We need your help to get more members for the Trust - TrustNews August 1990
An essential task of the Winchester Preservation Trust is to represent our likes, dislikes and proposals for improvement of the Winchester environment to those in authority, whether it is to the Winchester City Council, the Hampshire County Council, the Inspector at an Official Enquiry, the Government, or some other authority or organisation who can help us. When these authorities receive observations, complaints or suggestions from the Winchester Preservation Trust, their first reaction is "How many people does the Trust represent?". If the answer is " well, there's me and - er - my wife, and Mr. Smith and - er - those two people down the road who are always writing to the Hampshire Chronicle", there is always a suspicion that the comment has come as a result of a garden-gate gathering with little expertise or understanding of the problem.
On the other hand, if the person in authority knows that the Winchester Preservation Trust has an increasing membership of several hundreds and is a responsible, efficient and financially sound organisation, then the reaction is very different - they sit up and listen!
To maintain the current status and respect in which it is held, the Winchester Preservation Trust must work very hard to maintain and increase its membership.
You may be surprised to learn how many existing members of the Winchester Preservation Trust leave Winchester, become seriously ill, die or decide to cease membership for some reason each month. We need to reach double figures for new membership each month to sustain and slowly increase our numbers.
During the past six months we have consistently failed to reach double figures - and this is worrying.
Action
The best source of new members is a recommendation from existing members. We would therefore ask all existing members to give us the names of friends or acquaintances who might be interested in becoming subscribing members of the Winchester Preservation Trust (Single £3 per year, Family £4 per year) especially if you think that their experience or expertise might help us improve Winchester as a pleasant, interesting and progressive City in which to live.
With this Newsletter you will find a "Recommendation Form" for this purpose, and the people you propose will be sent a simple membership application form and a brochure which outlines the objectives and activities of the Winchester Preservation Trust.