New S&D AGM 2016

HURN

FRIENDS OF THE S&D

The next AGM of the New Somerset and Dorset Railway will be on 16 January 2016 at the Avon Causeway Hotel, Hurn near Bournemouth, from 1.30pm to 4pm.

This is a very important meeting as we shall be looking at bringing in a lot more committee members and volunteers - if you care about the S&D it will definitely be the time to start making a difference!

The New S&D will be just short of 7 years old in January 2016. We own Midford and are of course cosmetically restoring Spetisbury. I've been Chair since the group formed in 2009, prior to that I was a committee member holding several posts at Midsomer Norton. I shall be stepping down as Chair at the start of the AGM as I simply no longer have the time to do anything outside of promotion, a role I hope to retain! I'd originally announced I'd be officially retiring as Chair in August 2016 but events have simply caught up with me (as anyone who's been following The Rail Thing will realise!) So if you feel you have the skill set needed for this role please let us know!

The venue is a Pullman coach at the site of the former Hurn station on the Ringwood to Christchurch line, which closed in 1935. There's still plenty of railway interest there so worth a visit just for that. We've always allowed non-members to attend meetings including the AGM, but not to vote of course.

We have two main vehicles for S&D activity on the route - The New Somerset and Dorset Railway and Wessex Links Ltd. It may be that we need to redefine each part's focus, so there's a lot to discuss.

It's important that anyone planning to attend give us notice of attendance as the venue's owner needs to know numbers. Food and drink will of course be available at the Avon Causeway (highly recommended!) and if more than 10 want to eat before the meeting we will need to pre-book the meals.

So would ALL members please email me on leysiner@aol.com to let me know if you are coming or not - non-members should also let me know if you are planning to come just so we have some idea of numbers.