Annual Report presented by the Secretary to the AGM held on Tuesday 9th May 2006.
Annual Report May 2005 - May 2006.
This report runs from May 2005 to May 2006.
Maintenance continues to take much time for the committee.
This year as well as the small jobs we have had a roof light taken out and tiled over, PAT tests have been completed, Additional wiring and telephone sockets added to both the front and middle rooms. New toilets have been fitted in the ladies toilets on the first floor along with new flooring to the area. Rendering that had fallen off the corner of the building has been fixed under “guarantee”.
Developments have continued.
The middle room, previously known as the TV room has been under-used for years, Committee decided to develop the room along with the re-sighting if the kitchen in order to give additional opportunities for activities and group meetings. The room is gradually taking shape having been plastered, decorated, and had additional wiring and telephone points added to date. More recently new chairs, blinds and carpeting have been added and low upholstered chairs have been ordered. There are only a few small jobs remaining to complete before the room can be fully utilised.
The building work on new disabled toilet and kitchen has been signed off by the Council.
Thought has been given to refurbishing gents ground floor toilets, maybe adding an extra toilet by re-arranging the cubicles, any work on this will not be possible until other developments are completed.
Activities.
The facilities continue to provide a base for many activities including:- Tae Kwon Do, exercise classes, Montessori group, senior snooker groups as well as the Youth Club and regular playing of snooker and pool.
Meetings are also held at the premises, those of the Stute Committee, occasional meetings organised by a local community worker and regular meetings of the Town Council.
The steward noted that members often didn’t come to play snooker when there was a “Big Match” or other high profile sporting activity on the TV. ATV has been provided in the snooker hall in order to try and maintain interest and attendance by the members. The use of the TV is limited so members are not disturbed.
Parties.
Letting the facilities at times other than usual opening times can be difficult to manage, however this year, with the support of the steward, it has been partially possible. A regular member celebrated his birthday at the ‘Stute by holding a snooker birthday party, this was attended by the steward and was very successful. A child’s party was also held and that too went well.
The Steward has held some snooker tournaments for the members; these have gone very well and have added to the interest for some of the members. Reports and photos of the events have been written and put on the ‘Stute website.
This year there has also been a snooker tournament, held in collaboration with the Youth Club, by Clubs for Young People for people from all over the area.
Website
The website continues to be a way for people finding out about the facilities and activities and is kept up-to-date by the Webmaster. As well as current activities it also has a history of the Stute section, more photos and memories are sought to expand this if at all possible.
Staffing.
When the steward was appointed we were aware that he was undertaking training for a different career and would be moving on, this time came round very quickly and there was a need to get a new steward. In preparation for this a new job description and contract were updated. The current steward, John, stayed on to give time to get a replacement, Andrew Sellar, who started in the autumn of 2005.
The cleaner being a relative of the steward also needed to leave around the same time again it took some time to get a replacement with Alyson joining late in the year.
The first computer obtained from a BT application broke and attempts to get mended at no charge fell through. As the computer is now used in the running of the facility it was agreed to use the new flat screen computer obtained from BT for this purpose.
Currently we are experiencing staffing problems including the fact that the steward’s wife is seriously ill and he has been on extended compassionate leave. The ‘Stute has been supported by several people in order to keep the snooker hall open at this difficult time.
Committee.
With the steward leaving our employment we have been extremely fortunate to have him join the committee, he is proving to be a very valuable member.
Another snooker member joined the Committee for a while but has not now attended for some time.
Environment.
The Re-cycling previously set up by John has continued, arrangements have been changed slightly in order to maintain these collections.
Youth Club.
The youth club continues to meet on Saturday mornings although there are some thoughts that they may wish to change this to an early evening in the near future. The youth club is staffed and paid for by the Youth Service and there were some staffing problems last year, our steward helped as a volunteer and kept the Youth club going over this period for which all concerned are grateful. John continues to help out as a volunteer.
Thanks.
This year has been challenging with on-going maintenance requirements, developments and staffing changes to deal with. Committee members have not only dealt with these issues with good humour but have on occasions gone above what could be reasonably expected of them. Thanks must go to all the committee members as without them this facility would not be able to continue.
As well as attending Committee meetings the members have also provided help and support to the organisation.
Brian George has put in many hours on odd jobs and decorating,
Geoff Smith has helped out with re-cycling and also opening the snooker hall.
Arthur Amos has continued to offer his good sense and wisdom as well as organising work to be done.
John Iddon has been involved in many things, initially as the steward but more recently as a volunteer. He has supported the youth club, organised snooker tournaments, opened up for parties and to keep the snooker hall open, organised work to be done, negotiated discount on purchases to name just some of the contributions he has made.
Paul Statham has continued with the often thankless task of the Treasurer which involves weekly commitment to ensure the finances of the organisation are accounted for correctly.
Non-Committee members:- Thanks also to Brannon Cope, who puts in much time and expertise to maintaining and developing the Stute’s own website.
Thanks also to Paul Goldsberry who stepped in at very short notice to keep the snooker hall open on 2 nights a week when the steward was off on compassionate leave.
Thanks to the Senior Snooker members, Ray and Vic for their support with keeping the facilities open for the twice weekly afternoon sessions, giving access and enjoyment to the members.
The Committee have worked hard to keep the facilities running as usual and largely have been successful with this, there have been just a few occasions when it has meant late opening of the snooker hall, thanks to the members for their patience in light of the recent difficulties.
Julia Pittham, Honorary Secretary May 2006.