Committee, 2010/2011

The above list identifies the committee as appointed at the 2011 AGM.  A full report of the AGM will be provided after the new committee have their first meeting. The membership Secretary can be contacted on 07586 325 073 or via the e-mail web address membsec@devizesu3a.org.uk.

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Report of the Trustees of Devizes & District U3A

for the year ending 31^st March 2011

Membership

At the 31^st Mar 2011 membership stood at 567, an increase of 44 on the same time last year.  At the moment we have 563 members on the books but only 472 have renewed so we are likely to lose a further 89 at the end of this month.

Groups

Group activities continue to thrive.  We now have a total of 45 groups. There are a number of groups which are closed to new members as they are full, either because the premises cannot hold any more or the leader cannot manage a larger number.  We need new leaders; if you are a member of a group with a waiting list and would be willing to start up a splinter group I am sure you will be given whatever help is needed.  Similarly if your group is full and you meet in someone’s home then please consider using a venue such as the Nursteed Centre, Crown Centre (when it reopens), etc.

Two meetings have been held during the year to enable group leaders and trustees to meet and report on the individual group activities and status.  These were very productive and it is planned to continue with them at six-monthly intervals.  We are all very grateful to the group leaders as without them there would not be a U3A.

General Activities

Bi-Monthlies

Five bi-monthly meetings have been held with talks on a variety of subjects from Glenn Miller to Secret Underground Cities.  We have also had a talk from a local firm of solicitors on Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney which was found to be very enlightening.  It is hoped to intersperse the bi-monthly talks with similar informative talks; we have one on Improving Your Driving Techniques from a retired police driving instructor in October.

Coffee Mornings

Coffee mornings continue to be well attended and provide an excellent opportunity for members to socialise and for new and potential new members to meet others.

First Aid Courses

Two first aid courses were held by St John’s Ambulance for us, a total of 18 members attended.  The courses were subsidised by the U3A as it is considered beneficial to all our members to have qualified first aiders at meetings.  It is hoped that a further course will take place in the near future.

Computer Courses

During the year we successfully applied for a grant to buy 5 laptops which were then used to give a series of computer courses ranging from basic principles to digital photography.  It is intended to repeat these courses plus one on Family History software this Autumn.

Newsletter

In December I was invited to help at a newsletter production session and was amazed at the amount of effort that went into the printing, collation and distribution of the newsletter.  I made some investigations and production is now out-sourced which has resulted in a more professional looking product with greatly reduced workload and only a marginal increase in cost.

Committee

There have been several changes in the committee in the last 12 months.  Vicki Messam has stood down from the committee as she is now spending much of her time in Germany.  Her place on the publicity front has been very ably taken over by John Simpson. 

Jean Moss decided in December that it was time for her to stand down as membership secretary; we are very grateful to Jean and Don for all the effort they both put in to ensure the membership system ran smoothly.  A newcomer to the committee, Jeanette Smith, has taken over as membership secretary and is doing a grand job.

It has been the custom for the outgoing Chairman to stay on the committee as adviser to ensure continuity and help the incoming Chairman ‘bed in’.  Don did this for the current Chairman and has now decided that after several years on the committee he has served his sentence and would like his life back so he is also standing down.

Derek Rowe asked to stand down as a committee member but I am pleased to report that he has been persuaded to stay on as Speaker Secretary attending committee meetings on an ad hoc basis.

Regional Activities

The committee continues to liaise with the other local U3As that are members of the Bath and Wilts Forum.

Conclusion

We have had another successful year; Devizes and District U3A goes from strength to strength.  This is entirely due to the trustees, group leaders and members who put in so much work to ensure that everything runs smoothly.  'The Chairman's job is easy but without all the help I get from an excellent committee and a dedicated band of group leaders it would be extremely difficult so thank you all.'

On behalf of the trustees,

John Weller

Chairman

Devizes & District U3A

Click HERE for a copy of the AGM 2011 Minutes.

Some of the displays at the 2011 AGM.    

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