Javea U3A members have elected their executive committee to serve them for the next 12 months.
At the AGM, held at the Parador, President Val Dromgoole was re-elected along with fellow committee members Peter Allin (Vice-President), Mick Cox (Treasurer), David Whybrow (Groups Coordinator), Stan Staines (Membership Secretary) and Ian Rogerson (Communications Officer).
Margaret March was co-opted as Secretary in the absence of a candidate standing for the position.
In her opening speech of her new term, Val said her only objective for the year ahead was the same as last year’s – “to have a friendly, coordinated U3A Javea.”
She said that the committee at times was like a “dysfunctional family” with many lively debates and numerous emails being sent to and fro. She hoped that in the coming year committee members would continue to fulfill their relevant duties to ensure the smooth running of the association.
Membership Secretary Stan Staines reported that there were currently 1,279 members, with 25 renewing and 22 more joining on the day.
Communications Officer Ian Rogerson said it was an exciting time for Javea U3A with the imminent launch of a bright new website and the association’s Facebook page hitting the 500-members mark.
There was a special gift of a bottle of wine for Facebook Friend No. 500, Stephen Ellis, and in his absence, his partner Jo collected the prize on his behalf.
Groups Coordinator David Whybrow announced that there were now 61 Javea U3A groups, including recent additions Australia Canasta, Mexican Train and Electric Bikes. There was also interest in starting a Sign Language group and he appealed for any member expert in the field to come forward and lead it.
Vice-President Peter Allin was delighted to announce that there were speakers booked for every general meeting in 2019 and included talks on cyber security, the adventures of a Concorde pilot and a UN peacekeeper as well as our own Angela Chantry’s insight into the history of Javea. There were also speakers lined up for next year, but he welcomed suggestions from members for more good speakers in the future.
He also urged members to keep an eye on the Discounts List on the website, which was regularly updated and added to.
Treasurer Mick Cox was unable to attend the meeting, but his deputy, Sally Rush, reported that the U3A’s current bank balance was €49,500, which included €18,500 being held for Spanish Culture & Cuisine Group events, Travel trips, charity etc, leaving a healthy reserve of €31,000.
The next U3A meeting will be held on Wednesday April 24 when the speaker will be Ray Bryant with a presentation entitled “Cyber security worldwide”.
