Presidents Report - August 2007

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by John Drewienkiewicz

Well here we are at the middle of the year. We can look back at a successful set of Round Table meetings and supporting activity, with the prospect of as many goodies for the rest of the year.

At our autumn meeting, scheduled for 13th October, we will have three mini-talks rather than one larger one. This is to allow those who are keen to contribute, but who do not feel ready for a full afternoon of stress, to deliver a 15 to 20 minute talk on a limited area of their interest. So far we have two of the three volunteers but we need a third. If you are that person please give Tony Brown our secretary a ring.

The other activity scheduled for 13th October is our Annual General Meeting. There are two main issues here. First, to elect the Round Table Committee members for 2008, and secondly to decide on our Constitution.

The Committee is a small group of very willing volunteers, each of whom has a specific role. If you are prepared to help, please put your name forward to the Secretary, Tony Brown. Ideally talk to him as well so that he can give you an idea of the sort of commitment (which is not huge) might be involved.

We had a minimalist Constitution for some years but it has been overtaken by events. So we have reviewed it, and here we offer a form of words that seems to be a good basis for the future. We are keen not to give ourselves problems with an overly specific set of rules, but we are equally clear that a group such as ours does need some guidance to ensure that meetings are organised, membership kept up to date and Crossfire produced to a high standard. The draft is included with Crossfire. If you have any material suggestions for improvement, again please let Tony Brown know, rather than proposing any major changes at the AGM.

Further afield, the Battlefield Tourers report that they had a most successful trip to Verdun, that they came back a more cohesive and clubbable group, and that they have already decided to go to Arnhem next year. If you are interested in joining them please contact Peter Lockwood in the first instance.

The other item for consideration is whether to hold another residential weekend in 2008, following in the success of the 50th in 2003 and the RE Lee Weekend in Jan 2007. We will discuss this at the AGM in October and if there is sufficient appetite and an agreed theme then we will look at an event in the spring of 2008.

Finally, it is with pleasure that I can report that membership is creeping up again, and thanks are due to all those who went out recruiting on behalf of the Round Table. And I must also thank, on behalf of all the membership, a great vote of thanks to the Committee, who have worked particularly well together this year

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