AGM August 2024
The AGM of the Australian Vellore Board was held at Rosefield Uniting Church, 2 Carlton St, Highgate, South Australia, on Saturday ,24 August 2024, the delegates either attending in person or participating via zoom. There was a total of 15 people in attendance.
The President, A/Prof Mahiban Thomas, welcomed everyone to the meeting.
The devotions were conducted by Ms Luisa Mozzi. The message recalled that for Dr Ida Scudder faith and deed went hand in hand. It was followed by reflection on Mark 12:28–31 on the two greatest commandments. Of these he second is to love your neighbour as yourself. At Vellore this is translated into “not to be served but to serve.”
Minutes of the previous AGM, 26 August 2023
The minutes were tabled and accepted as an accurate record of proceedings.
President’s Report
Mahiban Thomas spoke to his precirculated President’s report. God’s faithfulness is amazing. Despite the pandemic and the current cost of living crisis, the FOV is continuing to provide strong support for the inspiring work being carried out in Vellore. The past President and the Secretary are to be warmly thanked for their work in revamping the website. The challenge was to use it an instrument to reach out to friends and stimulate their involvement in both friend-raising and fund-raising. The initiatives in Victoria to receive staff members from Vellore and help them settle in are also commendable. It was noted that many visitors were able to draw on their own networks. Mahiban confirmed that there are indeed many alumni present in our cities and the challenge is to involve them in the work of the FOVs. He advocated a greater synergy between the AVB and the Alumni Association, emphasizing the importance of the AVB’s charitable status if alumni wish to give financial support to their alma mater.
In the past year he had paid two visits to Vellore and had been impressed with how the Director, Dr Vikram Mathews, had settled into his role and was amazed how he was able to able direct and guide such a complex institution, while even continuing some of his clinical work in the Department of Hematology.
He wished to thank Richard and Stephen for their meticulous handling of donations and transfers to Vellore. He also expressed his gratitude to Renjy and his team for hosting the AGM for a second year in a row. He also thanked and Sharon Thomas Queensland) and Ken Gilbertson (Victoria) for their contribution as respectively Director/Publicity Officer and Board member.
Treasurer’s Report
Richard Caitens in his Treasurer’s report presented an overview of the current state of the AVB finances. The Profit &Loss accounts showed a decline in the surplus for the year ($27.5K) compared to the previous year ($98K). This, however, was largely caused by the timing of transfers from the branches and to Vellore. Once again it was possible to transfer $250K during the year. Of this $106K had not yet been allocated. When all these monies had been distributed, it will be possible to send the same amount again. Operating expenses were again moderate at just over $10K, with the largest cost being an invoice of $4,121.50 for the work of the IT consultant relating to the website. The AVB finances are in a healthy state, with the total assets increasing by $27,500 in the course of the year.
Questions were once again raised as to what best to do with the AVB’s quite substantial financial reserves. It was argued that the current practice of using term deposits was a missed opportunity. An ethically sound investment portfolio should be considered. It was agreed that the Board should further investigate taking some modest steps in this direction, for example with an initial sum of $100K.
The Treasurer was warmly thanked for his excellent work not just this year, but also over a period of many years.
Presentation by the Director of CMC
It was a privilege that the AGM coincided with the visit of the Director of the CMC, Dr Vikram Mathews. He brought the Board right up to date with developments in Vellore and related areas, illustrating his report with a series of 80 informative slides. Click here for the separate report on his talk
One of the questions raised after the presentation was the issue of giving support to the mission hospitals. In his talk Dr Mathews emphasized the importance of the network of mission hospitals that the CMC had established and to which it was giving leadership and guidance. In response the President proposed that the AVB should change its constitution so that donations can be funnelled to the mission hospitals on condition that they are processed via the CMC. The proposal was received with enthusiasm.
Communications
The Secretary, David Runia, reported that significant progress had been made on the project to renovate the website. The first stage of the project has been completed. The IT consultant Simon Gill (Identiweb, Adelaide) was thanked for his expert assistance. The general presentation and functionality of the website may be considered to be state of the art. It is now live and a start has been made to updating its information. The second stage of the project will now be to bring the new website right up to date, adding material illustrating the work of both CMC, AVB, and FOV branches.
The President emphasized that, in addition to the website, it will also be very important to increase our presence on social media such as Facebook and Instagram. The branches are doing this to a limited extent, but much more can be done. The CMC is now very active in this area and uses it as the prime method to spread information.
Reports from State FOVs and Alumni Association
Reports were presented by the State representatives Stephen Aseervatham (NSW), Sharon Thomas (QLD), Renjy Nelson (SA), David Runia (VIC), and Roshini Nayyar (Alumni Association), summarizing and highlighting activities during the year.
Election of Board of Directors for 2024–2025
Nominations for the positions as Directors of the Board were put forward and approved by acclamation.
President Mahiban Thomas
Vice-President Renjy Nelson
Secretary David Runia
Treasurer Richard Caitens
Publicity Officer Steven Bollipo
Past President Stephen Aseervatham was also reappointed Assistant Treasurer.
The composition of the Board for the coming year will be determined by the Directors at their first teleconference for the year. At the AGM the nomination of Prof Nathan Grills as the second Victorian representative was warmly received.
Date / Venue for 2025 AGM
The President expressed the hope that next year’s AGM can be held in Perth. The best date is the second half of August.
Dinner SA Branch
Delegates who were physically present in Adelaide were privileged to attend the South Australian branch annual fund-raising dinner, which was held for the first time since 2019.
From left to right: Sujith Chacko, Mahiban Thomas, David Runia, Vikram Mathews, Shoma Baidya, Richard Caitens, Renu John, Roshini Nayyar, Luisa Mozzi, Renjy Nelson, Cephas Satyanandan