Welcome to Derbyshire Smallholders’ Association website.
Hello everyone
As most of you will already be aware, sadly we were unable to raise a committee at the AGM to take the Association forward and, as a result, we have regretfully had to take the decision to close the Association.
This was certainly not an easy decision to take, but we simply couldn’t continue without the key positions being filled. As many of you will know, we have been in this position before, most recently in 2021 when the current committee undertook to keep the Association going, in the hope that new members would come along in due course and get actively involved. We should say, however, we totally understand why this hasn’t been possible as we know you are all so busy with businesses, work, family life and so on. We also have to be realistic and recognise that times have changed – people have many more networking options available to them now and seem to be less interested in the traditional meeting format that has been so popular in the past. Having found ourselves again in difficulty formulating a committee we have to accept that the only option now is to close.
Of course what we do need to recognize is the good news story. Our president, Bill Jones established the Association over 25 years ago and for it to remain successful and thriving for so long is an amazing achievement. Many similar associations closed down a long time ago and so we have to be grateful for the many years we have had an active Association, and for the great times we have had together. We have had the pleasure of a wonderful variety of speakers, many visits to fellow members’ smallholdings as well as visits to countryside venues further afield, and of course attendance at shows and events including Ashover Show and Bakewell Festival. It has also been fulfilling to see how a supportive network has developed with many people both seeking and giving help on a wide range of smallholding issues.
So the committee and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their involvement over the years. Some great friendships have been formed and we are certain these will continue into the future. The final thank you must, of course, go to Bill for not only creating, managing and developing the Association, but for keeping it going for over 25 fantastic years – that is certainly something to be proud of.
On a practical note. can I ask everyone to ensure their standing orders are cancelled so no future payments are taken whilst the bank account remains open. We will be in touch again regarding the closure process in due course. The Mailchimp account I use for the purposes of this group email will remain active until the final communication is sent, after which the account and the email database will be deleted. We will be keeping the Whatsapp group going informally so people can keep in touch if they wish but individuals may choose to opt out and exit the group at any point.
Once again, sincere thanks from myself and the committee for your interest, and support over the years.
Kindest regards
Katy
(DSA Chair)