The Foreign Residents in the TRNC (TFR)

Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting of TFR took place on Saturday 29^th September at the Almond Holiday Village and there was an excellent turn out of around 50 members attending. There was a new member from Russia which now makes 15 different nationalities becoming members of TFR.

Heinz Nauroth welcomed everyone and asked for a moment’s silence as a mark of respect for John Oram who died in July, he then introduced the Chairman for the meeting – Robin Melhuish, who asked the members to accept an amendment to the agenda which should have included the nomination of auditors under Item 9. This was agreed. Robin confirmed that there was a quorum present (22 members) and then asked Heinz to give the Chairman’s Report:

The Chairman reported that the Christmas Party held last year at the Silver Rocks in Lapta was very successful with 45 members attending and the same venue will probably be used again this year and a date of the last Sunday in November is being considered. During the year there was an Easter picnic in Uwe’s garden when 40 members attended. In June a trip to the Gold Fassl Brewery in Famagusta with lunch at a local restaurant. Chris Elliott joined this trip and will be reviving the article which appeared in the newspaper so it will shortly be available for all to see. Click Gold Fassl

In September there was another picnic in Uwe’s garden with around 40 people attending. Unfortunately, although there was enthusiasm at the last AGM for the trip to Cappadocia there were eventually only 7 people interested and it had to be cancelled. It is hoped that perhaps next year a holiday can be arranged for a visit to the Black Sea Coast.

Plans being considered for 2013 are a trip to a museum in Guzelyurt and a boutique for the ladies with lunch at a local restaurant ; a beach party at Horseshoe Bay ; a visit to a new private museum in Lefkoşa ; the October Fest.

There are committee members on hand at The Cabin in Lapta every Friday at 4pm for members to join them for a chat. The winter meetings will be at 3pm on Fridays at the Aeria Bar in Lapta and members will be advised when this venue is to be used again.

On a serious note, Heinz spoke about a meeting arranged by a member of TFR, with the Prime Minister, Dr Kűçűk which Heinz attended on television. The discussion was about residency, visas when going to the South and other issues and TFR are awaiting written details of this. There has been a newspaper report of the new immigration law but Heinz prefers to wait for official confirmation.

There was an account of circumstances regarding the burial of a Christian Turkish lady which TFR paid for. Last but not least Heinz stated that TFR are hoping to have a website set up in the future.

Then came the Treasurer’s Report, and Horst Gutowski gave a brief breakdown of the accounts for both TFR and the Cemetery Sub Committee He was pleased to report that in 1999 there were 66 members, and in 2012 this had risen to 112 members. Funds have been made available to erect a shelter at the cemetery in Lapta which was much needed. Income included membership fees, donations, bank interest and the proceeds of raffles. Also funds have been earmarked for the purchase of coffins. Both the sterling and euro accounts have been closed and the funds deposited into the Lira account which makes things much easier with only one bank account. Horst stated that cash in hand stands at 12,120TL which is a very healthy balance.

The auditor gave her report and stated that there were no discrepancies and everything was in order. The new software now made the accounting system much easier.

The Chairman asked the members to vote on the discharge of the committee and the auditors which received a majority vote and he thanked everyone for their hard work during the year. Then came the election of the new committee – Adolf Kohn had indicated he wished to stand down. There was a secret ballot and the new committee for 2012/2013 is :

Chairman – Heinz Nauroth ; Vice Chairman – Willi Lindt

Treasurer – Horst Gutowski ; Secretary – Ralph Kratzer

The new auditors for the year 2012/2013 are : Ruth Reiter and Margaret Sheard. The Cemetery Sub-Committee comprises of Tommy Rognmo, Sandy Oram, Linda Harris and Susan Murphy.

Uwe Vandieken made an announcement that he will be holding another event in his lovely garden on 14^th October and he invited all TFR members to try and join him. The more the better as there is so much space. This is one event not to be missed as Uwe will be departing from the TRNC in the next few months. To see the article which appeared in the newspaper and also on this site about the event see Uwe’s Garden

The meeting came to a close and those members staying for lunch moved to the outside dining area near the pool where tables had been laid out for us. This then became a nice social event where people could catch up with others and also meet new members.

This is a really nice group of people from various countries who all come together to enjoy each other’s company at events etc. and I am looking forward to hearing what the committee has in store for us in the coming year.