Seconded: Bob Keatch. Item 7 - Treasurers Report The Treasurers Report, which did not include the Auditor s Report was read and tabled.

2 Moved: Graeme Johnson Seconded: Pat Steer. The Treasurer advised the meeting that he would propose two motions later in the meeting asking for changes to the financial running of the Association. Item 8 - Election of Office Bearers The President advised the meeting that all members of the Executive Committee were willing to stand again for 2016/2017. He advised the meeting that Neville Lloyd was not standing for the Committee in the coming year. He thanked Neville for his continued support for his past years of service. Moved: Chris Stock moved that all members of both the Executive and the Committee, accept Neville Lloyd be re-elected. The Association Executive Office Bearers are: President John Franklin Vice President Stephen Mee Secretary - Kevin Noon Assistant Secretary Dave Oakley Treasurer Trevor Beswick Assistant Treasurer Jim Shad Harper Nomination for the vacant committee position left by Neville Lloyd: Moved: Ivan Cocking that Chris Stock be elected to the Committee Committee Members are: Ivan Cocking Sue Baxter Chris Stock Bill Honter Graeme Johnson Pat Steer (Immediate Past President) Item 9 State and Regional Representatives Reports The following State Representative reports were delivered: Perth, NSW/Canberra and Brisbane. Perth representative, Bill Honter advised the meeting that the Perth Chapter continued to conduct their annual three major events during the past twelve months, which included Corps Birthday celebrations, the annual Old Contemptibles Dinner and their Christmas function. He thanked David Baker for organizing the AABC Birthday celebrations this year where a large gathering attended. NSW representative, Kevin Noon standing in for the ACT representative, Ron Bennett advised the meeting that in the past year there have been just one event where both the RMC Band and the AABC Association members attended, namely the AABC Birthday celebrations. With an inclement day the Bowls competition at a local Bowling Club was cancelled. A good attendance from both the Association and the band members made it an enjoyable day at the Band Room. Its planned to conduct more activities involving both the Association and the band. Brisbane Representative, John Franklin advised the meeting that this year s Corps Birthday celebrations which was held in Brisbane was an outstanding success with both the AAB-B and the RA Artillery Band-Brisbane combining together for the celebrations at the Gaythorne RSL.

3 Item 10 - Commanding Officer Australian Army Band Report (See attached) Item 11 The 2016 AABC Association s Award The President announced that the 2016 recipient of the AABC Association s Award was awarded to SGT John Lewis Mackenzie of the AAB-P. The President advised the meeting that the award of a Minstrel Boy Statuette and a framed citation would be presented to the award winner later in the day at the AAB-P Concert being conducted at Mews Park, Fremantle. The Citation reads: Australian Army Band Corps Association Award Sergeant John Mackenzie enlisted into the Army Reserves in 1998 as a Tuba player with the Australian Army Band Perth (AAB-P). Since this date, he has significantly contributed to the ongoing operational effectiveness of the AAB-P by filling capability gaps within the unit. He saw the need for an in-house sound engineer, so he attended defence and civilian courses to attain the competencies required. He is now the chief sound engineer for the unit, fostering younger members to attain similar skills. Several years back, he identified the requirement for a lead guitarist within the unit, so he purchased a guitar and diligently practised for many hours in his own time developing this skill to a very high standard. SGT MacKenzie is now the leader of the Rock Band producing phenomenal guitar solos essential for the contemporary ensemble. This year alone, SGT MacKenzie recognised severe ARA staff shortages within the unit, so he reduced his civilian work hours in order to fulfil the role of the Band Sergeant Major (BSM) during a very high tempo period of unit tasking. His no nonsense approach to time management and communicating with Band members has significantly increased the unit s capabilities this year. A requirement for unit drivers saw him attain truck licences during his personal time and is now the integral component for all self drive unit tasks locally and throughout regional WA. On top of all this, SGT MacKenzie completed his part time University studies, and early this year he received his Mechanical Engineering degree with several high distinctions. His willingness to contribute to Army whilst maintaining his civilian job, advanced study and a young family is a testament to his commitment to the Australian Army Band Perth. SGT MacKenzie is the epitome of a fight to get soldier. John Franklin President 22 October 2016 Item 12 - Change to the AABC Association Bank Account The Treasurer, Trevor Beswick addressed the meeting and advised that our current banking account arrangements with Bank Victoria are outdated, not flexible and do not allow us to pay via BPay or Bank Transfer. He said that this is due to their inability of a secondary verification via electronic means. He said we currently pay most bills by having members pay from their personal accounts and reimbursing them via cheque. He proposes the association move from the current account to the Bendigo Bank, which is offering a fee free Community Business Account. This account also provides security tokens which assist in electronic verification for online payments. This is done by the Treasurer initiating a payment request. Those members who are authorised to verify the payment get a message on their phone, and get a unique number on their electronic security token. The go online and authorise the payment using this unique number. Trevor proposed that the we move the current banking account of the Australian Army Band Corps Association to the Bendigo Bank.

4 Moved: Trevor Beswick Seconded: Pat Steer Item 13 - On-Line Finance System Treasurer, Trevor Beswick advised the meeting that the AABC Association s current finance system (Quickbooks) sits on his hard drive. This system is copied to Dave Oakley, the Assistant Secretary s/data Base Manager s Server and the Assistant Treasurer, Jim 'Shad' Harper's computer every few months, but he said the risk with this current system is that if anything happens to it on the hard drive, it's gone. Trevor recommends that by moving to an Online System ( Reckon, used to be owned by Quickbooks), the Association get the advantage of having the financial books stored on a server with the advantage of multiple people having access to the information. He said the system is configurable and allows for concurrent (more than one person at a time) users. An example of this could be that the Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer have access to write to the Accounts of the system and the Secretary and President can view this information. In a similar way, the Secretary and Assistant Secretary can be responsible for updating Customer (Member) details into a central system. Trevor said the cost is $11.00 per month and data can be converted from our existing system with minimal cost. Trevor proposed that we move the finance system from Quickbooks to Reckon Online. Moved: Trevor Beswick ITEM 14 - AABC Association CO-Chaplain Appointment The Secretary addressed the meeting regarding the appointment of Matthew James as Co-Chaplain of the Association. He said our current Chaplain, LTCOL Dennis Hills has been ill for some time and it was essential that the pastoral duties in the Association be maintained with the appointment of Matthew. This information was posted on the Association Website for the member s information. ITEM 15 Association Website Change of Host The Secretary addressed the meeting regarding the Website and advised that Lorraine Cobcroft, our current Website Manager, would no longer be able to support the Association in this role due to long term external work and family commitments. Up until now the website was previously managed through Lorraine's company Rainbow Works and this change required an Association member to be the point of contact with the host, Easy Website Maker. Stu Colhoun has agreed to be the Website Manager and is now dealing directly with the host in the United States. He has initiated the move from Rainbow Works to a standalone website. Stu is also the POC when dealing with the host, including requesting support. This has been done with virtually the same management costs as before. ITEM 16 - AABC 50 th Anniversary (Golden Jubilee)/History Association member Andy Ryder addressed the meeting and says he s been directed by the CO DFSM and supported by CO AAB to write a history of the AABC for the Corps 50th Anniversary in He is currently collecting information from several sources around the country, including members and ex members of Army bands. As most of our history rests with its members he s keen to hear from anyone on the topic advising that you can him at ryder_05@bigpond.com if you would like to send him information, call him on Mob: or book in for a chat. Andy says he s been conducting interviews whilst in Perth for the reunion and will continue to do so when he s back on the east coast. The end result is likely to be at least a book and possibly an online collection. He says he hopes to hear from you on this important project.

5 Item 17 AABC Association Newsletter - Distribution The President, John Franklin addressed the meeting regarding the ongoing costs to produce the Association Newsletter three times a year, which he said is costing around $8, annually. He recommended that unless there were changes to the method of distribution the Association will incur unnecessary overheads. John recommended that except for those members that don t have access to a computer or have valid reasons to continue receiving the Newsletter by surface mail, the committee would investigate alternative distribution options of either with the newsletter attached or posting the newsletter onto the website. The committee s decision with regard to these two options will be posted on the website. Moved: John Franklin Seconded: Mike Pyne CARRIED Item 18 Association Newsletter Update Noteworthy Editor Stewart Cohoun reports he continues to produce the Newsletter and says he s receiving historical and current photographs that are being included in each edition and says he encourages members to forward stories however brief, plus photographs to make the Newsletter an even better publication. He supports the alternate proposal that the Newsletter should be posted on the Website as distribution can cause concerns or delays through the system. GENERAL BUSINESS Item 19 NEXT AND FUTURE REUNIONS The President John Franklin advised the meeting that preparations had already begun regarding the 2017 Reunion planned to be held in the Brisbane region. John explained that because of the heightened security concerns and difficulty in gaining access to Defence facilities around Australia, especially in Queensland, plus the high costs of accommodation and venue availability in Brisbane he had already made contact with the Coloundra RSL Club on the Sunshine Coast and investigated the possibility of holding the 2017 Reunion there. John said he would update the committee with the ongoing negotiations and progress with the RSL. Following the Queensland Reunion in 2017 the venue for the AABC Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2018 is expected to coincide with the Corps Birthday in August, but no date has been set for the Association s Reunion normally held in October of that year. A proposal was put forward by Mike Pyne for the 2019 Reunion to be conducted in country Victoria. This will be investigated further by the Committee. Item 20 - Other Business / Closure With no further General Business the Meeting closed at 11.00am. John Franklin President AABC Association Kevin Noon CSM Secretary AABC Association 22 October 2016