The AGM, and the Season Wash-up

After a long and tough season, we finally reached the end yesterday, with our AGM. This will, therefore, be my last post about band for a while.

The AGM went well, but was rather dull. These things often are. I was elected to the position of Chairman (actually Chairperson, but I do so hate being PC...) for a second year. Indeed, the core of the committee remains the same, of the previous committee only one member stepped down and was replaced; we have added several new people to bring the total back up to strength.

So, what about the year just finished?

The Good

• We qualified for the final at three of the four Majors we attended, at the Scottish and European Championships and at the Cowal Gathering. We also recorded our best result at a Major since I joined the band, coming ninth at Cowal.
  
• We won at Callendar, and also collected a fourth place.
  
• We ran a highly successful trip to France that vastly exceeded the expectations of everyone who attended.
  
• We ran a trip to Ireland that was likewise enjoyable, although the result didn't suit us.
  
• The band grew in strength and confidence over the year, such that it's almost an entirely different band, despite being made up of all the same people.
  
• We ended the year with a small net loss, leaving us well in the black. This was despite a massive increase in expenditure and the recession. It is also a vast improvement over last year, where our net loss was five times as great.
  

The Bad

• We failed to qualify in Ireland. This made for a very long and tiring trip that was ultimately disappointing.
  
• We lost our secretary in a manner that generated a certain amount of animosity.
  
• There was an issue with money surrounding the trip to France, that proved to be a costly mistake. It also generated yet more animosity.
  
• There was the issue with us not doing the parade at Cowal, which angered a lot of the parents and other supporters, caused a problem with the bus driver, and threatened to tear the band apart.
  
• We were very, very busy. For me, we were too busy this year; I can't do that again.
  

Lessons Learned

• This year, we intend to go back to Ireland, and to do better. However, we can't guarantee that we will. However, it is our intention to spend a second night, after the competition, in Ireland. That way, we will at least not have the disappointment of failure immediately followed by a long and tiring journey home.
  
• Everything that happens with regards to money needs to be clearly and explicitly spelled out. Everything. Sure, we might think that a "gentlemen's agreement" will hold us, but it turns out that it really won't.
  
• Should we do the trip to France again, I believe we'll work under the assumption that we're not getting any grants, and so that the people who are going will have to pay the full amount. We'll still apply for whatever grants we can, and if we do get them then at that point we can reduce the cost.
  
• Now that we know the format of the week in France, we can and should do some research in advance as to possible trips while we're out there. If we can build in two day trips, I think this will go a long way towards making the trip better for all.
  
• (For me personally...) Don't go trying to set a cerfew while in France. It was just a bad idea. What were you thinking?
  
• Communication is very, very important. In fact, despite us doing a reasonably good job, it remains our biggest area for improvement.
  

So, next year...

• We will be competing in all five Major competitions this year, adding the World Championships to our schedule. (The rules for qualifying have been changed next year, so that it's likely we'll only have to qualify at the World Championships and at Cowal. Needless to say, we want to qualify at both of these.) Our goal for next year is to start getting in and amongst the prizes at the Majors.
  
• We'll only be doing five Minor competitions next year, as opposed to the twelve of this year. We'll be aiming to place highly at all of them.
  
• We'll be running the weekend trip to Ireland again, in July this time, in order to attend the competition there. The intent is to stay there for a second night after the event.
  
• We've been invited to return to France. The Festival next year starts just after the World Championships, so we won't need to make a choice about which to attend (as we did this year). We certainly intend to return.
  
• We've got a lot of new members intending to join, which will require the purchase of a lot of new uniforms. We also have a lot of existing uniforms that require refreshed. As a result of these two factors, we will need to a similar amount of fundraising to this year in order to break even. Although the net loss for this year was small, we cannot continue making small losses year on year.
  

And that, I think, is that. I am optimistic about the future of the band, but am also quite glad to be getting a two week break from it now.