Membership & Volunteers are GO

Members & Volunteers are GO

It’s good new week

Many of you will know that the GWR does not normally announce our figures for membership and recruitment of volunteers until the Spring Cornishman to show the figures for the previous year.

However, things are going so well in 2013 that I thought you might like an up-date.

GWR Trust membership is now at an all time high of 3747 as at 30^th September.   This is some 200 more than at the end of 2012 and I am assured by the Membership Secretary that more applications are coming in every week.

Volunteer numbers are also increasing very rapidly.   These again are at an all time high of 778 plus 14 joining us from the Dinmore Manor group.   Will we crack 800 by years end?  You bet we will.

The Recruitment Director tells me that we have inducted 37 new volunteers in the last quarter:

P’way 1, Shop 4, TTI 3, C&W 7, OTC 4, Diesel 3, Signal 1, Booking Office 1, Broadway 2, Cheltenham 2 and Steam 9.

We also have 5 new recruits for the November Induction course and 27 others in the paperwork stage.

This is very good news indeed and when they are all on stream will ease the burden that so many of you have borne for the last 2½ years.

This rate of recruitment is far in excess of any losses.   Most of this years losses (32) have been on the grounds of age, ill health or moved away from area.   Only 2 have resigned for reasons unknown.   The loss rate is slightly below the norm for the GWR.  

Some of you will no doubt have seen the Trust Recruitment Stand out and about this year and plans are well advanced for it to be out on the GWR on no less than 16 days in 2014 as well as other outside venues.

All this is extremely good news for the GWR and bodes well for the future.

Onwards & Upwards.

Kindest regards

HH