dialogue Winter 2013-14 | Page 63

South As Regional Development Officer for the South, South West and South Wales, I currently work with 7 active branches (Plymouth is in abeyance). My first role as an RDO was to involve all branches in the Public Speaking competition, and to help with branch programmes. I have since taken a variety of acting committee roles to provide short term branch support. Meeting committees is vital, we see new ideas and can offer suggestions to others. It has been exciting to see the small Cornwall branch providing discussion groups on current issues at a local golf club and engaging non-members. Listening to Exeter sponsored project trust scholars, talking about their work at members’ meetings is inspiring, and the growth of the Salisbury schools’ writing programme, is very helpful for spreading the ESU brand. Now all branches are involved in the PS competition, and the whole South West region is involved in sponsoring local students on SSE scholarships; these are now being successfully offered to a larger cross-section of the student community. This year we celebrate three ESU awards to the Bristol, Salisbury and S.Wales branches- one per region. Branches support the ESU in a variety of ways. Currently two Exeter members are working with Plymouth and Cornwall schools to organise the Public Speaking. The PS coordinator in Wales now has about six Welsh PS organisers and the Welsh branch link with Howells school and Sixth form to provide a primary schools PS, is joyously successful. The variety in branches and their geographical spread, ensure work is always challenging, at times uplifting – and never dull. Muriel Harrison SALISBURY & SOUTH WILSHIRE Salisbury State Schools Initiative enters its third year with fifteen Schools who have received our award and certificate. Our Nurse from ESU Brazil Yeramia Fernandes is qualified in Accident and Emergency, she attended the Great Weston Hospital in Swindon and met Members at our lunch meeting, a great pleasure to all. We continue to support the Kohima Trust with the Dictionary in English for Schools in Burma and hope to have a Gap Year student in 2014. This is together with the ESU Public Speaking Competition. Our Annual fundraising lecture was given by the writer Fredrick Forsyth, he entertained over 100 members with his amusing life story, followed by the vote of thanks to Frederick by our President David Stratton OBE. DL, who then proposed a toast to our new ESU President HRH the Princess Anne. Mrs Louise Jefferys hosted a wellattended Summer Party and Leah Perry from St Edmunds School Salisbury, our Schools Initiative prize winner and new Alumni, were able to attend with Tom Barrett a former Gap Year Student. Both Leah and Tom gave us a “great to be with you” word of thanks. This was a great pleasure for us. Speakers at our September AGM were ESU Director of Developments James Ward and Marie Bond, Finance Director. Between them they gave us a positive plan for the next three years. Nigel Estlick, Dame Mary, Patricia and Derek Remington, Gill Prior with the Jubilee medal and certificate ESU| 61