As I am writing this, we are fast approaching my first season end
as Chairman. I must say that I am enjoying this role more now than
I did back in September. As we have progressed through the season
it has become a lot more fun, a fact that I attribute to you, the
members, for your warm support.
I have learnt a lot in this first term. I am very pleased to have
seen the club continue to grow and we are seen, from other club's,
as a model to which any club would aspire.
Over the year we have attracted some new faces. They are, as always,
welcome and we look forward to seeing them and their work in the future.
If I were to list a few things to improve upon I think
they would be as follows:
- To spread the visiting speakers across the full season
We seem to have had all our visitors at the early part of the year
and few later on. This has meant that the variety has fallen away
in the recent weeks.
- More practical work
We exist because we MAKE films (it's in the club name!). I would
like to see more time spent practising techniques and experimenting
in future. I will return to this point later.
- Utilise Club Talent
It is quite clear to me we have a number of talented people in the
club that we could, if they were willing, use as a resource of knowledge
and expertise.
These are just a few things I might consider for the future. I probably
could go on about this for hours but there is only so much we can
do at any one time. Changes to the programme are inevitable and speakers
sometimes let us down. That happens and there is little we can do
about it. However I can assure you that your committee take the issue
of the programme very seriously and it is the constant topic of discussion
- and an onerous task to prepare. So many thanks to Mark, Francis
and Mike for their tremendous efforts on this front.
I have a couple of ambitions, which I would like to share with you.
One is that we MAKE a lot more films together. We have started this
process and I am very pleased how you have thrown all your enthusiasm
into the Daily Newspaper project. I do hope we all have a lot of fun
making our 6 sections - I can hardly wait to see the result!
The other is that we introduce some external judging to our competitions.
I had hoped to do this for the Bournes Cup but we left things a little
late. I welcome our democratic format and would continue with this
but for a couple of events it would be nice to get some objective
views and critique.
Early in the season Calum Macfayden had to stand down as Treasurer.
Peter March stepped into that role and I would publicly like to thank
him for taking this on.
An excellent and willing committee also supports me. They bring enthusiasm
and experience to the table and I warmly acknowledge all their support
and effort on the Club's behalf.
I will offer myself for re-election at the AGM on 14th May. I look
forward to another season and, finally, would thank each and every
member for their support, advice and criticism, as only all this will
enable me to continue to seek ways of helping to make Reading Film
& Video Makers an even better club than it already is.
Best wishes for the summer to you and all your families.
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