A.G.M. 2011
ROCKVALE REBOUND T. N.
Annual Report 2010/11
The 2010/11 session got off to a good start, with the first event of note being the Annual General Meeting which was held on 17th April, 2010 in the Function Suite at Townend Bowling club. Just over thirty people were in attandance. The minutes of the previous A.G.M. were read by Margaret Fitzsimons, as was the Annual Report for the previous year. Sarah Worthey gave a detailed account as to the organisations financial status and we were very pleased indeed to note that the Rockvale Rebound is still in a healthy position, in terms of funds. It was a nice lively meeting with many people making good constructive comments and asking relevant questions. Probably the main issue under discussion was whether or not our members wanted to have their weekly information and magazines provided in a different format rather than on cassette tape. Although not all Talking Newspapers by any means have done so and now use either CD’s or Memory Sticks, our members sounded a resounding ‘NO’ to any kind of change. There is a sizeable financial implication attached to using CD’s since they are not returnable, and, therefore a very big stock would need to be purchased each year and special players would need to be purchased for Memory Sticks, and it would prove somewhat difficult to give everybody proper instructions as to their use. There is also a feeling running throughout the Talking Newspaper world that these changes have been made more for the ‘tachnocrats’ within the operating section of a Talking Newspaper rather than for the benefit of the listening membership. There may come a time when some sort of change is necessary, but the committee feel that this is still rather a long way off. The giant producer of sound producing equipment, SONY has recently introduced a new model of cassette player/recorder, and the feeling is genuinely held that such a company is most unlikely to do such a thing if the life of cassettes is on the wane.
The election of the committee was swift, to say the least, with the whole committee being elected en masse.
After the business meeting was over the gathering enjoyed a superb buffet meal provided by Margaret Coleman and her team, several people taking advantage of the fact that food was in excess and ‘doggie bags’ were soon in evidence.
During the year it was realised that the outside of our premises in West Bridgend was in need of a good wash down followed by a re-paint job. This was carried out by Mr. Charlie Croft and his team and an excellent piece of work it is and we are very proud of our premises.
No major problems have occurred with any of our machinery although as in any year there have been a couple of hiccups in the production of the tapes, but that was nothing that couldn’t be figured out and steps taken to ensure there was no repetition. Our rewinding system, which is a sort of a ‘Heath Robinson’ kind of set up had to be rewired, but that is the first time in many, many years and it is now working very well again. Any short term absences amongst the reading teams were handled efficiently by the remaining members of each team.
During the course of the year we have received several very welcome donations from members, other fund giving organisations and West Dunbartonshire Council. Our application to the Council had actually to be made to the Council for Volunteer Services, a factor which was pointed out at the previous A.G.M. We made our application in September 2009, but our form somehow got lost in the transfer and we had to re-apply. This was done in February 2010 and was approved, but we had to wait until September before we received the relevant cheque. We appreciate very much all the individual donations that we have received. Full details of our financial status will be given by our Treasurer, Sarah Worthey.
August came round and a group of our members, all decked out in their Summer finery, headed off North eastwards towards the fair city of Perth for our annual bus outing, and a right jolly crowd they were. The weather held fair for most of the time apart from a tiny little shower carried by a brisk breeze, but that only lasted about five minutes or so. A wonderful lunch was served at the Royal George Hotel which is situated on Tay Street and commands a superb view over the river and its bridges. After lunch everyone set off to enjoy the many facets of Perth which are there to take advantage of, from Art Galleries, Museums to shopping malls. All in all, everybody had a wonderful day out and another successful event could be clocked up.
Our annual sponsored walk, which is known as the ‘Bobalong Cashaday’ took place on the first weekend in October. It followed the same route as before, from the Meadow centre in Dumbarton to the Lusset restaurant in Old Kilpatrick, and although the route has been the same over the years, it is one which offers many sights to those taking part and those sights seem to be a little different each year. As before, we had the benefit of some secondary school pupils to boost the numbers from the Rockvale Rebound itself. Once again we were blessed by good weather during the walk, and financially it was very successful, raising over £700. As before, all participants were awarded with an achievement certificate which was expertly designed by Susan Corrigan and is something which can be kept with a great sense of pride. It has been suggested that we find another sort of fund raising event to take the Bobalong Cashaday’s place, so the committee is going to have its work cut out to come up with ideas.
On the technical front, we noticed that our website was looking rather poorly at the beginning of the session. In fact it was rather dilapidated with only one entry during 2009. Philip Black, who had been managing the website had moved South and Jamie Smith was finding it difficult to get the time to attend to it. After some discussion Claire Muir was persuaded to take on the role of website manager and she set to it with a will. With just a little help from the local library and a computer expert friend, she has been working diligently at it and we now have a most vibrant website with a great deal of information contained within it, many of the pieces containing photographs, especially about some of our functions such as the Summer Outing, the Sponsored Walk and the Christmas lunch and so forth. Both Jamie Smith and Elaine Foulkes have made contributions for Claire to insert and we are proud of the site. For anyone who has access to a computer the website address is :-
and you will find a visit most interesting and perhaps eye opening as well.
Our Christmas Lunch came and went, but for a time it was very much in the lap of the Gods as to whether or not it would take place at all. As it was, because of the atrocious weather conditions the date had to be amended and the lunch event took place on December the 18th instead of the 11th. We were very fortunate in that the caterer, the transport and the venue were able to be changed at what was really short notice, although it did mean that some people were unable to attend on the amended date due to previously arranged events, and some were also seriously affected by the bad road conditions. Nevertheless we had a good attendance and everybody thoroughly enjoyed the whole afternoon, which included a very good meal provided by Margaret Coleman, then our always looked forward to Raffle and then, of course there was some lively entertainment to enjoy and participate in. Despite the heavy snowfalls, the bus made good time both in the inward journey and the homeward one, with all looking forward to our next get together.
So we have come to the end of this session and as well as that, we have reached a mile stone in the Rockvale Rebound’s history, for it is now thirty years ago since the first inaugural meeting. Yes, we are now thirty years old and still going strong. Perhaps we are not quite as big in membership as we were around ten years ago, but there are still plenty of people who receive our newstapes and our magazinetapes on a regular basis, and it looks like being that way for a good long time to come. A special thanks goes to Margaret Fitzsimons and Sarah Worthey who hold the posts of Secretary and Treasurer respectively. No organisation can function properly without people to carry out these functions and both Margaret and Sarah do so most diligently. Of course there are many others who give unstinting service, so to these many folk being willing to play their part and carry out the various roles necessary, and there are still three people who were there at that first meeting and a couple more who joined us shortly afterwards, and heaven knows how many have helped out for a time during these years. Therefore, it is an honour for me, as Chairman, to extend my personal thanks to everybody who has contributed in whatever way, for a long or short ime to make the Rockvale Rebound, in my opinion, and I am really not being biassed, the best Talking Newspaper service in Scotland. May God bless you all.
Bobby Simpson M.B.E.
Chairman R.R.T.N.
You can download this report as a word document from our library page.
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