Lichfield Branch

The long running Offside Veg programme also restarted in full in 2022 and a total of 1,120 hours were worked by the Branch team who were putting in two days a week. Thanks must go to Jeff Steele for organising the programme and for resolving the hurdles CRT’s bureaucracy has attempted to put in the way. We again lost a long-standing member in 2022. Sadly Doreen Wood, wife of Branch founding member Eric Wood passed away in November. The funeral was very well attended.

Last year we had two legacies from 2021 to donate. £500 in memory of Jerry Sanders went to the Ashby Canal Association towards a bridge at the stop lock at Snarestone and £2,000 in memory of Malcolm Braine which went to the Friends of President towards their boiler appeal. The last was particularly apt as Malcolm was one of the main drivers behind rescuing President from dereliction. We also donated £500 to Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust from Branch funds. The Branch had a presence at both the Stafford Riverway Link 25th Anniversary festival and the IWA Festival of Water at Burton’s Shobnall Fields, also several branch members were involved in organising and manning the IWA stand at the Crick Boat Show. The festival is again in our area in 2023 at Pelsall and I hope to see many Branch members there.

At the AGM in 2022 Sue Gurney and Adrian Wedgwood were formally added to the committee after being co-opted the previous year, there were no other changes to the committee. Unfortunately, we are still short of a Speaker/Social organiser, but this does not need to be a committee post.

My thanks go to all the Committee members, past, present and future, for all the work they have done in the past year: Phil Sharpe, Derek Beardsmore, Neil Barnett, Sue Gurney, Adrian Wedgwood and our West Midlands Region Chair, Helen Whitehouse have kept the branch going and helped me with my role as Chairman.

My thanks must also go to Clive Walker for researching and organising our walks and Sheila Cook (and helpers) for providing the catering at our public meetings and everyone else who has provided their time during the year.

As has previously been publicised this will be my last Chairman’s report as at the end of this meeting I will be standing down from the committee. I will still be carrying on with the non-committee posts of Newsletter Editor, producing posters and looking after the Branch web pages and look forward to seeing you at our Branch meetings and IWA Events throughout the year.

I wish the incoming Chairman and the Branch all the best for the future.

Thanks for attending.

Pete Gurney, Outgoing Chairman

AGM Treasurer’s Report

The IWA Lichfield Branch available balance at the start of 2022 was £1,982 with a further £2,300 held in “ring fenced” donations brought forward from 2021. During