AGM Minutes

10 February 2005

Ernst & Young

1. Welcome

All BWA members present.

2. Apologies

Apologies were received by:

Julianne Berns
Lynda Cowen
Ailsa Stewart Smith
Sune Fourie
Therese Botha
Shirley Brown
Martie Lancellas
Gail Walters
Pam Golding
Jenny Handley
Pam Lamond
Louise Parr
Naomi Hall
Karen Gabriels

3. Establishment of Voting Strength

The quorum for all regional AGM's shall be 30 people or 5% (whichever is greater) of the members in good standing present or by proxy.

Noted that as at the date of the AGM, BWA Cape Town Branch had 262 registered members.

Noted that the number of members present at the Cape Town AGM was 18 and 71 proxies had been received, totaling 89.

Noted therefore, that the voting strength has been established and that a quorum was present.

4. Confirmation of agenda / New agenda Items

No new item added.

5. Approval of the minutes of the previous meeting

No corrections or amendments were submitted. A motion was called to certify that they were a true reflection of the last meeting.

Proposed: Ferose Oaten
Seconded: Logandree Gounden

6. Matters Arising

That the budget this year was clearly divided to show expenses & income from Function separately as requested last year by Tina Thiart.
It was also noted that most of the income is generated from the events held and that this was a vital part of our revenue.
At this time Yvonne noted that some members felt that BWA should not charge for functions but this was not possible. Without this income & membership fees the BWA would not be able to sustain itself.
The question of no shows has been rectified and is being carried out effectively by Cheryl.
The suggestion of a small fee to be added onto memberships which would then cover portions of the year's events was decided against by council as this would affect the smaller branches.

7. Chairman's Report

The chairman's report was handed to all present.

Proposed: Tina Thiart
Seconded: Alison Maytham

8. Treasurers Report

Yvonne formally thanked Logandree for her hard work.
Logandree Gounden presented the financial report based on a set of management accounts received from Head Office, as the audited financials would only be received at the National AGM.
A set of the financial reports were distributed to all present.
Logandree felt that the key for this year would be to sustain & grow the membership as much as possible.
The target for 2005 would be a membership of 325 in Cape Town.
It was noted that all income generated by corporate membership was taken by Head Office and was not reflected in the CT income account.
It was noted that audit expenses would be covered by Head Office.
It was also suggested that the difference between members & guest fees for function should be greater.
Yvonne asked for feedback from the floor on whether members felt the BWA membership fees were set correctly at R 456.00 and all were in agreement that this was fine. It was felt that an increase would build resentment & people would expect things for free.
Motion from floor agreed upon that the difference between guest & member's fees for functions would depend on the type of function & would range between 25 - 30 % accordingly.
Logandree wished to note that the BWA figures were looking much better since Elizabeth Swellens had taken over and felt that there were good structures in place & the finances were being handled in a positive & professional manner.

Proposed: Tina Thiart

Seconded: Ferose Oaten

9. General - from the floor

That BWA members should be pro active in helping to convert their guests to BWA members. It was suggested that if a guest joined on the day of the event they would get a rebate of the fee they paid for the function, which would come in the form of a discount to the membership fee of X amount. (to be decided by committee at their first meeting).
Members also felt that they did not have substantial information on "why" one should be a member & perhaps this would be a good thing to circulate to members and have them made more aware of how to access this info on the website.
Suggestion to Cheryl to send out a weekly update on what was new on the site so members who are interested can be informed.
The question was raised on what BWA are doing as the voice of women.
It was noted that once the census was released it would be a clear picture on what BWA was doing to empower women & the strides they were making.
Truida Prekel suggested that BWA create a lobby group, like the one created by the German Women's Council. (Truida to send info on this structure to Cheryl).
Yvonne noted that the DTI had put together a council for women of which BWA was represented by Yvonne & the CEO Tina Thomson.
Gillian Barnett wished to second the notion that BWA should be a louder voice with regard to Government & women's issues.

Membership:

It was felt that someone in a small business would find it difficult to sustain the cost of being a BWA member & the cost of events and would therefore be more selective of the events they attended.
It was also noted that a clever plan would need to be devised to encourage the membership to utilize the information on the website & in the newsletter, without an increase in mail.
It was suggested that Cheryl send all guests that attend functions the BWA PowerPoint presentation to encourage them to become members.
It was also felt that in future the BWA AGM should be a bigger event with a guest speaker and marketed as a prestigious event that all would want to attend, coupled by the presence of senior delegates.
Truida suggested a corporate panel discussion on success & women's advancement in the workplace. Share and learn aspect.
Truida also wondered if it would not be benificial for the BWA to make up a booklet with tips from all the Doyennes who where present at the very successful Doyenne Breakfast.
Ferose asked if the new members here today could share with all present their expectation of the BWA.
Susan Stelzer said she felt women should start really networking & not just chatting and not following through & she would like to see more of this happening within the BWA - members making real business connections.
Kulthum Ebrahim felt she was still battling with breaking into a male dominated world and hoped BWA would give her those tools.
Julie Mostert felt that this did not apply to the younger generation of businesswomen and she wanted a clear recipe for success.
Julie also suggested that BWA start trying to access membership from a wider source e.g the GSB.
Alison wondered if we're not relying too much on electronic systems and perhaps should look at a mass fax option? This was to be considered.
Truida wished to thank the committee & Cheryl for the well run & good range of programs they put together. She would also be sending Cheryl info on the Europe Women's Management Network, that BWA members could contact on their travels.
Tina also felt that we should have links on the website to international women's organisations.

10. Nominations for Committee

The 4 nominees names where read out

Kunyalala Maphisa - Jan S de Villiers
Julie Mostert - Ernst & Young
Unathi Magida - Vodacom
Gita Lison - Contact Personnel

The members on the committee who were co opted during the year were formally voted onto the committee:

Alison Maytham - Ernst & Young
Kgomotso Mashishi - MediKredit
Shaheema Chilwan - Chilwans Coachlines

Proposed: Susan Stelzer
Seconded: Truida Prekel

10. Closure

Yvonne also took this opportunity to thank all the committee for their support & time.
A special thank you to Cheryl for her hard work.
Thank you to Alison & Ernst & Young for sponsorship of the venue & snacks.

Meeting closed at 7:15pm