The new Board met for nearly three hours this morning, the first meeting after the Annual General Meeting at last Saturday’s show. The first agenda item was to elect a new Chairman. I’m it. Newer members may not know that I was Chairman in the past so I know what the role entails and hope to hit the ground running. Mike Riley was elected Company Secretary at the AGM and created the record of today’s meeting. Mike also has done this job before and whilst a few things have changed since his last term in office, he also expects to be up to speed quickly. Andrew Lambert (Treasurer), Andy Belcher (Technical Director) and Mark Rennie (Director and MOTY Organiser) also formally took up their roles at the meeting, all having been elected at the AGM.
The other main business of the meeting was review of the National Show last Saturday, to reflect on what worked well and on what could be improved for 2027. Show director Rick Turnock and Chris Nobbs (Chief Steward) provided feedback and insight on the show. Rebecca (Member to Member) has already circulated her notes of the meeting, which list 26 points relating to the show. This gives us a good foundation for the review meeting we will have with Warners to learn from this year’s show and prepare for the next. What the Warners event staff have already fed back is how well Association volunteers organised those areas of the show for which we were responsible. This is a tribute to the many stewards who gave up their time before and after the show to make it a success.
And a success it indeed was! Footfall was up 26% on 2025, returning the show to 2024 levels at over 1,500 visitors. The feedback on social media has been overwhelmingly positive. I wasn’t able to speak to all traders but those I was able to spend time with reported brisk trade. There are certainly things we and Warners can improve, but overall it was a super show. So if the date’s not already in your diary, perhaps you’ll want to draw a big fat circle round Saturday 3rd April 2027 at Stoneleigh Park.
Alan Regan, Chairman