As the Chairman of Breasclete Community Association, it is my pleasure to present to you my report for the year 2010.  Chairman’s reports, by their very nature, tend to be repetitive and contain all the requisite thanks that are due to those who help run the organisation.  This report is no different, but the organisation which it represents is different.  It’s a vibrant active community and at the outset, as I analyse our achievements as a community, praise and thanks are due to many individuals and indeed the community at large. 

Breasclete Community Association was set up many years ago to look after the social needs and aspirations of the area.  It continues to fulfil that remit in the best possible way by encompassing all age groups and offering a variety of activities and interests to the entire community.  The community centre offers a focus for these activities and interests, generates enthusiasm and stimulates a strong community feeling.  There is now over ten years since we started work in trying to secure funding for the community centre and what a worthwhile exercise it has proved to be.  I am convinced that the centre has done more for our community than anything else and it has galvanised sound community ties and healthy partnership working.

In times past we are told of strong community bonds and when we seem, unfortunately, to be moving to a more individualistic society, where people are of the impression that they can do things on their own, we still foster a generous measure of community union.  The weddings that we host – six this year and another six for next year – are events that I consider as exciting challenges which bring the community together to achieve a collective goal.  We get regular compliments regarding this traditional community spirit which encompasses cooks, bakers, potato peelers, waitresses, car park attendants, dish washers, cleaners, etc. etc.  A huge thank you to you all for making this possible.

I consider my position as chairman of BCA a real privilege.  It can be a challenging position at times, but it is made easier by the willing help that is always available from my fellow directors, office bearers, and various committee members. I thank you all most sincerely for your continued interest in the association and for your support and wisdom during the past year.

I wish to pay particular thanks this year to our retiring secretary Anne MacIver who had a very busy year and kept me right many times, and also to Christina Murray our treasurer who has kept our finances in a very healthy state through begging and borrowing, despite many difficulties. 

This time last year I reported that we were about to embark on an ambitious kitchen extension and refurbishment project, together with a new gym facility, which was to cost just over £200,000.  I am delighted to say this year that the kitchen project is complete, with the gym nearing completion.  We have managed to fund the project and we have once again built up a reserve.  This is a huge credit to the association and the work has been of real benefit to the centre users.   

Thanks are due to HIE, the Comhairle and SRDP who were all key funders of the project.  I also wish to thank UBC Ltd for producing a quality job on time and on budget.  The workmanship was exemplary and it was a pleasure to work with them.  Securing funding is very hard work in these times of financial restriction, but it is a real credit to this community to have one of the best multi-purpose centres in these islands.  I urge you all to treat this asset as an inheritance that we have to foster, manage, maintain and pass on to future generations for their enjoyment.  I wish to commend the voluntary effort that is evident in this community, and especially evident to those who give and receive that effort.

Special thanks are due to all who lead and supervise clubs from the youngest to the oldest, to all who sit on committees, to everyone who helps with the many weddings that we successfully managed this year.  I also wish to pay particular thanks to Merrilyn Macaulay who almost single-handedly produces a marvellous magazine year on year, and this year again she has produced a quality publication for you all to enjoy.

This year we have launched a new logo for the association (see it on the facing page). We  hope to erect a flag pole at the Community Centre which will carry two flags, one with the new BCA logo and the other with the school logo.  The new logo was designed by our very own ABC club and was judged to be the best out of a number of competition entries.  The logo depicts three local landscapes and uses the letters BCA to spell “Beiridh Cairdeas Adhartas” which translates as “Friendship fosters progress” – a very appropriate definition of Breasclete Community Association.

Community is described as “a social group sharing common characteristics and interest” and it is fair to say that we live in such a community.  I hope that everyone in this community feels that they can be part of it and that we can all work together for the overall good of our area. 

In conclusion, and at the end of another very busy year of genuine hard work for BCA, may I encourage you all to do your wee bit for your community, and when we all come together we can continue to strive for further developments.  There must always be another goal, another dream, and another possibility.  We always need to be positive in our approach; let us meet the challenges with a sense of purpose, enthusiasm, and a belief that whatever we do, it must be for the overall good of the community we serve.