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Annual Report
Final AGM July 8th 2010

This is the last Chairman’s report of the Craster Memorial Hall, which has now been subsumed, together with the Craster Community Development Trust, into the Craster Community Trust, which held its first meeting last month.

Once again the year has been a quiet one, while the interim committee waited for the new constitution to be brought to fruition.  The traditional bookings have continued largely unchanged, and the biggest success story of the year remains the “Browse-in”, a drop-in coffee morning run by a rota of volunteers every Saturday morning providing a venue both where locals can meet and socialise, and visitors can obtain a cup of tea or coffee.  It has become a regular feature of village life, and the community owes a considerable debt of gratitude to Mrs Clark and her team for having set it up, and to all those who have helped out to make sure it continues to flourish.  Despite the opening of the Shoreline café in the period under review, the “Browse” has raised some £3000 for Hall funds which has been most welcome; but almost more important has been the focus that it has provided for the members of the community – and in particular the older members.

There has been a further most welcome bequest of £1,000 to the Hall’s funds and we should record our gratitude for this most generous gesture.  We hand over to the new trust a robust financial foundation, on which they will be able to take forward the essential refurbishment the Hall so urgently needs.  I would like to take this opportunity to extend the thanks of the committee to the Hon Treasurer for her untiring efforts to obtain the best deal for the Hall - wherever that deal might be found.

It has been a very lean administration indeed that has run the Hall for this last year.  Personal circumstances have meant that those who remained have not always had as much time available as they might have wished to devote to the Hall, but an indication of what can be achieved was the extremely successful Christmas Bingo evening at the end of 2009 masterminded by Michael Robson and his team.  There is no doubt of the value of the Hall as a venue if the events list is right!

It was to make the most of that potential that the decision was taken to merge the 2 Trusts.  In saying farewell tonight to the old structures I would like to say a huge thank you to all those who over so many years, and in some cases generations, have done so much for the Hall whether as Trustees or Executive Committee members.  The fact that the Hall is hosting this meeting tonight is an indication of its pivotal role in the life of the community, and a tribute to all the hard work and commitment that you have shown.

Michael Craster
Chairman

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