***REMINDER MEMBERSHIP DUES 2024 NOW DUE***

Chairmans Report by Ray Hagger

Our constitution only allows me the Chairman to serve a three-year term and although I am today stepping down as Chairman it does not look like I am being allowed to return to the back benches.

With the support of the entire committee, I am pleased to share some achievements during my Chairmanship which include:

• Re-establishing our link with Saint-Maur-Des Fossés following the winding up of the Adult Exchange Group and 22 of us will be visiting Saint Maur in April. I must thank John Russel and his sub committee in particular Maralyn Green and her friend Danny in Saint-Maur and David Roche,
• A 36% increase in our membership over the last year alone whilst several other Twinning Associations in West Sussex have folded or are struggling to Survive. We now have 75 individual members.
• A new website and blog which is constantly being kept up to date and attracting many visitors and some new members. The Website includes details of all events including our monthly foreign films. I would encourage all members to save to their phone home screen or computer desktop and to visit regularly. Please also feel free to share content with friends or on social media.
• A new interpretation board with the support of the Bognor Regis Heritage & Arts Trust in Place Saint Maur following protracted negotiations with ADC over nearly two years.
• Relocation of a bench donated by our twin town of Weil Am Rhein from a location near the Regis Centre bins the Boule Piste Hotham Park. We are now negotiating with the town council to arrange for the bench to be repainted/stained.

This year at well as visiting Saint-Maur-Des-Fossés, in July we are also hosting visitors from both Weil Am Rhein and Trebbin and we have just formed a sub- committee to organise a programme of activities. If anyone has any suggestions or ideas, please speak to or email Heather or me.

I would also like to recognise the work Bob and Terry have undertaken over the last twenty years through their company Felpham Language Travel Limited in facilitating school visits from our twin town. Sadly the time has come to retire and to close the business but Bob and Terry remain on the committee and I am sure we will find ways to ensure the activities continue and we are also looking for families happy to host our young visitors from our win towns.

Social events continue to be important not just to raise money but to encourage contact and friendship amongst our members. We have planned a full programme for the coming year and Heather has put together a Social Programme which I hope you have bought with you, as she will be talking about it later, and perhaps reflect of some of the key highlights over the last year. I would however like to thank Maralyn Green for hosting the morning of Christmas Cheer, which was well attended, and visitors included our town mayor and of course Santa himself. A wonderful way to end the year.

Attendance at our Foreign films is on the increase and memorable films including “a Yak in the classroom” from Bhutan, and the award winning 2023 “The anatomy of a fall” which has been nominated at this years Global Globe as Best Film. And more recently the German film Blind “Date with Life”, an autobiographical comedy..  I would like to thank Mac Keight for all his efforts in keeping the Foreign Film programme on track.

The German Language group continues to meet monthly and if anyone would like further information, please speak to David Howard whose details are in the social programme. This group is for Fluent Speakers only, and not suitable for beginners.

Since the last AGM I have been appointed the Representative of the British-German Association for West Sussex and to date I have held two online meetings involving most of the British-German Town Twinning Associations in West Sussex. For the first meeting I was able to persuade the deputy head of mission at the German Embassy Ruediger Bohn to speak. I have also met with the Dr Markus Grüneisl, Chief Executive of BMW Group in the UK Managing Director of BMW in the UK followed by the BMW Mini plant at Cowley near Oxford.

Our association continues to remain active and innovative, and we continue to look at ways to encourage a younger membership to ensure the association’s future success. Since Brexit I believe our role as a twinning association is more important than ever to ensure we maintain links with our European partners.

Finally, I would again like to thank all the committee for their support and in particular Heather as Vice -Chairman without whom I could not do this job. I would also like to acknowledge the support of our President Sandra Daniels who is stepping down from the committee at this AGM but remains our President.

Ray Hagger

Chairman, Bognor Regis Twinning Association.

AGM Key Highlights:

• Heather Perrot Elected Chairman
• Ray Hagger Elected Vice-Chairman
• David Roche replaces Roger Leate as Membership Secretary
• Mac Keight Elected to the committee
• All Other Committee Positions Unchanged and members re-elected.
• Sandra Daniels stepped back from the committee but remains our President
• Membership Fee increased to £10 per person (No discount for Couples) - Our first increase for over 10 years.