A new CEO and Chair joined the Third Age Trust at it's 41st AGM in October.
The meeting began with an update from Head of Policy and Communications, Liz Drury, about the work that had been done to reach the target of 500,000 u3a members by the end of 2028. The update mentioned key press coverage, an advertising campaign on Boom Radio, and additional advertising in newspapers and on social media.
The AGM saw key changes to the Third Age Trust leadership team. Allan Walmsley, from Kings Norton u3a, became the new Chair of the Third Age Trust. He had been Vice Chair and, prior to that, Trustee for the West Midlands. He succeeded Liz Thackray, who had served as Chair of the u3a movement for three years.
The movement welcomed a new CEO, Iain Cassidy, who joins The Third Age Trust from CEO of Open Age, a London based charity that champions an active life for older adults. Iain replaces Sam Mauger, who has led the u3a movement for the last eight years - championing digital connection through the pandemic, celebrating the movement's 40th anniversary, and attending the first ever u3a festival.
Sherburn & Villages u3a member Margaret Fiddes became the Vice-Chair of the u3a movement and Croydon u3a member Jenny became the new Trustee for London.
In the meeting, Allan Walsmley recognised new u3as which had been set up in the last year - Borough Green and Wrotham u3a, and Cowal u3a. He also congratulated all u3as who had reached milestone anniversaries in 2024, and especially those celebrating 40th anniveraries - Abergavenny u3a, Bradford u3a, Bristol u3a, Harpenden u3a, Merton u3a, Saffron Walden u3a, Stevenage u3a and Tynedale u3a.
The AGM saw members vote on a resolution to change the articles of association of The Third Age Trust, with a view to change the governance structure of the u3a movement.The resolution needed to have a 75% majority to pass - and did, with 905 out of 1073 total votes in favour of the resolution. The Third Age Trust will now move towards having a smaller Board of Trustees and a new Council with regional representatives, both of which will be in place by April 2025.
A recording of the AGM video will be available to watch on the u3a YouTube channel in the coming weeks.