Chairpersons Report – Wednesday 30[th] May 2018 AGM
Thank you to Nuala for chairing our AGM. You are all very welcome to our new hall.
Our Last AGM took place on Tuesday 23[rd] February 2017 In Strabane and District Young Famers Hall.
We started our new year as previous with various meetings to speed up the process of the possible erection of a portacabin beside our playpark. On March 4[th] , we had a “Volunteer Night” out in Brunswick Bowling Alley. This was a great night out and well deserved by all our hardworking volunteers.
On March 6th, we had a meeting in the council office to explain our ongoing difficulties in finding a venue for meetings/events etc. On Tuesday March 9[th] we had a phone call to say council had secured an anti-vandal unit that could facilitate meetings only.
On April 13[th] at Strabane and District Young Farmers Hall we had a great Easter event. Kidz Farm, bouncy castles, kids’ mascots and our now very competitive Easter Bonnet competition and egg hunt.
On May 3[rd] , we went back to council to explain that we now saw the need for an actual portacabin/hall big enough to hold events, classes, courses etc. This was also agreed by council and steps would be taken to remove the anti-vandal unit which at that time, still had no electricity or water connected. During this meeting, we were also informed that the community team had nominated us for a “Pride of Place” All Ireland Award. So, plans were set in motion.
On May 16[th] we started our Walking Club which has now moved onto an exercise class.
On Mayday Bank Holiday, we had a bus run to Tayto Park for the children in the village.
On Saturday 6[th] June we had a wonderful trip to Donegal town which included a trip on the Donegal Water Bus, a lovely meal and a relaxing few hours in Bundoran. This trip was for our senior base in the village.
On June 23[rd] , some of our group attended the village sports day and presented a cheque to help with extra-curricular activities. In July and the first week in August, the volunteers ran a massive ‘Clean up’ of the village ahead of the arrival of the Pride of Place Judges.
We needed a venue to host the judges, and Mr Gallagher, the Principal of St Eugene’s Primary School kindly offered us the use of the School for the Judges Visit. I wish to place a heartfelt Thanks to Mr Gallagher and his Caretaker. We couldn’t be thankful enough to both.
Finally, our day arrived and on August 11[th] the Judges from Pride of Place arrived to judge our village. Mr Tom Dowling, who is the Chairperson of Pride of Place, and Allison Dowling. We had a lovely walkabout and a beautiful tea party/reception at our school hall.
By September, we were still meeting in houses and In October, our new portacabin from Derry/Strabane council was starting to take shape. Council delivered the keys to the hall on November 23[rd] and within a week the stage was set for our wonderful Christmas Light Switch on Party!
December 1[st] , we switched on the lights in the village and for the first time, our new real tree in the green area was lit up! We had Santa arrive, Kidz Farm, Mascots and our very own piper who Piped Santa and all the children down to our new hall.
On Saturday 2[nd] December, a limited amount of committee members attended the Gala Ball Pride of Place event and much to our absolute delight we were awarded Runners-up in the Small Village Category. All our hard work had paid off. I would like to publicly thank Derry/Strabane District council for the nomination and all their help in the lead up to the Judges Visit.
We had a well-deserved break over the Christmas Period and at the beginning of January all our members took part in a fire safety training course in our new hall. Our hall is council owned and community managed and we are looking forward to more events in the coming years.
On Saturday 31[st] March we had our 2018 Easter event in the new hall which was very well attended. Guests included our Mayor and various other councillors. Our now popular and again, competitive Easter Bonnet competition was also judged by the Mayor.
We have various other events planned also for the summer months, bus trips, open days, mother and toddler events and exercise classes.
Also, we have committee members attending various events and meetings who also sit on other committees and panels to bring to the table issues within our village and surrounding areas
As Chairperson, I would like to thank the committee for all their hard and dedicated work throughout the 2017/2018 year.
Marietta Mc Nulty