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Chairmen's Reports for year ending December 2008 at 2009 AGM Colin Mitchell, Chairman March 2008 to September2008 Good afternoon and thank you for inviting me to report on my stewardship of Wokingham U3A even though I gave up the job in September. However I feel that I owe it to you to concentrate on my reasons for not completing the full three years of chairmanship. When this U3A was formed in 1990 its founders wisely chose to join the U3A National umbrella organisation the Third Age Trust. Hopefully you will be celebrating this on your 20th Anniversary next year. Membership of the Trust brings you, the members, a number of benefits with these including several insurances, the National Resource Centre and some specialist support. It also gives you the opportunity to attend summer schools and talks such as those being held this month in the Dana Centre and Royal Institution. Although Wokingham belongs to the Third Age Trust and agrees to conform to its Aims and Guiding Principles your U3A still has operational independence from the Trust. That is to say that the Third Age Trust can guide you but it can't direct you, as a U3A Chairman wrote on the U3A website recently "Jean Goodeve (the National Chairman) can't tell you what to do, she can only advise". The Third Age Trust, like Wokingham U3A, is a charity in its own right and bound by the principles of the Charity Commission. Like all charities it has Trustees and this is where an organisation called the National Executive Committee (NEC) comes in. The shape of the NEC has evolved over time and last year the U3As across Britain decided that it should be representative of the nine Government Regions plus Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. When the change was proposed we in Wokingham didn't like it. Our general view was that if it was agreed we would become part of a huge Region with just one Trustee on the NEC to represent our views. Here's the South East Region, quite a lot bigger than just the Thames Valley which our Trustee on the NEC represented previously. We didn't just mutter about it - I represented you at the Special General Meeting where it was debated and I spoke strongly against the Proposal. I was one of only three people to do so. The change was voted in with a majority greater than 91% and it came into being at the National AGM in September 2008. The change to Regions coincided with a vacancy on the National Executive Committee for the South East Region. I felt that it was important to elect a candidate who was prepared to speak out for the south east and put myself forward for election. And here I am - and I do speak out although I'm not sure just how much my colleagues on the NEC listen. This is my final slide. I'm fortunate that most of the Region has been operating for several years with U3As working together in what are called Networks, yours is the Thames Valley Network and Len Smith now represents you on its committee. These networks are voluntary groupings with different numbers of member U3As and varying ways of working but they do meet as networks from time to time to plan study days, etc. Most are kind enough to invite me to their meetings and it is from these meetings plus visits to individual U3As that I'm able to 'read' the views of the south east - and pass those views on. Incidentally other Regions in the country also have networks and some of these are quite formal and also elect a regional committee to advise their Regional Trustee, The South East Region views such formality with suspicion. This is Wokingham's AGM and not a regional event so I mustn't take up any more time on regional issues. I'm happy to do so at other times - my telephone number, e-mail address and address are pretty well known so don't be shy if you have concerns. Len Smith was chairman of Wokingham U3A before me and I could not have taken on the regional job if he had not agreed to take on Wokingham again. Therefore, I'll leave the main Wokingham report to him. I can't sit down though without first expressing my thanks to all those who helped me when I was chairman. Wokingham's success and growth during my time in office were not due to me -they came about because of the very many people who gave practical help, or telephoned me with suggestions or just got on with what needed doing without seeking guidance or expecting thanks. If I tried to name them it would take all afternoon - and I would still miss somebody out. So let me do it in groups:
Len Smith, Chairman September 2008 to March 2009 When I was eased back into the committee with the prospect of succeeding Colin when he was elected, I was fortunate to rejoin a U3A that was flourishing with a very able committee and a number of professional procedures put in place. Colin has done such a good job he is a hard act to follow. We were enjoying having arranged a very successful study day at Wellington College attended by around 170 people from both our own and surrounding U3As. There is another Study Day scheduled at Wellington this year on 15th July, brochures are available and are also available on the website. The first evening meeting had been held, addressed by a local MEP. There was not a large crowd but those who attended felt it had been well worthwhile. There is another evening meeting scheduled for 24th April to be addressed by Professor Peter Lansley of Reading University who will speak on Ageing Research. There was already a dark cloud on the horizon in the form of the Third Age Trust putting a resolution for the AGM in Swansea to increase the capitation fee we pay them from £2.50 to £3.50. We decided to challenge this in two ways, to try to get it postponed for a year and to limit the increase to 25p instead of the £1.00 proposed. Another U3A were also proposing to go for the postponement option so we decided to pursue a reduction in the amount. The National AGM was a total shambles and although Richard Hughes put over our case in a very articulate fashion, it didn't stand a chance because by then the meeting had degenerated so much that everyone wanted to close the meeting. Fortunately the postponement amendment, which was the first to be heard on this subject, was carried. This, by the way, is why we have produced Standing Orders for our own AGMs. A very successful Open House was held in October and many groups attracted new participants and 54 new members joined on the day giving Carole Beswetherick a very busy afternoon, and a special thank you to her additionally for coping with our 1000 strong membership . We just about reached the limits of St Paul's both for numbers and parking at the Open House, so if we run another we shall use a different location. By November our membership had passed the magic 1000 and there is a photo of our 1000th member, Dorothy Hoptroff, on the website. The membership continues to grow and this graph shows where we are now. Some question whether growing our numbers is a good thing but we feel that with our greater membership we can provide a wider range of groups which are now something like 95 with a further 5 in gestation, Hilary Taylor manages to persuade members to take over the leadership of these groups which is a tribute to her. We held a briefing meeting last month for the group leaders and others involved, with a glass of wine and some cheese to thank them for their efforts. Without the efforts of these group leaders or convenors our U3A would fail so let us thank them all. In the latter half of the year our secretary, Barry Byrne, in addition to his normal tasks, has been organising for a small party of Japanese to come to the UK to study the way U3As function in the UK with a view to adopting the British model in Japan. They come in May and there is an opportunity to make a trip to Japan in October. We do belong to the Thames Valley Network which used to be called a Region, and I have accepted an invitation to join the committee on the basis that we can influence things better from within than outside. With my other hat on as webmaster, I do try to keep the site current with anything important that's going on and I have made the bottom half of the Home page into News headlines, often with links to more information elsewhere on the site. There are things such as Tutored Courses, Summer Schools, the new Computer Panel set up to help out those who are newer computer users, and many others. I am gratified that the site seems to be used more and in January I was pleased to see we had more than 400 hits, and even more pleased that we had again more in the short month of February. The graph shows it well. We have agreed to host the Thames Valley Network Conference in 2010, it will be for one day at Emmbrook School. I have to bring to your attention the fact that the mailing list system for direct mailing of U3A News has been changed and due to financial constraints with the National Office Mailers they intend the data base will be retained by their mailing company under strict Data Protection rules. The mailing list will be updated for additions and renewals. I have a written assurance from National Office that this mailing will not be used for any other purpose. I have mentioned by name a few committee members, but I have nothing but praise for everyone on the committee, even so, I must give appreciation to Patsy Thornton and her development committee, not all of whom are committee members, but who generated everything to do with the study days. So, please join me in thanking everyone who devotes so much time and effort to making our U3A a success. Len Smith March 2009
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