LATEST NEWS...........
The AGM was held in January. Thank you to all who turned out on an icy evening and brought food along to share. We had a great feast and a lovely time to chat after the main business of the evening had completed.
Our President, Marcia, reminded us that we should celebrate we are still one of the 28 Surrey Clubs successfully running; only a few years ago there were more than 50. She thanked members for staying with us and maintaining our numbers. Marcia continued, reporting on all the activities in 2025, highlighting our Sapphire Anniversary Celebrations, our 2 shows, our interesting programme of speakers and demonstrators and our successful club luncheon.
Our Chairman, Janet,reported how much she had enjoyed her current term in office and gave recognition to the support of the committee and members. She was pleased to report on the recent success of her intiative to run a Christmas Wreath making event which gave an excellent boost to club finances and gave us the opportunity to make contacts outside the club which would hopefully encourage new members to join us.
Our Treasurer, Jane, reported finances were healthy with a further increase of income over expenditure, over and above that shown in the previous financial year, which keeps the club in a very stable position. It was proposed and approved that the membership fee stays at £60 per annum and the visitor fee at £8. In terms of charitable giving we raised £102 for St Catherine's Hospice and £105 for the Cat's Protection League through the flower sweepstake.
There were a number of changes in committee members and Club Officers.
- Our Chairman Janet's three year term of Office finished and she expressed how rewarding the experience had been and how much as a club we have achieved together. Enormous thanks for her leadership during this time. Janet now takes up the mantle of President as Marcia completes her term in that role.
- We welcomed Sue Winter into the position of Chairman. Sue has been our Vice Chair, shadowing Janet and is very enthusiastic and looking forward to continuing to build up the club.
- We said a goodbye to Monica Read, who has been on the commitee in one role or another for probably 30 years! We can never thank her enough for all the hard work she has put in over the years to make us into such .3a thriving club. She has now stepped back from being Secretary but thankfully is still sharing her skills and experience on our Show Committee and will continue to be our Area Representative. Janet has been elected into the role of Secretary.
- The other 5 committee members and officers were reelected unapposed and we welcomed a new commitee member - Jackie Earle
COMING UP...............
Our first demonstration of the year on the evening of 3rd February is by Claire Bryant. Claire is a very experienced arranger and has been to our club a number of times. She always produces amazing, imaginative flower arrangements so we are excited to have her back. We look forward to welcoming both returning members and new members. Come and try us out.
Annual Subscriptions are due Tuesday 3rd February
Membership remains at £60 for the year which is excellent value for 12 meetings
You can pay by cash or cheque on the evening and we can also take card and phone payments, or if you prefer you can pay directly into our bank account. Bank details will be provided to current members by email but can be obtained by contacting the Treasurer.
Bring and Buy Table returns in 2026 - 3rd February 'Toiletries and Gift Sets'. Bring along one or two small items eg hand creams, body lotions, shower soaps to sell to raise money for the club. Unsold items can be reclaimed or will be kept for future raffle/tombola prizes.
After a successful year last year we have our Charity Flower Sweepstake running again and are continuing to raise money for St Catherine's Hospice and the Cat's Protection League. Flower names are £1 and when all are sold they will be put into a draw for a potted plant. So don't forget to bring along some cash to buy a flower.