Ballywillan Men's Fellowship hold Annual General Meeting

An interesting programme of talks has been organised for the coming session of Ballywillan Men's Fellowship, which commenced on Thursday morning of last week.

Details were revealed at the annual general meeting of the Fellowship, held in Ballywillan Presbyterian Church Hall, Portrush.

The new programme opens this Thursday (January 19) when the guest speaker will be Peter Lyons, who will be giving a presentation on The Woodland Trust.

With more than half a million members and supporters, the Trust is the United Kingdom’s largest woodland conservation charity and is active at over 1,000 sites, protecting and campaigning on behalf of the country’s woods through the planting of more trees and the restoration of ancient woodlands for the benefit of people and wildlife.

The following week (February 26) Canon John McKegney will be recalling Ireland’s worst rail disaster, an appalling accident which took place near Armagh in 1889, killing 80 people, 23 of them children.

At last week’s annual meeting, Dr. Michael Gardiner presided. He paid tribute to the speakers’ panel consisting of John Johnston and Ian Moffett, who are now finalising a list of weekly speakers for the months of February and March.

Indeed, all office-bearers were praised for their contribution to the work of the Fellowship, which is now in its 21st year.

A healthy financial statement was presented by the treasurer, Alex Mark, and the meeting agreed that donations of £250 each be made to two charities. The annual membership fee remains at £12, with a £1 subscription at weekly meetings to cover speakers’ expenses.

All office-bearers were re-elected, as follows: President, Dr. Michael Gardiner; vice-president, James Heaney; speakers’ panel, John Johnston and Ian Moffett; catering, Sam Robinson; treasurer, Alex Mark; assistant treasurer, Robin Semple; social secretary, John Robinson; press secretary, Hugh McGrattan.

Thursday meetings of the Fellowship commence informally at 10.30am and, following tea/coffee and chat, the talk commences at 11am. Proceedings end at noon. Although there is an annual membership, visitors to meetings are always welcome.

The Fellowship enjoys a membership of around 35 retired and semi-retired men from all religious backgrounds and none, but new members will always be made welcome.

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