Please welcome Isobel Davies and Linda Diggle to the Tavy District u3a committee.
The annual accounts and Trustees' Report have been posted in the governance section of the website.
Tavy District u3a Chair’s Report 2024
It is my great pleasure to present the Chair’s report for the year 2023 – 2024. In brief, our u3a is thriving. We are the largest u3a in the Two Moors Network and we are still growing.
Membership. Prior to the pandemic we had over 400 members. This fell to about 350 but has now risen to 484. Other than having a stand at the Tavistock Wellbeing Fair in Butchers Hall to promote our u3a, we have not actively recruited new members. People have come to us because of word-of-mouth recommendations and by viewing the website. I would like to thank all of you who help with the “Meet & Greet” at Wednesday meetings. Looking after our visitors creates a very good “first impression” and encourages people to join us.
Membership numbers may fall a little in the next few weeks when we take account of those who do not renew their subscription. May I take this opportunity to remind you that you should have paid by now. If you have not yet paid, and you do not do so soon, then I am afraid you will be removed from the membership list and you will not be able to participate in any u3a activities. If you have any queries about your subscription, please contact the treasurer, Angela Pitt, who will be very happy to help you.
Speaker Meetings. The monthly speaker meetings remain very popular, and attendance is increasing. Approximately 150 members came to our last meeting, which is close to the capacity of the Town Hall. We are having to have more seats towards the rear of the hall, and we have received comments that it can be difficult to see the screen. Your committee has investigated how we can affordably improve visibility and as a result we are trialling front projection, which produces a brighter image, rather than rear projection. In 2023/24 our speaker secretary, Jane Ward, arranged an impressive variety of 11 different speakers and topics, ranging from a chilling discussion of “Putin’s Russia” to “Trulli, Madly, Deeply”, an amusing account of architecture, tradition, and life in the heel of Italy. We did not have a meeting in the Town Hall in August. Instead, we had our third “Party in the Park” where members had the opportunity to enjoy sandwiches, cake, beverages, and one another’s company in the Meadows. Speakers have been booked for the remainder of 2024 and Jane is now working on the programme for 2025. I wish to acknowledge the hard work of our “technical officer”, Graham Foster, who sets up and manages the audio-visual equipment and looks after our speakers’ technical needs. Finally, the speaker meetings would not be the same without tea and coffee enjoyed after the talk, so thanks go to Isobel Davies and the volunteers for organising and serving refreshments.
Groups. Whilst the number of special interest groups varies with time, our group coordinator, Sonja Armstrong, reports that there are at least 50 active groups listed on the Beacon administration system. New groups continue to be formed. The variety of topics offered by our groups is truly impressive and I am very grateful to the group leaders who willingly share their time, knowledge, and skills for the benefit of us all. This year I would like to applaud the groups that organise external visits for members, including the “Garden Visits”, “Rocks & Ruins”, “Weekenders”, “National Trust”, bird watching, and walking groups. I was impressed that Wine Appreciation Group 2 even arranged a visit to “La Mare Wine Estate” in Jersey for its members.
Theatre Visits. Visits to the theatre remain popular, especially to the ballet and musicals. Visits have included, among others, “An Inspector Calls”, “Black Sabbath” the ballet, “Jesus Christ Superstar”, and “Edward Scissorhands”. One of the most popular visits has been not to a show but to a behind-the-scenes tour to discover how the Theatre Royal, Plymouth functions. My thanks go to Carole Thompson, who organises the theatre visits. This is no easy task given that the cost of performances rises all the time, and some productions require reservation and payment many months before the performance.
Events. The activities organised by the events team remain very popular and have been well attended. Events have included a visit to the Energy from Waste plant in Plymouth, a coach trip and guided tour in Bristol, a guided tour of the Plymouth Barbican, a coach trip to Falmouth with a river trip on the River Fal, a guided tour of the Royal William Yard, John Noblet’s annual town trail and quiz, and the u3a Annual Quiz. This year’s u3a holiday was to the beautiful city of Lincoln and included a trip to Burleigh House and other properties. My thanks go to Janet, Norma, Shirley & Chris for all their hard work.
Newsletter. A big thank you goes to John Noblet who edits and produces our excellent newsletter, which must be one of the best around. I have just revisited the year’s newsletters as part of my preparation for this report and I am seriously impressed by John’s professionalism and the fascinating and varied content. Please remember that the editor relies on members to submit content such as articles and photographs for publication.
Website The Tavy District u3a website is often the first point of contact for prospective members and for those offering to provide services such as speaking at our meetings. Contacts are referred to the relevant committee member or group leader as appropriate. I am grateful to the webmaster, Jan Draper, who manages the website and tries to keep it up to date. Jan relies on all of us to provide her with information that she can post. Please let Jan have anything of interest to promote our u3a and to demonstrate how much it has to offer. If sending photographs with recognisable members in them, please check that everyone is happy for their photograph to appear on the website. The same applies for inclusion in the newsletter.
Miscellaneous. At Christmas, Craft Groups 1 & 2 again participated in the annual Christmas Tree Festival in the parish church and decorated a tree to represent our u3a, and the recorder group again performed a delightful recital of modern and ancient music. The recorder group also performed in Butchers Hall as part of the Tavy Fringe event in July.
It is very difficult to capture all our u3a’s diverse activities in a single report and I apologise for anything I have omitted.
Committee Whilst the majority of our u3a’s activities are organised and run voluntarily by members in accordance with the self-help and mutuality principles of the Third Age movement, your committee assures compliance with the essential administrative, financial and legal requirements associated with being a registered charity, regularly reviews and updates our policies and procedures, including introducing a new Serious Incident Reporting policy, and determines our overall direction of travel. During the year, a mini member survey was undertaken, following which some new interest groups were formed. Two members of the committee, Angela & Paul, represent Tavy District u3a at meetings of the Two Moors Network, where we have an opportunity to meet with committee members from neighbouring u3as and discuss issues of mutual interest. Your committee is gradually dragging us into the 21st century. We have introduced a card reader at the events table so that you can pay for events and visits by credit or debit card. If this is successful, we will obtain a second machine for the theatre table. We have also introduced a label printer at the reception desk so that we can provide those attending speaker meetings with a clear legible label without wasting paper and resources printing labels for members who do not attend.
In addition to the “office” functions, members of your committee have organised and delivered specific events including coffee mornings for new members at the Wharf, coffee mornings for group leaders, a group leaders’ lunch in the Parish Rooms, the Picnic in the Park event in August, and the catering for the Christmas meeting. It is a great pleasure working with the committee, all the members of which go above and beyond their roles to ensure the smooth running of our u3a and the best possible experience for our members. Some members of the existing committee will be standing down in March 2025, so we are looking for people to stand for the committee at next year’s AGM. Some u3as have closed for want of a functioning committee. Please don’t let that happen to us. Come and talk to any of the existing committee if you would like more information.
And finally …
I wish to congratulate and thank all our members for contributing in so many ways to a very successful year. Tavy District u3a would not exist without your active participation. We now look forward to the next twelve months.
Paul Ward
Chair, Tavy District u3a
4th March 2024