Annual General Meeting 2019

Chairman’s Report                     

Dear Membership,

At this year’s AGM, after 18 years as your Chairman I shall be standing down. During that time there have been many changes. The computerization of our records and show entries made a significant improvement. A major project was the design and introduction of our website which has shown to be very popular, proven by the number of ‘hits’ it receives. It has also helped in attracting new members.

We used to charge members to enter exhibits and charge an entrance fee to the shows. All that went in 2003. The introduction of adverts into our programme helped to pay for the increasing costs. Strangely, that has changed this year with our printing costs reduced by over half. We can therefore cut down on the number of adverts and, more importantly, the workload of visiting contributors and collecting advert fees.

One of the most important aspects of our Society is that it is a very sociable organisation. Our events provide opportunities for people to mix and socialise. One of our most popular events is the coffee morning where up to 150 people support us every year. The garden walks evening is a very popular event with over 100 people visiting the open gardens. We are indebted to all those people who, over the years, have opened their gardens both for the coffee mornings and for the garden walks.

Our shows have continued to produce outstanding exhibits, even when the weather has been too hot or too wet… The exhibits win through every time. Well done to all of you who have shown flowers, vegetables, cakes and crafts. Your skills have been much appreciated by all our members who visit the shows.

A Chairman is only as good as his committee and over the 18 years I have been very fortunate in having a strong, enthusiastic group of committee members. I would like to thank them most sincerely for their support and hard work. The organisation of the two shows is hard work and the committee just get on with the jobs working in a smooth and efficient manner. We have also been grateful, over the past few years, for the non-committee members who have helped in setting the hall up and taking part in the show.

Finally, a big Thank You to the members who have given me encouragement, support, ideas and feedback. It has been an honour and a pleasure to be your Chairman.

Good Gardening in 2020,

Colin Cheeseman