First AGM...good biscuits

Wow - quite impressive! The AGM was well organised, succinct, interesting (guest speaker with experience of serving the client group) and informative.

Apparently this meeting was done differently from previous ones in that routine reports were not read out in entirety. To reduce the length of admin and allow more time for members and trustees to mix and mingle, reports were emailed prior to the meeting and only very briefly summarised. A few key graphs were shown, and any questions taken and discussed. This worked almost too well as, being new, I would have liked to see the information come alive through the people involved.

There was a lovely finger buffet and wine and other drinks, which gave a celebratory atmosphere, and I could see that quite a number of local professionals and public sector people with an interest in the charity's work had been invited as special guests, which I thought a good move.

I was warmly welcomed by one of the trustees who had interviewed me, and I think she and I are going to get along very well. The Chair was very warm and friendly and ensured I knew I could speak to her if I had any problems whatsoever, which was really nice.

I also got to chat with some of the volunteers who work for the charity, who were cheerful and welcoming, a good sign of organisational health, I think! All in all it was a lovely way to join the team.

Oh yes -- no one objected to my nomination, and I was voted in. I'm a trustee!