Chairperson Cllr. Glenda Powell welcomed some 35+ members to the Annual General Meeting held on Wednesday 23rd January in the Assembly Room at The Town Hall, Hereford. She was also delighted to welcome the Lord Lieutenant, Sir Thomas Dunne, and the Deputy Mayor, Cllr. Kevin Wargen, as our special guests, as well as Inspector Bob Barnett, West Mercia Constabulary (Hereford) Liaison Officer.
In her Annual Report, Cllr. Powell said that there are at present some 500+ Co-Ordinators within the County of Herefordshire. (Perhaps, the attendance figure should have been a little higher!). She was pleased to announce that funding is now available to the Association, a fact that should greatly enable the Committee to improve communication between the Committee and Co-ordinators. A more rapid spreading of news through newsletters, e-mails, roadshows, the website and other means as they become available will be covered by this fund. The money is split between a Current Account and a Savings Account.
For the duration of the Election of the new committee Inspector Barnett took the Chair. He expressed his vote of appreciation to the past committee and thanked all its members for their faithful work in building up the background of the Herefordshire Neighbourhood Watch Association.
The Election of the New Committee brought the following results:
Chair ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `- Cllr. Glenda Powell
Vice-Chair ` ` ` ` `- Mr. John Yelton
Secretary ` ` ` ` ` - Mrs. Joan Thwaites
Treasurer ` ` ` ` ` - Mrs. Maureen Parsons
Committee Members - Mr. Michael Burke
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `- Mr. David Starling
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `- Mr. Sidney Draper
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `- Mr. Brian Dukes
After the Election, Cllr. Powell took the Chair again.
The Lord Lieutenant, Sir Thomas Dunne, in an often humorous way, traced the concept of Neighboorhood Watch back to the time of Henry VIII.
The Deputy Mayor, Cllr. Kevin Wargen, brought apologies from the Mayor of Hereford, Cllr. Chris Chappell who was unfortunately detained from attending. He expressed the Council's concerns regarding Anti-Social Behaviour, he enlarged on the value of Neighbourhood Watch to the community and thanked all co-ordinators for their hard and important part they play in keeping Hereford safe.
Inspector Bob Barnett gave a PowerPoint presentation of the Structure of Herefordshire Neighbourhood Watch.
A 'Question & Answer' period brought out some of the concerns co-ordinators and members have:
@@ A better location for next year's A.G.M.;
@@ Improvement of co-ordinators' involvement;
@@ Improved communications;
@@ Getting children and young people involved in Neighbourhood Watch through visits to schools, youth organizations, youth groups and others;
@@ Text Messaging facilities;
@@ Publicising Neighbourhood Watch in the local media.
In her final remarks Chair, Cllr. Glenda Powell, spoke of optimism that with the funding available communication will improve. |
