Annual General Meeting

The 2013 AGM will be held in Auckland over the weekend of
1 - 3 November with the AGM meeting on
Saturday 2 November

If you wish to attend the AGM, you can register your interest by emailing the National Secretary at national.secretary@yha.co.nz. This will ensure you are keep up to date with information about this weekend as it become available.

AGM weekends are also a member event with activities planned from Friday evening through to Sunday evening. Scroll down and you will find a report on what we got up to last year.

Are you on the Electoral Roll?

Each year we elect two members to our National Board, 4 Honorary Vice-Presidents and an Awards Committee member. Voting for these elections opens on the 4 October and closes on 25 October. In order to vote you must be a fully paid up adult member of YHA New Zealand on 6 September, this is the date the electoral roll closes.

Electronic voting is a very easy, cost effective way to have your vote count. If you have an email address you will be sent an electronic voting paper (unless you have previously opted-out of voting). We encourage you to consider voting electronically where possible. If you would like to update your email address or other contact details, please email national.secretary@yha.co.nz

 

Nominations for Awards

Nominations are called for the following awards:

Nominations for these awards may be made by the National Board, Branch Committees, a Members Group, a group of six Senior Financial Members or the Awards Committee.

Nominations should be forwarded to the National Secretary and close at 12 noon on Friday the 9 August 2013. Copies of all nominations will then be forwarded to the Awards Committee for deliberation.

Certificate of Appreciation    

May be awarded to organisations in recognition of special voluntary assistance to YHA. Please click here to download a nomination form.

Certificate of Merit    

May be awarded to persons (who need not be members) who have made a significant voluntary contribution to YHA at a local level. Please click here to download a nomination form.

Distinguished Service Award

May be awarded to Senior Financial Members who have made an exceptional voluntary contribution particularly at a Branch or Member Group level. Please click here to download a nomination form.

Honorary Life Membership

Honorary Life Membership is YHA’s highest award. It may be awarded to persons (who need not be members) who have made an exceptional voluntary contribution to YHA. This contribution would generally be at a national level, for the benefit of the organisation as a whole, and usually over an extended period of time. Please click here to download a nomination form.

Notices of Motion

Constitutional and General Notices of Motion may be received from any Branch Committee, National Board or any group of eight Senior Financial Members.

All Constitutional and General Notices of Motion must be received at National Office by 12 noon on Friday 9 August 2013.

Constitutional Notices of Motion

A Constitutional Notice of Motion is a notice of motion to amend YHA’s Constitution.  Constitutional Notices of Motion will be reviewed by the National Board and consultation may occur regarding the intention of the proposed motion and its wording.

Constitutional Notices of Motion will be circulated with the ballot papers for YHA’s elections, for voting by all members on the electoral roll.

Click here to download a form to use to propose a Constitutional Notice of Motion.

General Notices of Motion

A General Notice of Motion is a notice of motion regarding an item of general business, but which is not a Constitutional Notice of Motion.

All General Notices of Motion will be discussed and voted upon at the AGM.

Please note: Amendments are possible, on the day of the AGM, for General Notices of Motion.

Click here to download a form to use to propose a General Notice of Motion.

Important dates for the YHA Annual General Meeting 2013

24 May – Nominations open for National Awards.
24 May – Notices of Motion open.
June/July – within 21 days of a Branch AGM the Branch must send the following to National Office:
31 July – All Branches must have held their AGMs by now
9 August
16 August – Nominations open for elected positions
6 September
20 September
4 October
25 October – Voting closes
2 November – AGM in Auckland

 

 

AGM Weekend Nelson, 26 - 28 October 2012

Draft Minutes of the 2012 AGM

The draft minutes from the 2012 Annual General Meeting are now available.

Draft AGM Minutes

Last year’s AGM was a successful meeting and members weekend. Highlights included:

The AGM itself was held on the Saturday morning at the Trailways hotel.  It was attended by 60 members and was very positive meeting.

Election results:

Thanks to all members who took the time to vote in YHA’s elections.  The results were announced by the Chair during the AGM:

National Board – John Hammond and Kevin Brewer were re-elected.

Awards Committee – Gary Gower was elected.

Honorary Vice-Presidents – Hamish Allardice, Donald Paterson, Amanda Gower and Dave Berry were elected.

Constitutional Notice of Motion

The Constitutional Notice of Motion regarding YHA’s voting method for elections was voted upon by members and passed with a majority greater than 87% of votes cast.  This means that next year’s elections will be run under STV rules, and as a result only one voting method will be used. This should be much easier for members when casting their votes and will help ensure that every vote counts.

Awards

The following awards were presented:

Certificate of Merit

Anne Blair of Christchurch

Distinguished Service Award

John Blair of Christchurch

Oscar Nordstrand of Auckland

Barry Pulford of Hastings

Honorary Life Membership

Rex Smart of Tauranga

Harry Guitry of Whangarei

 

AGM Report

Liz Buxton, the Rotorua Branch Representative forwarded this interesting report on the weekend.  Thanks to Liz for taking the time to write it.

“Most members arrived on the afternoon of Friday 26th October and were greeted with a friendly nominal charge of $5 for a delicious afternoon tea put on by the Rotorua Branch who were raising money for the new hostel at Rakiura. They also sold tickets for a raffle to boost the funds for Rakiura. Later the next day the sum of just over $400 was given. Well done everyone you all deserve a pat on the back.

 

The evening continued with the pre-AGM dinner at Trailways Hotel in Nelson. It was a lovely dinner well catered by the hotel, during which a presentation was made to Peter Bugler the retiring organizer of the Geriatrix cycle tour group. It was a fitting presentation for a man who has done such a sterling job of organizing all the trips for this group of dedicated cyclists. Thank you Peter we hope you have many happy days cycling without responsibility for the group.

There were about 70 people attending this year’s AGM and when we gathered next morning for the meeting it was quite crowded in the room assigned to us. However we managed and the meeting got underway promptly at 9am.

The meeting was very well chaired by Coral Laughton and I congratulate her on the way she handled the meeting.

 

During the meeting there were several highlights as listed below:

Honorary Life MembersHonorary Life Member who attended the AGM

Peter Bugler, Ross Butler, Malcolm Wade, Donald Paterson, Charlie Smith,
Bruce Bertram, Lance Kiddey, Bill Morris, Gordon Solloway,
Margaret Abbott, Jean Nelson, Elizabeth Beer, Gwyn Rogers and Moira Lipyeat.

Congratulations to all who were successful in the elections. We would like to wish those who have served in positions but were unsuccessful in the 2012 elections our thanks for their time of service to YHA and hope they enjoy their time of leisure.

Rex accepts his award from Ray SalterHarry accepts his award from Clive Croy

There were also two members awarded Honorary Life Memberships Rex Smart and Harry Guitry. Both these members have given of themselves and their time to YHA and they were both fitting recipients of this award. Congratulations Rex and Harry.

 

The remits had been voted on and were passed and this saved time and confusion and the meeting flowed well. The Annual report and the financial report were both presented and any matters arising or questions were answered to the questioners’ satisfaction.

The YHA Australia representative presented an interesting message and what I got out of it was that both countries are facing very similar problems of occupancy and financial difficulties in the current fiscal climate.

The AGM finished at 12.30 pm with the announcement that the next AGM would be in Auckland.

The rest of the afternoon was free after a very generous packed lunch served in the hotel which was on the banks of the tidal river and with the weather ideal for sitting outside it made for a very relaxing time. The evening was finished with a lovely meal of meat salad and buns and lots of conversations and renewed friendships.

Next day the bus trip was enjoyed by a lively crowd visiting the WOW (World of Wearable Arts) Museum then to Broadgreen House and Rose garden and having wine tasting and lunch at Seifried Winery. Then back to Nelson to Founders Park and the final day of the Nelson Arts Festival, and finally returning to the hostel for a well-deserved nanny nap. It was a wonderful day to end a great weekend and really showed Nelson off to her best.

One highlight was the staff of the hostel and Sean Gidall the manager who all went above and beyond the call of duty. Congratulations Sean you did yourself and your town proud and the staff were wonderful to all your guests. I am sure you made a difference to our weekend.

To Denise Stevenson from YHA National Office I would like to say thank you for a very well organized weekend you deserve a medal. Thank you.”

 

AGM Weekend Dunedin, 4 - 6 November 2011 

The 2011 AGM weekend was again a great success with the emphasis as much on the weekend event as the AGM meeting itself. Members started arriving during the afternoon on Friday and were greeted at YHA Dunedin by Hostel Manager, Julia Connor and her team.

The welcome continued with afternoon tea for members put on by the Rotorua and Dunedin Branches. This fundraiser for the Stewart Island Project raised $310, which was presented to the Chair later in the weekend.

Friday night’s dinner at the Orokonui Ecosanctuary was a highlight – partly due to its dramatic location above Blueskin Bay and partly due to the unseasonal horizontal snow blasting past the double glazed windows during the evening.

The Ecosanctuary is a 300 hectare regenerating bush area about 30 minutes north of Dunedin surrounded by a 9km pest proof fence. With intensive pest control, a number of endangered birds, reptiles, insect, and plant species have been reintroduced and are thriving. The Ecosanctuary operates with similar commitment to sustainability as YHA, and the funds generated from the dinner at the venue contributed to their on-going conservation work.

The AGM itself on Saturday morning was held at the Otago Museum. It was attended by 73 members and was very positive meeting.

After lunch, the remainder of Saturday involved various local activities including trips to Cadbury World, Olveston House, and Speight’s Brewery. There was further opportunity for socialising at the BBQ on Saturday night, which was held at the Museum in association with the Green Man Brewery.

The weekend activities continued on Sunday with a number of members going on a bus tour to explore the Otago Peninsula including Glenfalloch Woodland Gardens, the Marine Studies Aquarium at Portobello, and Larnach Castle.  Other members were out again on the Sunday enjoying the best that Dunedin had to offer.

It was great to see so many members enjoying the opportunity to understand the organisation better, and participate in a range of events including the AGM itself. Many thanks to the YHA Dunedin staff and members who served breakfast at the hostel; you made a huge contribution to the success of the weekend.

Minutes of the 2011 Annual General Meeting

Click here to view th minutes of the 2011 AGM