We are in need of more trustees to manage and run the hall.
If you have lived locally for some time, you have probably got fond memories of events at the hall, whether birthday parties, courses or social events. If you are new to the village, perhaps you haven’t yet ventured inside our well-equipped hall.
In either case, we need you to get involved and secure the future of the hall for the whole community. Three of the current trustees will be resigning in April, which means that we do not have enough people to guarantee the future of the hall. We also need more help for the current trustees who are becoming overloaded.
We also have a current vacancy for chair of trustees; this person chairs our meetings. Responsibility for the charity is shared among all trustees.
What does it mean to be a trustee?
Committee members become official trustees of the hall charity, Pant Memorial Institute. The charity is well-organised, financially solvent and all reporting to the Charity Commission is up to date. The procedures and systems to run the building safely and in accordance with law are also all in place, and regularly updated, so that means it’s easy to join the committee and play your part.
Scroll through this gallery of ‘before and after’ to see just some of the improvements at the hall since 2017. We did it all with grants and donations – we work very hard to keep the fees low. Wouldn’t it be a shame to lose all this?
What needs doing?
We need general committee members who are willing to get involved in the management of the building. This means four evening committee meetings a year, plus the general tasks that keep the place running.
In particular, here’s what needs doing:
- weekly/monthly tests of the fire alarm and emergency lighting, and monthly check of the first aid kits. This is done on a flexible monthly rota, the jobs don’t take long and we need more people to join the rota.
- deputies for the booking secretary
- someone to make the toilet refurbishment project happen; we’ve got £14k of National Lottery funding plus £500 to get some professional planning done. We have the specification for what we want; we need someone to get it moving!
- someone to manage the website, update it and maybe even revamp it
- a new ‘voice’ for our facebook page and parish magazine articles
All we seek is your time and knowledge – charity trustees cannot be paid, but all agreed expenses are reimbursed.
Trustees don’t do the cleaning or gardening; we have excellent paid contractors that do those jobs.
Who is eligible to be a trustee?
Anyone 18 or over who is not disqualified from being a charity trustee can stand for election to the committee. This election will be held at the AGM on Thursday 10th April 2025.
What is the alternative?
Closing the charity (and hence selling the building and all the assets) would be a tremendous amount of hassle. It would also be very sad after the hard work and dedication put in by generations of people in Pant over the last 104 years. Most importantly, it would also displace long-standing and thriving hirers such as Pant Women’s Institute, our Scottish dancing group, our fitness groups plus all those who use the hall for family gatherings, parties and other events. This area has limited public transport and we really need an affordable local venue.
It really would be much easier (and better for the community and our hirers!) to keep the hall running, so please do consider joining the committee. Please contact secretary@pantmemorialhall.org.uk if you are willing to get involved or would like more information.
Guests are also most welcome at our next committee meeting, March 20th 7pm at the hall – meet the current committee and see what happens!