Newcastle Emlyn Playground Committee Saved!
10 NEW MEMBERS JOIN AT LAST NIGHT’S SUCCESSFUL AGM
MEETINGS NOW 8PM, 1ST MONDAY OF EACH MONTH, COOPER’S ARMS
The King George V Playing Field Association of Newcastle Emlyn is delighted to report a fantastic turnaround in its prospects, following a bumper annual general meeting (AGM) at the Coopers Arms last night.
The committee, which needed eight members to be constitutionally viable, but would otherwise have been down to just five remaining members as of last night’s meeting, welcomed no fewer than 10 new members to its ranks, making for a total of 15!
“This is fantastic news,” said Sue Tabbitt, the newly elected playground committee chair. “It had looked grim towards the end of last year, as regular members fell away and meetings struggled to achieve quorum. We were in real danger of disbanding. But now we’ve had a great influx of enthusiastic new members, which is just what we needed. There’s a real mix now too, from younger parents to older members who are there to promote the interests of older children and teens.”
An appeal to the local press, and to parents at the school gates, led to a surge of new interest, as the community rallied to ensure the good work would continue. Over the last 2 years, the committee has raised over £100,000 for new equipment for Newcastle Emlyn’s charity-run playground, which receives no council funding.
Robin Moulster, the outgoing treasurer, stood down at the meeting, after over 10 years of dedicated service to the playground committee, to devote more time to other commitments. Pattie Parker-Casemore stepped down as secretary, leaving the committee due to time pressures.
Among those joining the committee as new members were Gareth & Kelly Williams, the landlords of the Coopers Arms, where the monthly meetings are held. Gareth takes up the role of vice-chair, and will be an active fund-raiser in the ongoing development of the playground. Drikje Vingerhoet relinquished the role of chair to become the new treasurer, while new members Rosie and Jason Lilley will share the role of secretary. A new field manager has also been appointed from among the new members.
Councillor Alan Jones, former mayor of Newcastle Emlyn, and a founding member of the playground committee some 28+ years ago, who attended the meeting, was welcomed to the honorary President’s role.
Monthly meetings now take place at 8pm on the first Monday of every month at the Coopers Arms pub near CK’s. The next meeting will be held on Monday 1st March (8pm). Everyone is welcome, and additional members can join at any time.
To contact the committee, call 07814 243054 or 07890 661459 or email: kgv.newcastleemlyn@googlemail.com
