Society Matters

From the A.G.M.

Annual Report

Conforming with the new requirements of the Charity Commission, SCARS produced a formal, printed Annual Report to its AGM this year. Members who have not received a copy of this may apply to the Secretary for one. It was a useful exercise in itself, drawing together the different areas of work and involvement of the Society, but we hope that it has also been a useful document for those whom it has reached.
Any suggestions for improvements, or additions, would be welcomed.

Elections

At our AGM on March 26th, the Revd. David Long was re-elected as Chairman, Peter Keen was elected as Secretary, and Cynthia Greenall was re-elected as Treasurer. Retiring Secretary Steve Freeman was thanked for the years of work and commitment he had given SCARS since taking over as Secretary from Dr John Handley.

With Peter Keen being elected as Secretary, his position on the Executive became vacant, and Steve Freeman was elected to take his place. The three Executive members who were retiring after their three-year period of office, Richard Chester-Browne, Colin Greenal, and Bill Highcock, had been nominated for re-election, and were duly elected by the Meeting.

Sponsorship Cash Presentation

Following the formal Society business, a cheque for the £450 raised through the joint Sponsored Walk along the Sankey in September was presented to the Mayor of St Helens, Cllr. John Mealor, for his Appeal - the St Helens and Knowsley Hospice.

SCARS on the Internet

The Mayor and Mayoress, Mrs Doreen Mealor, showed their interest in the Sankey and the Society by staying on for the remainder of the evening's proceedings. This was in two parts - the first being a showing of the the Environmental Agency's Video "A CLEAN START". This is an account of the clean-up work being carried out at the site of the former sugar works at Earlestown. SCARS provided some useful archival material which assisted in the making of the video.
This was followed by the formal launch of the SCARS Website. The Chairman, on whose Internet site the SCARS Website is hosted (address on the front of this Newsletter), introduced the subject, and then Executive Member David Nilsson demonstrated what could be found on the site through some up-to-date computerised audio-visual equipment. Dave and his wife have been updating the SCARS site for this launch, and links exist across from their pages to the Chairman's. Thanks to computer wizardry, however, anyone visiting the site would not know that they were being transferred across cyberspace as they downloaded material.
From the reactions following the presentation, it became evident that many were still unaware of the great potential there is for Societies like SCARS in being able to publish its material across the world through the Internet, but they are learning.

Richard Chester-Browne

Whilst taking part in a Land Rover Rally parade near Milton Keynes in June, Executive Member Richard was taken ill with a stroke. Colin and Cynthia Greenall happened to be holidaying on the canals in that area at the time, and were able to visit him in the local hospital. Thanks to the canal "Towpath Telegraph" - and the Internet - support for his wife Pam was organised, and reports on his progress were broadcast to his many friends and contacts in the waterways world.
At the end of the month, Richard was transferred to Warrington General Hospital, where his recovery is continuing.
We send Richard our best wishes for a full recovery, and assure Pam of our support and friendship at this time.

Membership

A welcome to the families of the following existing Members,
who have uprated their Subscriptions :

John Clay Staines
David Terry St. Helens
Mrs JA Jones Warrington
Mrs Patricia Heighway Basingstoke
Mr P Clough St Helens

...and a welcome back to Steven Parker of Bolton, who has rejoined SCARS.

Advance Notice

Subscriptions Increase. At the AGM it was agreed that there should be a rise in Subscriptions from January 1st 1999. The Fee for Individual Membership will rise to £6, with corresponding increases to the Fees for other Classes of Membership.

A NEW SCARS CARAVAN

After many months' searching, the Society has recently purchased a "new" Sales Caravan. It is a Swift Pirouette [I hope it doesn't do that under tow - Ed.] - not the latest model, but a considerable improvement on the previous one, thanks to up-graded facilities and new furnishings. It should provide a comfortable base for our Exhibition and Sales Staff as they carry on their vital work of flying the SCARS flag at Shows, Festivals and Rallies around the region and beyond.

The old caravan will not be retired just yet. The cost of hiring a marquee at the IWA's National Waterways Festival at Salford Quays (August 28th - 31st) is so high that we cannot afford it, so we will be using the old caravan as our Exhibition stand, whilst the Greenalls use the new one as their living accommodation on the caravan site.

Special Offer - whilst stocks last - we have a number of commemorative brass plaques dating from the 1995 SCARS Rally at Spike Island still in stock. These are now offered at half-price - £2.50p, plus postage of 40p. Apply to the Treasurer if you want to order one.

An Apology from the Chairman (and "CUTTINGS" Editor)

My apologies for there being such a delay in the production of this Newsletter that it is being sent out too late to justify being called a "Spring" Issue. I'll try to do better in future.

Issue 3.11 Index
Contact address: www@scars.demon.co.uk