Two complete speeches for an annual general meeting: the chair’s opening address and the most delicate appearance of the club year, making the case for a fee increase. The clubs, names and amounts are fictional; the financial proportions are realistic. The structure is explained on the annual general meeting speech page.
Example 1: The chair opens the annual general meeting
Situation: AGM of Greenfield Sports Club, 68 voting members in the room, no board election, one vote on a new children’s gymnastics group.
Dear members, dear guests, welcome to the annual general meeting of Greenfield Sports Club. I especially welcome our honorary chair, Grace Walker, for whom this is the 52nd AGM, and the eleven members who have joined since our last meeting. Carol has just counted: 68 voting members are in the room, 14 more than a year ago. We are quorate, and we are many. I am pleased about both.
Before we move into the agenda, a look at the year. The good news first: we have grown from 612 to 647 members. Almost all of that growth comes from children’s gymnastics. There are now 40 children on the waiting list, which leads directly to the difficult news I do not want to hide: in the autumn, we had to close the Thursday rehab sport class. Two instructors left for work reasons, and despite three attempts, we could not find replacements. Nineteen participants suddenly had no class. Those were the hardest calls of the year, and I made every one myself.
What we are doing about it: from now on, the club will cover the full cost of instructor certification, around 450 per course. Two members have already said yes; Karen Brooks starts in March. If anyone here tonight thinks this might be for them, speak to me at the bar afterwards.
On finances, just one sentence, because our treasurer will give the detail in a moment: we close with a surplus of 2,300, even though hall service charges rose by 17 percent.
I want to name three people. James Patel repaired our vaulting table and saved us a 2,800 replacement; he found the spare part in a workshop in Brno. The Okafor family drove the under-11 team to competitions every Saturday for a year, more than 3,000 miles in total. And Melanie Fox digitised our registration process; the waiting list I just complained about would be a stack of paper without her.
For the coming year we have one goal, which you will vote on under item 7: the third children’s gymnastics group from September. The cost and the instructor are in the handout on your tables. Now in order: I call agenda item 2, the treasurer’s report.
Why this speech works: The welcome honours people with facts instead of stock phrases: Grace’s 52nd meeting, the eleven new members, the increased attendance. The review places the difficult news right beside the good news and makes it concrete down to the calls the chair made herself. That buys the speaker credibility for everything that follows. The problem is followed immediately by a measure with an amount and a name, rather than a vague promise. The thanks names three people with measurable contributions. The closing sells the vote under item 7 as a reason to stay attentive.
Example 2: The treasurer argues for a fee increase
Situation: AGM of Neptune Swimming Club, 380 members, motion for the first fee increase since 2019.
Dear swimmers and friends, I have been your treasurer for nine years, and in that time I have never proposed a fee increase. Today I am proposing one. I will show you the figures that brought me here, and I will answer the objections I have heard around the pool in recent weeks.
First, the figures. Our largest cost is pool time: the council increased lane hire in January from 31 to 42 per lane per hour. With our 26 pool hours a week, that means around 14,900 more each year. Add 1,100 more for insurance and association fees. Our subscription has been unchanged since 2019: 108 a year for adults and 72 for children. From this year, we are short by about 16,000. Our reserve is 21,000. Without an increase, it is gone in 16 months.
The committee proposes: 132 for adults, 90 for children. That is 2 and 1.50 more per month.
Now the objections. First: “Families with three children are hit three times.” Correct. That is why the motion includes a family cap: from the third family member, the subscription is free, and no family pays more than 310 a year. Second: “Why do you not cut pool time?” We ran the numbers. Four fewer hours a week saves 8,700, yet it hits the beginners’ courses first, where 31 children are on the waiting list. That would be the most expensive way to save. Third: “For some people, even 2 is a lot.” Also correct. Anyone who cannot manage the subscription right now can message me or our chair, Anna. We have had a quiet hardship fund for years, and nobody beyond the two of us needs to know.
All figures are in the handout, and you can inspect the accounts with me at any time. I recommend this increase because I know the alternative: a club that hands lanes back to the council in two years. Vote as you think right. Vote with the full information in front of you.
Why this speech works: The first sentence uses the speaker’s own record as an argument: nine years without an increase gives the motion weight. The calculation is complete and checkable, from lane hire to the month the reserve would run out. Anyone objecting has to engage with numbers rather than a feeling. The three objections clearly come from real conversations and are taken seriously, with two remedies already built into the motion. Converted to a monthly amount, the increase becomes easier to grasp without being played down. The final sentence respects the meeting’s authority while still making a clear recommendation.
The pattern behind both speeches
Both speeches stand on the same foundation: concrete figures, openly named problems, people named for real contributions. The opening speech earns trust for the outlook with an honest review; the treasurer’s speech earns the yes vote through full transparency. If you want something from an AGM, put everything on the table first. eloqole writes both types of speech from your club figures and notes, including a speaking-time estimate.