SBBA Annual Conference & Annual General Meeting
The AGM of the Scottish Brass Band Association took place at the weekend (22nd October). In a change to the usual format this year the AGM itself was only one part of a one day conference for member bands. During the morning and afternoon several sessions took place covering a variety of topics including a website workshop and talks on making a CD, child protection policy, fundraising ideas, and brass bands and education. After the AGM the final session of the day consisted of an open forum where the full membership were invited to debate two topics which had been raised for discussion by a member band.
In his opening address to the meeting SBBA President Alan McLaren said that it had been a demanding but rewarding twelve months for the SBBA. He expressed the hope that the new format for the Scottish Open proves to be successful as the event, whilst being a great addition to the brass band calendar, continues to struggle financially. It was acknowledged that this cannot be allowed to continue and that this years contest truly was a watershed for the event. The President also spoke about the Solo and Ensemble Championships and explained that the experiment with ten piece ensembles will not be continued due to lack of support. The ensembles will revert back to the traditional quartet and quintet arrangement for future years. The President also expressed the wish that more of the great soloists present in many Scottish bands would enter the senior soloist event. Moving on to the Scottish Championships the President stated that the 100th staging of the Championships at the Caird Hall in Dundee had been an unqualified success with only minor points raised by member bands concerning bus parking and dressing room accommodation. The President said that the Life Members lounge had been received so well that it would be continued at future Championships. The President went on to say that the rotation of the Scottish Championships between two venues was not set in stone and that future venues were always under consideration, mentioning in particular that we had received good reports about the new concert hall in Perth. The President then spoke about Brass Band Week 2005 and was pleased to see that it had been embraced enthusiastically by bands in Scotland. Over fifty events took place in Scotland throughout the week and there was extensive coverage of the event on BBC Radio Scotland which has led to renewed links with the broadcast media in Scotland. The President also passed on congratulations to Jedforest Instrumental band who, along with Barton Town band, shared the British Bandsman award for the band making the most significant contribution to Brass Band Week. It is hoped that Scottish bands will continue to support the Brass Band Week initiative. The President also chose this address to provide an update on our application for funding for a brass band development officer which is currently with the Scottish Arts Council and to announce that the SBBA has negotiated an insurance discount scheme with BBIS similar to that enjoyed by members of the British Federation of Brass Bands. In his closing remarks the President explained a little about our relationships with our colleagues in other parts of the UK indicating that our status as a separate national association does not seem to be fully understood outwith Scotland. The President further re-iterated that the SBBA is a democratically elected organisation fully accountable to the membership within Scotland and expressed a desire to see similar organisations flourish elsewhere. The SBBA is committed to protecting our independence and the democratic principles upon which our association is built.
During the formal part of the AGM Alan McLaren(Newtongrange Silver) was returned unanimously as President with Peter Fraser(Kirkintilloch) continuing in his role as Vice President. Tom Allan(Barrhead Burgh) was confirmed in the role of SBBA secretary having been filling the role in an interm capacity since the resignation of Neil Watson. Audrey McCrone stood down as treasurer and the SBBA would like to extend its grateful thanks to Audrey for her contribution over the last few years. Gerry Simonis(Kirkintilloch) was elected as the new treasurer. James Hyslop(Buckhaven & Methil) was returned as registrar for another year. The returning committee members are John Martin(Lochgelly), Kenny Crookston(Whitburn), Alan Edmond(Broxburn & Livingston), Steven Gray(Dalkeith & Monktonhall), Danny Harrison(Dunfermline Town), George Burt(Jedforest Instrumental), Philip Lodge(Dalkeith & Monktonhall), Andy Smith(Barrhead Burgh), James Stewart(Newmilns & Galston), Robert Doherty(Unison Kinneil). The SBBA extends it's grateful thanks to Alex Denholm and John Gilmour both of whom are standing down this year after many years of service to the Scottish Brass Band community. The SBBA would also like to extend a welcome to new committee members John Fraser(Whitburn) and Gus Cochrane(Dunaskin Doon). As only 12 members were elected at the meeting there are still three places available on the executive committee. SBBA invites nominations from member bands to fill these positions. These should be notified in writing to the secretary Tom Allan as soon as possible and certainly prior to the first meeting of the new executive on Sunday 20th November.
In the open forum the membership first debated the topic ?The Scottish Championships should be judged by two adjudicators in separate boxes?. Presenting for the motion was the delegate for Dalkeith & Monktonhall band with the SBBA Executive presenting against. With both submissions complete the discussion passed to the floor to allow the delegates to debate the proposal. After some debate, with good points being made both for and against, the vote recorded that the motion was defeated by 26 to 14. The second topic for discussion was a proposal that ?SBBA should investigate alternative methods to the current grading system?. Again the delegate for Dalkeith & Monktonhall presented for the motion with the SBBA Executive presenting against. In the open debate some felt that there was benefit to having more than one grading contest although it was countered that there could be problems with the use of guest players at grading contests. The President called for a vote on the motion and this recorded an overwhelming defeat of the motion.
The SBBA would like to thank all delegates who attended and hope that they found the new format for the event useful.
