Report from our chair, Kay Lovell

Here we are in November and looking forward to Christmas and then the start of a New Year. By then, we will know what the future holds for us in Romsey & District u3a. Will we still exist this time in 2023 or won’t we? I was so pleased that our afternoon tea on Wednesday 2nd November was both well attended and greatly enjoyed. What a marvellous job our catering team did of providing those wonderfully scrumptious scones and serving tea or coffee! In my opening presentation I provided an overview of our u3a’s successes. The good news is that we are doing well with 53 interest groups, monthly meetings and a good number of members contributing in so many different ways. We are also still attracting new members but we could do even better by providing more events and more benefits with support from more of our members. As I am sure you are aware, the main issue we now face is that, at the AGM in May next year, we must elect a new Chair, Vice-Chair, Treasurer and Secretary. In order to comply with our constitution, all four of those Officers’ posts must be filled. There is also space for more Trustees to join the committee. In total, and including the four Officers, we can have twelve Trustees on the management committee. At present, there are just six. We considered the idea of dividing roles up so that there are fewer demands on each person. Working with someone else to deliver the same outcome is helpful, can be satisfying and is much more fun. As a result of the discussions, I am pleased to say that a few members have indicated their interest in these roles. By the time you read this, some will have come along to our most recent Trustees’ meeting to learn more about what is involved as a member of our management committee. Hopefully, by 31st December this year, candidates for the roles of Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and other Trustees at next year’s AGM will have been identified. However, if candidates for the officers’ roles are not forthcoming, a Special General Meeting will have to be held in January before the current Trustees can take the next steps. I hope this will not be the case. If you have not already indicated an interest becoming a Trustee, or filling any of our other vacant posts, please do give it serious thought and find out more by contacting me or any of our other committee members. What becomes of Romsey & District u3a is up to our members. That means you!