YBDSA AGM January 2023 Report - CEO, Karen Wilson

Published: 21 February 2023

Well, it’s been a busy start to the calendar year, commencing with our AGM in January.  We held a really successful event at the RNLI in Pool with the 3 AGM’s taking place on January 9.  We managed to bring in 3 full committees (ABYA, YDSA, and CA) who immediately mandated their intent on getting specific projects completed in the short year before the next AGM which has been set for November 27, 2023 all via Zoom. Details of these objectives are set out in each of the Chairman’s report included in this newsletter. 

What happened at the AGM? 

Following the YBDSA AGM, we had the absolute treat of hosting an afternoon tea in honour of, and as a big thank-you, to Jane Gentry.  As most of you know, Jane was CEO of the Associations for 20 years and her hard work and dedication during that time was second to none.  Jane retired in 2020, but because of the Pandemic, we were unable to give her a proper thank you; so, it was a real treat for our members to be able to have a good old catchup and opportunity to show our gratitude.  Once again, a big THANK YOU, Jane!  

Everyone convened once again in the evening looking their absolute best for our formal awards dinner. We also invited some distinguished guests who had assisted the Associations immensely over the past year.  Kris Garner from CGI, Lucy Goff and Phillipa Langton from LA Marine, and Paul Winter from Winter and Associates all helped make a great evening even better.  

Jane consented to being our MC for the awards part of the evening and did an amazing job at entertaining the group with anecdotes of her time at the YBDSA; she was incredibly witty and eloquent when introducing the presenters to hand out the following awards:  

  • ABYA Award for Most Outstanding Yacht Broker 2022 – Recipient, James McPhail 
  • ABYA Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Association 2022 – Recipient, Peter Norris 
  • YDSA Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Association 2022 – Recipient, Paul Smith 
  • YBDSA Industry Award for an Individual who has gone above and beyond for the Associations – Recipient, Kris Garner 
  • YBDSA Industry Award for an Individual who has gone above and beyond for the Associations – Recipient, Craig White 
  • YBDSA Industry Award for an Individual who has gone above and beyond for the Associations – Recipient, Kay Greenwood 
  • YBDSA Industry Award for an Individual who has gone above and beyond for the Associations – Recipient, Dawn McNaughtan 
  • And at a later date at the Houses of Parliament, presented by Peter Norris, YBDSA Industry Award for an Individual who has gone above and beyond for the Associations – Recipient, Kelly Tolhurst, MP 

It really was a great evening and most definitely enjoyed by all. 

We started off our second day by kicking it off with a team building exercise.  During this, Broker/Survey teams came together to try and make the tallest structure out of spaghetti noodles and marshmallows.  I think it would be fair to say the competition was fierce but fun was had by all.  Take a look at the pictures!   

Following this was a packed day of training.  To kick things off Peter Massi gave a really in depth talk on Lithium Batteries.  The members were so engrossed that Peter was kind enough to stay on to have additional round table discussion, questions, and answers.   

At the same time, Peter Norris, ABYA representative, Tim Barker, YDSA representative, and myself, had round table discussion with our members on what they would like to see the Associations achieve over the next year.  One of the resounding requests was a frequent newsletter to keep the Membership informed.  We totally agreed and this is the result of that conversation.  We’re really looking forward to building on the newsletter and bringing relevant industry related topics to the membership on a regular basis. 

Also happening at this time was a Mid-Term Survey that Ben Sutcliffe-Davies and Charlie Rossiter organised on a couple of boats moored just outside of the RNLI.  This even enticed a couple of Brokers! 

And finally, our good friends at the RNLI conducted a tour of the facilities for those members interested. 

After a quick lunch we had an incredibly important and well received talk on mental wellbeing from Mates in Mind.  Some outstanding resources were presented and some excellent discussion with the members took place on this important topic. 

To end the day Craig White talked about the importance of CPD and how this can be logged onto our CRM system. 

After 2 years of remote AGMs and training, it really was an excellent 2 days for members to get together with significant issues discussed and excellent opportunities for networking.  

Moving forward... 

There is significant work to be done before our next AGM in November.  From a people standpoint, we needed to replace some of the much required staff we lost over the last year to make sure we’re offering the depth and resources to you, our valued members.  To this end, I’m really pleased that we have been able to secure new team members for the following positions: 

  • Ross Wombwell joins us as our Technical Specialist.  He will be a key player in our CA assisting us with Technical Queries, In-House Checking, MCA representation, and Policy/Procedure Writing 
  • James Brown joins us as our Training Coordinator.  He will be developing, delivering, and maintaining complete training systems for ABYA, YDSA, and the CA.  This will ultimately assist with membership, both new and up-grading, the MCA requirements for continuous training, incorporating a practical learning component, and increase our online learning presence with relevant webinars. 
  • Katie Schuster joins us as our Marketing Coordinator.  Katie is with us in a part-time capacity and her focus for the first quarter of the year is a Newsletters, Social Media Presence, and Webpage updates relating to news articles. 

I welcome our new team members and sincerely look forward to the great work that they will contribute to our Associations. 

Glassworks 

Another important project that Council and I will be putting serious effort into this year, is our building at the Glassworks.  I’ll be getting assessments on its value, having conversations with Estate Agents, as well as Developers in order to present options to Council on a go froward plan.  This will also include looking for new premises to act as the Head Quarters for the YBDSA.  Key elements for the new building that we’re currently considering are: 

  • Location - we’d like to be close to water so that we can add a practical component to our training modules 
  • A building that can facilitate an area for in-house training; address and accommodate accessibility issues, and a more conducive floor plan for our team to work together in.   
  • Other considerations need to include: hotels so that anyone taking a 2 or 3 day training course has accommodation, as well as a good amount of onsite parking.   

Our hope is to have this at a good stage of completion before the next AGM.  

Articles of Association 

One topic of conversation that has been really prevalent with Council/Committee members as well as the membership as a whole, is our Articles of Association.  Over the next several months I’ll be working with several members to review and decide what areas need to be up-dated to make our governing documentation relevant to today's standards.  I’ll keep you informed of any pending up-dates. 

These are just a few of the things I’ll be working on this year and I, along with all of the team at the Glassworks, are always available to you to assist in any way we can, we’re all looking forward to a really positive year. 

 

Karen Wilson, YBDSA CEO  

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February 2023

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