OVEG AGM 1997

The Oxhey Village Environment Group annual general meeting was held on 27 January 1997 at Bushey & Oxhey Methodist Church.

This was the meeting’s agenda:

1. To receive Apologies for absence.
2. To confirm the Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of 29th. January 1996.
3. To confirm the Minutes of the Special General Meeting held on 22nd. April 1966.
4. To adopt the Committee’s Annual Report.
5. To adopt the Financial Statement for 1996.
6. To appoint Tellers for Ballot (as necessary).
7. Election of Committee for 1997
   • Chairman
   • Secretary
   • Treasurer
   • Membership Secretary
   • Talks Secretary
   • Village Liaison Officer
   • Newsletter Editor
   • Minutes Secretary
   • Fayre Organiser
   • Committee Member
   • Committee Member
   • Committee Member
8. To appoint the Auditor for 1997.
9. Proposed by the outgoing Committee:
   That the money in the Special Project Fund should be used for the provision of additional play equipment in the Oxhey Village Green playground, and that for this purpose money should be transferred from the General Fund to raise the Special Project Fund to £800.
   
   [Note: the costs of the play equipment is likely to exceed around £800, possibly in the range £1200 to £1800, and the special project fund would need to be increased by fund-raising, etc..]
10. Proposed by the outgoing Committee:
    That a tent should be purchased for use at the Fayre at a maximum cost of around 1500.
11. Any other business

Following the main AGM agenda, there was a talk from a representative of the Woodland Trust/Watling Chase Community Trust about Merry Hill.

What happened at the AGM?

This was the formation of the committee, as elected at the Annual General Meeting:

• Chairman: Miss Madeleine White
• Secretary: Mr. Bryan Hutt
• Treasurer: Miss Doreen Hinds
• Membership Secretary: Mr. Graham Carter
• Talks Secretary: Ms. Charlotte Taylor
• Newsletter Secretary: Mrs. Josephine Ober
• Minute Secretary: Vacant
• Village Liaison Officer: Mr. Geoffrey Greenstreet
• Fayre Organiser: Mr. Geoffrey Greenstreet
• Committee member: Mr. Ian MacKay
• Committee member: Mrs. Maureen Townsend
• Committee member: Mr. Tim Wyatt

Madeleine White, Graham Carter, Charlotte Taylor, Maureen Townsend and Tim Wyatt were new joiners to the Committee.

The committee thanked Geoffrey Greenstreet for stepping into the Fayre Organiser position. It was noted that no one else was prepared to take on the role and, without him, there was a risk that the Summer Fayre would not have gone ahead.

A plea was put out for anyone interested in the Minute Secretary role, which remained open following the AGM. Candidates were asked to consider committing to eight gathering per year, with meetings usually taking place at the former Oxhey Village Baptist Church on Upper Paddock Road, on Monday evenings.

Several long-term committee members stepped down at the AGM: Diane Nicoll, Margaret Spark, Vee Pattinson, Lynn Purbrick, Andrew Edwards, and Ted and Peggy Parrish. They were thanked for the time and effort they have put into their various roles on the Committee over many years.

In the follow-up newsletter, outgoing chair Diane commented: “As usual. I forgot to say something at our last meeting in January. I would like to thank OVEG members and the committee for their encouragement and support over the last three years. It has been an interesting and enjoyable time and I have made many new friends. I am sure that OVEG will continue to thrive under the Chairmanship of Madeleine and with the new Committee, and I wish them every success for the future.

Proposals put forward at the AGM included:
– Agreement that a tent should be purchased for use at the Summer Fayre
– Additional play equipment for the Oxhey Village Green playground. After discussion it was agreed that this proposal was carried, with the following amendment: “That this should not proceed until further details concerning type of equipment, costs, provision and maintenance are made available to be considered by members.”

Ted and Peggy Parrish

Amongst those standing down at the AGM were Ted and Peggy Parrish, who each served an estimated 16 years on the committee, including nine years as Summer Fayre organisers, when they also ran bric-a-brac stalls and promoted many other fund-raising activities.

In recognition of their outstanding contribution to OVEG, a framed water-colour by local artist Peter Whitworth was presented by the chair, Diane, at the close of the AGM. The painting was framed by David of Gallery Sidhe. Unfortunately, Ted and Peggy were unable to attend the meeting, but the gift was accepted on their behalf by their two eldest grandchildren, Robert and Laura Dunlop.

Sad news came just a couple of months after the AGM. It was announced that Ted Parrish had passed away, on Tuesday 25 March 1997, as a result of a long illness.

In 2013, Ted’s daughter, Lesley Dunlop, published Echoes of Old Watford, Bushey & Oxhey; a book based on the 96 articles that Ted wrote for the Evening Post-Echo between 1982 and 1983. Lesley continues to write about her father’s work and local history covering Oxhey Village and Watford.