On behalf of the Committee, I would like to welcome you all to our 2021 Perkins Long Service Club AGM and sincerley thank each of you for taking the time to attend.

This is a rather unusual time to hold our AGM but we wanted to hold it as soon as we were able, given that the 2020 AGM could not take place.

The last eighteen months has clearly been a struggle for most people both physically and mentally but more so for the elderly population. COVID has affected everyone in some way, shape or form with many ultimately losing their lives through the pandemic. So, seeing you here tonight makes us all the more grateful.

With the onset of the virus and the ever-changing restrictions imposed on the nation, the Committee have continued to hold our monthly committee meetings albeit through virtual means and for some this has been a steep learning curve! As previously mentioned, we were unable to hold our AGM last year and therefore the Committee agreed for me to continue as President for a third term, something else not seen in the history of our Club!

From a personal point of view, I took early retirement at the end of November last year, almost 12 months ago, however with the continued COVID restrictions I was unable to take advantage of not going into work, although the wife did! All the jobs in and around the house have been completed, much to her satisfaction. I suppose this has been the case for many.

During my tenure I have maintained discussions with our Patron, David Goldspink ensuring he is up to date and supportive of any proposals or decisions made by the Committee. Our membership continues to be a talking point although total member numbers are similar to last year. The one thing David, the Committee and I remain keen to do is to improve our current employee membership numbers which currently sit at approximately 8% of the total membership. You will see one of the motions tonight is another step in helping us to achieve this and I hope you will all support this motion later this evening.

2022 is a special year for the Company – its 90th Anniversary and therefore we are working with company representatives to see how PLSC may be able to collaborate with them given our 60th Anniversary. I hope we can bring you more news at a later date as we work together to define a mutual plan.

I have been proud to hold this office over the last three years, however I know I will be handing over to a safe pair of hands, in Garth Perry. The Committee have also once again been tireless in their support of this club and given the restrictions and changes to what can and cannot take place, from an events perspective, during the pandemic has not been easy. Every Committee member gives their time and support without question and so I hope you will join me in thanking them for all their continued hard work.

With this in mind may I also remind you that we are continuing in our quest to find new committee members to take some of the burden, but also to develop new ideas which, in turn will hopefully bring in new members and an enhanced offering to our current membership. Following my previous letter to you all we do have one new proposed committee member Bill Guest with whom I have worked with for many years at Perkins and one who I believe will add real value to the committee and our club.

While discussing the committee I would also like to take this opportunity to thank two people, who unfortunately have decided to step down from the committee – Firstly Jill Afford, who resigned earlier this year. Jill has been a staunch supporter of the PLSC for over twenty years and has held a number of posts within the Committee over that time including President on two occasions. I would like to thanks Jill for all her hard work and dedication over the years and wish her all the very best going forward. Secondly, our current Treasurer, Martin Thompson has also decided not to stand for another term and will resign from the Committee at this AGM. Again, I would like to thank Martin for the excellent work he has done to maintain our finances over the years and wish him well for the future. In relation to Martin I would also like to thank Laurence Dobney for continuing to provide his expertise in ensuring we remain true in our finances as our auditor. Thank you, Laurence.

Within the AGM tonight we will be reviewing various reports that cover both 2019 and 2020, although as you all know 2020 was pretty much written off in terms of any activities and events, something Bob will be covering later in the meeting.

On one last note from me please be reminded that our 60th Anniversary Celebration Annual Dinner is to take place on Friday 13th May 2022 at the Holiday Inn all being COVID well. This will be a very special occasion and I recommend as many attends as possible.

Many thanks again for being here and listening intently to my report.

Please be safe and I hope to see you all at our next AGM or Annual Dinner.

Adrian Talbot