It was great to see over 120 of our shareholders, partners and families on Saturday 14^th June at Caldbeck Parish Hall for the first AGM for Hesket Newmarket Community Shop.  We were delighted by the response from those gathered who showed unanimous support to all the motions posed.  We have always tried to involve the community in all aspects, and it was commented on by a great number of those present who said that they had actually had all their questions answered before asking them. 

Goodbye and hello

We formally said goodbye to John Brown and Helena Davies, but we are not letting them off lightly as John will still be on hand for support, and Helena is going to continue to run our social media for the time being and will still be there for advice as well.  We also welcomed Garry Hobson who is joining us on the Management Team, and we are all looking forward to working with him.

The Post Office contract

The good news for the day was that Simon and Michelle had sat through two hours of an interview/interrogation with the Post Office and had ‘passed with flying colours’, and we have subsequently been issued with the Post Office contract which is being looked at in detail before we sign it. We thanked Tim Cartmell who had also had a look at all the 130 pages!!  Once all the i’s have been dotted and the t’s crossed, we will sign it and formally start the training to use the ‘forbidden till!’

Our wonderful community

Special thanks to Helen Mumberson from The Old Crown who set up and ran a bar for the BIG LUNCH which followed the AGM and served the very first pints of the Hesket Hat Trick beer which was brewed by the Hesket Newmarket Brewery to honour the three community owned businesses.  Thanks also to Pat and Ian Shaw who were there to help set up and at the end of the event to put everything away again.  Pat also made all the lovely flower arrangements for the tables.

We had so many helpers on the day and those who made salads and puddings need special thanks as everyone commented on how lovely the lunch was. Burgers and sausages were expertly cooked by Margaret and Richard Brough who made cooking over 250 items look easy!! Margaret also made the delicious bean chilli. The BIG LUNCH which was supported by Food Cumbria with a grant from Cumberland Council was supposed to be a community event, and it certainly was. 

Thank you to each and every one of you who helped and who attended our first AGM.  For those who were unable to attend the minutes from the morning are on our website, for those and other news visit https://hesketnewmarket-communityshop.co.uk/ or follow us on Facebook or Instagram