St Mary’s College Alumni Annual General Meeting

PROPOSED MOTIONS (X2) FOR THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

SATURDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2022

Notice of two motions to be moved at the St Mary's College Alumni AGM on 12 November 2022, have been received by the committee and will be duly put to the meeting:

MOTION 1

On the Future Direction of St Mary's College Alumni:

"That the Alumni Committee continues to liaise with the Principal of the College on a plan that will embed St Mary's College Alumni into the operations of the College whilst retaining the Alumni Committee and to develop a proposed agreement thereto, that can be presented to the Alumni AGM 2023, for adoption".

Notice of Motion has been given by Cecily Verrier

MOTION 2

On the Financial Management of the Alumni:

"That within the current financial year, the St Mary's College Alumni Committee withdraws all Alumni money held in bank accounts and other investments, closes those accounts and deposits the money into an Alumni account within the St Mary's College financial system. Deposits and withdrawals relating to that account are thereby managed by College staff under the directions of the St Mary's College Alumni Committee and authorised by the signatures of two appointed office bearers of the Alumni Executive".

Notice of Motion has been given by Cecily Verrier

Explanatory notes to Motion 1

Last year's annual general meeting of alumni gave a clear direction to the committee to liaise closely with the College in seeking a way forward for the alumni that would:

bring us more closely integrated into the College, with the ability to use the communication channels and other facilities of the College more effectively
provide protection under the College's public liability insurance policy
ensure the longevity of the Alumni.

This directive followed the almost unanimous vote to reject a motion that the Alumni become an incorporated body with the momentum to grow independently and to carry its own public liability insurance.

The background to this situation was an attempt to address the decreasing numbers of active participation in alumni events over the last 20 years and in correlation to that - the increasing age of participants. This is despite 10-year reunions continuing to occur with success and great enjoyment but often outside of any College involvement and without any allegiance to the broader Alumni Association.

The members also directed that legal advice be taken in regard to the above matters. It would seem more timely for legal advice to be taken next year when we are at the point of a detailed agreement with the College.

Committee Action in 2022:

Meeting with Principal

At the end of Term 1, the Alumni Committee met with the Principal, Damian Messer and discussed the directive of the last AGM. The Principal was fully supportive of the notion of the Alumni being integrated into the College structure, using the resources of the College whilst retaining an Alumni committee which would work in a collegial manner with the Principal and College. He saw this as the most likely way to grow the Alumni and cited experience of Alumni in other places which have grown from this type of model. He also favours the 10-year reunions having some College support and opportunity for participants to visit the College as part of the reunion. He sees a strong Alumni as an essential building block in a strong community of a College like St Mary's.

Towards the end of Term 3, we met again with the Principal to discuss the motions above which we are putting to the AGM. He gave his full support.

Public Liability Insurance:

The College Director of Business and Operations has provided the committee with evidence that all committees of the College are covered under the College's insurance policy, provided said committees are not incorporated. Whilst the Director of Business and Operations is confident that the Alumni Committee is included in this cover, the committee hopes to have the Alumni specifically named in the College policy.

Meeting with DOSA (Dominic Old Scholars' Association) Representative:

Recently, the committee met with a recent president of DOSA. He reported very favourably on the growth of DOSA over the last 10 years since it entered into an arrangement of integration with Dominic College where the Principal and other staff have been fully supportive and encouraging. Membership and activity have grown enormously. Student enrolments of Old Scholars' children have grown in this time.

Explanatory Notes to Motion 2:

Notwithstanding the excellent service given by the Treasurer, Peta Maree Davidson in 2020 and 2021, procuring the services of people who have the time and expertise for the role has been problematic in recent years. Some of these issues relate to the modern mode of internet banking. The task of changing signatures at the bank each time there are new office bearers, has become more complex, especially if one of the previous office bearers has left the state.

Peta Maree relinquished the role of Treasurer early this year. The minimal amount of transactions have been ably managed by the President and Secretary to save the heartbreaking task of finding a replacement and then having to change signatures at the bank!

With the Alumni's money being held within the College system, payment of accounts via the internet can be easily achieved and it will be a simple process to notify the College when office bearers change. The Alumni Treasurer will still keep records of financial transactions and will receive printouts from the finance department of activities, balance, etc. It will simplify our financial management and has been deemed a necessary step to ensure ongoing sound financial management.

Will we see you at the AGM?

A reminder that the Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held at the College on Saturday 12 November. The meeting will follow a light luncheon in the Staff Lounge to be served after the Reunion Mass which commences at 12.00pm in the Adrian Doyle Chapel.

For catering purposes, please RSVP, but don't stay away because you hadn't been able to send an RSVP! Gluten-free options will be available at lunch. Please advise of any other specific dietary requirements.

Looking forward to seeing many of you at a great reunion and AGM on Saturday 12 November.

Praying God's Blessings on all our Alumni.

Kind regards,

Margaret Rootes

St Mary's College Alumni President

mrootes@smc.tas.edu.au

0417949419

Alumni News

September 2022 · 21 Sep 2022

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