Minutes from our Annual General Meeting, 2012

Minutes of the fifth Annual General Meeting held on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 in Kingston, Ontario

Present: Don Murphy, President, Jane McDonald, Treasurer, Allan Park, Head Deer Keeper, Wendy Workman, Secretary, Lorraine Alderman, Annie Wilcox, Board Members

The meeting was called to order at 5:00pm. The Agenda for this meeting was approved as well as the minutes of the 2011 Annual General Meeting held in March 2011.

The President welcomed all present and gave a brief summary of the activities of this “year without loss”, in other words an excellent one. He thanked Allan for his daily deer keeping activities and Jane for her contribution to the well-being of the bucks.  Of special note was the recovery of Egee from a severely weakened state in February 2011 to healthy (if not overweight) buck in February 2012 – an unexpected and complete recovery. We all continue to learn how best to care for these beautiful animals and are seeing the benefits of our de-worming, feeding stations and regular grain-feeding program. Our conversion of the space used in the barn for lumber storage to a winter shelter for the bucks has also helped to keep the deer well this winter. A source of hay will be needed in June as Emerald Murphy’s haymaking equipment is not operational and there will be no donation of hay for the upcoming year. See more details in Future section below. Effort to restore and maintain the barn need to be made as about 20% of the hay donated was spoiled by summer and winter rain storms. Also the integrity of the barn is lacking because of leaking and water damage. Don announced that Malcolm Podhy of Chadwick Engineering had donated a 2500 watt gas generator and Emerald Murphy could donate his hay elevator so that all the winter’s hay can be stored in June in the loft above the stable. Wendy agreed to send a thank you note to Malcolm.

Copies of the financial statements for the period January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011 were distributed to those present by the Treasurer, reviewed and accepted. Generally income and expenses equaled those of 2010 with no income from calendar sales but increases in antler sales and donations made via Canada Helps. Wendy suggested we promote the Canada Helps option at any events as many people are unaware of this method of donation. Snow removal will no longer be an item of expense because Jane and Allan have purchased a tractor that can move snow at the Reserve. There may be some costs for diesel fuel to accomplish this.

The Head Deer Keeper, Allan Park, noted that this is his sixth year working with the bucks. He thanked the board members and highlighted the contribution of Don Murphy with respect to the conversion of the barn to stable that is being used by the majority of the deer. He also thanked Emerald Murphy (hay donation), Miesje Stewart (fence painting, haying) and Jane. Currently we are feeding the deer grains (corn, oats, dairy ration, beet pellets) every other day. The winter has been easy for them. Moki and Spike, the two youngest bucks, continue to assert themselves and are becoming the strongest in the herd. They have benefited from the formation of the Fallow Deer Reserve and receiving superior nutrition for most of their lives. Our de-worming program will continue with Safe Guard administered twice yearly in April and November. Attention needs to be given to the old dump as a buck has been breaching the snow fence

Board of Directors and Officers, 2012. Aida Sulcs has resigned from the board. It was agreed that there was no need to name a replacement at this time. Gratitude for her service (2007-2011) was expressed by all present and Jane will convey this to her. All offices were declared vacant. The following were nominated to serve as officers in 2012: President: Don Murphy, Secretary: Wendy Workman, Treasurer: Jane McDonald.The nominations were approved by unanimous vote.

Future plans, considerations:

Barn Bee: It was agreed that we need to spend some time, effort and money on the barn to prepare a moisture-free hay loft, to bolster and repair large barn doors and reinforce any timbers suffering from rot.  Don suggested a summer work bee on a Saturday to try to accomplish this major task to keep the barn in the best possible shape as it now houses the deer in winter and their food. Annie volunteered herself and her husband, Derek to help out.

Dump: Effort needs to be taken to either improve fencing around the dump or cover the sharp objects with enough fill to cover and make

Fundraising: New expenses are anticipated in the year to come such as paying for hay or for having someone cut hay from Emerald Murphy’s pastures. Don and Wendy suggested a Music Fest / Open Mike — “Live and Local” an afternoon of music inside and outside Wilton Hall on a Saturday or Sunday (or whatever day the Cheese Factory says is its busiest). No admission fee, but lots of opportunities to promote the Reserve, give receipts for donations, tours of the Reserve. Advertising by banner or large sandwich board at the Cheese Factory to encourage people to continue along Simmons Road to listen to the music and find out about the Reserve. Make it an annual event. Consider October 1, as the Reserve’s 7th anniversary.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:50pm.