Essex Society for Family History
Annual General Meeting 15 September 2007
Chairman’s Report
My year as your new Chairman started very badly with the news of the loss of our Treasurer, Brenda Leach. When she gave her apologies for the AGM last year, none of us realised how serious her illness would turn out to be. Much has been said and written about Brenda that I will not repeat today. I will just say that she gave great service to this Society and she has been much missed.
We are grateful to her husband John who kept the accounts going while we found a new Treasurer. In the event, it was into the Spring before Ron Knights came forward and we decided that he would pick up the reins in April with John completing the 2006/07 accounts. Unfortunately, it has taken John rather longer than he had hoped to complete that task.
The Family History world continues to evolve at a fast pace. Essex, along with every other Society, is faced with challenges. As more and more material appears on the internet, we are finding that sales of our books, fiche and discs are significantly reduced. There is also a downward trend in our total membership. The data that we release through Family History On Line gives us a significant income although it is not as great as the falls from other sources. The Federation is now sub-contracting the running of this site, to FindMyPast, so we may find that income improves. Adding more data will also help. Transcriptions of Christening registers are being made with the Branch at Colchester is leading the way. The Harlow Branch is also producing useful transcriptions. We need more volunteers will always be welcome to speed that task.. There is no reason why those volunteers should not come from anywhere in the world because we can easily provide images for transcription and accept the results in a variety of forms. We intend soon to make these transcriptions available in the Research Room through a database similar to the existing Burial and MI facility. That continues itself to grow and all of the data will boost our presence on Family History On Line. Our thanks are due to all who have contributed.
A major step forward this year has been the upgrading of our Surnames Interest Register that now allows all members to manage their own entries through secure internet access. I believe that this is a facility that leads the world. I know of no other Society with such a system. Our congratulations and thanks are due to Adrian Stockton who has set up the facility, ably supported by Colin Smith. The system includes new arrangements to ensure that people without internet access can still use our Surnames Interest database. That system is working smoothly.
During the year, Adrian has also given us a secure on line Membership System. This is of great benefit to our Officers who need to maintain and update our Society records.
We have presented a public face at various events, both local and national. We have been in attendance at a number of Family History Fairs and other events such at the Essex History Fair at Braintree. ESFH was well represented at the biggest event ever in the Family History world, the ‘Who Do You Think You Are – Live’ event at Olympia in May.
We have continued to participate in a number of history discussion forums including the Federation of Family History Societies, the East Anglian FHS Group, Essex Archive Users Group and Essex Archaeological and Historical Conference. We have again supported the Victoria County History of Essex Appeal Fund with a significant donation and we have made our usual award to postgraduate student at the University of Essex. This year it will support research on Rowhedge and Wivenhoe
A particular series of events that deserve a mention is the Essex Library Family History sessions that were held around the county in the Spring and supported by our members. I was able to attend some of these events with the West Essex Branch. As well as helping a lot of people, we were able to recruit a number of new members.
We have continued to plan, with Suffolk FHS, for Conference 2008, ‘The Way We Were? The event will be held at the University at Wivenhoe next August. Bookings are already coming in.
Our regular meetings, of Branches as well as at headquarters here in Chelmsford, continue to attract healthy audiences to listen to a wide range of interesting talks.
I was please to support the Open Day in February organised by the Branch in Colchester. During the day, a new CD was released containing Transcriptions from the Colchester Extra Mural Parishes.
At Southend, I shared in the celebration of the 15th birthday of the Branch in December. I wish the Branch at Saffron Walden well as they are forced to again change their venue.
Two Branch Chairman have just retired.
Beryl Godwin has come to the end of her five year stint. Thank you, Beryl, for all that you have done for the Society during your term of office.
Ron Bean, who has been so instrumental in establishing the Southend Computer Group over the past three years, is being obliged to stand down for health reasons. Well done and thank you Ron. I know that you have had a few challenges to overcome. I trust that your health will improve soon.
We welcome their successors, Heather Feather and Laurie Page who will join the Executive Committee.
Local Branches exist to make Society events available across the County. I would like to remind everyone that we are all members of Essex SFH and not of individual Branches. We are all entitled to attend any Branch, wherever the interest takes us. Let us not forget that those of us who live in or close to Essex are able to meet and share our interest, but the majority of our membership live far away and cannot get to any of our meetings. For them, their contact with the Society is through our Journal, commended this year by the Elizabeth Simpson Award Panel and our Web Site, again placed third in the eyes of the Federation judges. Thanks and well done Fred Feather, Dave Wells and Colin Smith. While increasing numbers of our members have internet access and can use our web site, we do know that there are still many who do not. We continue to do our best to cater for our whole membership.
I must take this opportunity to draw your attention some procedural matters. During the last year, we have realised that the decision we made some years ago that Branch Chairmen should be co-opted to the Executive, severely limits our ability to co-opt further to fill vacancies. We have also had a new situation that has questioned the advisability of Executive members becoming Vice Presidents. I am recommending that we look again at our Constitution, to make amendments, to be approved by the Charities Commission, and to bring it back to the AGM next year for adoption.
With the loss of sales opportunities and the decline of membership it is time to look again at the level of the annual subscription. This has not changes for about 15 years.
Our Constitution states, at paragraph 4. c:
“Subscriptions shall be payable at the time and at the rate determined by the Executive Committee”.
The Executive Committee intends to consider the matter and to announce any change by the time of the AGM next year
And finally I would like to thank everyone from across the County and beyond who has contributed to the running of our Society, including those who support our Research Room and all the others too numerous to mention by name.
John Young
14 September 2007