SI Cannock & District held its AGM at The Barns on 14th April. The meeting marked the end of the club’s Diamond Anniversary year: the first meeting of interested women was held in July 1954 at the Gas Showrooms in Cannock and the Club was chartered at a formal event held at Eaton Lodge Hotel in Rugeley in February 1955.
Dr Janis Lomas was the club’s President for this very special anniversary year and she reported on the successes and achievements of the year, thanking club members for their support.
The year had seen some very special events: a visit from Mary, Queen of Scots [Lesley Smith, curator of Tutbury castle], two wonderful visits to Tutbury Castle; an afternoon tea and fashion cavalcade at Ingestre Hall; International Night with a speaker from Bletchley Park followed by a visit to Bletchley; Christmas celebrations at Trentham Gardens and at The Barns; and a magnificent glittering evening at Rodbaston Hall to celebrate the 60th, Diamond, Charter evening.
During the year club members had continued to support Pathway, the refuge for women victims of Domestic Violence by providing toiletries throughout the year and Christmas gifts; St Giles Hospice by providing cakes on a regular basis – these are offered to visitors at the Hospice; the Soup Kitchen in Mill Street when Cannock Soroptimists helped to provide and prepare a Christmas meal. In addition they have held events to raise funds for international projects such as Birthing in the Gambia, known as the BIG project; for the International President’s Appeal to provide solar power for cooking and lighting in areas of Asia and Africa so that women and girls do not have to spend most of their day collecting firewood and therefore can spend time on their education; and for the organisation’s Emergency Fund, enabling Soroptimists to send funds to any disaster area in the world as soon as they are needed. The club has also continued its work raising awareness on the issues of sex trafficking and domestic violence and has also held events to raise awareness on the debilitating condition of endometriosis. Members have organised and attended events to learn more about Female Genital Mutilation [FGM] and are now in a position, along with all other clubs in the Region, to begin taking action on this issue.
President Janis Lomas said to the members: ‘We were determined that we would use the year to bring everyone together, involve as many people as possible and have a year of fun and friendship while not forgetting our Programme Action work which is the heart and soul of our club and what makes it different from other clubs. I will leave you to judge to what extent the Diamond Anniversary year fulfilled the promise that we set out for it’
Members confirmed that the aims had been well and truly met!!
President Janis went on to thank her ‘Diamond Girls’ Jill Gooch and Trish Mellor who had helped her plan the year and had served as secretaries to the club for the year.
President Janis was thanked by members for all that she had done for the Club to make the 60th year so special and for the fun and fellowship they had all enjoyed. Incoming President Lynne Tuckley presented her with a Tutbury rose bowl containing roses and ‘diamonds’.
Photo attached:
l tor: Outgoing President Dr Janis Lomas with Incoming President, SI Cannock & District, Lynne Tuckley