Australian Society of Travel Writers Incorporated

Incorporated under the Associations Incorporation Act, 2009 (NSW)

MINUTES OF THE SIXTH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE SOCIETY

AS AN INCORPORATED ASSOCIATION HELD AT THE WESTIN, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA, ON THURSDAY, 18 AUGUST 2016, AT 3:14pm

  1. Welcome

Stuart Innes, appointed Chairman under Clause 28(2) of the Constitution, welcomed everyone present and thanked them for their attendance. He read out procedures for the AGM.

Three former ASTW Presidents were in attendance: Mike Smith, David McGonigal and Lee Atkinson.

Lee Atkinson read out vale to late ASTW member Rob Woodburn, who passed away this year. A minute’s silence was then observed.

The chairman then called on President Danielle Lancaster to declare the Annual General Meeting open.

  1. Opening

President declared the meeting open and advised that a quorum was present.

  1. Present

Committee: Danielle Lancaster (President), Helen Hayes and Aleney de Winter (Vice-Presidents), Rama Gaind (Secretary), Anthony Gallagher (Treasurer), Karena Noble, Penny Watson, Mary O’Brien; Lee Atkinson, Dan Avila, Saskia Baker, Marie Barbieri, Amy Bolger, Jeremy Bourke, Justine Costigan, Tracey Croke, Mark Daffey, Caroline Davidson, Philip Engelberts, Paul Ewart, Sue Finn, Sue Fuller, Chanel Gallen, Sue Gough Henly, Bruce Holmes, Stuart Innes, Lynne Ireland, Jane Corbett-Jones, Kerry Van Der Jagt, John Kerr, Karen Lavelle, Annie Lyons, Sue Marr, Marian McGuinness, David McGonigal, Kim McKay, Caroline Gladstone, Kay O’Sullivan, Craig Platt, Sue Preston, Jocelyn Pride, Gaynor Reid, Christine Retschlag, Christine Salins, Angela Saurine, John Savage, Shirley Sinclair, Roshan Shukla, Mike Smith, Laura Speirs, Tiana Templeman, Angela Thompson, Bruce Wallace, Sue Wallace, Nick Wayland, Shelley Winkel, Rene Young.

  1. Apologies

Roger Allnutt, Diane Armstrong, Kate Armstrong, Andrew Bain, Glenn A. Baker, Melanie Ball, Amanda Bolger, Rhonda Bannister, John Borthwick, Flip Byrnes, Maree Reason-Cain, Donna Campbell, Jodi Clark, Michael Corbett, Jill Collins, Brad Crouch, Marjorie Crowley, Cynthia Dammerer, Jayne D’Arcy, Georgia Ditton, Rob Dunlop, Roderick Eime, Elisa Elwin, Lorraine Elliott, Kaye Fallick, Helen Flanagan, Philip Game, Corrie Gardner, Caroline Gladstone, Danny Gocs, Lauren Griffiths, Louise Goldsbury, Carla Grossetti, Virginia Haddon, Sally Hammond, Sandip Hor, Kerry Heaney, Victoria Hobbs, Patrick Horton, Julie Ihle, Carmen Jenner, Briar Jensen,  Brian Johnston, Nicole Lenoir-Jourdan, Kerry Kenihan, Elisabeth Knowles, Melanie Gervis-James, Quentin Long, Kris Madden, Beverley Malzard, Christine McCann, Leah McLennan, Jane Milojevic, Julie Miller, Lee Mylne, Angela O’Connor, Mike O’Connor, Michael Osbourne, Zoe Palmer, Donna Parkin, Christine Pffeifer, Alison Plummer, Ginni Post, David Potts, Carol Prior, Satu Raunola, Gina Reynolds, Sheriden Rhodes, Vincent Ross, Liani Solari, Louise Southerden, Reg Steel, Jill Varley, Cathy Wagstaff, Penny Watson, Graeme Willingham, Michael Wooley, Pamela Wright.

  1. Introductions

Members present introduced themselves.

  1. Noting of 2015 AGM Minutes

Unanimously resolved that the minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the incorporated association known as ‘The Australian Society of Travel Writers’ held at Voyages Ayers Rock Resort, Uluru, Northern Territory, on Saturday, 5 August 2015 be confirmed as true and factual. Moved by Lee Atkinson and seconded by Craig Platt.

  1. Office-bearers’ Reports

Meeting noted that office-bearer reports, except for the Treasurer’s Report, had been circulated prior to the AGM and that additional copies were also available at the meeting.

  1. President’s Report: Danielle Lancaster delivered the President’s report.  Shelley Winkel moved that the report be received and adopted, seconded by Sue Finn – and that motion was carried.
  2. Vice-Presidents’ Reports: The chairman noted as the reports by Helen Hayes and Aleney de Winter had previously been circulated to members, there was no need for it to be read out.
  3. Secretary’s Report: The chairman noted that as Rama Gaind’s report had previously been circulated to members there was no need for it to be read out.
  4. Treasurer’s Report: Anthony Gallagher presented the Treasurer’s report. David McGonical moved that the report be received and adopted, seconded by Craig Platt – and that motion was carried.
  5. PR Representative’s Report: Karena Noble presented the PR Representative’s report. Jeremy Bourke moved that the report be received and adopted, seconded by Mike Smith – and that motion was carried.
  6. 8. Election of Committee Members for 2016/2017

Chairman Stuart Innes advised the meeting that three vacancies existed on the committee, and, after calling for more nominees under Section 15(4), that three nominations had been received and were duly declared elected.

The three new nominees were Mark Daffey (Writer member), Angela Thompson (PR member) and Sasha Baker (PR member).

The incoming committee is: Danielle Lancaster, Helen Hayes, Aleney de Winter, Rama Gaind, Anthony Gallagher, Pamela Wright, Penny Watson, Mark Daffey, Saskia Baker and Angela Thompson.

  1. Election of office-bearers for 2016/2017

 

  1. Nominations were called for the position of President. There was one nomination for President: Danielle Lancaster. She accepted the nomination, moved by Helen Hayes and seconded by Lee Atkinson. There being no further nominations, she was declared elected.
  2. Nominations were called for the position of Vice-President. Aleney de Winter was nominated and accepted the nomination, moved by Sue Wallace and seconded by Karen Lavelle. There being no further nominations, she was declared elected.
  3. Nominations were called for the position of a second Vice-President. Helen Hayes was nominated and accepted the nomination, moved by Angela Saurine and seconded by Roshan Shukla. There being no further nominations she was declared elected.
  4. Nominations were called for the position of Secretary. Rama Gaind was nominated and accepted the nomination, moved by Tiana Templeman and seconded by Angela Saurine. There being no further nominations she was declared elected.
  5. Nominations were called for the position of Treasurer. Anthony Gallagher was nominated and accepted the nomination, moved by Shirley Sinclair and seconded by Christine Retschlag. There being no further nominations, he was declared elected.

 

  1. Other business

 

  1. Newly-elected President (Danielle Lancaster), Vice-President (Helen Hayes), Vice-President (Aleney de Winter), Secretary (Rama Gaind), and Treasurer (Anthony Gallagher) were authorised to be signatories to the society’s bank accounts. The motion was moved by Lee Atkinson and seconded by Catherine Marshall and the motion was carried.

 

  1. Chairman Stuart Innes advised that an update of proceedings was provided on a review of the Society’s Constitution. It was not for voting as the constitutional changes had been voted and adopted at the ASTW AGM in 2015. It would be adjusted in the Constitution by 30 September 2016.

 

  1. The chairman mentioned that long service awards would be given to member for between 10-, 20-, 30-, and 40-years of continued ASTW membership. Some certificates were also handed out.

 

  1. From the floor:

 

  • Craig Platt called for a discussion on a possible name change from the ASTW (Australian Society of Travel Writers) to the ASTMedia (Australian Society of Travel Media) following such a suggestion from Treasurer Anthony Gallagher.

 

  • Kim McKay and Karena Noble felt PR members should also be represented.

 

  • Jane Corbett-Jones supported Craig and Anthony’s idea.

 

  • Nick Wayland, however, was against any change saying: “there’s a lot to be said for a name that’s

been around for a long time … it’s a brand”.

 

  • David McGonigal said a name change would be easy to do as he’d checked the NSW Fair Trading website.

 

  • Chairman Stuart Innes said suggestions should be sent to the committee for further consideration.

 

  1. Unveiling planned new ASTW website

President Danielle Lancaster proudly gave a ‘sneak’ preview of the proposed new website for the ASTW which would be officially launched shortly. A call was also made for a five-year progressive plan for the website’s financial viability.

  1. 2017 ASTW AGM and Convention Destination

President Danielle Lancaster announced the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, would host the ASTW AGM and Convention from 18-20 August 2017.

  • Shelley Winkel, Global Manager, Publicity, Tourism and Events Queensland, welcomed the destination announcement, pointing out the numerous tourist highlights Queensland had to offer.
  1. Vote of Thanks

 

  1. Chairman Stuart Innes welcomed the new committee of the ASTW and delivered a vote of thanks to the retiring committee members – Kerry Heaney, Karena Noble and Mary O’Brien – for their valuable contribution to the Australian Society of Travel Writers – and that motion was carried by applause.

 

  1. Closure

 

There being no further business Stuart Innes, the Chairman, thanked members for their attendance and declared the meeting closed at 4:45pm.

 

 

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