February Regional Meeting 2021
Thanks to the wonders of modern technology and a very willing Regional Communications Officer, we were able to meet on Saturday, 13 February 2021 for our short Regional Meeting, via Zoom. Whilst this is not the same as meeting everyone ‘in person’, where we can chat before, after and during the lunch break, I do think it is important that we continue to hold our meetings in whatever format that we can. It’s always interesting to scroll through the pages of those present and it was lovely to see Judith Grocott with us.
Our speaker was Rebekah Wilson, Communications Officer at The Wish Centre and she gave us a really comprehensive talk about ‘Impact of Policing, Family Courts and new Domestic Violence Bill on victims of domestic abuse’. There was a lot of information to take in and I guess that individuals attending this meeting will be at different stages in how much they know. There were some very interesting statistics and it is clear that there is much work to be done to make the system work better.
We were able to carry out some of our Regional business after our speaker and our Federation Councillor, Janice Carrick reported that she had been able to respond to SIGBI Board that the North West & Isle of Man Region would support the Federation President being in office for two years.
Susan Biggs reported that the Benevolent Fund had been used to a greater extent during the past 12 months, not surprisingly due to the effects of the Covid-19 virus. She reiterated to all members that if they or someone they know is in difficulty and could benefit from some help from the Benevolent Fund – please do get in touch with her.
Our next Regional meeting will be on Saturday, 12 June 2021 at 10.00am. The Regional Executive are yet to make a definite decision as to whether this will be at Lancaster University or via Zoom, but an announcement will be made as soon as a decision is taken.
I do hope that all members enjoyed the meeting as much as I did and look forward to seeing you all again in June.
Rosemary Hoyle
Immediate Past Regional President