The year which has seen the celebration of our 18^th birthday has been a busy and eventful one.

The unhappy resignation of Ken M as chairman plus the resignation of four other members of the Executive Committee resulted in the disciplining of a sixth member.  This unhappy episode led to the remaining members being obliged to look at GMT and how it is organised. The proposals were radical and a sub committee was set up in the Autumn to look at them in detail. This was followed by an Ex Co meeting to consider the proposals and  the ultimate conclusion to all this was a Special General Meeting held in February at which the proposals were accepted by a large majority of the membership. 

The changes involved an updating and simplification of our constitution and making it more relevant to our needs.  Part of the simplification process led also to the abandonment of  the 'Ouch Contract'.  The Ex Co were of the opinion that it wasn't working and that it was far better to treat members as responsible adults than to make up lots of rules that could be broken.

Greater equality was also thought desirable. The title of Executive Committee was abandoned in favour of The Committee and the distinction between members and visitors was dropped. All those coming along to GMT are now regarded as members.

Greater involvement too was another priority if GMT was to continue to serve at its present level and this meant the most radical changes of all.  The committee itself had been top heavy with 13 members at one point and is now restricted to 6 to 8 members. Membership through the payment of a fee has been abandoned in favour of practical help and  the introduction of Helpers.  Helpers support the committee in doing a variety of tasks and this not only includes tasks such as domestic duties but being welcomers and  taking up official positions such as Official Photographer and Newsletter Editor.  Committee members include the chairman, treasurer, secretary and assistant secretary plus the creation of a new post  of liaison officer. The task of this officer is to liaise between the committee and those who hold official positions who are not on the committee. Ed R currently holds this position and is therefore our first liaison officer. All committee members and officers stand for one year but can put themselves forward for another term at the AGM if they wish to do so. Helpers can  also put themselves forward to the committee and only Helpers can vote at the AGM. These members demonstrate their commitment to GMT and it is only right that they should have a say in how GMT is governed. The response to becoming a Helper has been fantastic and  it is not only heartening to know that the vast majority of members are now Helpers but it bodes well for the future.

The introduction of a 50p Entrance Fee is also another major change. This replaces charges for tea and coffee and entitles members to as many cups as they want.  Members can make a donation of a second 'cuppa' if they wish to do so. It was also thought important that everyone, with some exceptions, should make a contribution to GMT even if it was only 50p. The entrance fee now brings in twice to three times more money that the tea and coffee charges ever did and more than makes up for any revenue that we may have lost through the abandonment of a membership fee.  A large majority voted in favour of  the Entrance Fee at a meeting after the Special General Meeting.

We have also been working hard “behind the scenes” in many other ways.  We have a great new logo designed by Shane R and chosen by members last summer.  It can be seen in all  its glory on our new banner. Our old banner was the worse for wear and needed re-placing. Then when we had our summer picnic at Middleton-in Teesdale, Colin M, by a great coincidence, met a banner maker, Jan B, from the village, who kindly designed and made us a new banner for £150.00, much cheaper than if it had been made commercially and we intend using it at this year's Newcastle Pride. The logo can also been seen on our very own mugs. These are now being used on Wednesday evenings.  Some mugs were sold  for members to take home as keepsakes. All these changes not only give GMT a new image but celebrates the fact that we are the longest running group for gay and bi men  in the North East of England. 

In July GMT took part in Northern Pride and for the first time we had our very own stall and our very own T shirts and in November our AIDS Quilt found a new home when it was donated to the Discovery Museum. This was originally designed by members under the leadership of Donty B.

We have also bought a second steel, lockable cupboard, which we use as our 'admin' and games cupboard, allowing the old one to house our refreshments, mugs etc. The secretary has a new computer and both he and the assistant secretary have had new printers, which greatly improve the quality and efficiency of our paperwork.  Quite a number of our procedural documents have been re-written. The treasurer has done major work in re-organising and simplifying the keeping of our accounts. Our next major tasks are to overhaul our website and make it much simpler to use – this is important, because about half of our new members find out about us through the website – and to help the secretary to gain access to the internet, linking to the website and with the facility to send and receive emails. 

The Wednesday meetings continue to be as diverse as ever.  First Wednesdays are firmly established as our monthly social, At Home evenings and our evenings of bring and share, discussions, quizzes, games,  films, fund raising and parties are all part of the main diet.  And we mustn't forget our guest speakers. This year our guests included:  Ben the drag artist who goes under the name of Crystal Decanter, PC Dave W the LGBT Police Liaison Officer, Lesley from the STD Clinic, Janet O from MESMAC  who gave a talk on Domestic Abuse and who will forget the rise in the temperatures when Jonathan M and Aaron of The Ravens rugby team paid us a visit.

The Outdoor Group continues with varying degrees of success .  It isn't always given the support it deserves and some events have had to be cancelled.  Trips have included those to York and the Farne Islands and the summer picnic in July to Middleton-in-Teesdale was well attended as was the Theatre outing to Matthew Bourne's 'Swan Lake'.  Hassy took on the role of chairman in September when Andy resigned due to work commitments.  

David B continues to do sterling work as the Official Photographer as does Steven, our Newsletter Editor.  Andy R continues as our Website Master and Clive G  as our Refreshment  Officer.  A special thanks must go to Colin M who reluctantly took on the role of Acting Chairman to oversee the necessary changes of the now former Ex Co.  We are greatly indebted to him. 

Attendance figures continue to average between 25 to 30  plus at our Wednesday meetings and those attending for the first time average around the 5 to 6 number in any given month.

So to sum up:  a busy year, a difficult year in some ways  but, with changes now in place, hopefully we can now look forward to a happier and more fulfilling future. My thanks, on behalf of the committee, to all those of you who have not only supported GMT during the year but  have also given your practical help in whatever capacity.

Derek J  (April 2010)