To all Freesia supporters – from Elaine, 02.03.11 – Resignation as President - 2006 to 2010
Hi fellow Freesians– first of all I officially tender my resignation as Freesia Group President after my maximum 5 years allowed in office (as ruled in our own constitution/ Generalitat by which all charity organisations in Cataluña are governed). I would like to say a huge thanks to the 2010/2011 committee (and all previous committees), in particular to Pam who is also stepping down after more than 6 years in office having done an incredible job, and to Paul for his continuous enthusiasm and constant support. The same goes to the rest of the team (especially the “posh pikey’s”, Jennifer & Patricia) to Mike and to each and every one of you here today (or not) who in a large or small way has helped to bring the Freesia Group to where it is today – a well respected, highly organised charity group dedicated to raising monies for cancer charities in Spain. I would also like to thank Trevor Wringe (who can’t be here due to a double booking) who has proved himself to be an absolute gem and his team in El Perelló who have made a significant difference to our results over the recent years, in particular Liz who has just stepped down as secretary after a long internship and John Houghton (treasurer)who is here with us today.
Jointly we have raised more than 200,000 Euros in 10 amazing years and during that time have raised the profile of the “foreign community” to such a high level not only in Salou but also in the province of Tarragona. The British Consulate and the Town Hall just to name 2, regularly approach us as the “oracle” of the area for the ex-pat community. Each and every one of you has contributed to this in some way or another and I personally feel VERY proud of our joint achievement and everybody else associated with the group should feel the same way. I am also very protective of the Freesia Group name and the results we have achieved to date – shared by others I know!
After being involved from the beginning and serving on the committee for over 8 years I hope you all understand why I feel it is SO important that we continue to move forward from here and develop the group in a positive, forward looking manner. I have total confidence in the person I have proposed to succeed me – our Vice President, Paul Davies, he isn’t me (can’t multi-task to save his life) but has many admirable qualities, abilities and experience to bring to the role. I am very happy to stay on the committee for now to see Paul through the transition period in the months ahead and have already let the committee know that I am happy to be seen as the main contact for Spanish/ Catalan companies and organisations for the foreseeable future. I will also continue to do the accounts until somebody steps-up to take that over and of course the publicity and of course the Fun Run for this year…….
We have also been very fortunate to finally find a person who can take the secretarial workload off Pam – Maria Dickens has been working with us in the background for a while, has excellent secretarial/organisational/computer skills and is tri-lingual – I hope she will be confirmed today , she knows she has some huge boots to fill!
Okay – official part over, there are a few things I would like to say…………
Any organisation can only exist successfully if it works together in harmony, I feel the Freesia Group today is living proof of that. The committee works well together, there is no animosity, fighting for power or using the group as a vehicle to gain personal power and recognition as has happened in the past both here and in El Perelló. Not only does this negative force work against us, it has almost brought the group to it’s knees on several occasions, we now know that the group will always carry on and that no 1 person is invincible or irreplaceable, I am sure this will continue to be the case. I also know that some of you are aware of the 1.000’s of hours of input that it has taken to get the organisation to this stage and that it has often been at great personal cost especially to myself and Pam. As long as I am involved with the group I will fight tooth and nail to make sure that the group continues to exist in an harmonious manner. I will do everything I can to make sure that we achieve our objective and keep remembering that we are about “raising monies for cancer charities in Spain”.
This doesn’t apply just to the committee but to anyone involved in the group at any time. It saddens me to see personal relationships infringing on the groups’ efforts and bringing the name of the Freesia Group into personal disputes or allowing personality clashes to affect and negate our tremendous efforts. We have a GREAT reputation that we need to uphold, if anyone knocks the group or has a snipe, I hope every one of you will always stand up for the good it does and remind the negative “knockers” of this. Sometimes this comes from lack of understanding of what we do – please take the time to explain, sometimes from miss-understanding – please put them right and sometimes it is just plain “mala leche” – sour grapes – if these people weren’t having a go at the group it would be some other unfortunate soul at the receiving end. This is even sadder when it is somebody from within our own group – we can always differ in our opinions but it doesn’t ever need to become personal.
The social side of our group has become very important over the years and I know for many new-comers to the area it is the only group they hear of to get to know the local folks. Please make them feel welcome, don’t let them feel the group is a “clic”, when they come to the lunches/meetings or events, please try and put yourself in their shoes and spend 5 mins. with them., don’t leave this just to the committee who are busy doing other things and sometimes even finding time to eat! We are part of a local community and can often help to ease the way for newcomers, working hand in hand with other organisations such as the jumble sale group, golf society etc etc.
I know I will sound like a broken record here – the committee doesn’t receive a salary, they only have so many hours and they do have jobs and lives of their own. They do have an elected responsibility but they already do SO much. Please be prepared to take on the responsibility yourselves, don’t assume it’s their job. The organisation is now finely tuned, the procedures are in place, the main events are ongoing and new ideas are always welcome, but see them though yourselves with support from the admin team. If anyone feels they can do a better job with any of the events then PLEASE step up! Great examples being Kay’s sponsored walk, I hope car boot sales will go the same way with Brenda and Seni at the helm, Barbara and the books etc etc. Sometimes it may appear that we are not open to new ideas, that is not the case, we just don’t have the hands-on manpower to do anything about it!
We all are involved in the Freesia Group for different reasons, we all bring something different to the picnic, some do a HUGE amount on a regular basis and others do as much as they physically can, some people just come because they enjoy the social side of the lunches but it doesn’t matter, EVERY contribution is important. We can’t expect the same from everybody as all help is given on a voluntary basis, but just to quote our Alison once (or twice) again:-
“if you commit yourself to do something – DO IT!” and of course “ don’t expect to get thanked for it – pat yourself on the back” ………………………………..enough said!
We wouldn’t exist without volunteers and one thing is for sure everybody comes up trumps for each major event. We are always short of younger help and muscle and those of you who regularly pull in friends and family, save the day on a regular basis. I’ve got to mention here the people who organise their part of major events and just get on with it! Tosca and Alistair (raffle, jewellery etc), the cooking team (Mary, Edie, John, Dolly, Sue, Rudi etc), Helen, Janice, Liz & the cake ladies, Anne and the Tombola team, Barbara and Joan, Bev and the grotto team, Bev and the dinner dance team, Kay (Bonfire Night and sponsored walk), Eeke & Aneke who are always there for us, Joyce for EVERY poster she puts up and prize she collects and her team (Chris), Mary Gladwin and her team of 1, with energy for 10! BA. The long suffering Sally and when talking about long suffering wives – the husbands (those who don’t complain) and just turn up at the events to help or support – us/or the bar, the “muscle” – Mike, Len, Graeme, Nick, Pete, Wayne etc. The people who donate money, products, time, publicity, vehicles, Rodney and his team deserve a very special thank you as do Lee & Fillat, Malcolm Robb, Victor, Mark and Christie for the Xmas Fair venue (previously George), Chris from the Rio, Alex Burgess and ALL our sponsors ,especially the bar owners TOO numerous to mention. Please don’t beat me up if I’ve forgotten to mention somebody special but there are TOO many Injuns to list all!
Okay I’ll get off my soap box now.
It has been a REAL pleasure to have been involved with so many great people, some old friends and many new and look forward to seeing some great results while I try VERY hard to take a back seat!
Elaine x
02.03.1
