Members’ Event And Annual General Meeting – Saturday 26 October
This was a successful and pleasurable day, in that members had the chance to meet new and old friends and to hear two excellent and stimulating talks, with plenty of opportunities to ask questions of the speakers.
Alan Johnston from the Scottish Executive outlined key topics from the Mental Health Bill and described what is happening at the moment to ensure effective and consistent implementation of the new Mental Health (Scotland) Act.
Members also heard a presentation by Gerrie McKelvie and Paula Jones of the ESTEEM project in Glasgow.
AGM
The AGM was opened by Karen Gilchrist from Bell & Scott, Company Secretary of NSF (Scotland). The minutes of the last AGM and the accounts for 2001/2002 were discussed and approved before consideration of membership of the Board of Management.
Changes in the Board of Management
Catherine Bryce, Sheila Cooper, Val Eaglesham, Susan Kirkwood, Oksana Last and Marie McKeown have resigned. The President expressed the thanks and appreciation of members for their great contribution and pointed out that these members well illustrate the different facets of our organisation and the diverse skills that Board members contribute.
New Board members were elected and welcomed. They are Penny Duce, Mary Fawdry, Carol Gortmans and Agnes Ritchie as relatives, and Mary O’Neill and Melanie West as service users.
Appreciations
Sheila Cooper and Val Eaglesham have worked hard over a long period with their local groups in Dundee and West Lothian and have brought that perspective and experience to the Management Board for several years. Sheila has also given a lot of time and attention to service users at the drop-in in Dundee, while Val has been the nominated member on the Board of EUFAMI, the European equivalent of ourselves. Both have fulfilled wonderfully the fundamental purpose of NSF (Scotland) in helping people in distress and supporting them with advice and encouragement.
Catherine Bryce has been involved in her local group and local committees in Gampian, and has brought that experience to the job of Vice-Chairman of the Fellowship and Chair of the Operations Committee.
She has spoken of the problems of families to groups of MSPs and has become involved in the anti-stigma campaign ‘See me’. In her bright and fresh approach to campaigning, she has enhanced the public face of NSF (Scotland).
Oksana Last has chaired the Publications Sub-Committee and thus fulfilled another important facet of the Fellowship, that of providing information and producing information leaflets in which she has done an excellent job.
Her contribution to our knowledge of the benefits system has also been much appreciated as has her term as a Vice-Chairman. She too has been involved in EUFAMI and has been very interested in the pan-European perspective.
Susan Kirkwood has been Chairman of the Fellowship for the last 4 years and before that was a Board member, Vice-Chairman and Chairman of the Finance Committee. Susan’s special contribution has been to the organisational development of the Fellowship.
As we receive public money towards National Office costs and for all our projects, we have to be accountable for that public money, manage our staff to modern standards and conform to new regulations as they come along. Susan has made a huge contribution to all of these aspects, as well as supporting the development of new technology across the organization.
She was also very involved in the conference on ‘Children who Care’ and organised the translation of European publications for children and young people.
Susan has also made her mark in Europe, first as Treasurer and then as Vice-President of EUFAMI, as nominee of our sister organisation in the South which is now called ‘Rethink’. EUFAMI is the European Federation of Family associations like our own. Susan deserves our appreciation and gratitude for all that she has contributed.
