The Royal British Legion Suffolk County Chairman`s Newsletter

The Royal British Legion Suffolk
County Chairman’s Newsletter
April 2015
This is the first in a series of newsletters that I will publish to keep you informed of important
changes and events in Suffolk and the wider RBL. From time to time I will also appeal for your
help to ensure that we remain an efficient formation and uphold our obligations as members
of the RBL. As your Chairman I am always open to comments and will help you where I can to
resolve any problems that may arise.
Contact: Email ‘dbloomfield@britishlegion.org.uk’ Tel 01728 830484
Maurice Cup
Training
The Maurice Challenge Cup is awarded
at Annual Conference to the County
which during the year has made the
most progress and is of a high standard
of efficiency.
This award is not
just for our admin,
it covers the whole
spectrum of our
work and includes:
membership, PA,
welfare activities,
remembrance, communication,
public relations, community awareness.
This is the eleventh time that Suffolk
has won this trophy and the County
Standard is currently having a new date
bar applied.
It is by the efforts of the whole County
that we have achieved this award and
we must now continue to maintain this
level of efficiency.
Training is a vital tool that we
must all use to maintain currency
in all aspects of our work.
Suffolk is in need of a Training
Officer. The person appointed
will need to do the County
Training Officer’s course but
does not need any formal training
qualification. We are appealing
for a volunteer to come forward
to take on this important role.
Could this be you?
The role involves identifying
training needs, facilitating local
courses through the HQ Training
Team and hosting seminars.
I have booked two training days
for Sunday 14th June and Sunday
27th September at Stowmarket
RBL Club. Full details to follow;
but please book your place with
Sandra as soon as possible.
Both events are targeted at the
many new Officers in your
Branches and Groups as well as
current ones and will cover all
aspects of our work. Please come
along and get updated on
procedures and changes.
Well done Suffolk
In this issue
Maurice Cup
Training
Membership Admin Portal
MAP
Branch Accounts/MS1
County Events
Standard Bearers info
Speakers for meetings
WW1 centenary events
Accounts and MS1’s
Please ensure that
your accounts are
prepared, examined
and submitted by 30th
September again this
year.
Please also ensure that
your MS1’s are
completed correctly
and signed by all the
required members and
in by December 31st.
Membership Administration Portal MAP
The Membership Administration Portal (MAP) aims to give Branch committees access to all the relevant
Legion programmes and systems, for example LOMAS, the Poppy Shop and the Branch membership
listings. The portal will provide role-based email addresses for all branch officials, for example
blandford.chairman@rbl.community. It will also have an area to store branch documents and gives access
to Microsoft Office applications such as Word, Excel and Powerpoint.
It is strongly recommended that all Branches register for this excellent facility. Branch Officers and up to 3
Committee members can register by completing the Branch application form (available from Sandra).
This will provide secure and confidential IT facilities that are not stored on your personal computers. The
first tranche is now closed.
Events
Standard Bearers
Suffolk Show: The Suffolk Show this year is
on 27th and 28th May. The parade of Standards
is on the first day and will be in the usual
format. Only 17 Branch and Group Standards
have booked places with Sandra to date. This
is not really good enough to be able to present
a suitable image of the RBL in Suffolk. This is
an excellent PR opportunity to show the public
who we are and put on a good show. I fully
appreciate that many of you work but this does
identify a clear need for having deputies. If
you need help in getting your Standard on
parade please contact me.
County Rally: Have you booked for the
County Rally in Woodbridge on Saturday 18 th
July as part of the Woodbridge VE/VJ Day
event? We need to put on a good well turned
out show in front of our National Chairman.
Please let Sandra know you are going to be
there.
Newmarket Race Day: The Race Day is on
Saturday 8th August. Again please book up
with Sandra.
Suffolk has a good reputation for ceremonial
activities but in recent years our ability to parade
high numbers of Standard Bearers has declined. I
intend to address this and get Suffolk on parade
again. The first Suffolk Show attracted over 80
Standards, the first Newmarket Race Day 180.
Street closure legislation has reduced the number
of parades we can now hold. However I am very
grateful to those Branches that utilise off road
venues and include ceremonial activities in their
events.
There are many other Branch and Group
events happening around the County but it is
not my place to invite you to them. They have
been advertised; please respond to them.
So how do we get back to where we were?
We hold training sessions for Standard Bearers
every third Thursday at Stowmarket. Currently
these sessions are attended by 10-12 and of those
6-8 will probably enter the County Competition.
We have a higher number of contestants than
any other County in the Region in competitions.
I am also keen to train a pool of reserve Standard
Bearers ready to help Branches/Groups get their
Standards on parade again. Do you have a
deputy or a member willing to learn?
If you would like more information on
ceremonial training please contact me.
Speakers for meetings
Please be aware that there are members in Suffolk who can give Legion based presentations and talks
to community groups, schools and youth groups in your local area. Talks have been very well
received in the past and should not only be aimed at Remembrance time.
There is also a wide knowledge base of other service related topics including all three service arms,
local military history, war memorials research, war graves and the home front.
Well conducted talks and presentations can help to promote the Legion in your communities and
could possibly result in new members and increased revenue for the Poppy Appeal and support at
your local events. Sandra has ready made Legion presentations that can be adapted Why not give it a
try, if you don’t ask you will never know.
World War 1 Centenary events
Congratulations to those Branches that have organised or helped their local councils to mark
centenary events and exhibitions. I have attended a number and found them to be excellent. Many
more are in the diary and I’m sure more are yet to be advertised. I would like to appeal to all
Branches to continue looking for suitable commemorations and urge you to put pressure on your
local civic leaders to identify and lead them so nothing is overlooked or missed.
I would also like to congratulate the Branches that have planned events to mark VE and VJ Days.
Keep putting pressure on your local authorities to ensure that we do ‘Remember Them’