Chairman's Report from AGM 2016-17
Having
taken a year off as your Chairman, I am pleased to report that I have enjoyed
my year back at the helm and I would like to thank everyone who has supported
my endeavours during the last 12 months, especially the other officers and
committee members.
As the various
reports you have heard this afternoon indicate, we are an expanding Guild,
enjoying a full and varied programme of events whilst other guilds around us
are struggling to survive.
We
are financially sound, hall costs are favourable, and our new Treasurer has
coped with the increasing demands on her time, and problems posed by closing
local banks, with great credit. The
catering team, under the direction of Jenny Turvill, works wonders, especially
with a tea queue that is now winding round corners, and we are privileged to
have so many new members who are willing to support so whole-heartedly what we
try to do to deliver a varied and stimulating programme.
I try not to single out individuals, but I
cannot bring this AGM to a satisfactory conclusion without giving a special
vote of thanks to Elizabeth Veasey for her excellent work as our Speakers’
Secretary for a number of years. She has
engaged some wonderful speakers and entertainers, ensured with great care and
attention that their needs are met, both before they arrive at a meeting, and
as a perfect hostess when they are our guests.
Elizabeth is reluctantly giving up this key role and responsibility for
our Guild, a job which I am sure you will agree with me she has done with
distinction. Elizabeth Baigent has
offered her services as a replacement, and I have every confidence that she too
will do an excellent job.
My
fellow officers and committee members have done sterling work in various
capacities and it is my good fortune that they are all willing to continue
their current roles for another year.
It is a challenge in the current climate, where so many guilds around us
are closing, to provide a service that benefits so many people in our community. The Guild’s health and well-being is vital to
all those members who rely on what it offers to the quality of their
lives. We have welcomed a number of new
members to the fold during the last 12 months, and I sincerely trust that they
will find their membership truly beneficial and that they too will have fun.
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