Chair’s report to AGM
The Chair’s report given at the AGM of the Association on Thursday 14th March was as follows:
Following on from the high tempo of activities undertaken by the association in the year up to March 2023 the chair wishes to express his gratitude to all of the many local residents who made this year from April 23 to Mar 24 an even busier and more successful year in terms of helping to alleviate the impacts of isolation and poverty as a result of the current ‘cost of living’ crisis.
The regular events run by the association (Soup Friday and Toasty Tuesday) have gone from strength to strength and the distinct teams closely involved in the hard work required to maintain these events should be congratulated.
Additionally, a multitude of events have been planned and delivered by many members of the local community. The year began with Springfest organised by Jess (Jessica Falconer) and Jen (Jen Gallier) in April funded by Fife Council Anti-poverty group. In May Susan Jack and the Soup lunch team put on an incredibly well attended and received Coronation Soup lunch. Throughout the school summer and October holidays the Memorial Hall was able to distribute free lunches to anyone who wanted one every Tuesday and Thursday for the duration of the holidays. Saturday 12th August saw a very well attended Gateside Summer BBQ event. The Summer BBQ was the first major fund-raising event in support of the recently formed Gateside Association subcommittee ‘The Gateside Park Redevelopment Fund Raising Group’ and raised ~£350. The Gateside Coffee and Crafts event organised by Jess, Laura and Agnes followed in October. In recognition of all of the volunteers working hard to support the local community a Thank You event was run in late November and then 2023 was said farewell to during a well-attended family Hogmanay evening where the expected collapse of all the children in attendance by 10pm never happened and all present saw out the year together. In recent months the Toasty Tuesday event has facilitated the Memorial Hall Poppy Mosaic project funded by the Fife Heids and Hearts charity.
This year the efforts that have been put into improving communication with all members of our dispersed community have seen great success in terms of increased reach electronically and physically thanks to the help of our area representatives delivering leaflets (composed by Jane Macnaughton) to every dwelling within our area of responsibility.
Main Road – Derek Thomson
Bower Park – Carol Bernard
Dryside – Angus Nelson
Burnside – Valerie Weir
Perth Rd – Fay Orr
Gateside Mill – Gill Walker
Cowiefaulds – Kim Beattie
Old Town – Gill Pettigrew
Wellfield - Diane
Fundraising efforts have raised £6,600 from grant-giving bodies for events and improvements and a further £5,200 has been raised by the community itself. Hall hire was an important part of this and long-term hires from Glenfarg Folk Club, Gateside Music Society, the Scottish Cavey Club, Fife Pony club, and the Kinross Craft Circle had been particularly important.
In last year’s report the chair pointed out that a great deal of effort in maintaining funding sources, running events and generally engaging with the local community was carried out by a small number of very busy volunteers. By far the greatest success this year for the District Association has been the growth in numbers of members of the community becoming involved in activities delivered by the association.
Engagement with families containing young children has increased significantly over the last 12 months. However as mentioned by Andrew Macnaughton in his chair’s report last year the ability of the association to engage with and support teenagers in the local area still remains a significant challenge and one which it is hoped the association can improve through the remainder of 2024 into 2025.
In closing, the chair recognises that there are a great many people who have contributed to the community of Gateside District over the last 12 months which this report is by necessity too concise to mention and he wishes to extend the Association’s deepest gratitude to everyone who has in any way given freely of their precious time to help in the continued health of this extremely vibrant and kind hearted Scottish village population.