Denny & Dunipace Pipe Band

Gigs and Events 2008

Date	Gig	Uniform	Time
01.02.08	Hopetoun House	No. 1	19.30
03.02.08	Scotland v France Rugby	No. 2	10.30
17.02.08	Hopetoun House	No. 1	TBA
08.03.08	Scotland v England Rugby	No. 2	10.45
28.03.08	Wedding - Prestonfield	No. 1	TBA
26.04.08	Wedding - Dunblane	No. 1	TBA

The Constitution of Denny and Dunipace Pipe Band Association

The Denny and Dunipace Pipe Band Association have for a considerable number of years conducted their affairs under a constitution born of their origin within and from the 1^st Denny and Dunipace Company of the Boy’s Brigade. The aim of the Association is to maintain a pipe band and in particular to promote the training of pipers and drummers. In view of the recent changes in the statutory regulations it is felt that the constitution for the continuance of the affairs of the Association should be as follows:-

1. There shall be an Association to continue to be known as the Denny and Dunipace Pipe Band, Association.

2. The said Association shall consist of subscribers of an annual subscription to be fixed from time to time by the Association including the remaining first Office Bearers of the Association namely:-

James Baxter, 5 Highland Dykes Drive (Initial Honorary Treasurer)

Robert A. Deuchar, 4 Townhouse Street (Initial Pipe Major and Current Chairman)

2.1 membership of the Association is open to any person interested in piping or drumming irrespective of gender, age or cultural background.

3. The day to day running of the Association shall be delegated to the Executive Office Bearers of the Association namely the Chairman, Pipe Major, and Treasurer and such other Committee members as may be co-opted from time to time.

3.1 All cheques from the operating account and similar documents shall be signed by any two of the Office Bearers.

4. The Executive Office Bearers shall (except in the event of any casual vacancies occurring) hold office for 3 years. Thereafter the Office Bearers shall be elected by the subscribers in Annual General Meeting.

4.1 Retiring office Bearers shall be eligible for re-election.

4.2 In the event of any casual vacancy the duties of any Executive Office Bearer may be assumed by any of the Non-Executive Trustees of the Association or by any individual appointed by them in consultation with the remaining Executive Office bearers until the next ensuing General Meeting of the Association.

4.3 The election of the Executive Office Bearers will be staggered to ensure continuity.

5. As long as the purposes of the Association are being carried out any equipment previously loaned to the Association will remain at the disposal of the Association to be managed and used in the best interests of the Organisation under the direction of the Trustees.

6. In consideration of the origins of the Association if at any time the Association has to maintain a waiting list for tuition, members of the 1^st Denny and Dunipace Company of the Boy’s brigade will be given priority, all other parameters being equal.

7. Non Executive Trustees will be appointed by the Association.

7.1 Their responsibility will be to operate, and develop where possible, a Trustees Account with the stated aim that the main purpose of this account is to ensure, as far as possible, the future of the Association.

7.2 This account will constitute the savings account which was initially instituted within the Association as a “building fund” in an effort by the Association to obtain its own premises.

7.3 The operation of this account will be the responsibility of the Non Executive Trustees. All cheques and similar documents shall be signed by any two of the Non Executive trustees.

7.4 The initial Non Executive trustees will be as follows:-

Dr Robert A Deuchar (current Chairman)

Mr Roy Smith (Instructor and original Pipe Major)

Mr John McInnes M.B.E.(past Lead Drummer/Drum Major of the Association)

7.5 Other duties of the Non Executive trustees will be as clause 4. They will also be available to mediate and or direct a course of action where there is no agreement amongst or between the executive Office Bearers of the Association.

7.6 The Non Executive Trustees with the exception of the current Association President will be eligible for election every three years.

7.7 The retiring Trustees will be eligible for re-election.

7.8 To ensure continuity the initial Non Executive trustees are appointed for an initial period of six years to allow a staggered election process to be instituted.

8. There shall be at least one General Meeting of the Association in any Calendar year.

8.1 Only playing band members will be eligible to elect the Pipe Major.

8.2 Members over the age of 16 years who have been fully paid up members for a full calendar year will be eligible to vote at any official meeting of the Association.

9. Proposed changes to the constitution will require to be notified to the chairman at least one month in advance of an appropriately convened General meeting of the Association. Changes to the constitution will require a 2/3^rd majority of those present eligible to vote.

The Minutes of the last Meeting

Minutes of AGM of Denny and Dunipace Pipe Band, Association
held within Denny Cross Medical Centre on Thursday 10^th May 2007

Item 1. Chairman’s Report

The meeting was opened by the Association’s Chairman, Dr Deuchar. The Chairman welcomed all those present and commented on the success of the band during the previous season. He congratulated P/M Mark Sutherland on his achievement of taking the senior band back into Grade 2 and also P/M Colin Shearer as the Grade 4 band had obtained a 5^th place at Cowal at the end of the previous season. He pointed out that a 5^th place at Cowal in Grade 4 was the first Championship place that the senior band had gained back in 1976 and that there was a photograph of Sandy Johnston carrying that shield in front of the band.

The Chairman then went on to comment on the turnover of persons involved in the running of the band stating that we had gone through a Pipe Major and two Treasurers in the last few years and that the stability of the organisation behind the band was a major concern. He pointed out that each of the previous Treasurers had raised their concerns with regard to funds being spent and that if spending continued at the same rate this would result in the band funds being dissipated. He also stated that the band should seek to maintain a building fund with the long-term aim of securing the band’s future. He stated that it was possible that we could lose our free access to the schools and mentioned the new school which is to be built under the Public Finance Initiative. (These schools are usually run by a private company who charge a commercial rate for their use outside of school hours.) He also stated that we had free access to the schools as the band had given up accommodation through a compulsory purchase order but that the councillors and other people had changed since those days and it is unlikely that the promises made then would still be honoured.

The Chairman then mentioned the band’s constitution and asked if an inventory of equipment had been obtained. He was assured by the Pipe Major that it had. The Chairman then went on to state that teaching in the band was still the responsibility of the Pipe Major and the Leading Drummer although their job was made more difficult due to legislation and in particular Disclosure Scotland. He then asked that as many adults as possible be prepared to submit to a disclosure check so that we fulfil our responsibilities in this regard.

The Chairman then mentioned a committee which had been set up at the previous General Meeting consisting of Stewart Paterson, Sandy Johnston and Alistair Black who had been tasked with sponsorship and fundraising and asked if any progress had been made on this front.

Sandy Johnston replied that a major obstacle to obtaining grant aid had been the current constitution which was clearly not fit for purpose. Stuart Paterson also stated that we would have had difficulty in applying for funds when we had money in the bank.

The Chairman then stated that the adoption of the new constitution should solve these problems and that this document together with the election of new office bearers should see the Association move forwards.

Item 2. Pipe Major’s Report

The Pipe Major Mark Sutherland began by welcoming everyone to the meeting. He stated that the previous year had been a good one with the senior band winning the World Championships and becoming Champions of Champions and the grade 4 band beginning to make an impression in their grade. He stated that it had been a good winter of practises and both bands were looking forwards to the forthcoming competition season.

The Pipe Major stated that there had been some turnover of personnel, however equipment issues were being dealt with and both bands would be equipped and ready for Saturday, and the first competition at Dunbar. He then went on to comment on the workload undertaken by band members, stating that the senior band, between contests and gigs played at 40 plus engagements per year and that this was a huge commitment by a dedicated group of people. He then expressed his thanks to the members of both bands who supported this commitment.

The Pipe Major then commented on the income that had been generated from the gigs at Hopetoun House and Stirling Castle. He stated that the band had raised the fee to £750 per gig and that the demand for our services had increased. He also mentioned the Rugby gigs stating that the band was getting £1200 per gig and bookings were still coming in such as the Rugby 7’s (the day after Shotts) and the Rugby Internationals in September.

The Pipe Major then thanked John Cowan for his assistance in obtaining a one year sponsorship deal from the Keep Scotland Beautiful Campaign. This had brought in £3500 to the band funds. He stated that the professional approach adopted when obtaining this sponsorship had paid dividends and that he intended to continue this approach in the future.

The Pipe Major then mentioned that Kenny Bell had withdrawn as a prospective candidate for the vacant position of treasurer due to family reasons and that as a result Kenny felt he couldn’t devote any time to the post. The Pipe Major then stated that he was sure all our thoughts were with Kenny and Carol.

The Pipe Major then ended by saying that both bands were prepared for the season ahead and that everything was looking good for an enjoyable and hopefully successful season.

Item 3. Treasurer’s Report

This was dealt with by the Chairman Dr Deuchar as the Treasurer’s position was vacant at that point in the meeting due to the resignation of the previous incumbent.

The Chairman began by presenting the Income and Expenditure statement for the year ending August 2006 and stated that this was the first time in six years that the statement showed an improved balance over the year with income exceeding expenditure. He cited previous year’s accounts with 2003 showing a deficit of £11000, 2004 a deficit of £5000 and 2005 a deficit of £4000. The Chairman was pleased that this trend had been halted and hoped that we could continue to bring in more than we spend.

The Chairman the stated that we have over £7000 in the current account and £36414 in the investment account. He then stated that we should consider new ways of generating income and mentioned that a membership fee had been discussed where a percentage could be claimed back from the government as gift aid. He also pointed out that several persons associated with the band had generated some income through gift aid where money had come to the band through the companies that these persons worked for. He stated that if anyone else was in a position to do this then the Association would be more than delighted to accept such funding.

Stuart Paterson then asked if we would be able to claim back gift aid on the sponsorship funding. The Pipe Major replied that this was paid to the band as an advertising fee on behalf of the sponsor so the answer was no. The Chairman then stated that money could be claimed back as gift aid on money that tax payers paid to the band, not on money coming from businesses. He then went on to say that the members of the Association had done well to turn around the band’s finances and he hoped that this would continue and that we would continue to contribute towards the sum held on deposit. He also stated that he hoped that all members of the Association appreciated the work that had been done by previous members to build up the sum held on deposit.

The Chairman then suggested that the accounts be adopted by the meeting.

Proposed Stuart Paterson Seconded Andy Grant

No dissent was recorded and the accounts were adopted by the meeting.

The Chairman stated that as the Association was a registered charity in its own right then we were subject to legislation which described the way that accounts were required to be presented. He stated that he had only recently received direction from the charities regulator although the legislation has been in place for a much longer period.

Item 4 Constitution

The Chairman then presented a written Constitution to the meeting. He stated that the previous constitution had been created arising from the advent of the Association and the band developing from its original status as a Boys Brigade Pipe Band. However this constitution was now in need of updating and he proposed the following as the new constitution of the Association.

The Chairman initially commented on the use of a comma in the title stating that this was in place due to previous discussion with the RSPBA to show that the Association was of a group of people associated to Denny and Dunipace Pipe Band and not an association of pipe bands such as the RSPBA.

(NB The following notes refer to discussion concerning this constitution and its subsequent adoption. The discussion is not reproduced in the chronological order as it took place and instead has been reproduced with reference to each section discussed. A copy of the constitution as adopted is held by the Chairman and will be published in due course. This is not reproduced as part of these minutes.)

Clause 1 – accepted without further discussion

Clause 2

This was initially commented upon by the Chairman as being there for continuity. This was later queried by Sandy Johnston who stated that this was open to interpretation. The Chairman stated that this clause represented the Association Membership. Andy Grant suggested that the matter could be resolved by substituting the term “including” for the term “as well as”. This was agreed.

Sandy Johnston suggested the insertion of an equal opportunities statement as this would assist in any future grant applications. After discussion it was agreed that the following statement should be inserted in part 2:

“Membership of the Association is open to any person interested in piping and drumming irrespective of gender, age or cultural background.”

Clause 3

The Chairman explained that the Association should be run by three persons, the Pipe Major, the Chairman and the Treasurer. He stated that other persons could be co-opted to help but that these three positions had the responsibility of running the Association and were in effect the Trustees of the Association. He went on to say that there were only three positions to avoid the situations found in other larger committees where the members fall out with each other. He explained that the most important position is that of the Pipe Major and this requires to be protected. This was to avoid the situation where a number of persons can come to a band, throw out the current Pipe Major and appoint their own person effectively taking over the band. He commented that this had taken place in other bands and pointed out that drum corps have a reputation for engaging in this type of activity.

Andy Grant stated that he agreed with protecting the Pipe Major’s role and suggested that to this end it would be preferable if cheques issued by the Association could only be signed by the Pipe Major and one other Executive Office bearer. The chairman replied that this was impractical and a better arrangement would be as stated in that cheques and other documents should be signed by any two of the Executive Office bearers. He further stated that this arrangement had worked for 40 years and what would happen if a cheque was required urgently and the Pipe Major was unavailable?

It was decided that the arrangement would be left as stated.

The Chairman also pointed out that subsection 2 of Clause 3 dealt with the resolution of any disagreement between Executive Office bearers. Such disagreement would be referred to the Non Executive Trustees as appointed in Clause 5 of the Constitution and if the issue could not be resolved by their consideration then the issue would fall to the Chairman of the Non Executive Trustees for resolution.

Clause 4

Sub-section 1 - The Chairman stated that this section was designed to allow continuity of leadership in the Association and that the Executive Officers would hold office for 3 years with the election of each being staggered so that each position came up for election on different years.

Sub-section 2 – The Chairman stated that if any of the Executive Officer roles became vacant then this position could be filled by a Non Executive Trustee (as appointed in Clause 5) or by another individual appointed by the non executive trustees in consultation with the remaining Executive Office Bearers. This appointment would stand until the next General Meeting of the Association.

Sub-section 3 – This section states that only over 16’s and persons who had been paid up members of the band for over a year were entitled to vote at a General Meeting of the Association. The Chairman stated that this section was in place to avoid a group of people coming to the band and attempting to take over. He further stated that this section had not been put in place to ignore the views of persons under 16 who were members of the Association and he wanted assure those persons that their views remained important to the Association and to the Executive Office bearers.

Clause 5

The Chairman stated that this section of the Constitution dealt with setting up of a Trust to look after the money in the deposit account, to take this away from the day to day running of the band and to task this trust with safeguarding the future of the band in the long term. He stated that this money had originally been set aside with the long-term aim of obtaining our own premises and that it was an astute move to retain funds for this purpose, given that if we ever wanted to apply for grant aid with a view to obtaining our own premises then we would need to do some of the fund-raising ourselves. He further stated that this Trust was to be operated for the long term benefit of the Association and that we should continue to generate funds in the general account with any surplus being passed to the trust.

The Pipe Major stated that he was unhappy with the use of the term “building fund” to describe this trust. The chairman replied that this term could be changed and that this could be discussed by the Executive Office Bearers for inclusion in the business of the next General Meeting of the Association.

The Chairman put forward three Non-Executive Trustees

Dr R A Deuchar (The Chairman)
Roy Smith
John McInnes

The Chairman explained that these persons had agreed to accept this position and that John McInnes had been a previous Leading Drummer in the band, a member of the RSPBA Music board and is a member of the RSPBA judging panel. The Chairman commented that these were persons of good standing in the community and suggested that the constitution should be changed to reflect this with the term “of good standing in the community” being inserted in place of the term “standing in the community”.

The Chairman also stated that the President of the Association Archie Russell had been consulted over this development and had been approached to be a Non-Executive Trustee however he had declined saying that did not want to be involved or take any responsibility. In response to a query it was agreed that Archie Russell was the President of the Association and not the Honorary President.

The trustees are to be appointed for an initial period of 6 years to allow their re-election or appointment of other trustees to be staggered over a three year period.

The Pipe Major stated that we had shown that we can bring income in to the band. Stuart Paterson stated that the trust arrangement would take these funds away from the day to day running of the Association and that we could in effect just forget about them. The Chairman agreed that this was the case but added that we should still try to add funds to the trust.

Clause 6 – accepted without further discussion

Clause 7 - accepted without further discussion

Clause 8 - accepted without further discussion

Further discussion

Sandy Johnston suggested that a specific month be agreed as to the month when the AGM should take place. He pointed out the Associations’ previous failures to hold AGM’s and that no meeting had been held since the last EGM which dealt with the appointment of Mark Sutherland as Pipe Major. This idea was rejected as impractical by the Chairman however the suggestion was supported by Tom Adam and others. This resulted in a compromise with the creation of a clause 9 which stated that

“There shall be at least one General Meeting of the Association in any Calendar year”

Tom Adam also suggested that there should be inclusion of some direction as how disciplinary matters were dealt with by the Association. The Chairman disagreed with this and suggested that this would be best left to the Pipe Major to put a set of rules in place after discussion with other senior members of the association.

The constitution as amended above was then put forward for adoption by the Chairman.

Proposed Andy Grant Seconded Roy Smith

The constitution as amended was then adopted

Item 5. Election of Treasurer

The Chairman commented on Kenny Bell’s withdrawal as a candidate for the post of Treasurer and suggested that it might be unrealistic to expect someone to take on this post with such short notice. The Pipe Major suggested that the person taking the post on would only be doing the job for six months until the next General Meeting of the Association. Stuart Paterson then volunteered to act as Treasurer until the next General Meeting. The Chairman then put forward Stuart Paterson for election to this post.

Proposed Andy Grant Seconded Jim Black

Stuart Paterson was then elected as Treasurer.

Item 6. Membership Fee

The Chairman asked for a suggestion as to what the membership fee should be set at.

Stuart Paterson suggested the sum of £10. The Chairman agreed that this was a reasonable sum and stated that we should not set this fee at too high a level as the band was based in the community and we wanted to attract people from the community to join the Association. The benefits for non-playing members were briefly discussed with such suggestions such as seats on the buses to competitions and perhaps receiving a band newsletter. The concept of a family membership was also discussed and it was agreed to remit this to the Executive Committee for further discussion. The tax implications of what this fee would be called were also discussed and again this was passed to the Executive Committee for further research/discussion.

Irene Sutherland asked if it was fair to charge under 16’s for membership of the Association if they were not getting a vote at AGM. This led to a discussion as to whether in the case of under 16’s the membership fee would be treated as a tuition fee. It was then pointed out that if we were to charge tuition fees then the Association would lose the free use of the schools that we enjoy at the moment.

John Cameron suggested that the membership fee could be used for costs and that gift aid could be claimed on this fee.

The Chairman then stated that the name of the fee could be decided by the members of the Executive Committee after looking at the tax implications. He then suggested that the fee be set at £10.

Proposed Stuart Paterson Seconded Sandy Johnston

Stuart Paterson then reminded the membership that money was due for Ireland to pay for the trip to the British Championships in June 2007.

Item 7. Any Other Competent Business

Andy Grant stated that all adults coming into contact with children in the Association should be disclosure checked.

The Pipe Major explained that he is in the process of undergoing checks which will allow him to become the Principal Contact for the Association. Any further checks of other adults will then be progressed through him with the result of those checks being communicated to the person being checked and also to the Pipe Major. This should prevent any unsuitable person from gaining access to any children in the Association.

The Chairman commented that in the 43 years that the band had been going only one person had been excluded and this had occurred through local knowledge of the individual involved.

The Pipe Major replied that the disclosure legislation was placed on us as a statutory obligation and that the Association had to progress this matter.

Neil Whitelaw stated that he had been disclosure checked for three separate organisations and that if we had been allowing one-to one teaching of children by adults who had not been disclosure checked then we as an Association had been breaking the law.

The Pipe Major replied that we were in the process of sorting this out.

Sandy Johnston informed the meeting that there would be a book launch event to be held at Denny Library on Friday 18^th May 2007 and that all were invited.

Elaine Todd and Lynne Anderson then brought up the matter of who was in charge of the under 16’s at the pipe band. This was discussed at some length. The Pipe Major agreed that the ultimate responsibility was his but it was unrealistic to expect the kids within the band to be the subject of constant supervision. The Chairman then suggested that this matter should be discussed by the interested parties along with a set of rules for discipline and that this could be dealt with by the Pipe Major in discussion with those persons.

Elaine Todd replied that she didn’t want to see older member of the band getting drunk in the band uniform, that it reflected badly on the Association and that there should be some rules laid down for all members of the Association to follow.

John Cameron suggested that there should be a pool of adults who are willing to take on responsibility for the under 16’s at band events.

The Chairman concluded this discussion by suggesting that the Pipe Major have discussions with those interested parties in order to deal with this matter.

Item 8. Next General Meeting

This was set to take place in November 2007 with the precise date being set nearer the time. The Chairman stated that the Chairman’s and Treasurer’s positions would be up for re-election at this Meeting.

Other Business

The Pipe Major reminded the meeting that we did not have a Secretary at present. Andy Grant has been doing the job recently and was put forward for election.

Proposed Stuart Paterson Seconded Colin Shearer

Andy Grant was appointed as Association Secretary.

Andy stated that there was a good system in place with regards to booking gigs and dealing with the secretarial tasks and commended the efforts of Paul McLean in his support for the band.

Stewart Paterson then suggested that the Association should thank Paul McLean and his company McLean Scotland for the support that he has given to the band.

The Chairman then closed the meeting.