Big turn-out at AGM!

The Trust held its 26th Annual General Meeting at Grove near Wantage on Saturday and it was very well supported by almost 140 members. The venue, Old Mill Hall, was excellent as it had plenty of space in the hall itself and separate rooms for registration and refreshments. The day was organised by local East Vale Chairman Brian Stovold and his team and everyone was appreciative of their efforts. The hall was well decorated with many maps and photographs of the canal and included the detailed plans for the tricky East Challow to Grove section of the canal from the lengthy study done by ARUPs last year. Doug and John, the recently re-instated events team, were there with a stand and Martin and John manned a very successful table of merchandise that took over £500. The plans on display included the Melksham Link and Swindon Town Centre , two of our most important current projects.
In the morning Martin Buckland took interested members out by mini-bus to look at the Sack House Museum in Wantage where more of the East Vale team were on duty, passing by some of the local canal sites on the way. This was the first time I had seen the Sack House and I was very impressed by it. A very useful addition to the Trust’s assets. Try to go and have a look if you are in the area (you will have to check opening days with Brian Stovold beforehand).
The afternoon was taken up with the formal business of the meeting and some very interesting presentations on the Peterborough Arms, the Melksham Link, Swindon and a quick round up of the on-going projects all along the canal. There were presentations – Foxham & Lyneham branch took away the Pick of the Branches award for most increased percentage membership, Chris Coyle won the Rosebowl for the most individual recorded volunteer hours, MCC won the award for the highest branch volunteer hours total and Royal Wootton Bassett won the highest percentage increase in volunteer hours. Chris Toms, one of the Trust’s founder members and for many years the Membership Secretary, kindly drew the winning tickets for the Grand Draw. I will be sending out those cheques shortly to the eight lucky winners. The afternoon concluded with a lively Open Forum where a number of questions were answered.
Organising all the aspects of an AGM takes a lot of work from a large team of volunteers and I would like to thank everyone for their efforts that go towards making the day run smoothly. It is always good to meet some of our members and to know that they are supportive of all our work.
Finally just to remind you there is Open Day for Trust members and investors at the Peterborough Arms at Dauntsey Lock on Saturday 1st November – drop in any time from 11am to 3pm .
Kath Hatton