RHODES MEMORIAL HALL (“the Hall”)

From the Chairman of the Trustees

You will all be aware that the Hall has been closed to users since the beginning of the lockdown in March. The Management Committee had hoped that by now the original restrictions would have been eased as a result of which the Hall could have been re-opened, albeit on a restricted basis.

However, the latest restrictions (including notably the “Rule of Six”), which we are told are likely to remain in force until the end of March, have made this impracticable for the foreseeable future.

Under the trust deed governing the management of the Hall, the Management Committee is required to call an Annual Meeting which is open to the public and which is normally held in September. This clearly has not been possible this year.

The business to be transacted at such Annual Meeting is largely formal – the approval of the audited accounts to the previous 31 May, the election of up to three Trustees to serve on the Committee alongside the Trustees nominated by the regular users of the Hall and the election from those Trustees of a Chairman and Treasurer for the forthcoming year. We currently have two elected Trustees, Linda Fergusson-Wood and John Bashford, I am the Chairman and Linda the Treasurer.

There is accordingly a vacancy for a third elected Trustee. If anyone wishes to put themselves forward for this position, I would ask them to contact myself in the first instance and I would be happy to explain to them what this would entail.

Finally, despite the lockdown the Village Hall Lottery continues to operate and remains an important source of funds for us. If you do not already subscribe, details can be found on the village web site under the section devoted to the Hall.

Thank you.

GORDON DAY.