The community shop held a successful open day on Saturday 12 November. Dawn and Lesley ran their monthly mini-market on the day and raised over £150.
A key part of the day was the chance to talk to the community about the shop plans including setting up a co-operative venture to manage the shop on a day-to-day basis.
We put together a number of display boards with information about community shop principles and ideas about how our shop will operate. There were also examples of how other Devon villages like Welcombe and Ashwater have pulled together to open their own successful shops.
The annual general meeting took place at midday. Pete talked about our progress in 2011 and plans for 2012. We circulated copies of the formal chairman’s report and treasurer’s report. Pete reported that the project had just got through the first stage of the Village SOS competition, which could meet the bulk of funds needed to open the shop.
The committee was re-elected. Pete will continue as chairman, Beverly takes over as secretary and Beverley is now treasurer.
We discussed the co-operative plans which had almost unanimous support. The consensus was that the committee should propose at what cost shares should go on sale.
The open day was a great opportunity to hear what everyone in the village thinks of the project.
We’ve had several more people express interest in volunteering. There is always room for more. Please contact Pete on 01237 451570 if you’d like to help out or if there’s any aspect of the project you’d like to discuss.
Many thanks to the Methodist church for hosting us and providing teas, coffee and refreshment on the day.
