CHAIRMAN’S PRESENTATION - ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 1ST JULY 2026 LINDA RANDALL - ST ALBANS & DISTRICT TALKING NEWS
Good afternoon everyone.
It is now time for me to tell you what we have been doing over the past year. I have already recorded this for our Listeners and it was sent out on the Red Saturn recording 2 weeks ago.
We have now completed our first year as a CIO and I am very pleased that the high quality service to our Listeners has been maintained and we have looked carefully at ways in which we are able to make improvements to the way in which we operate.
To begin:-
We explored how we could make our contact information more effective We now have a phone answering service to a St Albans coded number . Any incoming calls are recorded, monitored and a callback is made by the relevant Talking News Volunteer.
There is also the option of using our email address, or use our website which will include a QR Code that will feature on our new marketing material.
Following a full review of St Albans & District Talking News in all of its functions, we identified areas for more attention according to their risk factor.
We began with :- STATUS
Secure Data Management and Storage using Microsoft One Drive
| Near completion | |
|---|---|
| Financial data storage and access | Completed |
| Trustees - 2 retired, 3 joined | Completed |
| A new logo design with accompanying text and layout features | Completed |
| Review of Policy Documents | In progress |
| Marketing strategy | In progress |
| A new website | In progress |
| Regular quarterly meeting of TOPs Team ie Trustees with | |
| Operations Group | In operation |
| Regular quarterly meetings of Trustees | In operation |
| Working Groups | I_n operation_ |
There remain areas which we plan to examine over the coming year. In particular the decline of Listener numbers and recruitment of Volunteers particularly in the area of recording, editing and production.
We hope the relaunch of our brand will enable us to increase our Listener numbers.
We also hope that the relaunch will stimulate interest from new Volunteers.
Our Annual General Meetings along with Afternoon Tea for our Listeners & Volunteers has always been a successful and a lively occasion.
A special demonstration and practical evening supported by every section of the organisation was held in February for all our Volunteers, with a Fish & Chip Supper, that proved very popular. As a result we were so pleased that some of them felt able to offer us more of their time.
The past year has been busy and there is more for us to do. This would not happen without our Volunteers. I would like thank all of them for their enthusiasm , energy and considerable time to help in making our St Albans & District Talking News a strong, accessible and growing organisation that serves the area of St Albans, Harpenden and surrounding villages, with a first class free service for anyone who has a visual impairment.
I would also like to thank my Team of Trustees and the Operations Group for all their wonderful support throughout the year. It has been very much appreciated.
Linda Randall - Chairman SADTN 1st July 2026
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