It was great to see another full house for our March meeting, at which we were joined by our Regional President Kay Linnell, accompanied by her travel companion Barbara Jeremiah. Kay will shortly be handing over her chain of office to our own Lisa Scandling.
In a bid to drum up more volunteers for the Executive Committee we conducted a ‘speed dating’ round tables. Existing (or past) office holders who are stepping down, were able to explain their role to members. If anyone who wasn’t at the meeting is interested in taking on a role, please get in touch. We are looking for someone to look after Programme Action (projects: monitor active projects and report on them to region and HQ), and a Vice-President; a year in training to take over as President.
Teresa updated us on progress by EdUKaid which is one of our charities. She was delighted that we will be donating around £440 [exact sum yet to be finalised] this year as a result of our successful Quiz Night. The Girls’ Club, which we have sponsored for a few years, is going from strength to strength, helping so many girls. Teresa shared a joyful video in which the girls thanked the club.
Kay Linnell, from our sister club in Winchester, and current Regional President, entertained us with her life story. She described herself as someone who, if you can’t go round something, or over it, just blows it up! She trained as a Chartered Accountant and has since been a forensic accountant, worked for HMRC and now has her own business. Among other things, she has been involved in trying to get justice for the victims of the Post Office Post Masters/Mistresses fraud scandal. In her HMRC days she chased many celebrity tax fraudsters. Kay is keen that regional meetings should be active and involve more than sitting talking. The recent meeting at a care home gave attendees the chance to undertake a number of different tasks. Kay is certainly active herself, having come from a meeting in London for Number 63 to Salisbury.
Following Club Business, Eleanor, as past President (as Jenny was not well), stepped in to welcome Susan Wills into the Soroptimist International sisterhood. This follows the induction of her daughter, Eleanor, last meeting, so welcome to mother and daughter!!
