I hope that whatever you did or participated in over the Coronation weekend you enjoyed yourself. Maybe you joined in a street party, celebrated with friends or maybe you just went for a long walk. We were extremely lucky to enjoy such a lovely day which was not the case over most of the country.
I have attended several events to celebrate the Coronation and my thanks go to Bygate WI who were also celebrating their 50th birthday and Longhorsley WI and Hartford Bridge who combined their Annual Meetings with a Coronation party. They were all great fun and of course as always fabulous food too. There was tree planting with Cullercoats WI and of course our own tree planting event at Cresswell House. This was very well attended and the tree was duly planted by myself and Juliana Van der Laan, the newest WI member present who is a member at Pegswood with Bothal WI.
Our very grateful thanks go to Sue Malloy who generously donated the tree that was planted. We have got quite a little copse now with the three Centenary trees, the whips for the Queen’s canopy and now our Coronation tree. My thanks also go to Beadnell WI who invited Norma and myself to celebrate their 100th birthday with them and once again the weather was glorious with some members sitting outside on their hall’s patio overlooking the beautiful garden. Forward a few days and Barbara and myself then attended Catton WI’s centenary. There was a lovely party atmosphere with members past and present attending.
In your mailing this month you will have received a nomination form for those interested in being on the Board of Trustees 2023 – 2025. May I remind you that if you are nominating anyone (other than a current Board member) then you MUST have their permission to nominate. Details of the role of a Trustee are available and will be on our website. Please note there is currently a requirement from National to undergo on line training. At the moment Board meetings take place on the second Tuesday of each month at Cresswell House during the day.
Each WI is allowed to nominate up to twelve people and I am pleased to tell you that the members of the current Board with the exception of Norma Birch and Sue Malloy have agreed to stand again. Diane will not be standing as a full Board member due to other commitments but has agreed to be co-opted once again. We are of course sorry to be losing Norma and Sue who are longstanding Board members and who have given unfailing support to this Federation, and in Norma’s case the former Tyneside, over many years.They will definitely be missed by us all and we wish them well and hope to see them at many of our future events.
The post of Federation Treasurer is currently being shared by Barbara Kilkenny and Karen Coleman and they will continue with this role until at least the first meeting of the Board of Trustees for 2023/25 is announced at the Council Meeting in October. As usual if you do have any queries regarding finance please you should send it into the Office.
Huge thanks go to Nancy and Jenny who have done so much hard work in making our trip to the Annual Meeting in Cardiff run so smoothly and this year we have shared a coach and hotel accommodation with members from Cumbria Cumberland who were picked up en route. This will give us all a good opportunity to chat, meet new friends and exchange ideas with a neighbouring Federation.
Below are the details of a Chairman’s Challenge for you all to enter, why not give it a go.
Hope the weather starts to warm up soon on a more permanent basis than one warm day followed by two cold ones!! Take care.
Marj x
CHAIRMAN’S CHALLENGE 2023
What made you join the WI? What did you enjoy most, and did it make you want to try something new and if so, did you do it and find a new talent?
Well, I would like you to create a letter to a new member to welcome them to the Federation. You might want to tell them what the WI has to offer and what you have gained from becoming a member. You might want to tell them how it changed your idea of what the WI stands for and how you love being a member of such a large and wonderful organisation. It is entirely up to you but here are the criteria:
No more than 500 words and printed on A4, print size12, in Arial font.
Closing date: 5 September. Send your entry with your name and WI to Cresswell House. The winner will be chosen at the September Board meeting.
Good luck and get thinking.
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