Page 31 - ALG Issue 3 2022

Annual General Meeting 2022
CHAIRMAN’S INTRODUCTION BY JOHN IRWIN, CHAIRMAN OF THE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
The Chairman introduced the Officers, and welcomed Jenny Scaldwell from MHA MacIntyre HudsonAccountants. He also outlined how voting would take place with red cards.
WELCOME TO AGM BY PHIL GOMERSALL, NAS PRESIDENT
Well, another year has gone by and here is another AGM. As I approach this my final year, of my second term of office as your President, I can look back and see many new initiatives creating
a much more positive organisation with an improved image. A number of larger organisations will be looking on in envy, but we must not lose sight of the fact this has been brought about on a shoestring membership fee, largely by volunteer manpower which is backed up by a dedicated staff at HQ. I sometimes think that people forget and don’t realise that the hardworking Management Committee/Regional Representatives and the Mentor Team are all volunteers.
New developments continue to roll out with a wider range of webinars which are being very well received by LAs, PC’s Allotment Associations and Officers alike. Another round of Allotment Officer Forums is in the offing. New information leaflets continue to be created and added to our already well
used collection, which are well thought of by all who use them.
I am so pleased to welcome two new members of staff to the Head Office team. Our new Development Officer, Deborah Burn, has a wealth of allotment knowledge and Lauren Lawless has taken on the role of Marketing and PR Co-Ordinator. I am sure my colleagues will be looking forward to working with both of them for the advancement of our organisation.
It is also with great sadness that Di Appleyard has retired, having made a huge contribution to our organisation.
I shall, and I am sure many others will miss her too. Liz McInally has also retired this year after completing more than 30 years looking after our finances. A huge thank you to both of them. On the subject of money, we continue to look into ethical banking opportunities but unfortunately the present climate of world monetary systems has somewhat slowed this process down.
Modern technology has also played its part in improving our organisation. The membership database has streamlined the administration of affairs. The flipbook magazine has got information out to many more of the grassroots membership. If you have not seen the flipbook magazine, approach your site contact who should be passing it on. Zoom, as previously stated, has been a real benefit in many ways. It has enabled
Demand for allotments remains high and many sites are reducing plot sizes to enable more people to benefit from our wonderful recreational activity of allotment gardening
many to participate in meetings where previously travel was an issue, and it has saved an awful lot of travel expenses.
In the case of the Management Committee, these saved funds
have been reallocated to improving
our information and education programmes. Facebook is another example of technology where benefits can be derived. I push our cause at every opportunity to the huge audience on FB when answering queries. The International Allotment Office members also use this medium showing some very interesting variations on our traditional UK allotment gardening.
Leading on from this, our partners
in Europe, Scandinavia and Japan
have also used Zoom technology, as a recent session on Zoom was extremely successful leading to many positive outcomes. If you haven’t already done so, have a look at the International Allotment Federation (IAF) magazine ‘Hyphen’ to which our own NAS contribute regularly. The next face-to- face ‘Study Session’ of the (IAF) will
be in Stockholm with the 2023 ‘Study Session’ to be held in the UK. Watch this space.
Demand for allotments remains high and many sites are reducing plot sizes to enable more people to benefit from our wonderful recreational activity of allotment gardening. My own site will only let quarter plots (62.5sq m) until the waiting list is depleted, something
Allotment and Leisure Gardener 31