The 2008 ABFG Annual General Meeting: March 9th

	Association of British Fungus Groups 9 March 2008 11:00am Cricket St Thomas, Somerset

Chairman:	Michael Jordan
General Secretary :	Hazel Malcolm
Treasurer:	Steve Harrison
Minutes Secretary:	Julie Campbell
Marketing:	Jim Marks

Other Trustees :	Pauline Penna (acting for Paul Gainey, with apologies), Jeff Benn, Roy Betts
Apologies:	Paul Gainey, Mark Pike, David Harries, Alan Hills

	Agenda topics

Item I

Welcome

Michael Jordan

Discussion: MJ gave a summary of 2007 performance for the ABFG and this is attached for your perusal. He also stated that the requirements for a Quorum had been established

Item II

Minutes of 2007 SGM for Approval

Hazel Malcolm

Discussion: HM read the Minutes of 2007 SGM and these were subsequently approved

• MJ discussed the FCF ‘Grand Strategy' document - this had not been funded by the ABFG. It was felt that the document did not reflect the work that field groups had already done. ABFG recommendations had not been adopted and it has yet to be published.

Item III

Standing Down / Re-election of 2 Trustees

Michael Jordan

Discussion: MJ advised that Jim Marks and Hazel Malcolm stood down and were available for re-election to the Board for 2008. They were duly voted in and re-elected

• SH requested that the Trustees introduce themselves and this was duly done

Item IV

Financial Report

Steve Harrison

Discussion: SH presented the 2007 Financial Report and the following points were raised:

Patrick Andrews wanted a copy of the 2007 Financial Report and after discussions, it was decided that this would be included in the next issue of The Forayer

• MJ re-stressed the need for memberships to be paid promptly as it incurred effort and expense to continue to remind members for their subscriptions. Payments can be made directly to the ABFG at Harveys; but not at the moment by standing order or DD; online payments and cheques are also accepted

Item V	Financial Report (continued)		Steve Harrison
• There was the possibility that Annual Subscriptions would have to be increased, but still kept under £20.00 per year • With the amount of money currently in the ABFG accounts (£13,000+), it was suggested that the excess funds were put into a high interest account. SH (Treasurer) agreed to look into this • MJ mentioned that there was the possibility of having an ABFG credit card - to be held by the Chairman and given to an individual (Trustee) who was on ABFG business and was likely to incur personal expenses. SH agreed to look into this • It was suggested that a standing order could be set up to receive annual subscriptions. MJ advised that this was not possible due to future changes to amounts. It was then suggested that Direct Debit was the most sensible option as due to the charitable basis, the ABFG would be able to claim 25% tax back on amounts taken - further investigation was needed • MJ stated that it had to be considered that around £9,000 was required for The Forayer and PL Insurance costs and that the remainder of the funds held were used for buying microscopes, books and very small administration costs, such as postage, etc.
Action items:		Person responsible:		Deadline:
• Inclusion of Financial Report in next issue of The Forayer		MJ		Next issue
• Provide a breakdown of costs to members in next issue of TF		MJ		Next issue
• SH to investigate high interest account options		SH		ASAP
• SH to investigate possibility of ABFG credit card		SH		ASAP
• SH to investigate possibility of Direct Debit for subscriptions		SH		ASAP

Item VI	Membership Report		Hazel Malcolm
Discussion: There are a total of 546 fully paid up members, of which 140 joined in 2007. The ABFG currently received approximately 1 new enquiry for membership per day. 6 members from 2007 have left the Association to date • MJ informed the meeting that if 100 new members were to join the Association, then the laborious task of producing The Forayer could be outsourced without incurring increased subscriptions • If each group could attract just 3 more people each, the 100 total would be achieved
Action items:		Person responsible:		Deadline:
• Feasibility of producing more magazines for advertising purposes and distribution to reference centres (eg, libraries)		MJ/HM/SH		ASAP

Item VII

Marketing Report

Discussion: JM presented the Marketing Report and the following points were raised:

• It was felt that the profile of the ABFG needed to be raised in order to raise funds and distribute the workload more evenly. Currently, income was from subscriptions, donations (mainly the National Trust), chemical sales and book sales

• MJ stated that the microscopes provided to groups cost around £400.00 and a good reference book was between £60- £80. With increased funds more books could be sent to established and not just new groups. The microscopes were for the use of the entire group and could and should be passed around to those members wishing to have use of them

• Members were asked to contact Landowners and ask them about fungi they're worried about - for a small 'donation' it could be identified as a problem or not - thus increasing funds for ABFG

• Members were asked if there was at least one person from each group that would offer to lead a foray once a year on behalf of the ABFG that wasn't under their 'jurisdiction'. Those prepared to do so were asked to contact MJ for more information

• The comment was made that the majority of members were 'of an age' and it was felt that younger members were needed to continue the work; a discussion took place, out of which it was ascertained that it was difficult to go into schools to interest children due to legal requirements for dealing with children. It was decided that the best way was to contact nature groups directly and thereby using their status to gain access to leading and educating children's groups. There are a few members who already have the security clearance required. Further clarification and information is needed • HM suggested promoting family memberships, though these are already increasing • Mycology is a very 'ageist' pastime, due to the technicality and language of the work and also young people are only beginning to respond to the issue of conservation. Suggestions needed to simplify and produce a more youngster-friendly promotion of mycology • Other suggestions included contacting local radio to do a Q&A session on fungi / increasing printing quantities to send to libraries and surgery waiting rooms / subscriptions to newsagents / advertising in shops and local press, etc. • An affiliated membership was suggested, debated and quickly rejected as it had proved not to work for other agencies in the past • Lottery funding was also suggested and this would be investigated • Better use of the A4 pages within The Forayer was requested as there are a lot of 'white spaces and margins' in the current magazine • It was suggested that The Forayer only be available online; a discussion took place and it was agreed that it was a useful 'paper' tool to have when using keys and articles, etc, for reference, when doing microscopy and mycology papers and therefore it was felt that it was perhaps better to give the issue further consideration before taking any action • SR suggested using recycled paper • The subject of greater dissemination of work was raised with the main issue being what would happen if anything were to happen to MJ? As he is the lynchpin of the Association, it is now more important than ever that more members are involved in the running of the Association. It is also only right and proper that he too, has free time as the rest of us do. It was suggested that those wishing to take on more responsibilities and duties should put their names forward for consideration and assistance
Action items:	Person responsible:	Deadline:
• More 'independent' leaders to do forays	All	ASAP
• Contact education services	TBA	ASAP
• Encourage more youth participation	Julie Campbell	ASAP
• Lottery funding to be investigated	SH	ASAP
• Layout revision of The Forayer	MJ/HM	Next Issue

Item VIII

Database

Michael Jordan

Discussion: MJ gave a verbal presentation of the new ABFG Database ‘CATE' and highlighted the following points:

• C.A.T.E. is how the database is colloquially known;

C - Composition of Membership - ¾ to 4 / 5 of fungi recorders sees the ABFG as its main source of information

A - Application - how the records are applied and delivered - BD and Red Data Lists are being left 'hanging in the wind'

T - Technical Quality - first-rate modern control system

E - Endorsement - NBN have given us their 100% support - Trevor James said that the mycological world is now not alone in having more than one route through which data can come

• MJ also said that currently the database holds approx 30,000 records, but when it holds 100,000+ it really comes into it's own and this will be shown when this figure is reached • "It's by the people, for the people" • If a member registers and signs the Disclosure Agreement, access is granted, but on two different levels; a) Viewer Level; b) Upload Level - where you can edit and access any of your own information already submitted and c) Administration Level - where a Trustee can have full access to the database for 'housekeeping' as well as adding and editing data • There were concerns about duplication of information submitted to the NBN via both ABFG and BMS members which MJ agreed needs to be investigated • Different groups use different names for fungi: it was pointed out that CATE uses the 17,000+ British Species List (using a Taxon Version Key, which is an alpha numeric code run in the background of CATE to allow the NBN Gateway to recognise entries). There was currently no provision for obsolete names in data input i.e. the currently approved name must be used. This is potentially a problem as with some members, their historical lists include all previous names as well as what they believe are the current ones. MJ pointed out that the old names would not be recognised by CATE and hence it was vital that; • RBG Kew keep the field community updated on all taxonomy changes when they happened and not 6 months or more later, which is the current situation. With the ABFG database now in place, there should be more influence with Kew to make this possible • It is still necessary to keep not only rare specimens, but also those of which the recorder is uncertain - they can then be verified and added to the dataset • It was not justifiable that all data input to the system would be checked for accuracy of identification; recorders were responsible people who should be trusted; if rare or questionable identity species were entered it was assumed that the herbarium material would be checked by an experienced person.
Action items:	Person responsible:	Deadline:
• Investigate duplication of information via ABFG & BMS	MJ	ASAP
• MJ to provide field community with historical synonyms	MJ	ASAP
• Better notification of taxonomy changes to ABFG	MJ / Kew	Ongoing

Item IX	Any Other Business
Discussion: • Eric Janke wanted to know what constituted a group, ie, what are the qualifications with regard to ABFG or BMS membership? A lengthy debate followed and it became obvious that this is a very grey area and needed further clarification. MJ suggested that he fully explain the details of the ABFG PL Insurance to all members via an article in the next Forayer magazine • Sue Rogerson requested a copy of the PL Insurance document • Further discussions were held regarding insurance limitations for 'guests' on forays and a full explanation will be included in the proposed article in The Forayer • It was suggested that a 'members only' area be set up on the website to allow members access to all 'official' documents. It was agreed that this could be done and the wheels would be put in motion • There being no other business, the meeting was closed at 1pm
Action items:		Person responsible:	Deadline:
• Clarification of group qualification • Explanation of PL Insurance limitations including guest insurance • 'Members Only' area to be introduced onto website for official document access for members		MJ MJ MJ	TF Next issue TF Next issue ASAP