AGM

29 May, 202418 June, 2024

Looking Back – AGM May ’24

Thanks to all those who attended the Club’s AGM. It was a short and succinct meeting, with all the important matters passed or discussed promptly. For those that couldn’t attend:

Financial Report, a copy of which has been corrected for the $3K compensation and will be uploaded to the Club website if you wish to review it.
Presidents Report 2023/24.
Election of Officers, including a new Secretary, welcome Gordon.
Subscriptions are to remain at $25 for the 24/25 financial year.
General Business:
- Gary Milicich asked whether the Club had any relationships with wholesalers regarding the purchase of wine. The answer is that we do not currently.
- Wayne advised that he is responsible for renewing the Club’s liquor license.
- Wayne raised the topic of mid- and end-of-year dinners and noted that attendance numbers have dropped slightly over the last year. Members were asked to please let any of the committee members know if they had any suggestions.
- A bus trip to the Wairarapa for club members was raised, and it was explained that our last one had been for the 40th anniversary of the Club and was a lot of work, especially when trying to co-ordinate with trains, etc
The supper put on by committee members was enjoyed, and so was the socialising.

5 April, 20242 May, 2024

At the upcoming AGM in May, we are still looking for nominations to welcome someone to be the Secretary of the Committee. Please think on this. We are using templates for the Minutes now, and rosters are done at the beginning of the year only once, so the job is not arduous.

Hall setup

We also continue to be delighted and thankful of everyone’s help with set-up of the hall for our gatherings, and then the pack down at the end of the evening.

Looking Ahead

8th May – AGM
12th June – Brockenchack, South Australia
10th July – Midwinter Christmas-themed Dinner, Featherston Tavern

10 April, 202310 April, 2023

Looking Ahead – April ’23

12 April – New Zealand and Portuguese Wines with Victor Kattenbelt, Confidant Wines. Check out…

10 May – Cellar Club AGM – The AGM Agenda was emailed with April’s newsletter. We would ask you to note that if you have any Notices of Motion, these need to be in the hands of the Secretary – Jenny Jebson – by 19th April ’23.

14 June – Askerne, Hawkes Bay

12 July – Club Dinner, details – TBC

3 March, 20233 March, 2023

Committee Musings – Mar 2023

Background

For a number of years, the Club has benefited from a stable committee which has been a blessing as we have had to meet a number of challenges, especially how to cope with Covid.

However, two of the committee have signalled that they would like to step down from their roles which raises the exciting prospect that the AGM will provide a new infusion of blood to continue the successful operation of our club.

Non-Committee Roles

There are a number of tasks that the committee carry out that strictly have nothing to do with the decision-making of the committee, so would not involve someone having to attend monthly meetings, but everything to do with how the Club conducts its successful tasting evenings.

Your committee is considering if some of these tasks could be delegated to the general membership, and we may seek volunteers to fulfil these roles at our monthly tastings.

Watch this space for more information.

The Club Cellar

Most members know that Derek Thompson is our Cellar Master, and this vital and important non-committee role means that Derek looks after the 80 to 90 bottles of wine that we carry forward for future use at tastings etc.

Derek is currently looking to downsize and the Club is now faced with the real likelihood that we will need to rehouse our cellar sometime later this year. We believe that our wines can adequately be stored in a recycled lockable metal cabinet that has a footprint of 1050mm x 470mm and a height of 1770mm, which the Club would supply, if required.

If you have a space in your garage, or rumpus room, that could house this cabinet and its contents, then can you please let Wayne know [0274523802 or email] and he will contact you to discuss this role in more detail. Thanks

And whilst on the subject of the AGM, if there is a matter you would like to raise, we would appreciate a heads-up before the AGM so it can be investigated and a considered response offered at the meeting, thanks.

Thank you

It was great to have everyone help with the tables and chairs at the start of last months’ meeting and taking the same down after the meeting. Also taking the tables contents: spittoons/water jugs/cracker plates back to the kitchen.

Could we please continue this new routine.

PLEASE NOTE: We can’t arrive to do the setting up activities any earlier than 7:30pm as we interrupt the cleaner(s) schedule, the cleaners are in the hall until 7:30pm.

7 June, 2022

AGM News, May 2022

26 people attended the AGM and enjoyed the supper and selection of the club’s wines that followed.

Matter arising from the meeting requiring action post the AGM were:

Annual Accounts and President’s Annual Report

If you couldn’t make the AGM, copies of both of these have been uploaded to the Club’s website for your perusal.

The Club’s Special Licence

There was some discussion at the AGM about the need for the Club to have a liquor licence and the associated high annual cost. Suggestions were made that approaches should be made to City Councillors and politicians, especially in light of the upcoming elections.

Richard Taylor, who has managed the licencing process for the Club for several years, has made the following comments in order to inform members of his experience of the current position with regard to the licence. He advised he has already spoken to Councillors who have advised that the District Licensing Committee, which is administered by WCC, is only applying current law, so there appears to be no opportunity for change at that level. Local MPs he has spoken to have said trying to make a change by way of a Member’s Bill is extremely unlikely to succeed.

That leaves, as the only avenue, submissions at the time of the next review of the Sale of Liquor Act. Richard said he continues to keep a watch on the situation so that any favourable shifts can be seized upon straight away

The Club’s Sound System

Thanks go to Jan Sammons for providing feedback to the committee post the AGM that reaffirmed that the use of the Community Centre sound system would mean over a 50% increase in the cost of us hiring the hall for each tasting. Rather than incur this cost, the committee has resolved to first try using a suitable lapel microphone and use that with the boom box/speaker at the back of the room. Also, they will ask the presenter to try and stay behind the table.

Ability to purchase wines if unable to attend a tasting

The committee was asked to consider ways that absent members might be able to order wines. Several logistical issues were identified and after discussing these, the committee resolved not to pursue this idea any further. Instead, the committee preferred an informal arrangement where an absent member could ask a friend attending or one of the committee before the tasting to order the wine for them.

11 May, 202211 May, 2022

The Cellar Club, President’s Report 2022

Wednesday 11 May 2022

It is usual for a President’s Report to be EITHER comprehensive and an ordeal OR for it to be cryptically short and to the point. So it seems in this most unusual of years that short is best. As such this should allow the AGM to proceed swiftly so as to enjoy the wines from the club cellar and the supper on offer tonight.

It has been my absolute privilege to have been the club’s President this year. I want to begin by thanking most sincerely all of you as valued club members for your support in a trying year. For your subscriptions, of course, but particularly for your support at the scheduled tastings and sundry other monthly events such as the dinners and annual club BBQ. Our membership has held up well again this year. This despite all the pressures our communities and families have endured. Last year I reflected at some length in my report on the impact for the club of the pandemic so I will quickly move on from that. Again this has been a challenging year for all of us but through the club activities we have generated good company and a focus for interest in a time of lockdowns. Most particularly the attendance numbers at tastings and dinners have been regularly and phenomenally good which signals there must be something right about the way tastings are delivered, enjoying the company of friend and the functioning of the club. So, to all of you my thanks.

May I briefly review the tastings and activities [11] that we have been able to achieve for these past 12 challenging months. Tastings included Mahi Wines (Marlborough), Western Australia by Keith Tibble (Eurovintage agency), Butterworth (Gladstone Wairarapa), Crater Rim (Waipara), Portugal (Confidant agency), the Gold Medal wines from the NZ International Wine Show (2021), a celebration of Pinot (club members) as well as dinners at La Marche Frances and Juniper as well at the club’s January BBQ

I wish to extend the club’s thanks to the wineries, presenters and agencies that have supported the club during a year that has been challenging for their businesses, where labour restrictions, lockdowns, cancellations and social distancing have impacted us all. At least three wineries were unable to present in 2021 but have indicated they are keen to return for 2022/2023 and we are organising with them

As well as thanks to the meeting presenters and the tasting organisers, it is the committee that also deserves our appreciation for their work for the club. As a group they have met regularly and communicated frequently with each other in most constructive manner. This has been the prime reason for tastings continuing to happen when withdrawals have occurred or organisation of meetings has hit road blocks or come up against Covid limitations. Without naming committee members, because you know all of those involved – our secretarial servicing, our financial management, our newsletter communications with members, the meeting venue organisation efforts and suppers, cellar management, the facilitation of the tasting programme and deliveries have all kept pace and been successfully undertaken without there seeming to have been any hitches at all – even though there have been a few, and one cancellation. It has been a demanding time organisationally but the efforts of the 8 person committee have shone through and for that I wish to sincerely thank them one and all for their efforts on behalf of the club membership.

I am thrilled to report that the committee collectively has indicated a willingness to continue to serve the club for a further year and I am indeed grateful for that. The committee’s co-operation, sharing of the load and their special skills and interests continue to be the cornerstone of how we have managed to keep this great little club moving forward, fulfilling its wine appreciation objectives whilst providing a source of company, regular meetings and the occasional glasses of vino. Being Wellington’s premier and enduring wine society for over forty years is no mean feat. It is you as members, and the committee’s efforts, that have ensured that this continues to be the Cellar Club reality. We will move next to the election of the club’s officers. My best wishes to all club members as you navigate the societal challenges we are all facing.

Murray Jaspers | President, The Cellar Club Inc

2 June, 20212 June, 2021

AGM – May 2021

There was a good turnout for the Club’s AGM with 33 Club members attending.

Agenda items were quickly dealt with and once the AGM ended, members enjoyed wines from the club’s cellar. These were augmented by a donated 2019 Confidencial Rose from Victor Kattenbelt at Confidant Ltd and a vertical tasting of 3 Felton Road Rieslings donated by a club member. All 4 wines were very much enjoyed by everyone present.

A big thanks to all Committee members for the food supplied, as well as to the 2 donors of those wines.

There are AGM details on our website if anyone is interested in full details, including the President’s report and the full Financial Report to come.

12 May, 2021

President’s Report 2020 – 2021

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5 May, 2021

A closing thought

This last year has been extremely challenging, yet the club was able to hold several events to celebrate its 40th anniversary. All were very successful, and the committee was very happy with the levels of member support at those events and tastings in general.

I’m sure our President, Murray Jaspers, will refer to these in his report at next week’s AGM.

The last item of that AGM is General Business and that is often the time that your committee will look for feedback from attendees.

Please use your time this week to reflect on our club and when that last item arises, please be prepared to give your views:

On what has been good
On things that you feel could be improved or done differently
Even give feedback on new directions or ideas that you would like the incoming committee to consider.

Remember our club succeeds because of all of our involvement in it.

4 May, 202112 May, 2021

AGM minutes 2019 – 2020

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28 September, 20205 December, 2020

A packed future for club events

Future event for the club in late 2020 and into 2021 is packed with a range of presenters and no less than three food and wine events .

November 18th – – Our 40th Anniversary dinner at Bellamy’s (run by Logan Brown) at the Beehive

The first Club meeting was held in the month of November. To recognise that historic milestone, a celebratory dinner has been arranged, to be held at Bellamy’s by Logan Brown at their restaurant in the Beehive. This is set down for Wednesday 18 November, so check your diaries for availability.

Details will be sent out shortly, asking for your registration and to make your selection from the accompanying menu. As for any such venue, there will be a limit on numbers which means you should register quickly to secure your place.

The food promises to be of very high quality. So, book your place and go dig around in your wine stocks to find the special bottle (or two) that you think will go best with your selection to bring with you.

Your Committee is excited about this event and is sure you will be too.

December 9th –A Fun evening with CoLab, Simon Bell
January: BBQ at Derek’s
February: Coney’s for the 13th February 2021 – our postponed 40thanniversary outing to the Wairarapa [to include visits to Palliser and
Grave/Alana]
March: Hawkesridge Winery (Hawkes Bay)
April: Del Mundo – Seaview – TBC
May: AGM
June: Mahi Wines (Marlborough) – tbc
July: Mid-year dinner
August: Aussie evening – TBC
September: Gordon Russell of Esk Valley
October: Sherwood from Waipara – TBC.

4 August, 20205 December, 2020

AGM review

AGM

Robin Semmens presented with a wine box set from Wayne Kennedy

Last month we were finally able to hold the Club’s AGM and it was well attended with 32 members and 1 guest present. If you would like to read the President’s report, you will find this on the Club’s website. Changes to note from the meeting:

Robin Semmens was farewelled from the Committee and as newsletter Editor,
although he stays in the Club
Evelyn Dawson is the new Editor of the Newsletter
Steve Eades is now not on the Committee either but is still managing the Club’s website
Terry Friel joined the Committee.

Tag: AGM

Looking Back – AGM May ’24

Committee Musings Apr ’24