Our Annual General Meeting

Since we have no formal constitution our AGM will basically be a discussion about the Hastings Humanists Group and how the members and supporters wish it to proceed into the next year, our third. This will be held on Thursday 18th November, 6:30 pm at the Arts Forum.

If I continue as Secretary my plan for next year is for far less formal lectures and instead to have mainly discussion meetings where we can get to know one another and exchange views. I think each meeting should have a leading topic which the proposer will introduce with a short introduction, of say ten minutes, and then discussion of the topic, followed by any other subjects that may come up.

Suggestions for topics we should discuss will be welcomed. Some that I have listed as possible are: Humanism and Science Fiction, The Rewriting of History by Religious Historians, Is Cosmology Relevant to Humanism, Is there any Truth in Conspiracy Theories, The Census (due on 27 March 2011), and several others. Any offers? Any serious omissions, or events coming up we should cover?

I understand Helene is willing to continue as our Treasurer, though she may not be at all meetings. Instead of making an entry charge we propose that there be a £5 annual membership fee (which about ten people have already paid for 2010) other donations being optional. (This is similar to the Brighton and Hove Group.) Lesley will I hope continue as Deputy Treasurer.

These roles are open to other members to put their names forward for selection. This includes the Secretary role. It may be that we should also create some other formal positions, and perhaps a formal Committee. If members have specific proposals they would like discussed at the AGM it would be helpful to have them notified in advance, but this is not essential.

Another problem may be to find a new venue. Personally I am not keen on meeting in a public house since I prefer to avoid alcohol, but on the other hand there is no room fee to be paid. Does anyone know of a better meeting place, perhaps a Cafe? Graham thinks we should start raising funds for our own building, but that seems a bit ambitious at this stage.