Region Secretary Annual Report September 2023
What makes Soroptimism so interesting to me is the variety that changing Regional Presidents bring to it. Susan has been meticulous in her planning of all the events this year, dotting every i and crossing every t. This has made life busy but stress free for me. Thank you Susan.
We were all forced into zoom meetings during the pandemic, and they certainly have their plusses although most members agree that they do not adequately replace face to face. Susan has tried to mix and match as requested in her survey of regional officers.
The year started at the Kinmel with Yvonne’s last meeting – The Change of Insignia. The speaker was Sharron Manning from Macmillan nurses and the whole day was thoroughly enjoyed by all those present.
This was followed by a trip to Chatsworth House Christmas market which was a great success.
Susan was keen to have the first Regional Officers and Reps meeting face to face and in January we met at the Imperial Hotel in Llandudno. As it was not their busy time we did not have to pay for the room and bar lunches were provided as needed on the day. This is not available later in the year.
Susan has described the other meetings in her report
Finding venues is becoming a real problem. Most hotels now charge more than £30 daily rate per delegate, making it very expensive for members, and finding free venues for Officers’ Meetings has proved impossible.
The August Officers’ and Reps’ meeting was held at the Stamford Gate Hotel in Holywell. They charged £50 for the room but were very helpful with arrangements and easy to find from the A55. We bought our own coffee and those who requested it stayed for a bar meal.
The September meeting is a trial with no lunch provided, reducing the cost to £11 per delegate. As this is also at the Imperial Hotel in Llandudno, there are lots of options for lunch, A bar meal, fish & chips on the prom or lunch at any of the numerous cafes in the nearby town or bring a picnic and eat it on the prom. The Imperial is ideally placed for this type of arrangement but most of our other regular venues would make this very difficult.
The Change of Insignia will be held at the Queen Hotel in Chester this year. Details to follow nearer the date.
All together this has been a very interesting year with no real problems for the secretary.
Throughout the year we have had regular meetings between Susan, Janet Murfin and me with Diane joining us as needed to plan both this year’s details and help Janet organize her year to come.
PMK