I hope that you and your WI are all settling into a new year. I am hugely honoured to have been re-elected to a second term of office and look forward to the coming year and all it has to offer. I hope as well as enjoying all the exciting opportunities your WI offers, you will also enjoy the opportunities that the federation has to offer as well as the many and varied courses on the newly launched WI Learning Hub. Make sure you are signed up for the federation newsletter as well as the Learning Hub newsletter. You will see this year we will be launching the first Barbara Gray Memorial lecture as well as a visit to The Defence Academy of the United Kingdom.
Sadly, though some WIs haven’t been so fortunate to continue and have been suspended. This is a sad time but hopefully the members will join neighbouring WIs. It is a bit like leaving
a beloved house and what do you do with the contents of all things WI. We will be running a series of articles with some interesting facts, figures and information on the golden nuggets that are the history of WI. The first one will be about Archives and how we can conserve the precious history of those WIs. So do look further through the magazine and all will be revealed!
So, as well as all the wonderful events that are happening for you to attend locally, focus now turns to the NFWI Annual Meeting being held at The Royal Albert Hall in June. I am really looking forward to it – it is a highlight of the WI calendar. Please do take the chance to attend – we won’t be fortunate to have another in-person NFWI Annual Meeting until 2027 as the next two will be online. Meanwhile, it is that time of year when the OFWI Directory comes to life for 2024/2025 – no mean feat collating all the information that goes into our wonderful Directory so my heartfelt thanks to all those involved. I am hoping that your MCS record is up to date!
Right, I must away and book tickets so I can take advantage of all the wonderful events taking place in our federation.
My love and best wishes.
Tracy
Tracy Strain
OFWI Chair
01235 765285