The June Soroptimist Regional Meeting/Women’s Conference was hosted this year by th
e Milton Keynes Soroptimist Club (St Albans hosted last year). The Milton Keynes Soroptimist Club was only started a year ago, and they did a brilliant job on creating an inspirational day for everyone who attended!
The MK Dons Ladies Football Club team (pictured here with Regional President Pam) were there to mingle with us and show us the trophy that they had received for being the South East Division winners of the Berks and Bucks Football Association for the third year running. Food for thought – the men get paid to play, the ladies have to pay to play!
Sakura Japanese Ladies Choir The meeting opened with 6 Japanese Ladies singing some quite haunting Japanese Folk songs. Their beautiful voices and obvious enthusiasm and passion really set the tone for the day ahead.
Jackie Chappell – The first woman CEO of British Rail, Ambassador for Women in Business, awarded life time Woman of Achievement in 2015 and is an Ambassador of national charity Sue Ryder. Jackie had a successful career in the rail industry where she rose from being a part-time employee selling tickets to become the Chief Executive of the Industry’s Training and Competence Company, making her the first ever women CEO in the British rail industry. She started her talk with a quote attributed to Marilyn Monroe ‘Any woman who wants to be equal to a man, lacks ambition’ and ended it with ‘You don’t have to be the best but be the best you can be’. A very entertaining speaker, she had a vulnerability that touched us all.
Open Council Meeting Reports from around the region including Yinka on Program Action and a member from SI Milton Keynes who enthusiastically shared with us her own reasons for joining Soroptimists and what she gets from being a member.Our own Jane Slatter nominated for the office of Website Administrator which was accepted with alacrity!
Lunch We had a beautiful buffet lunch in the large and airy Atrium at MK College – which was a superb venue for such an event.
After far too much lunch and just when we thought we might slip in 40 winks, SI Milton Keynes had different ideas! We started the afternoon session by doing a ‘Wake and Shake’ session lead by the MK Dons Ladies to the very aptly titled ‘Sisters are doing it for themselves’ sung by Annie Lennox. I can only hope that no one was videoing this and proposing to upload it to YouTube. Judging by the Ladies amusement we must have been a hilarious sight.
Ruth Dearnley OBE and CEO of Stop the Traffik Ruth has been Chief Executive Officer of STOP THE TRAFFIK since May 2008, and was a founding member since its inception in 2005. Ruth’s leadership of the campaign is about building original global initiatives to engage and empower local communities to prevent the trade, protect the victims and prosecute the traffickers. With a law degree and a background in education, Ruth has spent the last 20 years communicating creatively and inspiring and facilitating others to transform the world around them, starting in their local community. Ruth was one of the most amazing speakers I have ever listened to and the audience were captivated by her energy, expertise and often humourous approach to hold her audience. She challenged us to qualify ‘What is Power?’ ‘What does Power look like?’ Human Trafficking is a hidden crime and we can’t stop what we can’t see. She made us more aware of what to look out for in our Community and how we can report anything suspicious.
Alison Bird Ambassador for the Buddy Bag Foundation This foundation was created in response to the rising number of children who enter emergency care after fleeing violent situations at home often with just the clothes they are wearing. A Buddy Bag is a backpack that contains all the essential items a child needs including toiletries, pyjamas, socks, underwear and most importantly a comforting teddy or knitted toy. This item particularly caught my attention as one of the main charities we support is of course our local Refuge.
Anne Longf
ield – Children’s Commissioner for England. To round off the day we watched a video message from Anne Longfield – The Children’s Commissioner for England. She works with and on behalf of all children in England to dramatically improve their lives. She has a statutory duty to promote and protect the rights of all children in England in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. (Ed – she has been on TV this week calling for a radical rethink of the way children are interviewed in abuse cases).
Before wending our way home there was time for networking over a cup of tea and birthday cake (in honour of SI MK’s first birthday and the Queen).
SI Milton Keynes made us very welcome and gave us a thought provoking programme of speakers whilst underlining what their Club and all Soroptimist Clubs can say about themselves:
‘We are all amazing, everybody gives what they are able to give and that’s how it should be’.
Follow the Milton Keynes Soroptimists on Twitter @SIMiltonKeynes and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/soroptimistsMK/
Ed: Thanks to Jennie Redford for this excellent report – especially interesting for Members who were unable to attend.
Please note the next Regional meeting is on Sat 15 Oct in London – and Club Members need to let Jennie know if they wish to attend. Eight Members have attended the last two meetings – an excellent way to meet more sister Soroptimists and gain a bigger picture of our work (prospective Members are also welcome!).