AGM and day of dance

Every year we hold a day (or weekend) of dance to celebrate and showcase our members, followed by our annual general meeting, and usually a ceilidh. The day of dance and AGM are usually hosted in the home town/city of one or more of our members, and often followed by a ceilidh.  Here is where we have held our past AGMs and days/weekends of dance: Past AGM Locations and Hosts

There are Resolutions passed at the AGM in 1980 affecting performances at the day/weekend of dance which members need to be aware of.

2025 Day of Dance & AGM

In 2025 the AGM and Day of Dance will be held on Saturday 27th September 2025 in Sheffield, hosted by Sheffield City Morris, Pecsaetan Morris, Five Rivers Morris and friends.

Day of Dance

The format will be a day of dance, followed by the AGM meeting, see: Day of Dance & AGM event 2025 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.  There are other optional events all weekend, too.

agm 2025 sheffield

Annual General Meeting

The AGM will start at 16:30, with sign-in from 16:00.  The address is: TBC.  We plan to provide an option to attend the meeting online via Zoom so that representatives will not be put off attending due to travelling.

The DRAFT Minutes of the 2024 AGM (see minutes at the bottom of the page) are to be approved at the 2025 AGM; if you spot any errors please contact us and choose ‘general enquiries’ to let us know.  

Nominations for Election of 5 Committee Members

These 5 Committee posts are up for election at the AGM in 2025.  Two of the posts have present incumbents who are prepared to stand again.  All posts start on 1st January 2026, and a period of shadowing for handover is encouraged.  You will be part of a team who support and encourage each other.  See our current Committee members and co-opted volunteers.  Committee members are elected for a term of up to 3 years at a time, and may stand again at the end of each term.

We need nominations for these 2 new posts:

  • Events – Events liaison and management (including days of dance, workshops and talks, both in person and online). Create and deliver a diverse program of events, with scope to implement fresh ideas, from supporting teams on large Days of Dance, to having fun hosting online workshops and talks, giving you a chance to meet inspiring speakers and tutors. See: Events Officer – Role Description [PDF]. Guideline 3 hours per week, increasing as the events approach. 3-year term.
  • Marketing Officer – Press liaison and marketing for the MF and guidance on marketing for our members, and help improve the image of morris in the media. A chance to do some critical thinking for marketing strategies, be the go-to for press and media, and work with our social media colleagues to shine online. You’ll also guide our membership in promoting their own events, and meet inspiring people across the folk arts. See: Marketing Officer – Role Description [PDF]. Guideline 4-5 hours per week, with a peak running up to May Day and special events.  2-year term initially, then 3-year term at re-election.

 

We have already received one nomination for this post:

  • Treasurer – Producing the annual accounts, dealing with membership applications and queries, and grant requests. No accounting experience required, just a working knowledge of spreadsheets and sense of numbers.  See: Treasurer – Role Description [PDF].  Guideline 4-5 hours per week, rising to 10 at peak times (membership renewals in January and year end 31st March).  1-year term initially, then 3-year term at re-election.

 

The current incumbents for these 2 posts are willing to stand again:

  • President – Pauline Woods-Wilson currently does this role and is willing to stand again.  Lead a talented voluntary team, build strong partnerships across the folk arts, and champion initiatives to make Morris dancing more attractive and accessible, especially to younger people.  See: President – Role Description [PDF]. Guideline 14-21 hours per week.  3-year term.
  • Membership Communications Officer – Eliza Russell currently does this role and is willing to stand again.  Be the voice connecting us with our incredible community! Craft engaging FedExtra magazines, and an appealing look across all our communications.  See: Member Comms Officer – Role Description [PDF]. Guideline 7 hours per week, with a peak to edit each issue of FedExtra.  3-year term.
MF needs you!
We need you!

For an informal chat about any of these roles, please contact any of the committee.

To stand for election to a post, please complete a Committee Post Nomination Form (choose 1 of 3 formats below) and be proposed and seconded by a member(*).  The classes of Membership are: Full Group / Junior Group / Full Individual / Associate / Honorary Life.

You need to submit your nomination by midnight, Sunday 13th July 2025.

Nominations for Honorary Life Membership, or Friendship of The Morris Federation

The recognition of ‘Honorary Life Member’ is intended for an individual within the morris community and that of ‘Friend’ is intended for an individual or organisation outside the morris community that has made a unique contribution to morris dancing and related activities in general, or an exceptional contribution to furthering the aims of The Morris Federation.

If you wish to nominate someone for either award, please complete a Honorary or Friend Nomination Form (choose 1 of 3 formats below) – this needs to be proposed by one member and seconded by 5 members(*).  The classes of Membership are: Full Group / Junior Group / Full Individual / Associate / Honorary Life.

You need to submit your nomination by midnight, Sunday 13th July 2025.

Motions and Items for Discussion

All Motions must be proposed and seconded by a member (*).  A team member representing the proposer & seconder must attend the AGM (in person or online).  Items for Discussion must be proposed by a member. (*) The classes of Membership are: Full Group / Junior Group / Full Individual / Associate / Honorary Life.

To submit a Motion, please complete this form (choose 1 of 3 formats below):

You need to submit Motions by midnight, Sunday 13th July 2025.

To submit an Item for Discussion, please complete this form:

You need to submit Items for Discussion by midnight, Sunday 13th July 2025.

Getting your AGM Pack

The AGM papers will be sent by email to our registered contacts and voting will be electronic (in advance and online) or in-person at the meeting.

The AGM Pack 2025 will contain the papers for the meeting and will be emailed to member contacts in early September, for them to circulate to team members to read and decide how to vote on elections of Officers and any Motions, and to think about input to any discussion items.

A separate document AGM Voting & Registration 2025 will be emailed to member contacts soon afterwards with information on how to register to attend the meeting, how to submit votes in advance or at the meeting, submit apologies, appoint a proxy etc.

When the documents are ready, Member contacts will also be able to find the above two documents in the Members Area of the web site at: www.morrisfed.org.uk/members/agm (need to login).

Attending the meeting

Only one representative per member team will be able to vote at the meeting (individual members may attend in their own right).

Each member team may register to attend the meeting in person or online.  Each person may represent only 1 member team in person or 1 Zoom session for the duration of the meeting.  Attendance at the Zoom meeting will be counted as ‘represented in person’ to meet the quorum of 15 group members.

The meeting will not be recorded.

Other members of your team (or a different member team) will be able to sit with the representative in person, or online on zoom, or watch a live stream, but will not be permitted to participate directly.

The meeting will start promptly at the stated start time.  If you join via Zoom, you should connect at least 15 minutes beforehand to check and adjust your setup.

Watching the meeting

We may decide to provide a live stream on YouTube so that any member of a member team may watch the AGM ‘live’ and it will be removed at the end of the meeting.  The link will be emailed to member contacts a few days before the meeting.  Please don’t record the meeting yourself, as we will not be asking for permission from the attendees.  Please only share the link with people who are a member of a team in The Morris Federation – it is a Members’ meeting not a Public meeting.

Voting

All members are encouraged to vote so that the views of the entire membership is known.

For teams not attending the meeting, voting ‘in advance’ will be online with a deadline of midnight, Sunday 21st September 2025. Proxy voting will also be available.

For representatives of teams attending in person or online, voting will also be made available during the meeting.

Your member contact will be requested to ask their team members for their votes/input on these items:

  • Votes on Motions – votes For / Against / Abstain
  • Input to Discussion items
  • Votes on Election of Committee Officers – votes For / Against / Abstain
  • Votes on Nominations for Honorary Life Membership or Friend – votes For / Against / Abstain

Volunteers needed!

volunteer image by Truthseeker08 from PixabayThere are also plenty of opportunities to volunteer towards the work of the Morris Federation as a co-opted member of the Committee, or just as someone who helps out with things from time to time.  It can be for a short time, or longer term.  For example we have a backlog of zoom recordings waiting to be edited – can you help?

The current co-opted members are Dan Watford (IT Administrator), Brian Kelly (Communications and IT), Jenny Everett (Special Projects), Mike Everett (Special Projects), Lucy Grainger (Social Media), and Roary Neate (EDI).  Co-opted posts are reviewed annually by the elected Committee.  We also have other helpers, including Sally Wearing (Helath & Safety), Esther Ferry-Kennington (Bid support), Sally Smith (Youth work), Barry Goodman (Youth work), Alan Courtney (Photography), and Chris Dent (Insurance).

If you have skills and time to offer support, we would love to hear from you, especially in these areas: Teaching morris and related activities in schools; preparing Bids. Please contact us and choose ‘general enquiries’ to arrange an informal chat with any of the committee members.

 

Queries

ANY QUERIES about any AGM/EGM items: please contact us and choose ‘general enquiries’.

Minutes from our previous AGMs

Upcoming Events

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