Tawa U3A Committee Minutes of Meeting, 10.00am, August 26th 2026

Present: Marian (chair), Tim, Ray, John, Marie
Apologies: Barbara
Minutes of previous meeting approved – John, seconded Ray

Matters arising:
30th Birthday lunch Thursday, June 25th – Feedback:

• Generally went well, everyone seemed happy
• Choir was very good but a shame about the delay
  Chair’s Report: Marian has met with Bronwyn Chambers, current Chair of Probus.
  Agreed that they should meet with each other every two months in order to work cooperatively with speakers and activities.
  Dave Smith – Marian will invite him to the next meeting to discuss our Constitution and
  the implications of the ISA

Financial report (Income and expenditure to July 31st) proposed Marie, seconded John.
Despite one off expenses (website, lunch) the financial position remains good

Membership: now have 215 members. Approved the applications of four new
members.

Courses and Half-year update: Barbara will be stepping down from this role at the
AGM in February 2027. However she will do the necessary preparation for the new year
before then. Agreed that we will seek a possible replacement in the next Newsletter. It
would be particularly helpful for the new person to have a period of “parallel working”
with Barbara
Consider returning to using Tawa Anglican Church as a venue in 2027 when it reopens

Website: the new site has been tested by Ray and has a different structure from the old
one. The changeover is planned for August 31st and is expected to take two days; no
problems expected during the “down” period. Minutes of Committee meetings will be
on the website. The new structure uses members’ email addresses as a unique key but
this may be a problem when two members (e.g. husband and wife) have the same
address – needs further attention. Ray is meeting Rainbow this week and will raise the
issue of training for Committee members.

Communications:
Newsletter to go out this week and include decisions from this meeting.
Signs by the roadside at each end of Tawa are being updated, which needs cooperation
with other bodies such as Rotary. Agreed that the new signs will use the current logo as
on all our recent publicity. Tim to get quotes from a signmaker
Website and other publicity: the site now has a relevant photo for each course. Agreed
that we would avoid using photos in which members can be readily identified although
photos of the Committee are OK. Photos should preferably be used only for a limited
time.
Further discussion about reaching members who don’t have e-mails: agreed that these
would be distributed by hand by a suitable member of the Committee. Since the
meeting Ray has circulated a list of such members and these have been allocated to a
suitable Committee member. Newsletters and other important circular emails to be
dealt with in this way.

Other Business: none
Next meeting: November 2nd at 10am
Meeting closed at 11.30

Tawa U3A Committee Minutes of Meeting, 9.30am, April 13th 2026

Present: Marian (chair), Barbara, Tim, Ray, John, Marie

Apologies: none

Minutes of previous meeting approved – Marian, seconded Tim

Matters arising (Tim): paying guest speakers – agreed that we would pay up to $20 for
travel but more if negotiated; gift of book token up to $50 value. Course coordinators
can claim payment for these items and for copying but they need to be agreed with the
Treasurer first.

Financial year: agreed that it would not be practical to change the current one (end Nov)
AGM: agreed to have a later date, either Monday February 1st or Tuesday 9th
Feedback on Community Expo: good idea but needs to be better publicised, both
beforehand and on the day.

Public talks as per U3A Wellington – monthly guest speaker, probably joint with Porirua
U3A. Marian to explore, including offer from Unicef from a few weeks ago.

30th Birthday lunch to be on June 25th at Tawa Bowling Club. Finger food to be provided.
Possible speaker(s): Charles Waldegrave – Barbara to approach; Celebratory part to
feature Pat Waite, who was in Rotary and was one of those who called for a local U3A
Agenda: welcome and celebration; lunch; main speaker; Barbara on new courses

Financial report (Income and expenditure to March 31st) accepted Budget for year to November 30th 2026: two expenditure items to be added. Web costs
to be increased to $6,000 (see discussion below). Need a new item to cover costs of the
30th Anniversary celebration (amount TBA).

The Treasurer has filed papers with Companies office as required by the Incorporated
Societies Act

Membership: now have 201 members of whom six have enrolled but not paid. Ray to
follow up non-payers. Approved the applications of six new members.

Website: Ray, John and Peter Woods have met with Rainbow Creative and a proposal
has been received for the updating of our website. Agreed that they should be asked to
go ahead on the basis of the quoted cost of $4,500 plus GST. Ray to liaise with them in
his role as Webmaster.

Communications (Tim): newsletter to go out this week, to include a request for new
courses for the second semester

Next meeting: June 22nd at 10am
Meeting closed at 11.30

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Tawa U3A Committee Minutes of Meeting, 10am, February 2nd 2026

Present: Marian (chair), Barbara, Tim, Ray, John

Apologies: Marie

Minutes of previous meeting approved – Marian, seconded Tim

Agreed that in future minutes would be posted on the website

Choir: Gayle joined the meeting and outlined the financial position of the Choir, which is
separate from the “main” funds. Agreed that U3A would provide a backup if the Choir’s
finances resulted in a shortfall.

Agreed (Marian /Tim) that Tony Cross would be our auditor for the 2026 year

Financial report accepted

Issues arising from the Incorporated Societies Act; thanks to Dave Smith for his
suggestions

Dates for 2026:
– Committee meetings April 13th, June 22nd, August 24th, November 2nd
– Mid year meeting June 25th to include catered lunch in celebration of our 30th
Anniversary

Brief discussion on the possibility of changing the Financial Year and date of the AGM
(as raised at the last AGM) but the Treasurer would need to be present; agreed that this
would be discussed online

Website access: some people to be added, others removed – action Ray /Alyson

Agreed (Tim /John) that in specific cases we would pay mileage to speakers who have
had to travel some distance. More generally, the next AGM should discuss a policy on
payment for guest speakers

Marian has a list of members which she will circulate

Joining courses “late” – agreed that the member only needs to contact the relevant
coordinator

Consensus that keeping a register of attendees at course meetings is not essential and
should be left to the discretion of the relevant coordinator; however the list of attendees is needed in case of emergency

Lapel mikes and associated equipment for speakers: proposed by Barbara, cost approx.
$200. Agreed Tim, seconded John

Marian will assist with the printing of the next course booklet

John to send a note of thanks to Helen Roper for the donation of the data projector; this
is now available at Tawa Community Centre and should be signed for. Marian will
provide an extension lead to use with the projector

Website: agreed that it should be updated. A subcommittee of Ray, John and Peter
Woods will take this forward. Previous discussions (Pat and Judith) with Digital Rainbow
(DR) indicate that this would cost in the range of $5k – $7k, which was considered
acceptable. First step will be to discuss with DR what they need in the way of a spec

Meeting closed at 11.55