Achilles Running Club. Minutes of 2023 Annual General Meeting. 0930 10/12/23Agenda
1. Adoption of Minutes of 2022 AGMProposed: Ellis Janks. Seconded Martin Ruane.
2. President’s AddressAfter welcoming Members, Club President Ellis Janks reported on the activities of the Club in 2023.
The key points:
I. Sunday trainingAchilles’ Sunday training sessions remain the mainstay of our Club. The training sessions have been the occasion for all members to gain the benefits of exercising together, to network and meet new people, and for guides to receive training and develop their guiding skills.
ATTENDANCE: (With the one-year change in brackets.)
199 (+32) individual volunteers with a total of 1403 (+85) attendances.
53 (+12) people with a disability with a total of 745 (+70) attendances.
2023 has been the year of highest attendance, an indication of the wonderful growth and health of our Club
The RSVP system was continued and the addition of new software made the task of creating and managing the groups of members much easier.
We have trialed an after-training Achilles sponsored coffee session at the Terrace Coffee shop. This was very well received (with a record high number of members at training) and we will certainly consider having similar social coffee events in the future.
Thanks go to:
I. FinancesThe financial status of the Club continues to be sound. Income has been received from membership fees, bank interest, the sale of clothing and merchandise (socks, caps and buffs), event sponsorship fundraising platforms and very welcome personal and corporate donations. Many thanks for donations to Michael Levy, Andrew Fox, Ben Gibb, Lynette Geary, the Ravine Foundation, Wilson Asset Management and a number of extremely generous anonymous donors.
Run Melbourne
The Achilles inter-chapter event held in Melbourne was, to date, the biggest and most expensive event. This was funded by a $10k grant from CBA, a $6500 grant from BNP Paribas, an enormous and exceptionally generous donation by an individual who wishes to remain anonymous and some modest contributions by the other chapters. Happily, the event was successfully completed exactly on budget.
Ongoing expenses include insurance, website and association fees. Event entry fees were once again Achilles’ biggest expense. To illustrate how Achilles Sydney has grown in the last 10 years, here are the figures showing the numbers of entrants and cost to Achilles Sydney in events in 2023 compared with 2014.
Entries in Events 2014 2023
Athletes with a disability
31
106
Volunteer guides
45
155
Total entrants
76
261
Cost to Achilles Sydney
Full Year
$2,470
$8,587
We thank all donors, sponsors and supporters for their ongoing support for and contribution to the wellbeing of Achilles.
Thanks once again to our extremely treasured Treasurer Ian Cohen for his dedication and excellent work in keeping the accounts up to date and the books balanced.
II. EventsThe Achilles inter-chapter event in Melbourne in July was the biggest (and as mentioned above) costliest event in the history of Achilles Australia. It was organised around Run Melbourne with excellent collaborative efforts between the chapters. Forty-two members travelled from Sydney, 5 from Canberra, 2 from Hunter Central Coast and 9 from Brisbane. A total of 69 members were accommodated at the conveniently situated Vibe Melbourne Hotel.
A social event was held on the Saturday afternoon at the historic and very impressive Melbourne City Hall. Thanks go to Achilles Melbourne for organising this excellent event where members from all chapters were able to mingle and get to know each other and enjoy finger food and drinks.
Around 110 Achilles members participated in one of the 5.2, 10 or 21.1 km distances at the Run Melbourne event on the Sunday. Achilles Melbourne guides joined the interstate teams.
After the Run Melbourne event and before participants travelled back to their home cities, a social lunch was held at the Wharf Hotel which again gave opportunity for members from the different chapters to socialise.
This event was a great success. Special thanks go to Brian for doing all the race registrations, and Phil for booking the flights. Cindy was part of the organizing sub-committee and provided valuable support in all areas.
As always, members are encouraged to participate in events. Besides events being fun to do and giving participants a sense of achievement, the presence of our yellow shirted members in events provides excellent awareness of Achilles for the community. Many of our new attendees have become aware of Achilles through seeing club members at events.
As has been the case for the last 10 or so years, our weekend in Orange in March for the Orange Running Festival was a real highlight. Achilles Sydney were again joined by members from Achilles Hunter Central Coast and met up with Achilles Canberra members. The train trip to and from Orange was once again a great opportunity for members to socialise.
Events in which our members participated included:
Orange Running Festival; Run2Cure; The Mother’s Day Classic; Hoka Half Marathon; City2Surf; parkrun (multiple occasions and locations); Run Melbourne; Real Insurance 5/10 km; City 2 Surf; Gold Coast Marathon; Sydney Running Festival; Lululemon event; BBB 10km Run; 3 Bridges Run.
I would like to acknowledge and thank all the race organisers who have allowed our guides free entry into their event. This is a massive saving for our Club.
The Running Events Calendar for 2024 will soon be published and we are hoping for record number of entrants in 2024.
III. GuidingGuiding is integral to the success of Achilles. Each year I feel that it is important to repeat the same important message about guiding and being guided.
First, we remind our members with disabilities not to be shy about requesting variations on the standard guiding techniques in order to suit their own needs. Guides should expect to vary their guiding techniques according to the individual’s preferences.
Second, I encourage all guides to look over the “guiding tips” on the website and to keep watching and listening to other guides. We do continually learn from observing each other.
Third, members are reminded of the importance of experiencing guiding or being guided by different people. Not only is it good to meet and interact with new people, but it is also important to become versatile at guiding and being guided.
New attendees are given an introductory instruction session, which gives good insight into guiding and Achilles in general. Charlie McConnell, Ben Gibb, Phil Hartshorne, Stephen Green and Joe Griffen (ex-Achilles Melbourne) have been wonderful in assisting with this introduction session each week. So, special thanks them and to other members who assisted from time to time.
Guiding in 2023 has generally been working very well, and I congratulate all members for the good spirit in which you have exercised together.
IV. AwardsThe Andrew Bristow Memorial Awards winners will be announced shortly.
The award winners in 2022 were Zhila Hasanloo (Disability award) and Kimberley Bobrige (Volunteer award).
V. Website and social mediaThe website has been and will continue to be an integral part of Achilles. The national website has individual sections for the local chapters of Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne, Brisbane and Hunter Central Coast and incorporates their individual Facebook sites.
Thanks to Julia Wenner and Garnie Fuller for coordinating the Achilles content on the social media platforms and to many of our members for posting photos from training sessions and events and for many interesting comments.
A Club registration system enables members’ information to be entered directly into the Club database, generates a message of acknowledgement and issues a receipt for payments. Thanks to Martin Ruane for maintaining the Achilles central data base, the website and everything to do with Achilles computers.
Also, thanks to Martin for the ongoing weekly training reminders and news updates which are emailed to members. Martin also maintains the site, ensuring all changes to procedures are captured accurately.
VI. Achilles AustraliaIt is very pleasing collaboration with the other Australian chapters continued this year. The Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane and Hunter Central Coast chapters kept in constant contact and helped each other with various areas of mutual interest, including fundraising and merchandising initiatives. Of course, the Run Melbourne event was very special for our inter-chapter relationships.
We received a large supply of new shirts, singlets and caps. Thanks to Max from Achilles Melbourne for organising the order and distribution.
Unfortunately, Achilles Hunter Central Coast has experienced difficulties in maintaining an organising committee. At present, they will be disbanding as a chapter. However, their funds will be kept in trust by Achilles Sydney in case they are able to relaunch.
VII. Brett Anthony(Ellis expressed the Club’s sadness at the death a greatly loved friend, and long-standing Achilles member, Brett Anthony died in September.
Brett joined Achilles in 2012, attended many Sunday trainings, events, and weekends away with Achilles.
Brett had made many friends within the Achilles community, and our heartfelt thoughts had been passed to them, and to Brett’s family. )
VIII. ThanksThanks go to both individuals and groups:
To the Committee for the excellent work that they have put into the running of Achilles, and the time and effort they have generously given. They are Ben Gibb, Brian O’Dea, Charlie McConnell, Cindy Skacel, Ian Cohen, Julia Wenner, Martin Ruane, Nick Gleeson, Phil Hartshorne and very recently, Nicole Tillotson. Brett Anthony was coopted onto the committee for a brief period prior to his tragic passing. It has been an absolute pleasure working with all of you.
Early in the year, Honorary Life Member and long-time committee member Majella Knobel stood down from the committee due to work and personal reasons. She contributed so much to committee business over the years with her wealth of experience in so many different areas.
Julia and Cindy will be stepping down from the committee after several years. Julia has been managing our social media, tirelessly producing social media posts (together with Garnie) and has also been central to a number of committee “projects”. Cindy took on the role of monitoring developments with Covid and recommending club operational responses. She also was involved in a number of areas of committee concern. Thank you, Majella, Julia and Cindy, for your considerable contributions to the Achilles committee.
I thank my wife Avril and my family for always supporting me in my involvement at Achilles.
And of course, thanks to all Achilles members for your excellent contributions and great enthusiasm.
Large numbers of people have derived enormous amounts of benefit from their involvement with Achilles. Achilles is a well recognised and respected organisation in the community and I feel very positive about its place and the contribution it makes.
I wish Achilles Sydney and Achilles Australia every success in 2024 and for the future.
3. Financial Report
4. Election of Officers for 2024
5. The Andrew Bristow Memorial Awards 2023
6. Other Business
- Adoption of Minutes of 2022 AGM
- President’s Address
- Financial Report
- Election of Officers for 2024
- Andrew Bristow Memorial Awards for 2023.
- Other Business
1. Adoption of Minutes of 2022 AGMProposed: Ellis Janks. Seconded Martin Ruane.
2. President’s AddressAfter welcoming Members, Club President Ellis Janks reported on the activities of the Club in 2023.
The key points:
I. Sunday trainingAchilles’ Sunday training sessions remain the mainstay of our Club. The training sessions have been the occasion for all members to gain the benefits of exercising together, to network and meet new people, and for guides to receive training and develop their guiding skills.
ATTENDANCE: (With the one-year change in brackets.)
199 (+32) individual volunteers with a total of 1403 (+85) attendances.
53 (+12) people with a disability with a total of 745 (+70) attendances.
2023 has been the year of highest attendance, an indication of the wonderful growth and health of our Club
The RSVP system was continued and the addition of new software made the task of creating and managing the groups of members much easier.
We have trialed an after-training Achilles sponsored coffee session at the Terrace Coffee shop. This was very well received (with a record high number of members at training) and we will certainly consider having similar social coffee events in the future.
Thanks go to:
- Brian O’Dea, for managing the RSVP responses and forming training groups.
- Michael Levy, for managing the Parking Permits since the move to Hospital Road.
- The volunteers, for their efforts in guiding, dog handling and transporting members.
- The Royal Botanic Gardens Trust, for supplying parking permits for our volunteers.
I. FinancesThe financial status of the Club continues to be sound. Income has been received from membership fees, bank interest, the sale of clothing and merchandise (socks, caps and buffs), event sponsorship fundraising platforms and very welcome personal and corporate donations. Many thanks for donations to Michael Levy, Andrew Fox, Ben Gibb, Lynette Geary, the Ravine Foundation, Wilson Asset Management and a number of extremely generous anonymous donors.
Run Melbourne
The Achilles inter-chapter event held in Melbourne was, to date, the biggest and most expensive event. This was funded by a $10k grant from CBA, a $6500 grant from BNP Paribas, an enormous and exceptionally generous donation by an individual who wishes to remain anonymous and some modest contributions by the other chapters. Happily, the event was successfully completed exactly on budget.
Ongoing expenses include insurance, website and association fees. Event entry fees were once again Achilles’ biggest expense. To illustrate how Achilles Sydney has grown in the last 10 years, here are the figures showing the numbers of entrants and cost to Achilles Sydney in events in 2023 compared with 2014.
Entries in Events 2014 2023
Athletes with a disability
31
106
Volunteer guides
45
155
Total entrants
76
261
Cost to Achilles Sydney
Full Year
$2,470
$8,587
We thank all donors, sponsors and supporters for their ongoing support for and contribution to the wellbeing of Achilles.
Thanks once again to our extremely treasured Treasurer Ian Cohen for his dedication and excellent work in keeping the accounts up to date and the books balanced.
II. EventsThe Achilles inter-chapter event in Melbourne in July was the biggest (and as mentioned above) costliest event in the history of Achilles Australia. It was organised around Run Melbourne with excellent collaborative efforts between the chapters. Forty-two members travelled from Sydney, 5 from Canberra, 2 from Hunter Central Coast and 9 from Brisbane. A total of 69 members were accommodated at the conveniently situated Vibe Melbourne Hotel.
A social event was held on the Saturday afternoon at the historic and very impressive Melbourne City Hall. Thanks go to Achilles Melbourne for organising this excellent event where members from all chapters were able to mingle and get to know each other and enjoy finger food and drinks.
Around 110 Achilles members participated in one of the 5.2, 10 or 21.1 km distances at the Run Melbourne event on the Sunday. Achilles Melbourne guides joined the interstate teams.
After the Run Melbourne event and before participants travelled back to their home cities, a social lunch was held at the Wharf Hotel which again gave opportunity for members from the different chapters to socialise.
This event was a great success. Special thanks go to Brian for doing all the race registrations, and Phil for booking the flights. Cindy was part of the organizing sub-committee and provided valuable support in all areas.
As always, members are encouraged to participate in events. Besides events being fun to do and giving participants a sense of achievement, the presence of our yellow shirted members in events provides excellent awareness of Achilles for the community. Many of our new attendees have become aware of Achilles through seeing club members at events.
As has been the case for the last 10 or so years, our weekend in Orange in March for the Orange Running Festival was a real highlight. Achilles Sydney were again joined by members from Achilles Hunter Central Coast and met up with Achilles Canberra members. The train trip to and from Orange was once again a great opportunity for members to socialise.
Events in which our members participated included:
Orange Running Festival; Run2Cure; The Mother’s Day Classic; Hoka Half Marathon; City2Surf; parkrun (multiple occasions and locations); Run Melbourne; Real Insurance 5/10 km; City 2 Surf; Gold Coast Marathon; Sydney Running Festival; Lululemon event; BBB 10km Run; 3 Bridges Run.
I would like to acknowledge and thank all the race organisers who have allowed our guides free entry into their event. This is a massive saving for our Club.
The Running Events Calendar for 2024 will soon be published and we are hoping for record number of entrants in 2024.
III. GuidingGuiding is integral to the success of Achilles. Each year I feel that it is important to repeat the same important message about guiding and being guided.
First, we remind our members with disabilities not to be shy about requesting variations on the standard guiding techniques in order to suit their own needs. Guides should expect to vary their guiding techniques according to the individual’s preferences.
Second, I encourage all guides to look over the “guiding tips” on the website and to keep watching and listening to other guides. We do continually learn from observing each other.
Third, members are reminded of the importance of experiencing guiding or being guided by different people. Not only is it good to meet and interact with new people, but it is also important to become versatile at guiding and being guided.
New attendees are given an introductory instruction session, which gives good insight into guiding and Achilles in general. Charlie McConnell, Ben Gibb, Phil Hartshorne, Stephen Green and Joe Griffen (ex-Achilles Melbourne) have been wonderful in assisting with this introduction session each week. So, special thanks them and to other members who assisted from time to time.
Guiding in 2023 has generally been working very well, and I congratulate all members for the good spirit in which you have exercised together.
IV. AwardsThe Andrew Bristow Memorial Awards winners will be announced shortly.
The award winners in 2022 were Zhila Hasanloo (Disability award) and Kimberley Bobrige (Volunteer award).
V. Website and social mediaThe website has been and will continue to be an integral part of Achilles. The national website has individual sections for the local chapters of Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne, Brisbane and Hunter Central Coast and incorporates their individual Facebook sites.
Thanks to Julia Wenner and Garnie Fuller for coordinating the Achilles content on the social media platforms and to many of our members for posting photos from training sessions and events and for many interesting comments.
A Club registration system enables members’ information to be entered directly into the Club database, generates a message of acknowledgement and issues a receipt for payments. Thanks to Martin Ruane for maintaining the Achilles central data base, the website and everything to do with Achilles computers.
Also, thanks to Martin for the ongoing weekly training reminders and news updates which are emailed to members. Martin also maintains the site, ensuring all changes to procedures are captured accurately.
VI. Achilles AustraliaIt is very pleasing collaboration with the other Australian chapters continued this year. The Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane and Hunter Central Coast chapters kept in constant contact and helped each other with various areas of mutual interest, including fundraising and merchandising initiatives. Of course, the Run Melbourne event was very special for our inter-chapter relationships.
We received a large supply of new shirts, singlets and caps. Thanks to Max from Achilles Melbourne for organising the order and distribution.
Unfortunately, Achilles Hunter Central Coast has experienced difficulties in maintaining an organising committee. At present, they will be disbanding as a chapter. However, their funds will be kept in trust by Achilles Sydney in case they are able to relaunch.
VII. Brett Anthony(Ellis expressed the Club’s sadness at the death a greatly loved friend, and long-standing Achilles member, Brett Anthony died in September.
Brett joined Achilles in 2012, attended many Sunday trainings, events, and weekends away with Achilles.
Brett had made many friends within the Achilles community, and our heartfelt thoughts had been passed to them, and to Brett’s family. )
VIII. ThanksThanks go to both individuals and groups:
To the Committee for the excellent work that they have put into the running of Achilles, and the time and effort they have generously given. They are Ben Gibb, Brian O’Dea, Charlie McConnell, Cindy Skacel, Ian Cohen, Julia Wenner, Martin Ruane, Nick Gleeson, Phil Hartshorne and very recently, Nicole Tillotson. Brett Anthony was coopted onto the committee for a brief period prior to his tragic passing. It has been an absolute pleasure working with all of you.
Early in the year, Honorary Life Member and long-time committee member Majella Knobel stood down from the committee due to work and personal reasons. She contributed so much to committee business over the years with her wealth of experience in so many different areas.
Julia and Cindy will be stepping down from the committee after several years. Julia has been managing our social media, tirelessly producing social media posts (together with Garnie) and has also been central to a number of committee “projects”. Cindy took on the role of monitoring developments with Covid and recommending club operational responses. She also was involved in a number of areas of committee concern. Thank you, Majella, Julia and Cindy, for your considerable contributions to the Achilles committee.
I thank my wife Avril and my family for always supporting me in my involvement at Achilles.
And of course, thanks to all Achilles members for your excellent contributions and great enthusiasm.
Large numbers of people have derived enormous amounts of benefit from their involvement with Achilles. Achilles is a well recognised and respected organisation in the community and I feel very positive about its place and the contribution it makes.
I wish Achilles Sydney and Achilles Australia every success in 2024 and for the future.
3. Financial Report
- Treasurer Ian Cohen presented the Annual Report for the Financial Year2022/23.
- A copy is available from the Achilles Running Club.
4. Election of Officers for 2024
- Nominations for the 2024 Committee had been called for in accordance with the Club Constitution.
- There were no contested positions Committee and the Committee positions were filled without the need for a ballot. The complete Committee is shown below.
- President – Phil Hartshorne
- Vice President – Martin Ruane
- Treasurer – Ian Cohen
- Secretary – Brian O’Dea
- Committee Members: Ben Gibb, Charlie McConnell, Ellis Janks, Joe Griffin, Niamh Martin, Nick Gleeson, Nicole Tillotson.
5. The Andrew Bristow Memorial Awards 2023
- These awards are decided by the Committee.
- The Award for a member with a disability was awarded to Daniel Gu.
- The Award for a volunteer was awarded to Garnie Fuller.
6. Other Business
- In closing the AGM, Ellis welcomed Phil Hartshorne’s election as President and wished him well in his role. (Phil was overseas and unable to attend the AGM.)
- Vice President Martin Ruane thanked outgoing President Ellis Janks for his leadership and contribution for many years. Martin proposed a Vote of Thanks. This has loudly endorsed.
- The AGM was declared closed at 1130.
