West Mersea Bowls Club President’s Welcome 2022.

It is a great honour and privilege for me to accept the role of President of our great bowls club. I will endeavour with the help of the Trustees and the Committee and importantly you the members to carry out my duties to the best of my ability.

During these difficult times sport is an important leisure activity and bowls games and social events help us forget the trials and tribulations of daily life during the Covid pandemic and other matters.

West Mersea Bowls Club is a splendid local facility that has grown and built up over 50 years. It’s important that we remember that bowls is its core activity. We need the social activities to keep our subscriptions at a realistic level and have enough money to refurbish the club during the winter and summer season and hold enough reserves for a rainy day. We also need to consider rapidly rising energy costs for electricity oil and water.

The outdoor season is nearly with us and a lot of work has been put in to get the green fully prepared for what will hopefully be an unrestricted season. I hope you all support the recently elected new Committee and the club’s events indoor and outdoor. We still have matches to complete indoors and there are still a lot of activities on the notice boards including indoor finals next month.

The club will be increasing its drive to obtain new members with open days on the rink sponsored by Blackwater Estate Agents again during the summer and winter seasons.

We even have the Mersea Town Council Neighbourhood Plan referendum on the 17th March at the club and this will showcase our great facilities.

We have sadly lost some splendid club members and their friends and partners need our support. I personally have been extremely pleased to see so many new members taking part in our club activities and attending our recent AGM.

I would like to thank Chris Marchington for accepting the role of Vice President. It will be impossible for me to attend all club functions as I do not want my lovely wife Yvonne to be a bowls widow.

Annette Oakley who I have replaced as President did a marvellous job and I just wish she could have worn her badge of office more but the club activities were sadly curtailed due to Covid. Danny Bonner also deserves recognition for his drive and enthusiasm in chairing both the Trustees and the Committee - never an easy task.

Finally, I look forward to meeting all new and old members on the green. Let’s all hope we have a safe healthy and successful year in the sport we all love.

UNITY is my motto during my year office. Keep taking the pills! and have a very enjoyable time at all levels.

Tony Corbey

Club President.