Bridgnorth Twinning Association looking for new members
A town is on a mission to recruit more members for its twinning association.
Bridgnorth Twinning Association is looking to boost its membership to around 300 members, as the new chair explained the association is at a 'crossroads'.
Former Bridgnorth Mayor Ron Whittle was elected as the new chair at the recent AGM of the association, succeeding Mike Proudman, with Lindy MacDonald retaining her position as vice-chair.
Ron said: "At the moment we have around 35 members, and we are looking to boost the membership to around 300 people.
"I don't think that's unrealistic considering the population in Bridgnorth and the surrounding area.
"The association is now at a crossroads for, compared with the 300 who went to Thiers for the first twinning ceremony over 40 years ago, our numbers are currently small and without urgent action the association could fail. I am determined that this will not happen and with the assistance of our committee and Bridgnorth Town Council we aim to see a major re-vitalisation of interest in twinning."
The association has weathered the storms of Brexit and Covid-19, despite two trips to their twin town of Schrobenhausen in Bavaria being cancelled.
In fact, Bridgnorth is twinned with two towns on the continent - Schrobenhausen in Germany and Thiers in France.
"Our work hasn't been affected too much by Brexit," Ron explained.
"Whatever your feelings about that vote, I think it's important to maintain a connection with our European neighbours, and the connections to Thiers and Schrobenhausen are very strong.
"I suspect that there are lots of our residents that would welcome the chance to be part of an opportunity to enjoy fellowship with our near neighbours, either by Twinning Festivals in those towns, hosting visitors when we hold our Twinning Festival each third year or by contact through social media, individual visits and so on.
"There is also an opportunity for schools, sports clubs and local parish councils to be part of vitality. Schrobenhausen has a very active music school and so local musical clubs could also be involved.
"Residents who are interested should contact me at ronawhittle@icloud.com or if you want to discuss this or have additional ideas call me on 07801 615880.”
The normal membership fee is £10, but as a special recruitment offer the committee has agreed a reduced fee of £1 for this year.
The next big event for Bridgnorth Twinning Association will be held in 2022, when they will be hosting a delegation from Schrobenhausen and celebrating 30 years of twinning with the Bavarian town.
