DOCUMENTS
MONTROSE FAIRTRADE FORUM AGM and PUBLIC MEETING
Thursday February 26th at 7pm in the Academy Assembly Hall
Present (Forum Members): Ian Sykes, Kelly Ann Dempsey, Laura Paterson, , Pamela Manley, Pam Robinson
Other invited guests: Sophie Tolley of the Scottish Fair Trade Forum, Basilio Almonte of Conacado, Cocoa Producers’ Co-operative in the Dominican Republic, Katie Sims of the Fairtrade Foundation, Peter Stevens, Archivist of the Montrose Fair Trade Forum, Edith Fraser with items for sale from Created, Students from the Academy who were helping with Refreshments, members of the Public.
Chairman’s Welcome:
Ian Sykes welcomed everyone to the meeting, and introduced the speaker from the Dominican Republic, Basilio Almonte, and his translator, Katie Sims from the Fairtrade Foundation.
Conacado – a Cocoa Co-operative:
Basilio spoke about cocoa farming in the Dominican Republic, a country which shares an island with Haiti, where there are more than 150 small cocoa farming communities all vying for the improvements which the Fairtrade premium can help to bring about. There are two harvests a year, he said, and the average yield is 1.5 tonnes per 3 hectares, which is the land per farm. The eventual goal is to increase production to 2 tonnes per hectare.
The major needs of these communities are addressed each year through the Fairtrade premium, although not every need can be met every year. Overall, however, the environment and quality of life are being improved for the people, and they are very happy to be selling so much of their crop to Fairtrade.
After his illustrated talk, Basilio answered some quite searching questions from the floor, and his contribution was interesting and informative, and at times, amusing, ably translated from Spanish into English by Katie Sims of the Fairtrade Foundation.
The Business of the AGM:
a) Chairman’s Report: Ian gave a guide to the composition of the Fair Trade Forum, and its commitment to promote awareness of the ideals of Fairtrade. He expressed appreciation of the work undertaken by a small number of activists on the Forum, locally and in the Fairtrade Zone of Angus, which is supported by members from each Fairtrade Town in the County.
b) Secretary’s Report: the secretary reported that the year had seen a number of events, including a visit to Brechin in May by Kenyan Herb producer, Anisia Wanja, and the second Bakeoff Competition in September2014. On this occasion the Forum decided to run a stall in the Farmers’ Market, and distribute leaflets in the High Street.
The next events of note would be the wine tasting and market stall to come in the second week of Fairtrade Fortnight, and thanks were expressed to all those who had been instrumental in organising and sponsoring these events.
c) Treasurer’s Report: the treasurer said that the finances were solid, and from £184 at the beginning of the year, the Forum now had £214. The accounts were available for inspection should anyone want to do so.
d) Election of Office Bearers: It was made clear that any of the positions mentioned were available to others who might want to stand, but in the absence of people coming forward, the following were re-elected:
Chairman ……………………………………………. Ian Sykes
Secretary ……………………………………………. Pam Robinson
Treasurer ……………………………………………. Ian Sykes
Archivist ……………………………………………….Peter Stevens
Elected Representatives:
Angus Council ………………………………………. Kelly Ann Dempsey
Education ……………………………………………… Pamela Manley
Business ……………………………………………… Ian Sykes (Chamber of Commerce)
Business …………………………………………………. Regan Tammi
Angus Council (Community groups) ………..Sandra Livingston
Retailers/Caterers ……………………………………Laura Paterson
Montrose Churches Together ………………….TBA
Chairman’s Concluding Remarks: Ian drew the meeting to a close by thanking all those who had contributed to the evening, whether in Raffle prizes, or refreshments or in any other way. He invited people to look at the raffle prizes in due course, which would have a counterfoil ticket attached each one, and to share in the refreshments while browsing the stalls.
In no particular order, Ian thanked Montrose Academy staff and pupils for their preparation and provision for the guests at the meeting, also the following places for raffle prizes: Boots, the Park Hotel, the George Hotel, the Co-operative Food Store. Appreciation was expressed for Scotmid and Laura Paterson for continuing support and commitment.
He then thanked people for attending, and wished everyone a safe journey home, while announcing again the Wine Tasting to be held on March 6th.
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MONTROSE FAIRTRADE FORUM
Minutes of meeting held on Thursday January 29th 2015 at 4.00pm in Montrose Academy.
Present: Ian Sykes, Kelly Ann Dempsey, Laura Paterson, Pam Robinson
1. Apologies: received from Sandra Livingston, Regan Tammi
2. Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of December 3rd were approved and signed
3. Matters Arising: Matters arising will be covered in updates or elsewhere in the Agenda
4. Member Updates
a) Council: KAD reported that she had been working with Zone groups on the Fair Trade Bakeoff Recipe booklet that was in preparation, and that she had applied for a grant to fund its publication. The booklet was now with Laura Paterson, to be published by Scotmid, and would be launched during Fairtrade Fortnight. The existing book about Fair Trade shops in Angus would also be updated.
KAD had also been instrumental in persuading the Head of Procurement at the council to buy different Fair Trade products, including Kilombero rice (90 kg challenge!), for use in schools.
KAD and LP had also discussed the possibility of a wine-tasting event in the zone – possibly to take place in Montrose. (see below)
b) Churches: PS had reported that Ferryden United Free Church had closed and the Methodists were using other premises, having sold the church building. The churches will still be active, however, in running the Farmers’ Market Fair Trade stall on March 7th, during Fairtrade Fortnight. Linda Broadley is also planning to buy and store a quantity of Kilombero rice for sale at the market and in the churches.
c) Businesses and Retailers: KAD suggested that when visiting shops, they should be asked to sign up then and there, in order to be included in the next copy of the Angus Guide to Fair Trade. This should be possible with an updated database of FT Supporters in the Town. It was agreed that the website needed to be changed, to ensure tat all website enquiries would come to Regan.
d) Education: There were no representatives present to give us updates
e) Flagship Employer: LP was welcomed to the meeting and said she would put ideas for discounted stock to sell at the Farmers’ Market (see minutes of last meeting) to her Head Office, although it might not be possible as most of it would be Co-op brand produce.
She discussed the possibility of holding a wine-tasting evening during Fairtrade fortnight, and it was suggested that Friday, March 6th might be a suitable date. LP would invite Scotmid employees, in addition to other Fair Trade groups and there would be Fair Trade nibbles. IS agreed to contact Alan Smith about hiring the Congregational Hall.
f) Community Groups: PR said that she had attended the AGM of the Montrose Together Partnership, and it had decided to continue to exist at least until the next meeting in two months’ time, on March 16th, when elections would be held for most office bearers. A Montrose postcard was also under preparation which would be ready to see by then, before being distributed among various outlets, including the Museum. The Partnership was different from the Community Council in that it worked mainly with groups, not individuals, in helping with projects, grants etc
g) Website: no updates except at 4c
f) Publicity: Regan had offered to do some posters for the AGM and had emailed a draft to the Forum members. KAD had sent the same information to her technical department, with the request to produce something. (post-meeting: it has been agreed that we should use posters prepared and printed by the Council. PR has received some A3 posters from Fairtrade Foundation which will also be used)
5. Archivist’s Report: Extracts from the Archivist’s report have been placed in the relevant sections above.
6. Treasurer’s Report Ian reported that the account stood at £243.91pence
7. AGM The date of the AGM has been fixed as February 26th, the date when we can have Basilio Almonte, an agronomist and technical manager at the Conacado co-operative of cocoa farmers in the Dominican Republic. He is being brought to the UK by the Fairtrade Foundation, and will come to Montrose with a Spanish interpreter and a representative from the Scottish Fair Trade Forum. PR was asked to request the Assembly Hall at the Academy for the evening from 6pm for a 7pm start. LP offered Scotmid’s support for the AGM in terms of vouchers for FT drinks and nibbles to have at the end of the meeting.
8. Fairtrade Fortnight: In addition to the AGM there will be a Fair Trade stall at the March 7th Farmers’ Market, and a Wine-tasting on March 6th, sponsored by Scotmid. The booklet of Fair Trade recipes will also be launched during the fortnight, possibly at the wine-tasting, as other FT groups from Angus, who are involved with the booklet, can be invited to attend that evening.
10. The next meeting is the AGM, on Thursday 26th February at 7 pm at Montrose Academy
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MONTROSE FAIRTRADE FORUM
Minutes of meeting held on Thursday December 3rd 2014 at 4.00pm in Montrose Academy.
Present: Ian Sykes, Regan Tammi, Sandra Livingston, Pam Robinson
1. Apologies: received from Kelly Ann Dempsey
2. Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of October 30th were approved
3. Matters Arising: Matters arising would be covered in updates or elsewhere in the Agenda
4. Member Updates
a) Council: As KAD was absent there were no updates
b) Churches: PS had written in his archivist’s report that William Wilson gave the report on FTF to the Central Council of Montrose Churches Together at their November meeting and will continue to do so from the future Forum minutes. Ian Sykes will pay the website fee in advance of receiving it from MCT. About £440 worth of Fair Trade goods have been sold in 2 months at Old and St Andrew’s Church since the beginning of their project Harvest of Encouragement.
c) Businesses and Retailers: SL reported on her visits to about 10 retailers in the High Street, some of whom were interested and promised to contact the Forum. She had prepared a leaflet for shops and other interested parties. Among those who expressed interest were Computerden and Stevenson’s. In terms of contact, Regan noted a problem, in that the authorised person for the website is still John Dempsey, so requests for contact go to him. This needs to be changed so at they come automatically to Regan. IS expressed the thanks of the Forum to SL for preparing the leaflet. PR arranged to print some leaflets for Saturday morning’s stall in the Market
d) Education: There were no representatives present to give us updates
e) Flagship Employer: It was suggested that we should discuss our plan to hold quarterly FairTrade Stalls in the Farmers’ Market with Laura Paterson, as she might be able to help us with discounted stock. It was too close to Christmas to organise anything now for this year, but perhaps this would be an idea for years to come.
f) Community Groups: Regan talked about a meeting to be held in Montrose by the Dundee Green Party about the Translantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which would potentially put the NHS at risk of litigation from US drugs companies who felt they were being kept out. The first half of this meeting would be a public meeting, from 7.30pm on January 8th at the Columba Hall. This could also endanger Fair Trade, as it would seek to dictate future trade policies to the EU.
The Montrose Together Partnership, which exists for all community groups in Montrose, has its AGM in January. This is currently very badly supported, and would benefit from some fresh input. The date was to be January 5th but has been changed to January 19th.
g) Website: no updates except 4c above.
f) Publicity: Peter wrote in his archives that he had dealt with two enquiries received and with some publicity from the Fairtrade Foundation (November News). The advice was to email Asda and Tesco about the bananas they sell, 90% of which are not Fairtrade.
5. Archivist’s Report: Extracts from the Archivist’s report have been placed in the relevant sections above.
6. Treasurer’s Report Ian reported that the account stood at £241.73pence
7. Farmers’ Market Stall in December It was confirmed that the FTF had obtained a stall at the Farmers’ Market in December, and would sell Fair Trade products on a Sale or Return basis from Forfar Fairtrade Group and Sunrise in Brechin. PR would be responsible for obtaining these, and setting up the stall from 8.15am. RT offered help from 8.15 until her train at 9.30, and IS would be there from 9.00am. (Post meeting : the stall sold about £125 worth of products, less than hoped, but it was a cold, driech day – people weren’t browsing!) IS said we should do about 4 stalls per year at the Farmers’ Market and other events as they arose. On this topic, thanks were noted to SL for her research about Alcohol sales in a public place.
There was some discussion about the Voluntary Action Angus group, which could help us with volunteers for events,
8. Fairtrade Fortnight: (post-meeting) PR has received a reply from the Scottish Fair Trade Forum indicating that there will be two speakers in Scotland during the fortnight, a football stitcher from Pakistan and a cotton machinist from Mauritius. They were just beginning to organise for Fairtrade Fortnight, so they have our possible dates for the AGM. I haveyet to confirm the day and book the Hall.
9. The next meeting is on Thursday 29th January at 4 pm at Montrose Academy
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MONTROSE FAIRTRADE FORUM
Minutes of meeting held on Thursday October 30th 2014 at 4.00pm in Montrose Academy.
Present: Ian Sykes, , Regan Tammi, Sandra Livingston, Kelly Ann Dempsey, Pam Robinson
1. Aplogies: there were no apologies
2. Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of August 28th were approved
3. Matters Arising: There were no matters arising which would not be covered in updates
4. Member Updates
a) Council: KAD reported on the Bake-off competition, which went well. The Montrose entry, from Linda Broadley, gained joint second place. There are plans to create a recipe book with contributions from entrants.
The new Zone newsletter has just been published
The meeting with Head of Procurement at the Council, Mark Allen, had to be postponed and will take place shortly.
KAD also reminded the Forum that we should start thinking about applying for a FT Producer to speak at the AGM during Fair Trade Fortnight (23rd Feb to 8th March). PR should contact the Fair Trade Foundation and the Scottish Fair Trade Forum. There is a video available to give ideas for activities during FT Fortnight.
b) Churches: (see post-meeting addenda below)
c) Businesses and Retailers: IS reported that window stickers hsd been distributed to Madisons, Scotmid and Featherston Blinds, and would be given to each retailer and business who is actually a Fair Trade supporter. SL said she would talk to some High St retailers in the next few weeks and try to raise awareness of Fair Trade
d) Education: There were no representatives present to give us updates
e) Flagship Employer: Laura Paterson had sent a snapshot of people’s buying habits at Scotmid over the last year, and it was surprising to see what sales had fallen, and what risen, in terms of Fair Trade. The information didn’t really show us where there might be different products that could be sold, or if there were any gaps in the market. It was suggested that we could ask Laura if it would be possible to do a Fair Trade display of some sort in the lead-up to Christmas. RT suggested that she might look at FT products in supermarkets and ask about them.
The Forum expressed thanks to Laura for taking the time to compile the information for us. Thoughts were expressed about a possible wine-tasting before Christmas?
f) Community Groups: Regan told the committee that she would be leaving her post at Article 12. She is planning to stay in Montrose and wishes to remain on the Forum. IS expressed relief that she was not leaving the Forum, and welcomed her input.
g) Website: RT asked for members’ ideas for changing and updating the website, which she felt should be used for advance publicity as well as for reports of events that had happened.
f) Publicity: see g) above
5. Archivist’s Report (see below : post-meeting addenda)
6. Treasurer’s Report Ian reported that the account stood at £241.73pence
7. The Way Forward: PR reported that as a result of the Stall at the Market in September she had been thinking about a Fair Trade Action Group – namely a group that would be responsible for doing Fair Trade activities at different events, and particularly at the Farmers’ Markets perhaps 3-4 times a year. She had already spoken to 2 people who were willing to be part of such a group. The first such activity would be the Farmers’ Market in Montrose on December 6th, if there is space. PR would contact Carol Robbie to find out.
The idea was generally greeted with approval by the Forum: the ideas and initiative would come from the Forum, or be ratified by the Forum. PR offered to be a link between the Forum and the Action group, who would then put the ideas into practice. There would then be a Fair Trade presence at public events in Montrose, not just during Fair Trade Fortnight. Ideas were put forward for the Farmers’ market in December, like mulled wine to be given out, or Christmas Pies? Fair Trade product support would include festive food. The action group would meet first over a coffee ad chat, and go from there.
8. Any Other Business There was no other business
9. The next meeting is on Thursday 4th December at 4 pm at Montrose Academy (to be confirmed – let me know if the date is a problem)
Post-meeting addenda: The archivist’s report had not been received before the meeting, although it had originally been sent on Oct 26th, so these items have been added as a result of the report, which has now been received by the Forum.
4 b) Churches : “Harvest of Encouragement” is a recent initiative by Old & St Andrew’s Church, in which teenagers are encouraging their church members to buy Fairtrade goods. Peter has sent a copy of the report on this project to every Church Fairtrade representative, and is delighted to see an individual church showing such initiative.
5. Archivist’s Report: Peter’s report arrived after the meeting. He noted the window stickers that were now on display at Scotmid, Madisons and Featerston Blinds, and commended the help given by Academy pupil David Calder at the September Farmers’ Market. Peter’s report of this event was published by the Review, with a photo, and a photograph with names caption by the Courier.
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MONTROSE FAIRTRADE FORUM
Minutes of meeting held on Thursday August 28th 2014 at 4.00pm in Montrose Academy.
Present: Ian Sykes, Kelly Ann Dempsey, Regan Tammi, (later Sandra Livingston, Pamela Manley) Pam Robinson
1. Aplogies: there were no apologies
2. Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of June 26th were approved
3. Matters Arising:
a) Window stickers: it was decided that we should organise this to coincide with the Farmers’ Market on September 6th (see member updates). (There would also be a Fair Trade stall at the market on this Saturday)
b) Publicity Peter Stevens had suggested that he distribute some FT leaflets on the morning of September 6th, to coincide with the Stall and the bake-off competition. PR would ask him to organise, if possible, photographs of the window sticker handover and of the Fair Trade bake-off judging and stall. He might also write a press release about this event.
4. Member Updates
a) Council: KAD had organised a bake-off competition for Angus, for which Montrose heats would be held on September 6th at the Montrose Farmers’ Market. The Managers of Scotmid or Madisons should be asked to judge the Montrose entries. Fliers had been set round to the churches and Fair Trade supporters giving the necessary information .KAD said that they hoped to be able to prepare a recipe book with the competition entries.
The Head of Procurement at the Council, Mark Allen, had also agreed to look at buying Fairtrade rice for cooking, in addition to FT uniforms/equipment and so on.
IS welcomed Sandra Livingston to the meeting on behalf of the forum, and heard a little about her new responsibilities with the Council.
b) Churches: The church representatives had each received a copy of the flier about the bake-off and interest had been expressed. There is still no church representative on the Forum. PR agreed to talk to Peter about this subject again.
c) Businesses and Retailers: IS reported that at the present time there is no body representing retailers and businesses, so every business tends to do its own thing. Window stickers would be distributed to each retailer and business who is actually a Fair Trade supporter.
d) Education: Pamela Manley of the Academy is hoping to increase the size of the Fairtrade Group at the school, and may be able to provide some helpers for the stall/leafleting on Saturday 6th. Regan is to do some workshops in school about food security, and will report back at the next meeting.
e) Flagship Employer: There were no updates.
f) Community Groups: Sandra Livingston is our new Council rep for Community groups. She is still feeling her way and will report back as she gets to know more of what is happening in Montrose. Regan has been busy with the community garden so has no updates about Fair Trade
g) Website: There were no updates
f) Publicity: See Matters arising b)
5. Archivist’s Report Peter reported that there had been little activity since the last report. The churches had indeed publicised the bake-off competition, but there was still no Churches Together FT Rep.
6. Treasurer’s Report Ian reported that the account stood at £251
7. Any Other Business: There being no other business, the meeting closed at 4.30pm
The next meeting is on Thursday October 30th at 4 pm at Montrose Academy
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Minutes of meeting held on Thursday June 26th 2014 at 4.00pm in Montrose Academy.
Present: Ian Sykes, Pam Robinson
1. Aplogies: Kelly Ann Dempsey
2. Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of April 24th were approved
3. Matters Arising:
a) Fairtrade Window Stickers. Ian Sykes confirmed that he had a certain number of these to distribute to suppliers who support Fair Trade. Pam Robinson would look at the list of Fair Trade suppliers.
b) Publicity The Forum should try to organise a photoshoot at one of the supplier’s as they receive their window sticker.
4. Member Updates
a) Council: There were no updates
b) Churches: See Archivist’s report
c) Businesses and Retailers: See archivist’s report and matters arising a) and b)
d) Education: There were no updates
e) Flagship Employer: There were no updates
f) Community Groups: There were no updates
g) Website: There were no updates
f) Publicity: See Matters arising b)
5. Archivist’s Report Peter reported that his work on publicity for the month had been hampered by illness, but he had noted a good response from the churches to the meeting that was held in Brechin with Fair trade producer from Kenya, Anisia Wanja. He also remarked that George Melvin, the owner of Featherstone Blinds, had offered support to FTF in any way possible. As he is independent, as is also Denis Laidlaw of Madisons, their help could be valuable to the forum in the future.
6. Treasurer’s Report Ian reported that there had been no movement in the funds of the forum
7. Any Other Business: There being no other business, the meeting closed at 4.30pm
The next meeting is on Thursday August 28th at 4 pm at Montrose Academy
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Minutes of public meeting and AGM, held on Tuesday March 4th 2014 at 7.00pm in Montrose Academy Assembly Hall.
Present: (Forum Members): Ian Sykes (Chairman and Treasurer), Pam Robinson (Secretary), Kelly Ann Dempsey, Pamela Manley, Bruce Pandrich, Regan Tammi.
Other invited guests: Helen Rothwell of the Scottish Fair Trade Forum, with guest speakers Mandira Kuikel Bhattarai and Amisha Bhandarai from Get Paper Industry in Nepal. Councillor Bill Duff, Peter Stevens, Archivist for the Fair Trade Forum, Stallholders from ‘Created’ – Edith Fraser, ‘Sunrise’ in Brechin , Article 12 – Regan Tammi and Volunteers. Members of the public and school pupils from the Academy were also present.
1. The Chairman’s Welcome
Ian Sykes welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced the two Ladies from Get Paper Industry, a paper-making cooperative in Kathmandu in Nepal, who were going to talk about their work, but their first task was to present the Chairman, Ian Sykes, with our new Fairtrade Town certificate.
2. Get Paper Industry
They then spoke about GPI and its work both in providing employment for many people, and its wider involvement in girls’ education, which in Nepal is often totally neglected, and in work in the area of Health, particularly with female sex workers, many of whom have been trafficked and forced into the sex industry. (For a full report of the talk, see the attached article from the Montrose Review.)
3. Scotland, a Fairtrade Nation
When the Nepalese presentation was finished, Helen Rothwell, of the Scottish Fair Trade Forum, spoke about Scotland, a Fairtrade Nation, and encouraged the Montrose group, as Montrose was the first town in Angus to gain Fairtrade status and this has snowballed until Angus is now a Fairtrade county.
The Business of the AGM
a) Chairman’s Report
Ian Sykes outlined the make-up of the forum for those who were not familiar with it, and how all areas of society were represented on the forum and in the Hall for the meeting. He also talked about the involvement of Montrose Representatives on the Angus Zone Fair Trade Steering Committee, along with reps from other Fairtrade Towns in Angus, which gained status first in 2012, then again in December of last year.
b) Secretary’s report
The Secretary reported that the Churches in Montrose had been quite active in Fair Trade events, including the Stall at the Farmers’ Market in Montrose on March 1st, to celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight 2014. The website had also been updated, on www.montrosefairtrade.org.uk and comments were invited. She said that Montrose Academy pupils had won the ‘Bakeoff’ competition that took place in the Autumn, during the ‘Taste of Angus’ activities, with a Fairtrade chocolate cake.
The highlight of the year for the Forum was the recent renewal of Montrose’s Fairtrade status for a further two years. Many thanks were due to Ian, Peter Stevens and Kelly Ann Dempsey, who were all instrumental in the renewal success.
Thanks go to all the businesses that have generously donated raffle prizes for the AGM and helped in various ways throughout the year, especially to Scotmid, our Flagship Employer.
c) Treasurer’s Report
The treasurer’s report was given, and copy of the accounts to be retained with the Minutes of the AGM. The treasurer reported that the Forum was still solvent, and that as income from fundraising had been £55, and expenditure just £18, the total in the bank account was around £189.
d) Election of Office Bearers and elected representatives for the coming year.
The following members were elected to office, and continued in their role as representatives:
Chairman .............Ian Sykes, Secretary……… .Pam Robinson, Treasurer…..…….Ian Sykes, Archivist and Publicity…………Peter Stevens,
Elected representatives:
Angus Council …………….Kelly Ann Dempsey,
Education ……………….,Alita Spink (Council), Pamela Manley (Montrose Academy)
Business/Community……...Ian Sykes (MCC)
Business/Community……...Regan Tammi (Article 12 Scotland)*
(*Ian explained that Regan had joined the Forum during 2013 as representative of Article 12 in Scotland, and that this involvement would contribute to the work of the projects in Angus)
Community Planning……….Mark Johnston (Angus Council)
Retailers/Caterers…………..Laura Paterson (Scotmid, Montrose’s Flagship Employer)
Church Representative………TBA (Montrose Churches Together are committed to nominating a representative in the near future. In the meantime we are thankful to Peter Stevens for continuing his communications with the individual Church representatives)
e) Chairman’s Concluding Remarks
Ian brought the meeting to a close by announcing that the raffle would soon be drawn and the prizes distributed, and by thanking all those who had been instrumental in the Forum’s success in the last year. Thanks went to all current members of the Forum, to stallholders from Sunrise and Created, to Scotmid, our Flagship Employer, and all other caterers and retailers who have supported the work of Fair Trade. Thanks were also given to the Montrose Academy, for the venue and other facilities for the meeting, ably helped by Bruce Pandrich, Pamela Manley and her pupils, also for providing the venue for forum meetings during the year. He also thanked Angus Council for its support, particularly in Kelly Ann Dempsey, who worked tirelessly for Fair Trade, and council emplyees Alita Spink and Mark Johnston for their help and advice. Thanks were given to Archivist and former secretary Peter Stevens for so much hard work behind the scenes, and last but not least, to Mandira and Amisha from Nepal, and Helen Rothwell from the Scottish Fair Trade Forum, for giving us such a worthwhile evening.
The last point in the Chairman’s report was to thank the following donors for raffle prizes: Scotmid, the Cooperative, Tesco’s, Bodywork, Boots the Chemist, the Park Hotel, the George Hotel, Nancy Holehouse on behalf of the Congregational Church. He also thaked his wfe and Kelly Ann for running the raffle, and the staff and pupils at the Academy for organising refreshments.
He concluded by thanking everyone for their attendance, encouraging them to visit the stalls and take advantage of tea/coffee, and wishing them a safe journey home.
The meeting concluded at 8pm.
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