Members present: The President H. Vafeas, G. Barnes, D. Jarrett, B. Gilbert, N. Hancock,  K. Sears, A. Snelling, D. Palmer, A. Akehurst,  K. Shea, P. Taylor, S. Caveney, C. Laming.

Apologies for absence:  P. Lusted, S. Rouse.

Co-opted committee member: Marc Stewart was unanimously co-opted to the committee and enthusiastically welcomed by all present. He was thanked for his sterling research into Boer War  and WW1casualties from BGS.

Minutes:  The minutes of the meeting held on 5 March, 2010, were agreed and signed as a correct record.

Matters arising:  Mike Pack confirmed his willingness to act as administrator to the annual dinner as this year but pointed out he had not agreed to take over the running of the event in future. Neil Hancock and Barry Gilbert volunteered to work with Mike to ensure the smooth running of future dinners.

The date of this year’s Remembrance Service at the School is Saturday 18 September.

Correspondence: None.

Treasurer’s report: N. Hancock was pleased to report that the number of membership standing orders and direct debits had held firm despite the withdrawal of the Maroon last year. On 4 June we had a balance at the bank of £7,778 with more to come. The dinner had produced a small profit of £38. The funds would allow the committee to continue making donations to School funds, even allowing for updating the staff long-service boards and making provision for maintenance of the memorial clock. H. Vafeas to check on the status of clock maintenance.

Dinner Secretariat:  A. Snelling reported that of the 75 attendees, 44 had attended last year which repeats an established pattern in recent times with a large number of new faces at every dinner. There was a general discussion on the possible reasons for this, how the new faces might be retained and the timing of the OBA dinner in May. On balance most committee members felt there would be little advantage in moving the dinner back to a date in March due to problems over the Easter clash and use of the school stage for other purposes at that time of year. This year’s clash with the Hockey Section annual dinner was not felt to have detracted from OBA dinner numbers. A report on the dinner had been posted on the website. There was a discussion about the quality of the food and N. Hancock said he felt the caterer could do better and would have a word. As regards a speaker for next year, Graham Barnes kindly agreed to step in case Chris Humm cannot attend.  Possible future speakers are Martin Calder and Greg Pope. The use of the School’s public address system would be made compulsory for speakers from next year.

The committee recorded its thanks to the outgoing Dinner Secretariat, A. Snelling and P. Lusted, for all their hard work over recent years.

Hockey report: OBHC Season 2009/10 results: 1^st XI: Seventh out of 12 in Kent / Sussex Regionals 2 (P22, W8, D4, L10, F58, A54, Pts 28) one above Gore Court 2^nd team; 2^nd XI Kent Division 2: 11 out of 12, so relegated, goal difference -26, played 22, pts 16; 3^rd XI Kent Open Premier A League: 9^th out of 12, played 22, pts 27; 4^th XI Kent Open Premier C League: 6^th out of 12, played 22, pts 31, gd -3; 5^th XI Kent Open Division 1: 5^th out of 12. Played 22, Pts 36, GD -1; 6^th XI Kent Open division 2: 10^th out of 11. played 20, pts 13, gd – 33; 7^th XI Kent Open Division 4: 8^th out of 10, played 8, pts 20, gd – 21.

Ladies: 1^st XI Kent Premier Division: 8^th out of 10, played 18, pts 17, gd -1; 2^nd XI Kent Division 4: 5^th out of 10, played 18, pts 27; 3^rd XI Kent Division 6: 7^th out of 9, played 6, pts 15, gd -29 (may not run a 3^rd XI next season due to lack of players).

Juniors: Kent Boys U14: 3^rd out of 7, played 5. Also U18 and U16 teams.

Football report: Sittingbourne 5-a-side league, season 2009/10: K. Shea reported that the season finished in May with an upturn in our fortunes. Disappointingly we couldn’t muster enough players to field a team on two of the last three weeks resulting in four 0-4 defeats in the record book, however, the last third of the season saw us win most of our games lifting us from a very poor 9^th place to a much more respectable 7^th. This was the first season that the Sittingbourne 5-a-side league comprised just one division and this pitted us against stronger teams than we had previously faced in the old Second Division. Even so we took points off of every team except for the league champions and, as you will see from the final league table attached, they lost just 2 games all season.

Our winning run coincided with a few weeks of a relatively settled side and we did play some simple but effective football. We even had the league champions rattled before conceding two very late goals to lose a feisty game 3-0. So rattled in fact that they had two players booked, but with age comes experience and the referee didn’t spot our misdemeanours!

We were also runners up in one of the cup competitions but considering our recent good form, we were disappointed to lose the final, especially as we had beaten the eventual winners in an earlier round. Old Bordenians FC has entered the league again for next season and we hope to add a couple of Old Boys who have recently finished university. With a committed squad of 9 or 10, some with legs still in their 20s, we can look forward to a better season.

With most Old Bordenians footballers now in their 50s and 60s and it means that we struggle to find ‘appropriate opposition’. Thursdays are out because that’s pension day and during the normal football season many of the mobility scooters can’t cope with muddy bobbly pitches. Consequently, we don’t get together very often to the detriment of a very enjoyable social side to the OBFC. To resurrect that social side we plan to hire a hall, say once a month for an hour or so, and play some 5 a side before retiring to a pub. I was going to suggest we play some ‘gentle’ 5-a-side etc but knowing how competitive OB footballers are I can’t see that happening. We will need around 15 committed players and I’ll send out details by e-mail soon. A straw poll of OB footballers taken at the Dinner suggested there is already considerable interest.

A. Snelling mentioned a plan to stage a Veterans’ football match at the School at some point in the future and talked of re-staging the annual dinner for the football section.

Membership report: K. Shea reported that since the last committee meeting we have gained some new members: Nigel Balm (68 – 75) has joined and came to the dinner. 120 Year 11/12/13 school leavers from 2009 who have been given free membership for 4 years.

We have also had enquiries, but no membership forms from  Dr John Haskill (1950 – 58) from Florida. He has expressed an interest to the School but has not yet contacted the membership secretary and

Fred Clouter (ex teacher 1990-2008)

Sadly we have lost Bob Jenkins, Terry Veal and John Lifton. Our membership currently stands at 633 of

which we received subscriptions from 476.

We sent out 123 dinner invitations and the letter regarding subscriptions to 123 people whose did not renew membership in June 2009. Most of these were school leavers from the summer of 2008 but we haven’t received membership enquiries from any of them. Dinner invitations and the attached letter advising them of 4 years free membership were sent to 120 students who left the School in the summer of 2009 from years 11, 12 and 13.  However, only 5 leavers from the 2000s attended the dinner but none of them were amongst the 2008 or 2009 school leavers. In total 709 dinner invitations and letters were sent out.

We still have a directory of a further 2900 Old Boys whose membership has lapsed over the years.

Keith also reported that  member Bill Bailey pledged a £1,000 donation to the OBA and there was a discussion about  the use to which such a donation could be put. The President agreed to take up with the sports staff the question of how the money should be spent (“something to do with sport and preferably cricket”), and to report back to Keith.

Keith also reported that Dr Colin Butler is chasing the details of Rob Smyth who is a sports writer for the Guardian and has recently published a cricketing book ‘The Spirit of Cricket’ favourably reviewed by Wisden. The fact that Colin is chasing the OBA for details points to the fact that this is RA Smyth who left in 1994 but is not a current member. Keith directed Colin to the Guardian in the first instance.

School report: The President reported that long-serving staff member John Paine, who joined the School in 1977 and had been deputy head for the past seven years, will be retiring in September and will be sorely missed.

The School was hopeful of good results in both GCSE and A Level in the current examination season.

The President updated the committee on the ‘Building Schools for the Future’ initiative although, given the state of the public finances, it was not clear whether the plans for Sittingbourne and Faversham will go through.

The President thanked the committee for its bequest of £3,000 to the School sports fund and asked that the cheque be raised now that an application for matched funding had been agreed. The committee also agreed to a further £2,500 donation towards the cost of the School’s stage lighting project.

Website report: D. Palmer reported that at the next meeting of the Website Sub-Committee plans would be put in place to refresh the website. With more than 100 articles posted it is becoming unwieldy and needs to be made more modern.

He also thanked those involved in posting the Remembrance material on the website for their contributions.

Remembrance: D. Jarrett updated the committee on Remembrance activities and paid tribute to Marc Stewart for his work in researching and publishing on the website a growing list on OBA casualties from the Boer War and WW1. K. Sears said he would make preparations to lay poppies on the graves of Old Boys when he was next in Ypres or the Somme. He said it was remarkable that 10 out of 12 of those WW1 veterans identified so far had known graves, statistically against all the odds.

Any other business:  The matter of School memorials was deferred until the next Committee meeting due to lack of time for a proper discussion.

There being no further business, the meeting was closed at 9.25 pm

The next committee meeting and AGM is scheduled for Friday 1 October, 2010

Members present: The President H. Vafeas (part), C. Laming (Vice-president), B Gilbert, N. Hancock, S. Rouse, K. Sears, A. Snelling, D. Palmer, A. Akehurst, D. Jarrett, K. Shea, P. Taylor, S. Caveney.

Apologies for absence: G. Barnes, M. Pack, P. Lusted.

Minutes and matters arising: The minutes of the meeting held on 27 November, 2009, were agreed and signed as a correct record.

Correspondence: None.

Treasurer’s report: Our bank balance on 26 February was  a healthy £4,063. By the time annual subscriptions are collected in June, this will rise to £8,000 or so. On this basis the Treasurer has pledged £3,000 to the School’s specialist sports project. The Treasurer will obtain a £40 Amazon voucher for presentation at the annual dinner.

Dinner Secretariat: Everything is progressing well for this year’s annual dinner on 15 May. N. Hancock was asked to speak to the caterers to ensure the main course quality reflects the lack of a starter. The bar is booked and the speaker is Robert Dammers. Help is required at School on the morning of the dinner. G. Barnes will be asked to act as M.C. and the running order will be tightened up. Next year’s dinner will take place on Saturday 14 May and N. Hancock will advise the Hockey Club to try to avoid a clash. A volunteer is required to help M. Pack with future dinner arrangements.

Hockey report: The 1^st team’s performance had been poor until mid-November but they are now lying 5^th out of 12 in the Kent Regional 2 league. The club is now fielding seven men’s and three ladies’ teams, but the ladies will probably reduce to two teams next season. The hockey club is enjoying strong and improving finances with all profits from club activities such as the pavilion bar being donated to Borden Sport Ltd. The company has a strong balance sheet with assets of £938,000 and will be free of debt by May 2011.

Football report: K. Shea plans to address the sixth form in order to try to recruit some new players, since at least three of the current football squad are now over 50. The team is current second from bottom in the  Sittingbourne Indoor 5-a-side League. There is an opportunity in March to enter a team from the School into a charity cup competition which may provide the source for some new players.

Maroon digest: Sent out in January to the 17 members who had requested it. The digest will be put on the website within a month or so.

Membership Secretary’s report: A written report was circulated. We currently have 515 members and the 466 for whom we have addresses will be receiving a mailing containing details of what happens to their subscriptions now there is no Maroon and also a dinner invitation. The meeting decided unanimously to extend the period of free membership for school leavers to four years, to take account of gap year students.

School report: The President warmly thanked the committee for the £3,000 donation to the school’s sports fund. The fund will provide a climbing wall and replacement field event equipment.

Website report: A full report of the website committee was circulated prior to the meeting.

D. Palmer highlighted an increase in visits to the website during the recent snowy weather with daily ‘hits’ now back to the normal level of 40-50 per day. A list of potential website articles had been circulated and all were encouraged to send in a manuscript. B. Gilbert had already done so.

Any other business: The date of the next committee meeting will be switched from 18 June to 11 June due to a World Cup England fixture on the 18^th.

S. Rouse apologised for not having been able to have organised the annual golf competition in 2009 and said he lacked the time to do so again this year.

D. Jarrett asked for the date of this year’s School ceremony of remembrance. C. Laming to check with H. Vafeas and revert. D. Jarrett will be organising a meeting at his home for various committee members to discuss remembrance issues and activities for the future.

There was a general discussion on the subject of a memorial for John Weekes. This will be continued at the June committee meeting.

There being no further business, the meeting was closed at 8.45 pm and the committee then spent time mailing the annual dinner notices.

The next committee meeting is scheduled for Friday 11^th June, 2010

Members present:- the President H. Vafeas, C. Laming (Vice-President) G. Barnes, B.Gilbert, N.Hancock, M.Pack, K.Sears, A. Snelling (acting Hon. Sec), D. Palmer, A. Akehurst, D. Jarrett,  K. Shea.

Apologies for absence: J. Macrae, P. Lusted,, S.Rouse, P. Taylor, S. Caveney.

Minutes and Matters Arising: The minutes of the meeting held on 02 October were agreed and signed as a correct record.

It was agreed that the Website Committee compose a letter to all Old Bordenians in the Old Bordenians Hockey Club to advise them of improvements in the OBA website and to encourage them to join the Association.

The ‘History of the School’ project being undertaken by Bryan Short is progressing well and the first part will soon be on the website.

Correspondence:  None.

Treasurer’s Report: a quiet time of year. Total funds now at £4,148. The question of further donations for School projects was discussed and it was agreed that any major contribution should wait until mid-2010 in order to see the impact of the forthcoming Government project ‘Building Schools for the Future’. In the meantime, Harold Vafeas to report back at the next meeting for other smaller projects such as a new franking machine, and a portable piano.

Dinner Secretariat: the same caterer and meal have been booked, and there will be no starter course and a larger main course. Robert Dammers has accepted to be our Speaker. The mailing for the Dinner to be sent out at the next Meeting.

In order to spread the workload more evenly among the Committee, A. Snelling and P. Lusted are handing over this role  in which they have organised  the last 7 Dinners. M. Pack volunteered and another member is needed to help.

Hockey Report: there has been a bad start by the 1^st team with just 1 win in 5 which is not so good. The 1^st Team recently lost to the Gore Court 2^nd Team, which is bad for bragging rights in a local derby. The team has 5 new players and are often not playing with any real conviction; thus, not looking good but we hope for better things. The other teams are doing well as a group. The male teams have been reduced from 8 to 7, and the ladies teams have increased from 2 to 3.; on average there are some 140 players involved each week. The Junior teams are strong so the Club is performing well overall.

Football Report: the 5-a-side team has now dropped one place to penultimate place in the League despite some heroic performances, especially by D. Palmer in goal. To aid the search for new  and younger players H. Vafeas  invited K. Shea to address Year 13 students.

Membership Secretary’s report: following a meeting with R. Harris (and D. Palmer) K. Shea now has all the Membership information. The current membership details are:-

Life members  – 17

Lapsed membership  – 123

Lapsed life membership – 1

Dormant membership  – 2,835

Dormant life membership  – 43

Deceased members – 55

There will now start the process of re-assessing the information and liaising with the Website Committee in order to retain and check the relevant information needed to ‘close’ the Website to Members only.

The annual letter from the Association to School leavers about the 2yr membership of the OBA to be reviewed.

A letter of thanks to be written to R. Harris for his work as Membership Secretary.

School Report: H. Vafeas discussed the various funding  needed by the School as noted in the Treasurer’s report above.

Website Report:  – see separate report below. It was agreed to spend +/- £40 on producing the Website Digest on an annual basis. The excellent quality of this ‘Digest’ was praised by all Members.

At some stage it would be of interest for the Website Committee to inspect the School Archives to retreive any relevant information and articles.

Any other business:  – the question of having a Staff Member on the Committee to be investigated.

- a description of the circumstances of the deaths of the Old Boys in the Wars was requested to be included in the annual Remembrance Service.

There being no further business, the meeting was closed at 8,10pm and was followed by a presentation to Bryan Short for his 41 years service on the OBA Committee.

The next Meeting is scheduled for Friday 5^th March 2010.

OBA WEBSITE UPDATE – for committee meeting 27 November 2009

www.oldbordenians.co.uk

1      The site continues to attract high numbers of visitors, often in excess of 100 per day. The table below shows days of highest activity to date.

Top Days – Unique visitors

2      The main challenge for the website continues to be to keep it alive and regularly updated.  During the summer, having identified a number of sources of regular material, we were able to post (publish) articles at least every fortnight.  However, I will continue to make the regular plea for additional ad-hoc stories.  Having no computer is no excuse – I’m happy to type up any manuscript articles, or convert photographs and other memorabilia into a format suitable for adding to the site.  The website committee will continue to approach other committee members for material – I’d be grateful for a positive response from all.

3      We had a minor glitch where the site was unavailable for 4 days due to late payment of the invoice to maintain our domain names.  I will discuss mutually acceptable options to avoid this in future with Ryan Jarrett and Neil Hancock.

4      It is still our intention to restrict full access to the site to members of the Association by Spring next year and the process required to take this forward has been the subject of discussions at recent website committee meetings.  We will be issuing website usernames and passwords to all members of the Association with the dinner invitation next spring, and will be restricting the site to members only wef 1 June 2010, to tie in with the annual subscription period.  Further details on the process are available, if required.

5      Following discussions at the Website committee meeting and via email, I propose that we issue an annual Website Digest to those 20 members of the Association that sent a request to Graham Barnes to receive such a publication.  The maximum cost of this will be in the region of £40.  This comprises £1.80 per copy for printing by the school and envelopes (£36), with 30p postage for 15 copies (£4.50).  Five of the recipients are Committee members and will not require posting.  We will seek to reduce this by using one of our Maroon advertisers to carry out the printing free of charge.  Full committee approval for this spend is sought.

David Palmer

OBA Website committee

17 November 2009

Members present: H. Vafeas in the Chair, G. Barnes, S.Caveney, C.Laming,  K.Shea, M.Pack, K.Sears, A.Snelling (acting Hon. Sec),  P. Lusted, A.J.Akehurst, R. Harris, D. Jarrett, B. Gilbert, D. Palmer.

Apologies for absence: J. Macrae, P. Taylor, N. Hancock, B. Short, S. Rouse.

Minutes and Matters Arising: The minutes of the meeting held on 3rd Oct-08 were agreed and signed as a correct record.  There were no matters arising.

Correspondence:  None other than those apologising for absence. B. Short has resigned from the Committee after 41 years, including 30 as President. A formal tribute will be arranged.

Treasurer’s Report: (to be added to site later).
Matters arising – the outstanding advertising monies £150 will soon come in; H. Vafeas to advise new projects in due course; H. Vafeas to report back on long-serving Staff Board updating.The accounts were proposed by G. Barnes and seconded by K. Shea.

Membership Secretary’s report:  (to be added to site later). Numbers were 10-20 down on previous years but this was normal. It was reported that the expected loss of membership due to loss of the Maroon had not happened. This was the last report from R. Harris and the President thanked him for his work and this was wholeheartedly endorsed by the Committee.

Football Report: – see report below. The Team’s efforts to remain in 6th place were duly noted and thanks were given to K. Shea for his role as manager, and also to D. Palmer who is now  goalkeeper for the team.

Hockey Report: – see report below.

Editor of the Maroon: as we all know this was the year of the last Maroon and G. Barnes reported that the final edition of The Maroon was published in March 2009 and has been well received. An article about past editors and a series of father-and-son reminiscences meant that we were able to produce a bumper issue of 72 pages plus covers, and nearly all of our regular advertisers supported us right to the end. It is pleasing that, although the annual edition of the Magazine was one of the more tangible benefits which OBA Members enjoyed from their annual subscriptions, the Association’s subscription income has held up quite well ; pleasing, too, that the Website is manifestly growing in popularity and that the transition from one medium of communication to another seems to be going as smoothly as we had all hoped. So far, approximately 20 (mainly older) Members without access to a computer have requested the annual digest of Website items which it is proposed should be printed each Spring. There are probably more who have yet to respond, but the total will presumably shrink as time goes on. I should like to take this opportunity, if I may, to record my own thanks to all those who have helped me in my three years of editorship : to Keith Shea for dealing with the advertising, to all those who have sent in articles and other material, to John Macrae for his proof-reading, to Denis Jarrett for his advice and encouragement, and many, many more who have made the job much more rewarding and pleasurable than I had anticipated.
The President and the whole Committee warmly thanked Graham for his efforts and indeed for producing an excellent final Maroon.

Dinner Secretariat: The full report is already on the website but to summarise the salient points:-

1. The move to a May date seems to generally find favour whilst making no real changes to attendance numbers.
2. It is difficult to really analyse but advertising in the local press seemed to make no difference to numbers.
3. The feeling of the Committee is that the quality of the meal should be upgraded.
4. The bar seems to have resolved the service levels at “pressure” times.
5. Roger Usher was an excellent choice as our speaker.
6. The idea of putting the speaker’s contemporaries on the top table seems to have been successful.
7. Financially the event is still viable on current prices.
8. It is disappointing that the Hockey Club have no representation and that there is a continuing void for a couple of decades.
The 2010 dinner will be on Saturday 15 May and the main speaker has yet to be decided.

Website Report:
Website sub-committee comprising Ryan Jarrett, Peter Lusted, John Macrae, David Palmer and Alan Snelling met a number of times during the year to ensure continued development of the site, particularly as it has now become the main communication vehicle for the Association.
Daily visitors to the site have increased steadily during the year.  In my report produced last September, I noted that the highest number of visits to the site in any one day was 46, with the next highest being 29.  In the last 2 months, 5 days have attracted over 100 visitors to the site, with a high of 130 unique visitors on 7 September.
Access to the home page and first few lines of a story are still open to all visitors, but during the year, we introduced a registration process for any visitor wanting access to the full article.  This is in anticipation of requiring visitors to the whole site to be members.
Visitors are able to register for email alerts to be sent to them when a new story/article has been added to the site.  Originally, these email alerts included the whole article.  We have now restricted this to the first few lines of the article, with the full piece only available on the site (and generally requiring the visitor to be registered).  It is my view that it is this change that has boosted considerably the number of visitors over the past few months.
A number of minor enhancements have been made to the site during the year and will continue to be made following discussion at the sub-committee.
The website committee have identified a number of sources of material to ensure a regular supply of material for the site, although we are always on the lookout for articles of interest from all old boys; this occurred in the days of the Maroon, but we are not constrained by publishing timescales.
We now aim to publish at least one ‘post’ every 2 weeks.

The President and Committee thanked D. Palmer for his work in managing the transformation of the website; thanks also were noted for Ryan Jarrett who is responsible for all the essential behind-the-scenes technical work on the website.

Election of Officers and Committee:  the following appointments were agreed:

President: Harold Vafeas. D. Palmer took the Chair for this  and H. Vafeas was unanimously proposed and seconded.

Vice-President: following  retirement of G. Barnes, C. Laming was proposed by G. Barnes and seconded by A. Snelling.
The President and Committee thanked G. Barnes for his dedication and long service to the Association.

Treasurer. Neil Hancock. Proposed by B. Gilbert, seconded by K. Sears.
Assistant Treasurer. K. Sears, proposed by S. Caveney, seconded by C. Laming.

Hon. Secretary. J, Macrae. Proposed by D. Palmer, seconded by K. Shea.
Assistant secretary: C. Laming. Proposed by R. Harris, seconded by M. Pack.

Membership secretary: K. Shea, proposed by A. Snelling, seconded by P. Lusted.

Dinner Secretariat: P. Lusted and A. Snelling proposed jointly by C. Laming, and seconded by K. Shea.

Editor of the Maroon Digest: G. Barnes; proposed by H. Vafeas and seconded by P. Lusted.

Website Advertising Representative: K. Shea, proposed by A. Snelling and seconded by G. Barnes.
Website Representative: D. Palmer, proposed by C. Laming and seconded by G. Barnes.

OBA Governor: A.Snelling was re-elected for a 4-year term. Proposed by B. Gilbert and seconded by K. Shea.

The following were re-elected: P. Taylor, S. Rouse, S. Caveney, B. Gilbert, M. Pack.
The following were co-opted: D. Jarrett, A.J. Akehurst.

Football Representative: K. Shea.
Hockey Representative: N. Hancock.

Accounts Examiner: M. Pack (provisional).

The Constitution – no matters arising.

Any other business: the AGM was preceded by a talk from D. Jarrett about the War Memorial service and the request that the OBA embrace this Service. C. Laming and N. Hancock will discuss this further for presentation at next Meeting. This was agreed as was the appointment of a Remembrance Coordinator.

There was some general concern expressed that the OB Hockey Club is drifting away from the Association.

1). The Committee Meeting dates for the coming year were agreed as follows:
                           Friday 27 November 2009
                           Friday 05 March 2010
                           Friday 18 June 2010
                           Friday 01 October 2010 – includes the AGM at 7pm

2). The Annual Dinner will take place at the School on Saturday 15 May 2010  at 5.30pm for 7pm.
3). The next [2010] Sheppey Dinner date to be advised.

There being no further business, this AGM was closed at 9pm.

        +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Football Report for the OBA AGM on 2nd October 2009.

The new 5 a side season began for us on 17th September 2009 with a defeat and a victory. This season promises to be tougher than ever because the league now comprises just one division of 10 teams rather than the two divisions of 6 teams we have been used to. We generally occupy the bottom half of the last two places in division 2 so this year we’re up against it.
However, all is not lost; we have a new and enthusiastic ‘keeper in Dave Palmer; so enthusiastic in fact that he has even bought his own goalkeeping gloves. The last time he played for the OB he broke a rib. To make matters worse, it was one of his own and he wasn’t even playing in goal! We have also signed a couple of players who are still in their early 20s and, unlike most of the rest of the squad they can run and jump and everything. As long as we can hide the older members of the squad from them, there’s a chance they may stay for the whole season.
Unfortunately, we have lost the services of Simon Thompson to a nasty knee injury and we wish him a swift recovery.
Turning to last season; for a while we flirted with 3rd place in division 2 but, and this will come as no surprise to the many avid readers of past football reports, we finished 6th, or to the more unfeeling might put it, last.
We did enjoy a little more success in a couple of the cup competitions where we managed to progress beyond the first round but in both competitions we were then unlucky to be drawn in the second round against the team that went on to win the 1st Division for the third year running, and most of the cup competitions. Even then we went down fighting and in one game we were beating them at half time.
But despite our final league position we were not too downhearted. We picked up points against all but the top team in the 2nd division and we also performed well against teams from the 1st division in the cups, so we are capable of playing well and if we can become more consistent then we (to borrow a phrase used in most of my school reports) can do better. Part of our lack of consistency last season was due to an inability to field the same goalkeeper from one week to the next, but hopefully, we have solved that problem now and that will settle the defence for the new season.
The Sittingbourne 5-a-side league is now being run by a larger and more enthusiastic committee and our progress can be followed in the local press from next season when it prints results and tables and at www.soccerweekend.com/league/index.asp?LeagueID=3867 . Results and the table after the first night are attached to this report.
As for the OB Veterans 11-a- side team we are planning two games for the coming season.  

Keith Shea.
Hockey Report for the OBA AGM on 2nd October 2009.
 
Now the season is over the final League positions for 2008/9 are:

             P    W    D     L        F        A      PTS    final position  
1st     22    8     3    11      60     72       25     9 OUT OF 12
2nd   22    8     1    13      55     64       25        9/12
3rd   22   11     6      5      69     38       39        4/12
4th   18   12     3      3    105     36       39        3/10
5th   18     9     1      8       51     50       28         5/10
4A    18     9     3      6      53     38       30         6/10
4B    18     6     0     12     29     55       18          8/10
6th  16     6     1       9      43     52       19          5/9          

We all enjoy our hockey, but the results overall were slightly disappointing. The Ist XI were not consistent  with their results and will feature in a League reorganisation next season.
Socially we are a fantastic Club where everyone mixes so well. We look forward to next season with high hopes.
Neil Hancock

 Apologies for absence: J. Macrae, H. Vafeas.

 Minutes and Matters Arising: The minutes of the meeting held on 28 Nov-08 were agreed and signed as a correct record.

 Correspondence:  Letter from Brian Allard in Tennessee to Neil Hancock thanking him for an old Maroon. Also letter from Tony Crosse to Neil Hancock giving his version of the Gourley obituary.

 Treasurer’s Report:  N. Hancock reported that once the printers invoice for the 2009 Maroon is paid, our funds will be substantially reduced but will be increased from June onwards when subscriptions come in.

 Dinner Secretariat: The caterer, menu, bar, speaker had all been arranged, and Neil Hancock confirmed that the cost of the Dinner will be £13.50 which was the same as last year. The Dinner invitations were included with the Maroon, as well as circulated to Governors and Staff. The Menu card will be created nearer the event. The Committee agreed to gauge reaction from the Diners as to the suitability of the new date for the Dinner. It was also agreed to salute current and past Editors of the Maroon at the Dinner. The Committee also proposed to try to find a Membership Secretary at the Dinner.

Thanks to efforts by Peter Lusted and Mick Pack, there looks like being a large contingent from the late 1960 leavers attending the Dinner this year. The Committee also proposed that the Dinner Secretariat consider advertising the Dinner in the local press. The Dinner Secretariat will review numbers nearer the date bearing in mind that if we get over 120 diners then we will have to use the New Hall.

 Hockey Report:: N. Hancock reported that despite some disappointing results, the quality of play was improving all round the Club which now has 8 male and 2 female teams. The Club website needs updating.

Football Report: K. Shea reported  that the OBA 5-a-side team has had a recent run of good form, winning 4 of the last 6 matches, lifting the team off the bottom of the league into 5^th place (of six). The top 2 teams are running away with the league but the OBA team hopes to finish in the cherished 3^rd place (does not get promoted nor relegated!). The club now has 10 enthusiastic players. Unfortunately they recently lost both games against the top team 3-2 and 5-2. The progress of the team can be followed on www.soccerweekend.com/league/index.asp?LeagueID=3867

 Editor of the Maroon:  G. Barnes presented this final edition to the Committee and it was extremely well received and P. Lusted proposed a vote of thanks to Graham which was unanimously applauded. The cost was £2,202 which was £250 less than last year despite the increase in pages from 64 to 72 but there was no colour on the inside pages. There were 2 fewer advertisers this year being a reduction of £120; postal charges are expected to be higher than last year because of the increased weight. So overall, it will probably work out the same total as last year. Various articles from the Maroon will be put onto the website in the near future.

 Membership Secretary’s report:  R. Harris presented the current membership numbers as follows:-

 Honorary  5,   Life  60 (of whom 18 pay £5 p.a.),  Annual  359,  Student  43,  Leaver  97,  Staff 8,  Donor 1. TOTAL: 573

 Considerable discussion took place on the role and future successor to Rick. It was suggested that the role be split but no volunteers came forward. This will be reviewed at the next Meeting.

 School Report:   none advised.

 Website Report:: D. Palmer reported that the site now gets about 15-20 visitors per day. More articles from Committee members are needed. The site needs to be used and kept alive and interesting. The 2 long term projects, School History and History of the OBA, need to be accelerated. All visitors to the site now have to register, free of charge, and a prize is being offered at the Annual Dinner for the winner of a quiz on the site. This should help increase registrations.

Any other business: The Secretary welcomed the fact that most Committee members in charge of the various Sections  submitted their reports to the Secretary 3 weeks before the Meeting and they were sent out with the Agenda.

 S. Rouse announced that the 2009 Golf Tournament (OBA v School) will take place on 03 July.

The Committee agreed to sponsor David March with £100 for his forthcoming University expedition to Thailand. More details of the trip are required and he should provide an article for the website.

There being no further business, the meeting was closed at 8:50pm.

The next Meeting will be on 19 June 2009.

Members present: G. Barnes (in the Chair),  S.Caveney, B.Gilbert, P.Lusted, M.Pack, K.Sears, B. Short, A.Snelling (acting Hon. Sec),  D. Palmer, C. Laming, S. Rouse.

Apologies for absence: J. Macrae, H. Vafeas,  K. Shea, P. Taylor, R. Harris, P. Christopher.

Minutes and Matters Arising: The minutes of the meeting held on 12 Sept were agreed and signed as a correct record.

The 2009 OBA v School Golf Tournament date will soon be  advised by S. Rouse.

Correspondence:  Brig J. Clemow, the oldest OBA member has died at the age of 97. Obituary report to be done for inclusion in the Maroon and website. It was agreed to send a small donation on behalf of the OBA.

The Constitution: the Meeting endorsed the revised Constitution which was agreed at the recent AGM.

Treasurer’s Report:   none advised.

Dinner Secretariat: A.Snelling reported that caterer, bar, speaker had all been arranged. A copy of the Invitation letter was  given to all attendees. G. Barnes reported that the recent Sheppey Dinner was  very enjoyable despite numbers being down on last year. The date for the 2009 Sheppey Dinner is 14 November.

Hockey Report::     none advised.

Football Report: K. Shea reported  that the OBA now has only one team in the Sittingbourne 5-a-side competition as unfortunately the youngsters had dropped out of the league. A recent 11-a-side ‘reunion’ match held at the School was a great success with the 22 players having an average age of just over 56. Tony Clayton was on hand to witness the event. Further veteran 11-a-side matches are planned for 2009.

Editor of the Maroon:  G. Barnes reported that this final issue would probably be 64 pages of nostalgia featuring Past Maroon Editors, Sports Section histories, and Father/Son stories. The total cost should be approximately the same as last year. Distribution would take place at the next Meeting on 06 March-09.

Membership Secretary’s report:  none advised.

School Report:   none advised.

Website Report: see attached Minutes of sub-committee meeting. C. Laming to approach D. Jarrett to research article on History of the OBA.

Any other business: It was agreed that all Committee members in charge of the various Sections should submit their reports to the Secretary 3 weeks before the forthcoming Meeting so that they can be sent out with the Agenda and then all Members have the opportunity to be up-to-date with all the OBA affairs.

There being no further business, the meeting was closed at 8.45pm. The next Meeting will be on 06 March 2009.
++++++++++++++++++++
OBA WEBSITE UPDATE – for Committee Meeting 28 November 2008
www.oldbordenians.co.uk

1. The site is increasing its number of visitors as the year progresses.  The simple statistics easily available to me show that 4 of the 5 busiest days in terms of unique visitors (as opposed to one or two people continually logging in and out of the site during the day) are in the last quarter.  The information below shows the top 5 days since the site was launched.
 Top Days – Unique visitors
 
                  June 15, 2008………………….46
                 September 6, 2008……………45
                 October 20, 2008……………..42
                 November 10, 2008………….41
                 September 16, 2008………….38

2. The following is a list of outstanding actions from the last couple of meetings.  I make no apology for re-iterating this list, as the site needs a regular supply of material to keep visitors returning to the site.  If all these actions were taken forward, it would provide an excellent source of raw material.

2.1. [Anonymised] to produce an article for the website, explaining how the £10 subscription is spent and the benefit it produces (i.e. not just the Maroon).  This is to head off any potential backlash from members when we cease publication of the Maroon who may believe the £10 only funds the Maroon.
Nothing received.

2.2. The “President’s Letter” normally printed in the Maroon should become a more regular feature when required.  In the past, this could have been when funds were required for the new Library; issue surrounding the change of status to the school, etc. 
Nothing received to date.

2.3. To move away from this being the “John Macrae memories” site (although the quality of his articles are excellent!), all committee members are asked to produce one article for the site.  This can be a personal history, memory of either schooldays or event related to the OBA, etc.
Nothing received.

2.4. [Anonymised] to produce ad-hoc articles of school developments that would be of interest to OBA members.
Nothing received to date.

2.5. I believe [Anonymised] is writing or has written a history of the school.  This would be excellent material for the site.  If this isn’t yet complete, we could add chapters as and when they are ready, in a similar manner to John Macrae’s ‘Down memory lane’ chapters.
Nothing received.

2.6. The other area that is missing from the site is a history of the Association.  The longer serving members of the committee should produce such an article.
Nothing received.

3. Peter Lusted agreed to form a website information sub-committee but has yet to recruit any volunteers.  However his time has been invaluable in turning John’s major piece of work on the old school and the move to the new school into bite size pieces to add to the site on a regular basis.  Peter is taking forward a number of other initiatives to generate articles or stories for the site and I’m sure he would appreciate volunteers to help him in this aim.  The aim of the sub-committee is to maintain a steady flow of information to the website, ensuring it doesn’t become stale.

4. A number of changes have been made to the site recently that you may have noticed.  Two major changes are detailed below, but other changes are planned.

4.1. In the past, visitors to the site were able to look at the first couple of paragraphs of a story on the front page and then click to view the rest of the story. The first major change we have made is that anyone who wants to read a full story now needs to register to use the site.  Whilst this registration is quick and  automatic, it does ensure we capture email addresses of visitors for possible future use and also asks the visitor whether or not they are i) old boys of the school and ii) members of the association.  This is the first step towards the potential introduction of a members’ only part of the site.  The collection of the information about visitors will help us make an informed decision of when it would be appropriate to move to such a restriction.

4.2. Visitors can now view the latest comments left by visitors on published stories.  In the past, these may have gone un-noticed, but I see them as one aspect of the site that brings it alive and helps old boys interact with each other around the stories.

5. The last website sub-committee meeting decided not to proceed with advertising on the site at this stage.  There are a number of enhancements that we want to make to the site and I feel it would be unprofessional to make such developmental changes if we were charging advertisers for a service.  It would also deflect Ryan Jarrett’s limited time available to develop the site, which he carries out in his own time.

6. Contact points for all material are either Alan Snelling at ufton@lineone.net, David Palmer at DavidPalmer@blueyonder.co.uk , John Macrae at John.Macrae@talktalk.net or Peter Lusted at peter@lusteds.freeserve.co.uk .

David Palmer

Website Committee
18 November 2008

Members present: H.Vafeas (President/Chairman), S.Caveney, B.Gilbert, N.Hancock, R.Harris, S.Rouse, P.Lusted, M.Pack, K.Sears, A.Snelling (acting Hon. Sec), D. Palmer, and  P.Taylor.

Apologies for absence: J. Macrae, G. Barnes, K. Shea, B. Short, and N.Hancock.

Minutes and Matters Arising: The minutes of the meeting held on 9 May were agreed and signed as a correct record. 
The Committee unanimously agreed  £50 to be donated to the School for an Annual School Art prize.

Correspondence:  Email from Chico Khan-Gandapur making contact with the Association and School.
Also, letter from John Pullen enclosing confirmation of his brother Maxwell’s attendance at the School.

Treasurer’s Report: In a written report Neil Hancock advised that the Current Funds were £200.15 on Current Account, £1,081.66 in National Savings Bank and £696 from Advertisers (with 1 to come).
£500 had been given to the School for Art Room refurbishment. £1,200 also donated for Remembrance Boards. £100 also donated to School for annual Cricket Bat awards.

Dinner Secretariat: A.Snelling reported that at this early stage the speaker, caterer, and bar were already booked. Consideration was given to a change of meal but we will stay with the usual fare. Main consideration at this time was the timing of sending out the Dinner Invitation which is normally sent with the Maroon. Since the Dinner is on 16 May 2009 and the Maroon is usually sent out in February, it is felt that the Maroon should be posted around mid March and a suitable date for a Committee Meeting should be made at the AGM.

Hockey Report: Neil Hancock reported that the season had not yet started and the Club had lost a few players due to University etc,.The Club has secured the services, in the New Year, of a master at the Abbey School. as a coach and player. He had previously played for New Zealand for 7-8 years, and last season was in the Canterbury 1st XI.
The Club has recently been designated as a Junior Development Centre for 13yr olds. This is another achievement following the efforts of Alan Wilson. Canterbury, Maidstone, and Rochester are the other centres.

Football Report: In a written report, Keith Shea noted that the younger of the two  5-a-side teams has not re-entered the league this season, but the more elderly team will continue, and will surely include some of those younger players.
The new season had just started and after beating a local police team they were knocked out in the next round of the Cup.
Alan Snelling added that the Veteran 11-a-side team had just held a successful and popular reunion match on the lower field. They achieved the aim of having a total age of over 1,000 years for both teams. Full details and photos are now on the website.

Editor of the Maroon:  In a written report Graham Barnes proposed that the 2009 Maroon would contain the usual traditional features but would also have some nostalgic items, for example, he is compiling an article on the six editors of the Maroon and how  they have fashioned the Maroon over the years; also, he is contacting several ‘father & son’ Old Boys to compare their stories over the generations; also the football and hockey sections have been asked to provide a history of their activities over the last 60-70 years.
He also expressed some careful consideration be given to the timing and method of ‘closing’ the website to non-members.
As mentioned above, the timing of despatching the Maroon be fixed at a suitable time in advance of the May 2009 Dinner.

Membership Secretary’s report:  Rick Harris reported that the subscriptions had now come in and were being processed. The current membership comprises: 60 Life, 5 Honorary, 32 Student, 8 Staff, and 359 Annuals.
HV to provide RH with Leavers details.

School Report: Following low entrance numbers in recent years, this year saw a total of 124 new entrants. This number included a significant number from Sheppey, and also recent movers from the London area.
The new Art Room is near completion and should be ready for viewing at the AGM. The new Music room has been completed along with new computers and other state-of-the art technology.

Website Report: Dave Palmer had produced a Website report in advance of the Meeting and it was disappointing to note that several requested items had not been actioned. A demonstration of the website was given by Ryan Jarrett and the Committee were very impressed with both the quality and speed of development of the site.
The question of advertisers on the site was discussed, and this will be further considered at the next website sub-committee meeting and proposals will be put to the Committee.
The website sub-committee will also consider the implications of ‘closing’ the site to non-members and will come up with proposals for the Committee.

 Any other business:
S. Rouse to contact Chris Brinn to set up an OBA v School golf tournament in mid-2009.

There being no further business, the meeting was closed at 9:15pm.

Website report:

OBA WEBSITE UPDATE – for Committee Meeting 12 Sept 2008
www.oldbordenians.co.uk

1. The website has now been up and running for over 7 months and is regularly receiving15-20 visitors per day, with many days exceeding this.  Activity dipped during August, which is to be expected during peak holiday period but visitors have noticeably increased this month, with 29 unique visitors to the site already today -Saturday 6 September at 11:00 am (increased to 38 by the time I finished the report at 15:45!).   The table below shows the top 5 days since the site was launched.

Top Days – Unique Visitors

Date	Visits
June 15, 2008	46
April 11, 2008	29
July 14, 2008	29
September 6, 2008	29
August 7, 2008	25

 2. The following is an update of the activities that I included in my last report, with progress against each:
2.1. [Anonymised] to produce an article for the website, explaining how the £10 subscription is spent and the benefit it produces (i.e. not just the Maroon).  This is to head off any potential backlash from members when we cease publication of the Maroon who may believe the £10 only funds the Maroon.
Nothing received.
2.2. The “President’s Letter” normally printed in the Maroon should become a more regular feature when required.  In the past, this could have been when funds were required for the new Library; issue surrounding the change of status to the school, etc. 
Nothing received to date.
2.3. A section will be created on the site to hold formal documentation for ready access to all.  This will include the Constitution, Accounts, Committee minutes and AGM minutes.  Let me know if you are aware of any other key formal documents that should be included.  We will not include committee members names and addresses, as the site is still open to all.
Section created, with Committee minutes added when approved.
2.4. [Anonymised] to produce an updated football report following the season close last week.
Completed and added to site.
2.5. An ‘Announcements’ section will be set up to hold an Obituaries category.  All members are asked to inform website committee of entries for this section as soon as you become aware.
One obituary added (Bob Davis).
2.6. To move away from this being the “John Macrae memories” site (although the quality of his articles are excellent!), all committee members are asked to produce one article for the site.  This can be a personal history, memory of either schooldays or event related to the OBA, etc.
Nothing received.
2.7. [Anonymised] to produce ad-hoc articles of school developments that would be of interest to OBA members.
Nothing received to date.
2.8. I believe [Anonymised] is writing or has written a history of the school.  This would be excellent material for the site.  If this isn’t yet complete, we could add chapters as and when they are ready, in a similar manner to John Macrae’s ‘Down memory lane’ chapters.
Nothing received.
2.9. The other area that is missing from the site is a history of the Association.  The longer serving members of the committee should produce such an article.  Is this [Anonymised]?
Nothing received.

3. Peter Lusted volunteered his services to form a website information sub-committee, and attended the last meeting of the website committee on 1 September.  No other volunteers have come forward.  To ensure a wide spread of relevance of the site to both old and young old boys, Peter will contact one or two from each group of attendees at the annual dinner to try to drum up volunteers to assist him.  The aim of the sub-committee will be to maintain a steady flow of information to the website, ensuring it doesn’t become stale.

4. Work has been carried out to identify an acceptable solution to the issue of how articles published on the website might be able to be distributed to members who don’t have access to the website post 2010 when publication of the Maroon may cease.  An example of the current potential offering should be available at the 12/9 meeting.

5. A demonstration of “how to get the best out of the OBA website” for committee members will be given at the 12/9 meeting, providing the facilities can be made available.

6. Contact points for all material are [Anonymised].

David Palmer
Website Committee
6 September 2008

1. The name shall be OLD BORDENIAN ASSOCIATION.

2. The following shall be eligible for membership of the Association:-

(a) All those whose names have appeared on the Roll of the School
(b) Past and present members of the teaching staff of the School
(c) Past and present members of the School’s Governing Body

3. Honorary Life Membership of the Association may be conferred if it is considered that services have been rendered to the Association or to the School which merit the award of this distinction. The conferral of an Honorary Life Membership shall be at the discretion of the Committee.

4. The objects of the Association shall be as follows:-

(a) To hold reunions, to foster good fellowship and a corporate spirit amongst members
(b) To arrange sports and various activities for the members through recognised sections whose members should normally be paid up members of the Association
(c) To assist the School and its organisations financially and in other ways

5. There shall be free membership for the first year after leaving School and thereafter the subscriptions shall be as fixed at the AGM from time to time and as published on the Old Bordenian website.
Annual Members and Honorary Life Members shall be entitled to a card of membership and full website access.
Life Members shall be entitled to a card of membership and full website access. 
No further Life Members, except Honorary Life Members, shall be accepted for membership

6. All subscriptions shall be due on June 1st of each year

7. Where a member is in arrears for more than one year membership shall lapse

8. The funds of the Association shall be administered by the Honorary Treasurer, and all cheques shall be signed by the Treasurer and either the President or the Honorary Secretary

9. (a) The Annual General Meeting shall be held at the School in October
(b) If there are any special items that members may wish to include in the agenda, these must be submitted in writing to the Honorary Secretary at least two weeks in advance.
(c) Notice of the Annual General Meeting shall be published at least three months in advance on the Old Bordenian Website.
(d) The Treasurer shall prepare the Association’s Annual Accounts made up to 31st July each year and have them certified by an Examiner appointed by the Committee and shall present them to the Annual General Meeting for approval.

10. The Officers of the Association, all of whom shall be Honorary, shall be elected at the AGM

11. (a) The affairs of the Association shall be controlled by a Committee consisting of the following:- The President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer, Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Membership Secretariat (two members), Dinner Secretariat (two members), Editor of the “Maroon”, Advertising Representative, Website Representative, OBA Representative on the Board of School Governors, six other members and a subscribing member nominated by each of the recognised sections
   (b) The Committee shall have the power of co-option. Co-opted members  shall have the same voting rights as Committee members.
   (c) Any member who fails to attend, without good reason, at least one  Committee meeting between one AGM and the next shall be deemed  ineligible for re-election.

12. Seven members of Committee shall constitute a quorum for both the Committee meetings and the AGM.

13. The Committee shall have the power to set up various sub-committees and co-opt to them additional members from within the Association

14. All minutes, reports and proceedings of sub-committees, duly signed by the Chairman, shall be presented to the Committee at its next meeting

15. Extra Ordinary General Meeting. The Committee may call an Extra Ordinary General Meeting on the written application of ten fully paid up members of the Association

16. With reference to any additions or amendments to this Constitution, notice shall be given in writing to the Honorary Secretary at least fourteen days prior to the AGM.

This revised constitution was agreed at the AGM – October 2008

Members present: The President, S.Caveney, B.Gilbert, N.Hancock, R.Harris, P.Lusted, J.Macrae,  D.Palmer,  K.Sears, K.Shea, B.Short.
 
Apologies for absence: G.Barnes, C.Laming, A.Snelling. M. Pack.The Committee had heard with regret of the death of Tom Baldock in April.  Neil Hancock had sent a donation of £20 from the Association to Tom’s widow, Alene.  The President remembered Tom as a courteous and interesting man who was a regular attendee at meetings despite the long journey from Essex.

Minutes and Matters Arising: The minutes of the meeting held on 1 February 2008 were agreed and signed as a correct record.
Matters arising: – Ken Sears referred to the minute regarding the memorial to Old Bordenians who were killed outside major conflicts.  It was agreed to record names in this third category and those interested should begin the task of identification.  John Macrae agreed to be the point of contact for this information. 

Correspondence:  John Macrae noted that the publication of the Maroon had prompted a large number of responses.  Bill Bailey from Manila had enjoyed the read and had provided further information about the Tour of the School.  Steve Gallacher, Bexleyheath, included a postcard of the old school, his memories of staff and the Prefect torture of cutting the quadrangle grass with scissors.  The son of the first-named staff member on the Staff Board had written with information of his father.  He too was named WJ Pullen and left in 1934.  He mentioned his brother Max also attended Borden and research showed he left in 1940.  Lewis Chelton sent in some of his memories and wondered if his pre-war school cap merited antique valuation.  A press cutting had been received recording the death of Peter Mills, Old Bordenian and former Head of Faversham County Secondary School for Boys.  Peter Taylor had followed up the search for information on H Hill and John Hay (1933) had written in with some memories noting he remembered two colleagues he thought we lost in WW II.  One was Ingram, whose name is already on the Board.  The other was Turk, but a search of the Commonwealth Graves Commission website did not find him.  Finally John Lifton had written to express his thanks for his welcome at the Dinner and commented how well it was organised.
Neil Hancock had correspondence with Tony Crosse at his new address in France and had requested an article for the Maroon together with his subs.
 
Treasurer’s Report: Neil Hancock reported that current funds stood at £2480. This included the George Dawkins and Staff Commemoration funds. The sum of £500 had been paid to provide the gold leaf for the Honours boards.  The Dinner had produced a profit of £118 which included the sweeps.  The cost of the Maroon was £2298 but the cost of paper and postage was yet to be paid.  Around £750 was anticipated as advertising revenue.  This meant that around £4000 would be available in June and available for a school project.

Dinner Secretariat: Peter Lusted thought the event went well with no major problems.  He thanked Barry Gilbert for his help in the morning and for organising the sale of ties in the evening.  It had been confirmed that Roger Usher(1967) was willing to speak at next year’s meal and this was ratified.   The cost could be kept at £15 and the menu could be decided later.  The President expressed his thanks to Peter and Alan for their work in making the Dinner the success that it was.

Hockey Report: Neil Hancock noted that the 1st XI had finished half way up their league. The team would lose three players next year as they would be away on their studies.  Both Ladies teams had secured promotion.  The social side of the club was thriving with a good atmosphere and the financial side was healthy.
Football Report: Keith Shea thought that the 2nd XI had avoided relegation but administration of the league was not good.  The 1st XI also seemed safe.  Next season the veterans would be using some younger players and would become the ‘B’ team.  The 11-a-side Veterans team would have a few outings next year.

Editor of the Maroon:  Graham Barnes was unable to attend but had sent some notes regarding the future of the Maroon and the website.  These appear with the Website minutes.

Membership Secretary’s report:  Rick Harris reported that there were 597 paid up members but expressed concern about the poor take up of the student membership offer of only six.  John Macrae agreed to speak to this year’s leavers to try to improve the situation.

School Report: The President informed the Committee that the move to Foundation status had been successful.  As a result he had set up the School’s own independent appeals committee.  The 11+ intake for September stood at just over 100 and this could reach 120 after the appeals had been heard.  He had restarted the House system.  In keeping with the School’s Sports status the new houses would be known as Wembley, Wimbledon, Lords and Twickenham. Currently only sports competition was included, but this would be extended to other activities.  Two projects were under way.  The first was the refurbishment of the Music Room for which some grants had been secured.  Both Art rooms also needed refurbishing and it was possible that they might be available for September.  The PFA had promised some funding for this project.  Neil Hancock proposed and Peter Lusted seconded a motion that the Association should partner this project by giving £5000. This was agreed by the Committee.
Two questions were raised by this report.  The first was about the Sheppey link.  The President noted that there was a steady stream of island boys coming to Borden and would provide details at the next meeting.  The question of the memorial board to AC Howard in the original Library was raised again.  The feeling was that it could remain in its original position but with the wording altered.  No decision was taken and this will be raised at the next meeting.
 
Website report: David Palmer submitted the minutes of a recent website sub-committee meeting. These appear at the end of these minutes.

Any other business: 1.Ken Sears reported that he had visited the grave of the fourth Old Boy known to have died in WW 1 and had laid a wreath. This now completed the visits to all four.
2. At the next meeting thought should be given to the Association providing an annual School Art Prize.
3. Following a decision about the future of the Maroon, it may be necessary to amend the wording of the Constitution.
4. The next meeting is on Friday 12th September 2008

 There being no further business, the meeting was closed at 9.34pm

======================================

OBA WEBSITE UPDATE – for Committee Meeting 9 May 2008

1. The new website at www.oldbordenians.co.uk  went live in the first week of February.  It is being updated on a regular basis, mainly with articles from John Macrae, but there have been a number of others published on the site.  The style of the site allows anyone to add comments to any of the articles (although these are moderated by the website committee before they can be seen by other visitors to the site).  This has generated a number of comments on the articles, which are generally an interesting follow up or anecdote to the original article.

2. The site is receiving 15-20 visitors per day, although activity was much higher following our 2 key ‘publicity pushes’.  These were i) when the Maroon was distributed with the web address on the front of the envelope and ii) when Ryan Jarrett gave a major promotion for the website on Facebook (one of those new fangled social networking things!!).  The regular visitors are the equivalent of 15 20 people browsing through the Maroon every day for the past 3 months.

3. Looking ahead, the website committee met recently to discuss and agree a number of future activities to ensure the website is kept up to date and relevant to members.  Graham Barnes has also written a comprehensive note with a similar aim, but also on transferring the communication role of the Association from the Maroon to the website. The remainder of this report will elaborate on the activities required to take the website forward and also to address the points raised by Graham.  I will identify committee members to take some of these activities forward, taking into account Graham’s point that keeping the site active and interesting is too much for just one or two people.

4. The following activities will need to be taken forward in the near future – in no particular order of importance.
4.1. Neil Hancock to produce an article for the website, explaining how the £10 subscription is spent and the benefit it produces (i.e. not just the Maroon).  This is to head off any potential backlash from members when we cease publication of the Maroon who may believe the £10 only funds the Maroon.
4.2. The “President’s Letter” normally printed in the Maroon should become a more regular feature when required.  In the past, this could have been when funds were required for the new Library; issue surrounding the change of status to the school, etc.
4.3. A section will be created on the site to hold formal documentation for ready access to all.  This will include the Constitution, Accounts, Committee minutes and AGM minutes.  Let me know if you are aware of any other key formal documents that should be included.  We will not include committee members names and addresses, as the site is still open to all.
4.4. Keith Shea to produce an updated football report following the season close last week.
4.5. An ‘Announcements’ section will be set up to hold an Obituaries category.  All members are asked to inform John Macrae, Alan Snelling or David Palmer of entries for this section as soon as you become aware.
4.6. To move away from this being the “John Macrae memories” site (although the quality of his articles are excellent!), all committee members are asked to produce one article for the site.  This can be a personal history, memory of either schooldays or event related to the OBA, etc.
4.7. Harold Vafeas to produce ad-hoc articles of school developments that would be of interest to OBA members.
4.8. I believe Bryan Short is writing or has written a history of the school.  This would be excellent material for the site.  If this isn’t yet complete, we could add chapters as and when they are ready, in a similar manner to John Macrae’s ‘Down memory lane’ chapters.
4.9. The other area that is missing from the site is a history of the Association.  The longer serving members of the committee should produce such an article.  Is this Sean or Ken?

5. In addition to the above, the following activities are planned by the website committee:
5.1. Letters sent to John Macrae that would be of wider interest will be published on the site, although John would obtain the author’s permission prior to publication.
5.2. I will email all members of the association asking for articles of interest, similar to those requested of the committee.
5.3. A ‘From the Head’s Files’ section is to be created to enable similar information to be available of Old Boys’ successes as currently published in the Maroon.
5.4. The feasibility of a web ‘shop’ will be investigated to sell ties, old copies of the Maroon, ‘School in photographs’ book, etc.

6. The website committee now want to set up a website information sub-committee, as suggested by Graham in his note, and full committee members are asked to consider whether they could usefully serve on this body, particularly those that don’t currently have a major role on the full committee.  The aim of the sub-committee will be to maintain a steady flow of information to the website, ensuring it doesn’t become stale.  I will be seeking volunteers at the meeting on Friday.

7. The remaining points in Graham’s letter that haven’t been addressed above relate to
• AGM and dinner reports – the dinner report will be posted on the website shortly; AGM minutes can be posted as soon as they have been produced after the meeting;
• Hockey and Football reports – the most efficient way of keeping this information consistent is to link to the relevant website.  The current site does have links to the OBHC; football reports will continue to be produced by the football representative for the main OBA site.  In addition, if OBA committee minutes are also published on the site, then this would give readers an update from both football and hockey reps, 3 or 4 times a year.
• Get the membership used to accessing the website regularly over the coming months – to kick start this, we are trying to arrange a demo of “how to get the best out of the OBA website” for committee members at the Sept meeting.

8. Contact points for all material are either Alan Snelling, David Palmer or John Macrae. 

David Palmer
Website Committee
3 May 2008