Opening

Mr Eugene Heng, the CEO and founder of Waterways Watch Society warmly welcomed the new members to the family. Our new additions shared their experiences in the society with the members present. The attendees welcomed Mr Chong Ked Poon, Mr Cheng Huang Leng, Mr Pavel Kuzmin, Mr Kok Wai Tong, Mr Daniel Lee Soi Keng, Mr See Peng Kwang, Mr Mohamad Noor Bin Samat and Ms Michelle Leong. 

Eugene showed his utmost appreciation to Waterways Watch Society’s eldest member – Mr Chiang Kwai Fong, who is 77 years old!

Eugene highlighted that this year is Waterways Watch Society’s 20th year of operations since 1998 and we are honoured to attain the IPC (Institutions of a Public Character) status.

The Annual General Meeting also started with a little fun with attendees voting for the Most Popular Volunteer.

Passing of 2017 Minutes

Kheh Kim Chong (Member) proposed the passing of Minutes, Edwin See (Member) seconded.

All present were unanimous in favour of approving the minutes.

Review of Performance from April 2017 to March 2018

Mr Ivan Teo, President of Waterways Watch Society, shared the overall performance of the society from April 2017 to March 2018 using a Salesforce dashboard.

• Hours Spent on Programmes

Overall, 2,265.5 hours were spent on our outreach programmes throughout the Financial Year. The hours were reported with 71.21% of the total hours spent on water activities (i.e. Kayak River Clean-Up, Weekend boat patrols, Pedal Boat Activity), 20.35% on land activities as well as 7.74% on WWE (Waterways Watch Explorer) programmes. Ivan remarked that the hours spent on educating the members of the public as well as schools on taking ownerships on the cleanliness of both land and water are equally important.

• Top 20 Members (Hours)

Ivan announced the mentioned list showcases members (excluding Committee members) who had contributed tremendously from April 2017 to March 2018. He also thanked and highlighted the effort of each individual member.

Ivan remarked the longevity and sustainability of dedication of our new members in the list and cited Mr Pavel Kuzmin as one of the new, dedicated members.

• New Member Each Month

On average, there were two to three new members joining the society each month. Ivan highlighted that there was a sharp increase of new members in February 2018, likely due to the start of a new year. He also expressed that it would be encouraging to see increases in the current number of two sign-ups to five throughout the year.

Eugene explained that new volunteers may withdraw their applications when they find the nature of our outdoor volunteering activities not suited to their preferences. He also highlighted that in Waterways Watch Society, we appreciate and welcome volunteers with the correct attitudes and mindsets to join us.

• Programme Participants

Overall, we reached out to 24,650 participants during the Financial Year. Out of the 24,650 participants, 22,935 were students from our School Outreach Programmes. Ivan highlighted that the extensive outreach was also due to School Assembly Talks which were catered to masses. Ivan also shared that in our weekdays’ CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Programmes, we reached out to 1,715 adults.

He then expressed his gratitude to the Admin Team as well as the weekday volunteers for making all these possible.

• Litter Stats (In KG)

We collected a total of 2,851.4kg of litter from May 2017 to March 2018. Ivan highlighted that there was a spike in collection of litter in November 2018 due to a coastal clean-up event. He also shared that during last year ICCS 2017, our volunteers collected about 1 tonne of litter.

Ivan remarked that the society’s mission should be collecting lesser and less litter; as this would better represent Singapore as a clean and responsible city.

• Total Collected from Programmes

We collected about $219,483.80 from our programmes. Ivan highlighted that corporate groups contributed significantly to the total collection.

Ivan shared that the Kayak River Clean-Up Programme (an outreach of 894 participants). was the most popular choice among companies who decided to contribute their time to us. This was followed by Bicycle Waterway Trail (an outreach of 153 participants). The analysis allowed the Admin Team to plan their marketing activities better.

Ivan highlighted that our Pedal Boat Clean-up Programme is gaining popularity as it gives participants an alternative avenue to contribute.

Eugene thanked Ivan for introducing the Salesforce system as a support tool to Waterways Watch Society. The system allowed the Admin Team to have a clearer analysis of the data for a more efficient way to outreach to potential participants.

Eugene mentioned that the Salesforce system also allowed the Committee to analyse the data given, which helped to progress the society forward in the correct direction. He also thanked Salesforce for their continuous support to us through their regular participation in our programmes.

Review and Passing Of Accounts April 2017 to March 2018

Ms Ng Shiang Nee, Vice-President of Waterways Watch Society, shared the analysis of the Balance Sheet to the members. She highlighted that the PPE (Property, plant and equipment) reduced significantly as most of our old assets had been fully depreciated, while there were fewer purchases of new assets (i.e. boats, kayaks, etc.) in the past financial year.

The Income Statement reported a lesser loss as compared to the previous Financial Year.

Shiang Nee delineated that there was a relatively even contribution of donations as well as programme fees from both corporates and schools to the society’s income source.

She also shared that there was a significant dip in sponsorship income as there were no big-ticket sponsor in the financial year.

Expenditure administrative expenses consist mainly staff cost for the full time staff as well as allowances for admin members and programme volunteers. Other expenses include powerboat maintenance as well as programme logistics such as trash bags, gloves, tongs, all essential for our outreach programmes.

Eugene added that our annual rent is around $38,000 with contract grant from MEWR since 2017. The contract started since 2017, and would last for three years. Also, the society will be incurring rental costs for our Kallang (Headquarter) as well as our Punggol Branch in due time.

Eddie Lee (Member) inquired about the reported dip in sponsorship income. Shiang Nee explained that sponsorship income is volatile and subjected to the generosity of the sponsorship. In the previous Financial Year, there was a sizable sponsor from Edrington Singapore who sponsored almost $40,000 for our powerboat #6. Eugene added that members can always share our cause to their friends and family to canvass for monetary contributions. He cited an example of one of our members, Mr Kheng Tong who recommended his friend to donate in support of our School Assembly Talks.

Yam Junjie (Member) inquired about reported dip in PPE in the balance sheet. Shiang Nee explained that the dip was due to depreciation. She also added that assets that were written off were fully depreciated, thus there was no impact on the Balance Sheet.

John Joel Seow (Member) inquired about the increase in donations under Income Statement. He inquired if the donations were from corporate donation or corporate sponsorships. Shiang Nee elucidated that the amount was mostly from big corporate donations such as BBA Aviation and Goldman Sach who donated an estimated of $10,000 each. Donations were as equally volatile as sponsorship income. She also shared that there was an increase in donations on our giving.sg platform in that financial year.

Shiang Nee reported that overall, there is a decrease in sponsorship and revenue from schools. However, programme revenues from corporates and donations increased. Although staff cost has increased, the society has been managing it well. There was lesser spending on premises as compared to previous years when we took over the present office.

John Joel Seow (Member) proposed the passing of Financial Accounts and Chiang Kwai Fong (Member) seconded.

All present were unanimous in favour of approving the Financial Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2018.

Updates of Punggol Office

Mr Low Joo Kek, Assistant Treasurer of Waterways Watch Society shared the updates of Punggol Office. Joo Kek introduced himself to the new members and also the Punggol Team Leaders, Mr Lawrence Yeo and Mr Telly Sim.

Joo Kek shared that on average, the team conducted three patrols per week. He also shared to the new members the location of the Punggol Office. He explained the importance of building up the Punggol Team to engage the residents as there will be a new Sports Complex constructed just beside SAFRA (Punggol).

Joo Kek shared that since the opening of the branch office in March 2014, the fleet has increased to two boats, fifteen bicycles, two double sit-on kayaks and four single kayaks. The newly extended office was approved by NParks in May 2018.

Joo Kek highlighted that there were more members, mainly residents from the North-East neighbourhoods, joining the team. The team conducts an average of two Orientation Programmes in a month.

Joo kek reviewed the number of Learning Trails and Activities for the Punggol Team. The number of programmes as reported:

LAH LAH Programme – 7 programmes (145 participants)

PLAY – 12 programmes (346 participants)

Coney Island– 3 programmes (220 participants)

Coney Island Coastal Clean-up – 2 programmes (220 participants)

He introduced our latest supporter, OCBC Cares, who has sponsored our L.O.V.E (Love Our Valuable Environment) programme. He encouraged members to help market the programme to their family members to join the first run on 16 September 2018.

He concluded the sharing with the team’s recent patrols with NParks and LTA on personal mobility devices (PMD) enforcement. He shared that the residents were very appreciative about the sharing sessions the team has contributed.

Eugene highlighted that such joint patrols with government agencies are useful for profiling our work to members of the public.

Family Carnival 2018

Eugene thanked the volunteers who have contributed their time and effort to making the event a success! He encouraged members to indicate their interest for next year’s carnival. He shared that the event was sponsored by one of our long-time supporters – Pratt & Whitney.

Introduction of new members in the Admin and Operations Team

Admin Team

1. Ms Ho Lijean
2. Ms Christina Lye

Operations Team

1. Mr Gan Juin Fei

2. Mr Ng Linjie

Eugene expressed his gratitude to our Super Admin – Ms Goh Chia Chia who has worked with us for seven months. She has been an essential support to Ms Diane Neo and Mr John Joel Seow. The society wishes her all the best in her future endeavours.

Eugene also complimented Mr Gan Kong Nam who encouraged his son Mr Gan Juin Fei to work with us as the society believed that it is essential for the younger generation to be more grounded.

Future Plans

• Sponsors for Kayak River Clean-up Programme

As mentioned earlier by Ivan, there is a significant increase in interest in the Kayak River Clean-up Programmes. Thus, Eugene encouraged members to share our Mission and work to their friends and family and look for new sponsors.

• Pedal Boats

As mentioned earlier by Ivan, there is a significant increase in corporate interest in the Pedal Boat Programme. The society is looking for sponsors to increase from the present fleet of three pedal boats to five.

• Dynaglass Boat Replacement

To replace the oldest powerboat #1 as maintenance for it will not be sustainable in the long run.

• More Active Volunteers

Eugene encouraged members with specific skill sets such as kayaking certificate or Powered Pleasure Craft Driving Licence (PPCDL) license to take the initiative to conduct weekend patrols.

• Social Media Platforms

Eugene encouraged members to like us on our Facebook Page as well as Instagram Account.

Any Other Business

• ICCS 2018

As all the registered beach sites are not available, the society decided not to participate in this annual event. Eugene further explained that our Mission and work can be showcased during our outreach programmes as well as weekend patrols. It need not be defined by our participation in this annual event.

• TRY-AMAZING Race 2018

This is an upcoming event that is in partnership with Pratt & Whitney. Eugene encouraged members to volunteer their time to help out in the event on 13 October 2018.

• Invitation for set-up in Jurong Lake

The society is honoured to be invited to set up a branch container office in November 2019. Members staying near Jurong are encouraged to indicate their interest to the Committee. The society has requested for three container office space.

• Sustainable Partnerships with National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) and Outward Bound Singapore (OBS)

Discussions for partnerships are ongoing and more information will be shared once confirmed with the relevant partners.

Closing

Mr Eugene Heng, founder and CEO of Waterways Watch Society reiterated the importance of team work in the nature of our work, especially as a role of volunteers.

He specially highlighted Mr Eddie Lee and Ms Annie Young-Giri for their long-lasting and dedicated contributions to our society.

Mr Eugene Heng thanked the members for attending AGM 2018.