In October, it was my pleasure to present Ken Watts with two framed pictures of the Pembury Village sign as a thank you for all the hard work, dedication and commitment that he had put into the Pembury Society over many years. Luckily, Ken accepted and was voted in as our President, so his presence will still be felt!
Also retiring from the committee earlier this year, after many years of dedicated service, were Les Cook, David Moore and Barbara Ballantine, all of whom have made enormous contributions to our society.
It was with much sadness that we also said goodbye to another long standing member, Derek Johnson. Derek had been a very successful Chairman of the Pembury Society for many years and recently, our President. Due to poor health, Derek has decided to move nearer to the coast and we wish him and Christine great happiness as they set up their new home.
So with key committee members retiring, we desperately needed new people to put themselves forward. I was one of them, along with Stephen Brooks and Hugh Boorman. I moved to Pembury from London last year. I have a young family and joined the Pembury Society as I was interested in being more involved in village life. Stephen has lived in the village for 4 years since also moving with his young family from London. His interest in the village really started with his wife, who is Pembury born and bred and remembers how different Pembury was during her childhood! Many of you will already know Hugh through his work with the Coach Road project, the Parish Council and the Church Choir. So along with Richard Snow, Kathryn Franklin and Dave Osborn, we formed a new committee and were gratefully voted in by our members at our AGM in October.
With so many changes taking place, we took the opportunity to have another look at our aims as a society, which are:
- The preservation and protection of the beauty and character of Pembury;
- To promote and protect features of architectural and historic interest within the Pembury conservation area and throughout the village;
- Through developing a community spirit, to encourage residents to take pride in Pembury as a safe and attractive place to live;
- Through the members of the Pembury Society, to ensure that an independent voice is heard in the right quarters on those issues that are close to the Pembury Society aims.
So what will you see the Pembury Society doing? We will continue to be active in protecting our village on specific issues working with the Parish and Borough Council. We want to do more for Pembury residents in promoting what Pembury has to offer such as walks featuring areas of historical interest and outstanding beauty. We also want to ensure a two-way communication with our members, particularly in gaining their views on planning and project initiatives.
We are always looking for volunteers to join our committee either on a permanent or short term basis. Or if volunteering is too timely, then can I urge you to join the society? Your support, both in numbers and membership fees, allows us to action things on your behalf. Our annual membership fee for 2011/12 is only £2 per person and our aim is to encourage many to join to allow us to represent a greater proportion of our village.
If you are interested, please email Dave on membspemburysoc@aol.com
Happy Christmas and have a safe winter.
Lea Owen
Chairman, The Pembury Society