History & background
Although the u3a movement has been going since 1981, Exmouth & District u3a was only started on 1st April 2012. Many of those who started our u3a are still members, including our first Chairman, Nick Ricketts.
From the nearly 300 members in the first year, we have grown to over 1,000 by 2024.
Where we cover
Although more than half of our members live in Exmouth, we have members in Budleigh Salterton, Woodbury, Lympstone, Topsham and other localities. With the option of associate membership, we have around 20 Exeter u3a members who also belong to our u3a.
Committee – 2024-2025
| Role | Name | Photo | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chair Aside from chairing committee meetings, the Chair is the public face of our u3a. Photo by Maurice Chittock. | Mike Turff |  | Chair |
| Vice Chair Fulfils all of the functions of the Chair in his/her absence and covers/co-ordinates the various non-committee roles | Lyn Holmes |  | Vicechair |
| Secretary Organises all correspondence and the circulation of information. | Olivia Pyne |  | Secretary |
| Treasurer Handles all Exmouth & District u3a finances | Olwen Smith |  | Treasurer |
| Groups Coordinator Exmouth & District u3a has a Groups Coordinator whose principal role is to liaise with group organisers to ensure that there is mutual collaboration and cooperation between groups where required, cross fertilisation of ideas and good practice, and a common adherence to professional standards of operation and accountability. | John Smith |  | Groups |
| Membership Secretary Responsible for the handling of all membership applications and renewals | Nigel Day |   | Membership |
All committee and other posts are filled by volunteers. The Chair, Secretary and Treasurer can only hold the post for three years and must then step down.
In addition to u3a members who are on the committee and who are the trustees of the u3a, we have a number of other u3a members who have volunteered to undertake various roles to help the u3a, including: Database Administrator, Equipment Manager, the Group Organisers, the Meeters & Greeters at the Monthy Meetings, Minutes Secretary, Newsletter Editor, Speaker Organiser, YouTube Administrator, Website Manager and website support, and Zoom Administrator.
We are always looking for additional volunteers to support and shadow the committee and other roles.
The current constitution is the one that was revised in 2022 and operative from the u3a AGM in May 2022. You can see this in the Guidance for Members box of the Documentation section.
Annual General Meeting – 2024
This year’s AGM was held at Exmouth Pavilion on Thursday 9th May 2024 at 10:30 am. The agenda and other documents for the AGM were sent direct to members on 18 April, and these papers are also in the first AGM box in the Documentation section for members who are logged in..
The officers and members of the committee were re-elected, and details of our current committee are above. It was also agreed that the annual membership fee would remain at £12. A recording of the AGM is on our Exmouth & District u3a YouTube channel – AGM video