This post is a copy of most the letter sent from our Chair to members at the end of June about our 2025 AGM, which is on Sunday 27th July starting at 10:30 in Selly Oak, Birmingham. If members have not received this information, please get in touch with us so we can send you the information and relevant links.
AGM Details
2025 marks a return to a face-to-face AGM, which is our first since 2019. Whilst we have found that our virtual AGMs (2020 to 2024) have increased participation from members who find travel difficult, there is also demand for in person activities.
Register Your Attendance
You will need to let us know if you plan to attend the AGM. There is a maximum capacity in the space we have booked. We also need to know numbers so we have sufficient catering in place. Members received either a paper form to return or a web link to a form to let us know. People can tell us about access requirements and dietary needs.
For clarity – there will not be a dial-in option for this AGM. We will attempt to record the AGM and the subsequent presentations, to upload to our YouTube channel afterwards.
AGM Agenda
The agenda for the AGM is:
- Reports on our activities
- Reports from; Chair, Secretary, Membership Secretary and Treasurer
- Reports from committees
- Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on Saturday 24th August 2024
- Election of trustees,
- Any other business
I expect the AGM to run until around 11:30. We will break for informal conversation and lunch before a series of presentations in the afternoon. Details for presentations are still being confirmed, but I expect them to run from around 1pm, concluding by 4pm. Presentations include:
- Estelle Marshall with some in-chair exercises that you could do
- Jon Marsden from Plymouth, with colleagues, talking about spasticity.
- Siang Lee leading some small group discussions about potential research projects
Voting Details
Voting is open to all members, and we are asking for votes in advance, before Saturday 19th July. Members received either a paper postal voting form or a web link to cast their votes. There will not be an opportunity to cast your votes during the AGM. All postal and electronic votes must be received before Saturday 19th July so results can be checked and collated, and announced at the AGM.
There are four matters to vote on:
- Do you accept the minutes of the 2024 AGM?
- Do you accept the 2025 accounts?
- Do you accept the 2025 trustee report?
- Do you elect Dave Harris, Estelle Marshall, John Mason, Helen Payne and Michael Payne as trustees?
Our website has the information needed for you to decide your vote. You can view the minutes of the 2024 AGM, the 2025 accounts, the 2025 trustee report, and trustee statements from Dave, Estelle, John, Helen and Michael. The other trustees are part-way through their three-year terms and are not due for re-election. The documents are here: https://hspgroup.org/annual-general-meeting/
We will check votes received against our membership database to verify details as each member is entitled to vote once on each matter.
Summary
Where it is feasible for you to do so, I encourage you to travel to our AGM on Sunday 27th July. You can hear about our activities of the last year, there will be time for a friendly chat, and we will have a range of relevant presentations in the afternoon. I look forward to seeing many of you on Sunday 27th July.
The Group Needs Help
I use my final section to remind you that we still need help to run the group. Please read our website for areas where we need help: https://hspgroup.org/want-to-be-able-to-help-the-group/. People can help the group even if they don’t have HSP, so please let me know if you or anyone you know is willing to have a chat about helping the group.
On our voting forms we ask you if you would be able to run meetings, help with fundraising or help with research. Please let us know if you would be able to. We try to ensure that trustees are representative of membership and we like to hear a broad range of ideas and perspectives about the group.