Ferring Retirement Club
Chairman’s Annual Report 01.10.2021 – 30.09.2022
My second year as Chairman has been very different from the first as we no longer needed to operate under the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, we found we were welcoming new members at such a rate that we had to introduce waiting lists for some activities as we could not safely accommodate the large numbers wishing to participate.
Having struggled without a Secretary for most of the previous year, I was greatly relieved that Susanne Champ was elected to that post at our AGM in 2021 but, regrettably, she stood down for personal reasons within a few weeks. After advertising the vacancy for the next five months, good fortune finally came my way when Bernadette Griffin took up that post in May. With her legal background, Bernie has already put her knowledge and skills to good use on our behalf. Close on Bernie’s heels followed Yvonne Linzey, who immediately assumed the role of Membership Secretary and has faced the huge task of managing annual membership renewals, which we had not been able to update since 2019. Also joining our committee in May was Barbara Black, whose meticulous planning and organisation are greatly valued. In September, we welcomed Bob Linzey who, with his engineering expertise, stepped into the role of Maintenance Officer on the resignation of Roger Tallett at the end of September.
Throughout this year, which has brought new challenges, there is no doubt that my mainstay has been our Treasurer, Brian Bigwood. His loyalty and constancy have been indispensable. In addition, he maintains our accounts in meticulous detail and it is a great comfort to me to know that the Club’s financial affairs are in such safe hands.
The start of 2022 saw a new event for us – a Burns Night Supper, superbly managed by Barbara Black, to whom I express gratitude on behalf of all who attended this fun-filled evening. Barbara’s impressive performance on the bagpipes lent a touch of authenticity to the proceedings while Lilian Holdsworth kept us amused with her delivery (in an admirable Scottish accent) of the Address to the Haggis. We shall be repeating the event in January 2023.
In February, we introduced some new regular activities – an Art Group, which meets twice monthly, facilitated by Jo Jones, and a Games Morning, run by Barbara Black, where players have enjoyed chatting over Canasta and Mahjong. Fish and Chip lunches, once a month, were organised by our Manager, Lindsay Taylor, and they were so popular that we also offered Chinese suppers during the warm summer evenings. We are replacing these with weekend cream teas for the winter season and Bingo on Saturday mornings.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s 70-year reign did not go unmarked by the Club as our Terry Clough Choir presented a Platinum Jubilee Concert – a wonderfully celebratory event. In complete contrast, on 19 September, we closed for the day as the nation paid respects during Her Majesty’s funeral. We opened on all other Bank Holidays, though, and we thank our Section Leaders for giving up their time to run activities for those who might otherwise have been lonely and isolated.
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Membership: Two Life Members, Lyn Cooper and Terry Jordan, relocated away from Ferring to be closer to family and we thank them for the many years of dedicated service they gave to our Club. Four former club members, Paul Sykes, Tom Boggis, Sally Kent and Christine Johnson sadly passed away. Paul had served on the committee and also acted as Bowls Section Leader, Tom and Sally were both valued members of our Terry Clough Choir, while Chris enjoyed Seated Exercises for many years.
Our closing membership at the end of September 2021 was 182 but a measure of our Club’s success is reflected in the fact that, although we sadly lost a few members along the way, we recruited 75 new members during the following 12-months so that our membership at the close of our financial year on 30 September 2022 totalled a very healthy 249.
Committee: Our Trustees continue to meet bimonthly and, further to the introduction of an Events Management Team (EMT) and a Finance Sub-committee (FSC) last year, we have since replaced the latter with a Finance & General Purposes Sub-Committee (F&GPSC), ably chaired by our Treasurer. Our sub-committees are advisory bodies and, although they do not hold decision-making powers, we are able to deal more quickly with urgent matters by delegating tasks to them, which are then fed back to full committee for approval.
The only retirement from the Committee in November 2021 was Michael Simpson and we thank him for his time with us. On the plus side, we swelled our committee with the co-option, as mentioned, of Bernie Griffin, Barbara Black, Yvonne Linzey and Bob Linzey, bringing our total to twelve, the maximum permitted under the terms of our Constitution. Unfortunately, Alan Plummer will be standing down today so we do have one vacancy to fill and I would be delighted to discuss the role with anyone interested in offering their help in the running of our Club.
In addition to keeping the public informed of our activities through monthly articles in ‘All about Ferring’ and Ferring Parish Magazine, we send Newsletters to all members periodically throughout the year. In this regard, we are indebted to our hand-deliverers – Roger Abbott, Brian Bigwood, Marilyn Catterill and Ann Smith. Marilyn also serves as our Welfare Officer, sending cards to those who are unwell or bereaved, and keeping an eye on Health & Safety matters. Her warm, caring manner is greatly appreciated by all so, thank you, Marilyn, for carrying out your duties so efficiently.
Lindsay Taylor, our Manager, is an essential presence behind the scenes at all our events as well as running our Coffee Morning, Fish & Chip Lunches, Chinese Suppers and Afternoon Teas. She keeps our members supplied with coffee, tea, cakes and biscuits, and ensures that we do not run out of essential janitorial items. I know I speak on behalf of us all when I say that her untiring efforts are greatly valued by all Club members.
Finance: In his role as Treasurer, Brian is ably assisted by our Assistant Treasurer, Roger Abbott, who deals with such matters as insurance and day-to-day cashing up and banking. My thanks also go to Alan Plummer, another member of our F&GPSC, who is resigning today. We have valued his eight years of service on the committee and are pleased that he will be continuing as Bowls Section Leader.
As part of my annual report, I have to advise members of the Club’s Policy on Financial Reserves. Our Reserves Policy governs the funds that we hold, where we keep our funds, and
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our plans for their use. We also have adopted a club-specific addendum, which is reviewed by our F&GPSC, chaired by our Treasurer, on an ongoing basis and they report any changes at full committee meetings. The Policy is specifically reviewed by the Trustees every six months.
Currently we have a total reserve of £360,000, which is almost exclusively the result of the legacy given to the club from the estate of Miss Rosemary Proudlock. The reserve is split into an expendable reserve of £20,000, held in an instant access savings account with a High Street Bank, and an investable reserve of £340,000, which is split into four deposits with different UK financial institutions so that all our funds are protected by the FSCS compensation scheme.
During the year, we have supported the activities within the club from our Reserves, as we chose not to charge an annual subscription or increase activity fees for 2021/22. We also faced substantial increases in our electricity bills and an increase in the fee we have to pay to hire the Glebelands hall. Whilst we have decided to reinstate the £20 membership fee for the current year (2022/23), the interest we are now receiving from our investable reserves will be invaluable in covering our overheads.
We have not designated any funds for a particular purpose and indeed the committee still feel that we cannot put in place plans for the use of our Reserve until uncertainty caused by the effect of Covid-19 on both the Club’s activities and the economy in general has passed. We are also conscious that any uncertainty over the future of the Glebelands Community Centre may be another factor to consider in how we use our reserve.
Sections: I must express my personal thanks to all our section leaders, without whom we could not run any of the activities our members enjoy so much. Special mention must be made of Wendy Tallett for she was, until June, Section Leader of three sections – Dance Fit, Seated Exercises and Rummikub. After many years of dedication to these roles, she handed over the Dance Fit baton to Sharon Miller, and Seated Exercises to Lynda Gould and Lindsay Taylor. Rummikub was taken over by Rita Pierpoint in September. We are most grateful for all that our Section Leaders do for their members, frequently going above and beyond what is required of them.
As our financial year began, we had just introduced two new Sections – a Poetry Group and a Barre Class. Unfortunately, the latter closed at Christmas as numbers dwindled, rendering the class non-viable, but Poetry continues with a small group of enthusiastic participants. Our new sections, Art and Games, are small but those who attend enjoy their sessions.
Volunteers: We always need extra manpower to assist the Committee during the events that we host and those who serve us in any way at our activities are greatly appreciated. Sally Davidge-Pitts and Barbara Willis willingly gave of their time as members of our EMT, while many others assisted on a casual basis at concerts and events. We thank them all.
Our incorporated charity, Friends of Ferring, continues to do sterling work in transporting Ferring residents to and from medical appointments. Their Annual Report will be presented to you today.
Maintenance: I was very sorry to lose the services of our loyal and dependable Maintenance Officer, Roger Tallett, at the end of September and I thank him for all he has done for the Club over the years. I hope he and Wendy will be very happy in their new life in Caterham. As
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mentioned, Roger’s role has been taken over by Bob Linzey and we are grateful to him for stepping into this vacancy, especially as he was a new club member.
The Glebelands Community Centre:
This time last year, I reported that there was some uncertainty over the future of our Club with the news that the Directors of the Glebelands Centre, which we hire for so many of our activities, might have no option but to hand back their lease on the property to West Sussex County Council. I am relieved to say that this does not now appear to be a consideration but we are currently in negotiation over the renewal of our own lease on the clubroom in order to secure our premises for the future.
In conclusion, I would like to say that I am indebted to my fellow Trustees for their loyalty and support, without which our Club could not function. I am delighted to see our Club evolving to reflect both the changes in society and the needs of our members, and I thank you all for your continued support.
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FRIENDS OF FERRING- ANNUALACCOUNTS YEAR ENDING- 30TH SEPT 2022 2021122 2020121 INCOME Donations Interest Receipts EXPENDITURE Drivers expenses Telephone Insurance Wreath Website Covid Team event BBS checks Sundries Ads & printing Total NET INCOME 2791 23 2814 120 71 191 1528 172 96 122 362 322 15 15 339 103 315 251 286 514 3546 -732 202 164 1260 -1069 Carried forward Income Expenditure Net income Totals 7093 2814 3546 -732 8162 191 1260 -1069 7093 1905 Lloyds A/C Cash in hand CAF Carried forward 30-Sep 6227 84 5188 7093 6361 Hon Treasurer Trevor Martin Hon Independent Examiner Clyde Fordyce I have examined he receipts from the books vouchers and explanations given to me and in my opinion they fairly represent the financial position of Friends of Ferring as at 30th Seprember 2022.
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