News Page.

 

SOUTH WEST REGION NEWS.

Mr Geoffrey Hooper

The death of Mr Geoffrey Hooper, Avon (Bristol) DA and President of the SWR, on Friday 5th March 2010. Geoffrey and his wife Dianne were active Avon DA members for many years and many Dorset DA members will have known them well.. The funeral was held on 24th March 2010 and a thanksgiving service took place at St Mary’s Church, Saltford.

Anne Dearling

Previous SWR Secretary. Anne had served as Secretary for many years for the SWR and has now been voted on to the National Council as Chairman of Administration.

John Castro

John Castro has been elected as President for the South West Region. John has had varied roles over the years within the South West Region and was Chairman from 1991 to 1993.

Alan Derrick

Alan Derrick’s 3 year's SWR Chairman has come to an end. Alan’s new role will be as SWR Past Chairman.

Terry Sharpe

Terry Sharpe was elected SWR Chairman on the 8th May 2010.

 

CHAIRMAN’S CHATTER.

June 2010.

 

Well, what a couple of eventful months to say the least!  We have experienced both highs and lows of committee life in a very short period of time.  I would like to ask each and every D.A. member to be mindful that any new committee will take time to settle down and be comfortable in the many roles involved in providing the camping for everyone to enjoy.

During the recent weeks Sue Hampton has taken the decision to stand down from the role of Vice Chairman and from her position within committee.  I thank Sue for her many years of service to the Dorset D.A. as a committee member, covering a variety of roles in that time.   

I would like to welcome Dave Rogers to the role of Vice Chairman.  Rest assured I will be working on your choice of football team every chance I get!

The bank holiday Easter weekend was upon us before we knew it.  I think it is suffice to say that the learning curve at that point was practically vertical.  With a will and a way we got through it and I would like to thank each and every one of you who worked to make both meets a success.  A family bereavement did not allow Dawn and I the opportunity to camp that weekend. 

A quieter weekend at Rowlands Wait was followed by the madness that was our St George’s Meet.  Wow what a weekend.  For some it started on Thursday evening and finished late on Sunday.  Between those days we cooked breakfast for 57, elected a royal subject for the day (Sandra Cripps) and held our garden party with fun and games for all.  This was rounded off by a great night of fabulous entertainment by 2 – Tone in the barn.  Thank you to every committee member present and the numerous D.A. members who worked throughout the weekend to make it such a success.  Our first written words of thanks were in my hand before the end of the meet.

Carringtons followed the next weekend, a bank holiday making sure we had another quiet weekend.  Only 87 units turned up!!  Many thanks to Nigel and Michelle for their tireless efforts in stewarding the meet.  As units arrived they were met by the double act of Michelle and Dawn, followed by the pitching of Nigel and I being joined by his 8 metre fluorescent ‘umbilical cord’.

At the South West Region AGM in early May Terry Sharpe was elected as Chairman for the Region and our congratulations are sent to him.  We wish him every success in his new role.

Hillview Farm – another quiet weekend or so we thought.  An impromptu quiz night on Friday followed by a communal gathering for the FA Cup Final (Chelsea Chelsea – super blues!!) and later the 25th Wedding Anniversary celebrations for Mark and Brenda Elson on Saturday.  Congratulations to you both – enjoy the cruise.  During the evening those present will have enjoyed Shaun’s disco and the later renditions of Alouette and the Woodpecker.  Many thanks to Shaun for the disco and the Lytchett Minster 7’s Rugby Club for the additional entertainment.

We are now looking forward to our 26th Country & Western weekend and I hope to see as many of you there as possible.

Dave Burgess
Chairman
Dorset D.A.

 

Email from south west region.

 

Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2010 10:08 PM

Subject: South West Region Holiday Site

Hi All, just to let you know that the South West Region Holiday Site at Martleaves Farm, Wyke Regis has had to be cancelled. The reason for this is that the owner's wifes illness and he does not feel able to accommodate us this year. Regards Terry.

 

 

CHAIRMAN’S CHATTER .

March 2010.

I would like to start by re-iterating my thanks to those now retired Committee members of the Dorset D.A. who over a number of years have given their time and effort to the benefit of others and Dorset D.A.

For those members not able to attend the AGM, the details of your 2010-2011 Committee members and the roles they undertake are printed on page 2 for your reference. Of the 15 people forming the Committee, 5 are welcomed into the world of D.A. Committee work for the first time and 3 have returned having previously served upon the Committee.

The Dorset Junior Section is back with us, and I would like to thank Allison and Daron Tilley for taking the roles of CCJ Leaders which I know can be very busy at times, certainly on weekend meets when the CCJ are involved.

As with any organisation, there are no doubt times when we may not agree on certain aspects of D.A. life, but I want to assure all of the D.A. members that every effort will be made to ensure that this D.A. provides for its members in every way it can. As a result, I am sure that the Dorset D.A. will flourish and our membership will continue to increase.

Over recent weeks it has come to note that we as a D.A. are lacking in the ability to notify each and every member of the D.A. when changes are made at short notice which impact upon our members. In the past we have taken what opportunities we could to notify D.A. members, but inevitably some did not get the message. This issue was addressed in previous editions of the Dorset Diary.

The quickest and most cost effective manner in which to notify D.A. members would be by email. It is hoped to compile a distribution list of email addresses of D.A. members to resolve these problems. For this to occur, you, the D.A. members, need to provide a current email address for inclusion in the list which needs to be sent to the secretary, details on page 2.

Having given careful thought to the Chairman’s Charity for the coming year, it was announced at the AGM that the Dorset D.A. Chairman’s Charity for 2010 will be Help for Heroes. Dawn and I hold a quantity of various items relating to that charity for sale and would be pleased to sell as many as possible. Among the items are car stickers, pin badges, lapel badges, wristbands and note pads. A collection tin will also accompany the steward’s kit for donations made during flagpole.

It has come to my attention that Geoff Hooper, a very dear friend of the Camping and Caravanning Club has passed away. Our thoughts go out to his wife, Diane.

- Dave Burgess

Chairman Dorset DA