The line up this time (l to r) Mr Ralph Wilson, Mr. Kevin Clancy, Mr. Don Armstrong, (Chairman of Trustees) Mr. Keith Clarke, (President), Mr. Robert Smith, (Chairman of Council), Mr. Tim Rodway, (Hon. Treasurer).

Keith Clarke presided at our 47th AGM. Turn out was sparse; 14 members of the National Council/Officers of the Club and 9 members. They heard Chairman of the Council, Robert Smith, read the Notice convening the Meeting and Mr Clarke's welcome. Matters proceeded briskly: the Minutes of the 2002 AGM were taken as read; there were no Matters Arising that were not covered by the Agenda.

CHAIRMAN'S REPORT
Robert Smith reported on a milestone year for the Club in that aid distributed by the Benevolent Fund since it was set up in 1960 passed the £5 million mark. A notable achievement which reflects the efforts and the generosity of members past and present. Furthermore, the current strength of the Fund put it in a position to help those who needed it. Efforts were being made to identify suitable cases so that reserves could be put to use. Robert hoped our extended web site, currently being designed to improve access to and knowledge of the Club, would help in this, and in other respects such as finding volunteers to serve on Branch committees. Membership figures showed an upward trend which would mean greater numbers at fund raising events.
The national Annual Dinner, at which the Rt. Hon William Hague had been the main speaker, was a success, and Branches held over 80 events in 2002 raising a record £325,000 .
Dublin's Annual Dinner and Auction had raised the single largest contribution to our Fund: over € 84,000.
On the sporting front, Golf days had proved popular ,with the annual national Pro-Am now firmly established. The three annual football events which are supported by 80 companies, raised £11,000, and a similar amount was raised by our Marathon Team organised by Steve Radcliffe. The Council recognised the work that had achieved these impressive results. Aiming to raise funds from new sources, two recycling initiatives are under way. The first, involving old mobile phones, has already topped £10,000, the other, currently being introduced, recycles toner and ink jet cartridges which will earn money for our fund.
LHC merchandise was available and would make a contribution. The Club had also benefited enormously from sponsorship by Resale Weekly of the production and printing of our newsletter, and from Chepstow Plant International who have followed on from Skanska with meeting the costs of postage.
Our new President of the Club, Mr Keith Clarke, was appointed in 2002 and Mr Smith welcomed him to his first AGM and wished him well during his term of office. Sadly, in 2002 the Club had seen the deaths of two longstanding and prominent supporters, its chaplain, the Very Reverend Lawrence Jackson, and Mr Harry Collins, a trustee of the Benevolent Fund at the time of his death. Harry very generously left £50,000 to the Fund. Robert Smith ended by commending the fund raising efforts and hard work of the supporters of the Lighthouse Club during the year and was confident that 2003 would build on their success.


TREASURER'S REPORT
Mr. Rodway presented the Annual Report and Accounts of the Lighthouse Club for the year ended 31 December 2002, as distributed in an abbreviated form in the newsletter. Acceptance of the Accounts was proposed by Mr. McKee, seconded by Mr Brant, carried unanimously. Copies of the Accounts in full and those of the Benevolent Fund, as required by current charity law, are available on request from the National Office. Mr Rodway was thanked for his work as Treasurer and for his preparation of the accounts.

BENEVOLENT FUND
Chairman of the Fund, Mr. Armstrong, presented the Benevolent Fund accounts and reported on a year which had seen record amounts being received by the Fund. He commended the hard work and goodwill that had been shown - particularly by Branches whose contribution was some £3000 up on the previous year. Income from the Corporate Appeal was £79,000 and from the Annual Dinner £36,000. With other contributions the Fund had a year's benevolence in reserve. Mr Armstrong recalled that 5 years ago the caseload required £200,000 from reserves and made the point that the reserves in the Fund could well be needed at any time. In 2002 aid was given to 270 cases, mostly monthly amounts but with 100, often widows, receiving a lump sum. More cases were being sought, Mr Armstrong asked for help from members in finding suitable ones. He also asked for practical assistance from within the Branch to be offered to the often hard-pressed Welfare Officers in carrying out their work, particularly in Branches with large areas. £18,000 had been spent in 2002 on Care Holidays for individual people and their carers and bereaved families. Finally Mr Armstrong thanked all those directly and indirectly concerned with the work of the Benevolent Fund during another successful year.


CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP
Chairman of the Corporate Sponsorship Committee, Mr Clancy, reported that the number of sponsors had been maintained at over 100 in 2002. He expressed gratitude on behalf of the Committee to those who continued to support the work of the Club.

THE CHARLES NEWMAN MEMORIAL FUND
Trustee Mr Wilson reported that, in spite of the conditions in the investment market in 2002, the Fund had received interest at roughly the previous level from the capital. Since 1972 when the Fund was set up, £437,774 had been generated in interest, however, the capital was now below its peak at £561,836 and the trustees would meet to conduct their annual review of strategy. Two new trustees, Mr McAlpine and Mr Whitehead, had been appointed to join the three existing ones.

THE CHARLES CHINN AWARDS
In the absence of Mr Chaundy, Mrs Lowry reported that two students had been helped in 2002 and would continue to receive support for another year.

ELECTION OF COUNCIL OFFICERS AND MEMBERS
Mr Clarke said that two Council nominees, Mr Baldry and Mr Cockerton, were due to stand down from the Council in 2003 but each had agreed to continue to serve.


ANY OTHER BUSINESS
In the absence of any other business, Mr Clarke commented on the difficulties experienced by charities in the current climate and referred to the pressures of time on volunteers working within the LHC. The extended web site, which would be in place by the end of the year, would be instrumental in raising the profile of the Club and should help to solve some of the problems of access and also of publicity. Mr Clarke thanked all those who had contributed to the success of the past year and hoped that they would continue to take pride in their industry and enjoy the social side of the Club's activities. He praised their work which had achieved such excellent results.
He then closed the Meeting.