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Newsletter Number 12 May 2008

Funds in so far

Arrangements are being put in place to borrow this but any final fund raising opportunities or donation applications which could be made should be pursued as soon as possible in readiness for completion on the 28th June.

We plan then to continue the fund raising exercise after the purchase to clear this final amount.

Mayor of Elmbridge

Rosemary Dane has now finished her year as Mayor of Elmbridge and the totalling up of the results of the fund raising exercise will take place during the next couple of weeks.

The presentation of the cheque for the monies raised will take place at Sandown Park on the evening of the 5th June.

We look forward with great anticipation to see whether the ambitious targets set by Rosemary Dane for her achievements during the year are met.

Her support for Walton Firs has been outstanding and we hope her personal support will continue in years to come.

Purchase Celebration Event Tickets

The dinner to be held in the Cellars at Denbies in Dorking on the evening of Friday 4th July to celebrate the conclusion of the activities to purchase Walton Firs is now an event to look forward to.

The evening plans are for some unusual and fun entertainment in interesting surroundings.

The evening will be one which provides all of the fund raising team to meet and to also ensure that those who have indicated a wish to become involved in the ongoing management of Walton Firs will have the opportunity also to get together and hear the ways in which we hope the ongoing organisation and enhancement of Walton Firs can be put in place.

We hope that all of those individuals who wish to continue to help with the ongoing management will be able to get along and join together with those who assisted in raising the money to purchase Walton Firs.

Tickets are £50 per person. To obtain a booking form please contact funds@waltonfirs.co.uk.

Information on the evening will be sent out at the end of May.

Please, however, make your reservation now so that we can confirm numbers for the dinner in the Cellars at Denbies, which themselves will give a great atmosphere to the celebration.

Management of Walton Firs

The future management of Walton Firs is now the subject of a great degree of organisation, being coordinated by David Gardner and Richard Shortman.

Those of you who have indicated a wish to become involved will without doubt be found work to do, and we hope that the input by many people will make for light work.

We are also endeavouring to recruit secretarial support on site to assist with the organisation of matters relating to Walton Firs and the administration requirements.

We hope that the person appointed will also be able to come along for the celebration dinner on the 4th July as this will again be an excellent opportunity to meet with all of those who have contributed to the efforts over the past 2 years, and/or will be involved in the future organisation.

Fund Raising

Most events are now complete and the attention will now be turning to the motivation and direction of a Friends of Walton Firs group to assist with the ongoing management, the use of the site, activities to expand the involvement and to ensure that the knowledge of the facilities is made available to as many potential users as possible.

The launch of the Friends of Walton Firs organisation will take place at the end of June, and we hope that those interested in the future of Walton Firs will also therefore be able to get along for the celebration dinner on the 4th July to help set the plans for the future.

Publicity

Many of you will have seen the regular newspaper articles in the local Surrey newspapers, particularly those centred around North West Surrey.

There was also an excellent article in Surrey Life based on an interview with Lady Baden-Powell and we hope there will be continuing opportunities to maintain the higher profile of Walton Firs in the press.

The next occasion when we will endeavour some press coverage is on the presentation by Rosemary Dane, immediate past Mayor of Elmbridge, of the cheque for the funds raised during her year as Mayor.

Annual General Meeting

Please note that the Annual General Meeting for Walton Firs Foundation is going to be held on the 9th September 2008 at 8.00 pm at Walton Firs.

All will be welcome and we hope that these can in future be developed into a social occasion for supporters of Walton Firs to have the chance to visit and meet at Walton Firs.

Telephone Mast

The renewal of the lease for the telephone mast is due for implementation from February 2009.

This is one of the issues now for the board to consider.

The financial contribution towards the management and organisation of Walton Firs is not insignificant and hopefully a greater contribution can be obtained.

Staff

We are delighted of course that Sue and Dave McIntosh are willing to stay on at Walton Firs and continue as Wardens at the site.  Our intention, as mentioned earlier in the newsletter, is to also endeavour to recruit secretarial assistance to ensure that the secretarial and administrative support which has been provided from outside of Walton Firs during the fund raising time can be developed on site and in conjunction with the day to day organisation and management.

We hope that by the end of June an appointment of an individual to take on this role will have been completed and we have the chance to meet with them on the 4th July.

As before, many thanks to everybody for all of the help and we look forward to seeing you at Denbies on the 4th July.

To confirm your participation and request a booking form contact: funds@waltonfirs.co.uk.