The AGM for Clonmel AC was held on the 14th December in Moynihan’s and it was great to see a large attendance. The meeting was opened by the Chairperson, Conor Fleming and the minutes of the 2017 AGM was read by the Secretary, Helen Cahill. This was followed by a comprehensive report on the Juvenile Section given by Robbie Whelan who outlined another busy and successful year for our Juveniles, who won a host of medals at County, Munster and National level. He also highlighted that our Juvenile membership is growing all the time. Next, Niall O Sullivan gave a detail account of the Senior side of the Club where the Club performed with distinction at the National Half Marathon and Marathon Championships with the Club going from strength to strength but the obvious standout performance was at the National Senior Men Inter Club Cross Country Championships when having two athletes on the podium and winning National Inter Club Bronze medals at the highest level for the very first time. Then having two athletes scoring again on the Irish Team at the European Cross-Country Championships in Tilburg. An amazing feat with Sean Tobin finishing 10th in Europe. Our outgoing Treasurer, Paula Dwan, gave a detailed financial report with a healthy balance sheet, which is so important considering our Club’s future plans. Conor Fleming, our outgoing Chairman, thanked all of the 2018 committee, our coaches and volunteers for all their help throughout the year. He also paid particular attention to our recent fantastic news that our grant application was successful towards the new “Sports Hub”. He highlighted the fact that this for the future of the Club was vital in keeping the Club strong and developing future talent and to have a ”home” for Clonmel AC but he also pointed out that members would all have to help in future fundraising for the Club for our new project and that the Lotto would have to be re branded and we would have to do a big promotion on it as Income from it has slipped in recent years.
Conor then dissolved the old committee and a new Committee was elected as follows:
Chairperson: Tony McCarthy
Senior Vice Chairperson: Conor Fleming
Juvenile Vice Chairperson: Frank Lynch
Secretary: Dan O Keeffe
Treasurer: Shane Greene
Ass Treasurer: Paula Dwan
Juvenile PRO and Register: Robbie Whelan
Senior PRO and Register: Niall O Sullivan
Committee: Susan Laste, Helen Cahill, Nora Palazzo, Pat O Connor, Jimmy Boland, Niall Brannigan, Donal Casey, Pat Walsh and Albert Doyle.
There were four Motions passed, one Motion that saw the Club Membership increase for the first time in ten years. This is mainly due to an increase in Affiliation fees and increase entry fees for competitions. The new membership fees are 20 Euros for Juveniles of which Athletics Ireland gets 17 Euros to cover Insurance and Registration. The Senior membership fee is now 40 euros of which 20 euros goes to Athletics Ireland for Insurance and Registration fees. The Club pays for all entry fees to competition at County, Munster and National Championships, the only exceptions are National Championships promoted as part of an Open race like the Dublin City Marathon. It was brought to the attention of the meeting from the floor that some members were Not award that the Club pays the entry fees, so it was decided that we would highlight that for the coming year. The Entry fee to the County Championships is 5 Euros per athlete and this is a considerable burden to the Club and one of the reasons for the increase in the fees.
Frank Lynch gave a brief update on the Sports Hub. There were some questions under AOB as regards the timeline for the Sports Hub and here we are awaiting news from the County Council.
Conor Fleming closed the meeting and thanked everyone who attended the AGM.