The ARPAS-UK AGM was held on Thursday March 2nd 2023 at DARTeC, Cranfield University.

It was so good to see our members again in person after holding the AGM virtually for the last couple of years. Professor Graham Braithwaite of DARTeC mentioned how important conversations over coffee are – and we couldn’t agree more! Connecting, reconnecting, finding common points of interest, or the solution to a problem that’s been bugging you: the importance of holding a conversation, sharing a cup of coffee, or meeting someone who you’ve only connected with previously on LinkedIn can’t be underestimated.

So, firstly we would like to say thank you to all those who were able to attend in person.

We do however recognise that this isn’t always possible, so thank you too to those who registered for the virtual event as well.

Outcome of the Resolutions: Three resolutions were put to the Membership:

1. We asked members if they would like to make the attendance to the AGM and the voting process as easy and inclusive as possible for all members by formally allowing hybrid general meetings and remote voting via digital proxy or online voting tools. This was agreed.
2. Aleks Kowalski was appointed as director by the board of directors in August 2022, and we proposed to confirm his appointment by a vote in the General Meeting. This was confirmed.
3. Chris Daniels was appointed as director by the board of directors in August 2022, and we proposed to confirm his appointment by a vote in the General Meeting. This was confirmed.

In addition, we would like to thank Stuart Keenan, our outgoing Chair, and Rupert Dent, Director of Regulations and Policy, for their time and commitment to ARPAS-UK. They have volunteered their time to improve the professionalism of the industry and support it as it continues to develop. They have embodied what is the very best in this developing industry: the ability to put the individual to one side for the benefit of the whole.

Rupert Dent was made Director Regulations and Policy in September 2017. He has devoted hours and hours to numerous CAA committees, talking through regulative issues with Members, spent time at Exhibitions and Conferences talking to would be members, and advocated hard on behalf of the UK drone industry at all levels.

Stuart Keenan joined the ARPAS-UK Committee in 2021 and became Chair later that year. His support for the industry is deep rooted and he has been an excellent advocate on behalf of ARPAS-UK.

The presentation from the AGM is attached.