Reading Film and Video Makers

As I am about to start my third and final term as Chairman I find myself in reflective mood.

One is the success and debate caused by our summer project last year. It was, by no means, a perfect exercise but it did get most of the club members outside making films - that has to be a BIG WIN! The group format seems to have gone down well and allows the less experienced to learn from the others. Such was the success of this we have repeated the group format for the past few months as the "Every Picture Tells a Story" project is put to the test.

The other must be the quality and quantity of entries we have had for the competitions. The one-minute list of 13 entries was a record but even that falls well short of the 21 received for the Bournes Cup. As they say, size is not everything, but the entries have had excellent quality as well. At the recent St. Andrews Fellowship evening this was mentioned to me by several people in the audience. Indeed, reflect back to some of the showreels we have seen at the club. RFVM could hold their standard as a model for all to aspire towards on that measure alone.

One sad event during the summer recess was the sudden death of John Montague. I have paid my tribute to him later in this magazine.

To continue to encourage the members we will be announcing some changes and new awards for next season. The Committee are discussing some of the finer details now, so watch this space for news.

The past year's programme has been excellent. It has had variety, good speakers, and has gone without a hitch. I would like to publicly thank Mark Chapman and Francis Crossley for their efforts in co-ordinating this important part of the club's role. Mark has recently changed his job and is unable to have a great input to the 2003/4 programme. I am most grateful to Mike Wilding, new on Committee this year, who has taken this on, with help from Francis and Mark, and has added some new ideas to the events.

We remain solvent thanks to good management and expert handling of the finances - thanks to Peter Marsh. We even made a small surplus in 2002/3. However we must consider the future and when our valuable equipment finally decides to give up. Some is quite new but perhaps the most important item, the VCR, is quite ancient and unique these days. One day this will HAVE to be replaced. We will need a new income source to do this and keep our healthy bank balance in top condition to do this. Soon we must decide and embark on another Caversham Remembered type video. This should be a focus in the coming 12 months.

I would like to pay tribute to all the Committee who have supported me through another year and enthusiastically volunteered for tasks when necessary. There is not one that has not contributed in some significant way to the interests of the Club and it's members. I also welcome Mike Wilding to the Committee table.

I do feel that change, and continued evolution, is good for this club. In this respect it will be my intention to stand down at the 2004 AGM. I hope we can find someone that is prepared to "have a go" and take up the helm. Whoever that is I promise them some hard work, loads of enjoyment, bucket loads of pride and my support.

Best wishes to you all

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