Minutes of the Annual General Meeting (2006-2007)
The Annual General Meeting of the Nautical Institute/ US Gulf Branch, was held at the Black Labrador Restaurant on the west side of Houston, Texas, on Tuesday, 12 September, 2006.
Twenty members and guests gathered socially in The Churchill Room from 1800 hrs.
It was established there was a quorum present consistent with The Nautical Institute’s recommendations.
At approximately 1900 hrs. the Honorary Chairman, Captain Robert Sheen, welcomed those present and brought the meeting to order.
Honorary Chairman’s Address
Captain Sheen reviewed the activities of the past year, paying tribute to the various speakers at the technical meetings during the year and to the dynamic group of member volunteers that had been formed as the planning committee for the fifth and last of the series of the Nautical Institute’s Command Seminars, named ‘Bridging the Maritime Gap’, held at the Doubletree Hotel in Houston in April, 2006. Plans were made to have all elected officers and committee members remain in office until the end of 2005 to encompass the seminar scheduled for 8-9 November, 2005. However the overwhelming chaos and excessive workload as a result of hurricane Katrina resulted in postponement of the seminar. Captain Sheen pointed out what a success the postponed seminar had been, beyond our expectations, and made a vote of thanks to all concerned which was endorsed by those in attendance. He noted that attendance at the USGulf seminar had exceeded attendance at each of the other international command seminars, and had resulted in a very professional and memorable event. He noted that the seminar planning committee needed to meet every week for several months prior to the seminar, frequently at considerable difficulty for those members.
Two picnics were held during the year, both successful and a first for the branch, with the dual purpose of being a social outing for members and their families, and also to introduce seminar sponsors and speakers to the branch members, and to show appreciation to seminar attendees etc., following the seminar.
Captain Sheen gave appreciation to all involved in the branch activities during the year, and thanked the officers and committee members who chose not to run for re-election
A motion was made to accept Captain Sheen’s address, which was seconded and accepted by the branch and committee.
