Dear Neighbour
Stourpaine Village Hall and the adjacent playing fields are a great asset to our village in many ways. There are regular clubs and activities held there as well as events like the Jubilee and Coronation events and The Annual Garden Club Show. The Big Breakfasts are a lovely social gathering held a few times a year. It is home to the Tennis Club and used by many people for informal recreation and is available for football games. There is always potential for developing more activities and facilities. The hall and pavilion are also available for hire for family parties, weddings, art shows, poetry events, yoga retreats, etc. etc. The hall rental forms the main income source of funding for running and maintaining the facilities.
The Village Hall and Playing Fields are managed by a management committee of volunteer trustees. This is where I am asking for your help. Most of the volunteers have to leave the committee this year, either because they have served the maximum term allowed by our scheme of governance of 6 years, or for other personal reasons.
We need to elect 4 to 6 new committee members at the AGM on 8th November.
Please consider being one of them. Serving on the committee is not a very onerous or time-consuming task and I have found it to be a rewarding one. Having recently moved to the village I found it a great way to get to know some lovely people in the village and make friends. Working together in a team to put on events has been fun, it is lovely to see people enjoying each others’ company. Committee meetings are held every 4-6 weeks and required tasks are shared by the committee members.
We also need someone to be a Booking Administrator, this could be a committee member or someone separate. Although this is a volunteer position, a payment can be made to cover expenses such as phone and computer costs. It involves answering enquiries, taking bookings, liaising with the meet-and-greet team and managing payments.
The hall is kept clean and in good order by a team of volunteers. A small group of people meet-and-greet hall hirers. There is also a dedicated group who maintain the grounds and cut the grass. More people are needed for these teams so that the task is not too onerous for each person on the team.
The committee has run the Big Breakfasts with help from others, therefore more volunteers will also be needed for this, from November. This is a fundraiser for the Village Hall but could be run by a team of volunteers, rather than the committee itself.
Please let me know if you would like to volunteer for any of these teams if they would suit you rather than being a committee member.
If we cannot recruit new committee members, I am not sure what will happen to The Hall, Playing Fields and the activities held there. I am being very honest with you when I say that the current situation is very serious, and your Village Hall really does need you!
There are application forms and information about the committee and Booking Administrator roles on the Village Hall website:
- Vacancy – Stourpaine Village Hall – Bookings Administrator – Stourpaine Village Hall and Playing Fields
Notice of the AGM being held on 8th November can also be found on the website:
If you would like to discuss any of the above further, please contact me on mags.price@hotmail.com or 07538 142491, or speak to any of the existing committee members:
- Julie Dunk
- Blue Donnebaer
- Graham Spittle
- John Gardner
- Scott Norman
I look forward to hearing from you, and seeing you at the AGM.
Margaret Price
Chair, Stourpaine Playing Fields and Village Hall Association