Member of the Wessex Philatelic Federation
EXMOUTH STAMP CLUB NEWS
We have held three Club meetings in our new venue since September – all were well attended with each meeting attracting more members than the previous. It was most pleasing to see new members attending the meetings – to whom we extend a very warm welcome and hope that membership is a beneficial and interesting experience. Extremely interesting talks were presented at the September and October meetings –to those members who agreed to make presentations our thanks are extended for their efforts and for showing some fascinating stamps and related philatelic material. The Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) was held during the October meeting.
The November meeting was an Auction; many items had been acquired, donated and supplied for sale. Most items were sold and realised a useful amount of funds that were put towards keeping the subscription low and running the Club.
During the October meeting an EGM was held as no AGM could be held in July, due to Covid restrictions. Reelection of the Committee had been undertaken previously by mail and e-mail to members, so the EGM was the first opportunity to ratify the results of that election. In case you missed the results reported in the August Newsletter, the Committee membership is now:
| Chairperson | Richard Wakeman |
| Vice-Chairman and Secretary | Ed Elsey |
| Treasurer and Auctioneer | Gerald Smith |
| Packet Secretary | Colin Rogers |
| Webmaster | Jonathan Blood-Smyth |
Covid restrictions uncovered a need to update and revise the Club Rules – these had been worked on by the Committee and were unanimously accepted by members present at the EGM.
The Secretary reported little activity during the last year but promised a full written report at the AGM in July 2022. Contact had been maintained with members going through difficulty or bereavement. Speakers, drawn from both members and visitors, have been engaged for the agreed one meeting per month during the restrictions. No printed programme was practical at this stage but a printed outline of meetings would appear in January for meetings through to July. Liaison with other West of England clubs had been maintained where the Secretary represented members at various Zoom meetings, as invited. Four new members had joined the Club during the ‘difficult year’.
After considerable discussion by Committee it had been decided not to offer a Christmas occasion this year due to continuing uncertainty over any possible pandemic restrictions.
The Treasurer circulated copies of the financial statement to June 2021 [copies available from the Treasurer upon request] showing healthy and efficient deployment of funds. But with a number of small increases in our costs, especially the more expensive but larger and more suitable All Saints Hall, it was felt necessary to increase the subscription, after a decade, to £15. This was approved unanimously by attending members.
All members were invited to submit their unwanted philatelic Items for the November Auction – submission forms are available from the Treasurer. Our respected late member Mick Donaghue was fondly remembered as being a source of a tremendous amount of Auction material in the past.
A DATE FOR YOUR DIARIES – Saturday 2 April 2022
Exmouth Stamp Club will host a STAMP FAIR with six dealers at Temple Methodist Church, Fore Street, Budleigh Salterton, 0930-1600. Please fix this date in your diaries. This should be a stimulating occasion, with bargains!
Details of members’ subject/country interests were again invited for a database, so items received by the Club could be offered to potentially interested members.
The Stamp Fair we are hosting as a Club is fully planned and has received bookings from six dealers – Put the date in the diary – 2 April 2022, at Budleigh Salterton Methodist Church, 10 am to 4 pm.
The Secretary reminded members that logo mugs and teeshirts were available for purchase to assist club funds and that the benefactor who had funded this initiative continued to express interest in the Club activity.
The Webmaster outlined the current website situation and e-mail/computer able members are urged to check it regularly for updates. A West Virginia Public Library had engaged with enthusiasm our website and expressed interest in younger philately members of theirs who would like to engage further. A link has been added to our site.
We wish everyone a very Happy Christmas.
Due to the covid situation and recent restrictions we regret that there will be no Christmas event this year.
Contributors to this Newsletter were Ed Elsey and Richard Wakeman.