Our constitution requires us to have our AGM in September but this year we wondered how on earth we could hold it safely and complying with the rules/guidance, whatever it is. Some of us have been introduced to Zoom during the pandemic but we were pleasantly surprised to learn from the Boniface Centre officials that we could still hold a meeting there as the AGM was regarded as a ‘business’ meeting. So the Exec decided on a hybrid, offering an actual meeting for those who felt comfortable with that, and the Zoom option for those able to cope with that. Unfortunately, that still left some members unable to take part but there was nothing we could do about that.
As it happened, 15 people attended the Boniface Centre and a further 10 Zoomed, making the total of 25 more than we often get anyway! John Heal had completed the maximum three consecutive years as chair so David Nation (the only volunteer) was elected to succeed him. David gave a vote of thanks to John for his leadership over the last three years and said how fortunate we are to have him as our archivist, a role in which he will continue, and the most knowledgable Crediton historian. John also agreed to become vice chair.
Helena Sykes was re-elected to the Executive, whose remaining membership was unchanged. Helena is now formally our exhibition organiser and Cheryl Lewis becomes officially our education/schools liaison worker. Others on the Exec are Adele Cox, David Dornom, Keith Mortimer (Newsletter editor), Gloria Petherick (treasurer), John Reeves and Tim Sedgwick (secretary),
John Heal said how grateful we are that a number of members who are not on the Exec nevertheless have taken on crucial roles. These include Keith Parsons who runs the Research Corner, Jon Kelsey who does I.T./website stuff, and Tania Hayman, talks organiser. Some will know that Tania suffered serious injuries a couple of months ago when she took on an HGV when crossing the High Street. We send our best wishes to Tania and are pleased to hear that she is on the mend. Before the accident Tania had assembled an excellent programme of talks for 2020/21 but of course, they are all now on hold. It is hoped that the speakers will all be able to attend the next year, assuming normal service resumed by then.