Chairman's report 2003-04

As I approach the anniversary of my first WOBS Committee meeting, I have reflected on what might count as achievements and what tangible benefits the Committee has been able to deliver to members over the last year.

The most significant achievement has been the continued development of the Society as a Charitable Trust, which is independent of the School and now entirely focused on using its income and assets to improve contact and mutual assistance between all members, as well as supporting the School and Abbey. With that emphasis, the Committee has tried to respond to the most commonly expressed desire for members to have increased opportunities to meet either socially or for specific activities, including business networking.

I am pleased to report that the Society is financially sound, albeit not flush, and is involved in more activities than ever before. Whilst size is no complete measure of success, the membership has risen to just under 40% and there is now almost 100% take-up of the 10-year pre-paid membership by parents of existing pupils which, like the ‘first-time buyers’ in my business market, is a fundamental factor for the future of the Society.

Activitywise, I would report the following:

Old Boys' Mass

The third ‘St Benedict’s Day Mass’ for Old Boys at Corpus Christi in Covent Garden was offered for Michael Breen (S ‘68) RIP, and his family on 18 March, which by coincidence would have been Michael’s 53rd birthday. The service was attended by 30 Old Boys and one stray Italian in London on business. The follow-on drinks saw nearly 50 Old Boys over the course of the evening, plus the Italian businessman who after 4 pints of English beer awarded himself an honorary membership of our Society! The Mass provides the only dedicated opportunity for Old Boys to reunite in worship and I would encourage as many of you as possible to attend next year.

Sponsorship

The Society’s financial base does not permit ‘Lottery-style’ funding but the Committee has endeavoured to increase the Society’s financial support for causes where it is felt there is a particular association with our aims. Over the year the Committee responded to a request from Elliot Webber, an upper VIth student to support his 30 mile sponsored row on the School’s rowing machine in aid of MS, a condition suffered by his Mother. The London Marathon attracts increasing patronage by Old Boys and we were pleased to support Mic Cataldo (S ‘97) and Chris Coopman (R ‘02) who ran for Whizz Kidz and Dominic Nevill (R ‘74) and his elder daughter, Abigail, whose athletic endeavours on behalf of Children with Leukaemia are recounted in The Blue Paper. We also contributed towards the cost of Francis Binney’s (G ‘00) participation in Operation Wallacea (Coral Reef conservation project) and continued our support for various Old Boys’ sporting groups, upon which I comment below.

Recently, the Committee has resolved to give financial support to particular causes where such support would ‘make a real difference’. To give this support we need to know of Old Boys who are in need. I would be pleased to hear from Old Boys who know of religious, humanitarian or educational causes where there is a real connection with the objects and aims of the Society.

Arts

As regards participation in and support for ‘the Arts’, the Society maintained its financial support for the Epiphany Production Company by contributing towards the cost of its second production, Twefth Night (a lo Tango), reported on page XX. Worth was also the venue for another Old Boys’ first when Julian Gairdner (S ‘89) and Alex Buckley (G ‘87) staged the premiere of their jointly written musical, ‘Understanding Archie’. A truly superb result of over three years hard work was brilliantly performed by students from Worth and Burgess Hill School for Girls.

The School’s excellent reputation for music and singing continues under the expert direction of Michael Oakley and the WOBS website will now carry advance notice of musical and choral events at Worth, so that Old Boys have the opportunity to attend. The Committee is keen to broaden the Society’s support for the Arts and is examining ways to expand WOBS activities within the Arts.

The Cricket, Golf and Rugby clubs each had another active year and particular thanks are due to Julian Gairdner, Ken Ross and Desmond Calnan respectively for their enthusiasm and significant efforts to arrange exciting and enjoyable fixtures. I am also grateful to Andrew Boys who, despite having made a major contribution to the Society through his immediate past chairmanship, has maintained his active involvement by organising the WOBs v school tennis match on Speech Day.

Careers has for many years been an area where Old Boys have returned to impart their experiences of ‘work after Worth’ to current students but is now established through excellent co-ordination by Julian Gairdner, as an annual seminar with the Lower VIth, which contributes to the students’ Key Skills course. My inclination to thank the Lower VIth after the seminar for attending in full was thwarted when I was tipped off that attendance was compulsory. However, the event seemed to be very well received by the boys and certainly by their tutors.

Socially, various Committee Members worked hard to organise three excellent occasions during the year, the success of which was evident by the numbers who attended and feedback we received. A pub gathering in October at The Antelope in Chelsea attracted over 30 during various stages of the evening and was followed in November by a lunch in the Officers’ Mess at the Inns of Court and City Yeomanry, which was attended by 25 Old Boys from the ‘73 to ‘89 vintages. A significant gathering took place in January when 49 Old Boys gathered in the extraordinarily atmospheric Crypt of Ethelreda’s Church in London for a ‘70 to ‘76 leavers group supper. Quite apart from being extremely enjoyable, it was immensely rewarding to see some Old Boys reunited with contemporaries they had not seen since leaving Worth.

Having reported on the brighter side of the Society’s year, it is with much sadness that I record the loss of Michael Breen (S ‘68), Michael Clabburn (C ‘64) and Mark Petre (S ‘88) who died during the last 12 months. The Monastery and School also lost Dom Michael, Dom Benedict and Sol Burridge, all of whom gave so much to Old Boys of various generations. I ask that they and their families be remembered in your prayers.

Looking forward, the Committee has spent some time reviewing ways through which we can enhance the overall appeal of the Society and expand our membership. Our marketing efforts have been hampered through the difficulty of tracking Old Boys’ movements and, in addition to modernising our record handling, we believe it is time for the image of the Society to undergo a makeover to more readily reflect the independence the Society now enjoys. Our aim is to develop a co-ordinated theme which relates the website to publications, such as this, and other material used to communicate with members and promote the Society. As always, the Committee is mindful that such an exercise can be costly and we are committed to balancing perceived benefits with expenditure. Efforts will be made to obtain additional income and ventures such as selling advertising space on the website are under consideration. I hope that by next year’s report you will have experienced some benefit from the enhancements we plan to introduce.

No voluntary organisation succeeds without the dedication of a core group and WOBS is exceptionally fortunate to have a number of individuals who, through their membership of the Committee, have committed considerable time and energy to creating and managing the various activities I have referred to. I am extremely fortunate and grateful for the ideas, energy, dedication and humour of those stalwarts of the Committee who have made the last year both fruitful and enjoyable. Special thanks are also due to those Committee members who have added responsibilities through their position as Trustees of the Charitable Trust.

There are a number of the Committee who could be singled out for special mention but their identity will be evident from the names behind our various activities. I would, however, like to say a particular thank you to Fr Kevin who, although not an official member of the Committee, has given immense support to the Society in many ways from supervising Bruised Reeds to saying our annual Mass and attending meetings and activities. Finally, with regard to thanks due to those with whom I serve, the vast bulk of the day-to-day organisation and operation of our Society falls upon our Secretary, Marie-Clare McMenemy, who has been exceptional in her tireless energy and enthusiasm, which ensures that our Society runs so efficiently. A good number of people have said to me during the year how professionally the Society functions and such praise is entirely due to Marie-Clare.

In conclusion, may I thank all members who have not just supported our activities but contributed in many various ways to the Society over the year. The rewards for the efforts of the Committee are in the support given by members to the activities and events we organise. We are very anxious to do more for members and the causes we support but inevitably we are constrained by our income. I would, therefore, like to end this report by simply asking you, the existing members, to do two simple (cost-free) things this year, which would make a very significant difference to the speed with which we can improve what the Society can offer. Firstly, as mentioned, our membership represents only 40% of former pupils, so there is considerable scope to increase the size of the Society. If every member sought to encourage just one non-member to sign up (the cost remains only £15 p.a.) we could dramatically enhance your Society. Secondly, the majority of members have not taken advantage of subscribing via Gift Aid, which again would make a real difference to our income. You may not recall whether you sanctioned our ability to recover tax you have paid on your membership fee, so I would ask that you take two minutes to fill in the Gift Aid section of the membership form on page and kindly return it to Marie-Clare.

I hope you enjoy this issue of The Blue Paper and thank you all for your continued support of WOBS.

Nicholas Butterworth (Gervase 1971-76)