A groundbreaking AGM sees new constitution adopted and Lynn Robinson become the BMC’s first-ever female president.
The 2018 BMC AGM took place on Saturday 16 June at the Castle Green hotel, Kendal. This AGM was long-awaited and didn’t disappoint: giving the largest proxy voting turnout of any BMC AGM.
Items 1 to 7 on the agenda were passed with some brief discussions, before it was on to the main business of the day: item 8 and 9.
Item 8 was an ordinary resolution proposed by John Roberts and over 500 BMC members to continue the work of the BMC in the spirit of the recent organisational review recommendations, whether or not a new constitution was adopted. This item was passed with 6222 for, 313 against and 347 abstain.
Item 9 was the centre of attention: the special resolution to adopt new articles of association. There were two options proposed: Option A or Option B. Option A was formally recommended by the BMC National Council, BMC Board of Directors and organisational review, and Option B had been put forward by a group of members.
At the AGM, Andy Syme from the BMC National Council spoke for six minutes on Option A, and Andy Say for six minutes on Option B, before the floor was opened to questions. Around two hours of debate then followed before votes were cast in the room and added to the online proxy votes.
The results were conclusive: 6057 (92%) of the votes were in favour of adopting the new articles of association of Option A, 409 (6%) voted for Option B and 91 (2%) for neither A or B.
With this majority vote, the later item 11 concerning membership fees was no longer relevant, and there is no subscription increase for this year.
With acting president Nick Kurth stepping down from his role, it was then time to vote on a new president. Up for election were Lynn Robinson and Les Ainwsorth, who both gave great presentations about how they would take the BMC forward.
In a historic moment for the BMC, Lynn became the president – the first ever female president of the BMC – with 4168 votes compared to Les with 2000.
Simon McCalla, independent director, congratulated Nick Kurth on his “unstinting dedication” and thanked him for being “a tremendous acting president.”
John Roberts was voted in for vice president with 5891 votes and Amanda Parshall became independent director with 5453.
Emma Flaherty, Graham Richmond, Simon McCalla, Matthew Bradbury, Roger Fanner, Rik Payne and Will Kilner were re-elected as directors.
The meeting closed with awarding Honorary membership to Mark Vallance and Rehan Siddiqui.
Thanks to everyone who voted online. With 6796 online votes, the turnout broke all previous BMC records.
Dave Turnbull, BMC CEO, said “This was a truly historic BMC AGM. Not only did we have a record voting turnout – nearly three times our previous record – but the BMC now has its first female president. We all look forward to working together and to take the BMC forward into a very strong future for all its members.”
Lynn Robinson, new BMC president says: "I'm absolutely thrilled to have been voted in as BMC president, thank you to everybody for their support and votes. And thanks to Les for his commitment to the BMC. I can't wait to get started, and am really looking forward to recognising some of the BMC's amazing volunteers."
Full results
Your AGM: Thanks for your vote!
This year's historic AGM had a record voting turnout, with 6,796 of those votes being made online. We want to thank everyone for having their say and helping to shape the future of the BMC.
Detailed info on the BMC AGM 2018
Find out more about the last AGM. It's a complicated topic, so start with this one:
We were asking our members to vote on some significant changes to the BMC's constitution. Part of the discussion was the relationship between the BMC and Sport England.
There were two constitutions to vote for: Proposal A (as recommended by National Council) and Proposal B, proposed by a group of members. To learn more about the two proposals, you can read a detailed comparison written by BMC honorary solictor Martin Wragg.
How did the recommendations get decided? Read more about the process that lead to this stage, including the reports from the Organisational Review and more.
Watch the Open Forum debate
We held a debate in Manchester on 15 May for both options to be discussed. You can watch the livestream here:
VIDEO
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