London Leathermen<p><strong>A look back on my year at the committee</strong></p><p>To be brutally honest, I had absolutely no intention or expectation of joining the London Leathermen executive committee when I participated in last April’s AGM. You may even recall me barging into proceedings a few minutes late, as I had hurried from my home on the south coast, having wrestled with day-to-day commitments before leaping on a train.&nbsp;I was doubly embarrassed in that moment. Not only had I not quite made it on time, but I realised, looking at the assembled membership, that sadly my face would be lesser known to the newer members – the reason being personal challenges in recent years in attending events, including the wonderful regular socials.</p><p>I think we all find it hard to stop day-to-day life getting in the way of socialising and spending time with good friends and acquaintances. 2024 was absolutely no exception for me. I’ve reached that very particular point in life where cherished and aged parents have been deserving of my time and care. My own parents had moved from the family home of 40 years to a local bungalow. Further, my 93-year-old mother-in-law, bless her heart, is now very frail and needs particularly acute love and care.</p><p>Should anyone have asked if I was thinking of volunteering for anything that day, I would have gladly explained my situation and have effusively stated my commitment to future volunteering, but that <em>now is not the right time</em>. However, feeling the significance of the club coming together as it did that day, and hearing the club officers speak of their many successes over the preceding 12 months, when the impassioned call came for others to step up and do their bit, I realised that there never is exactly <em>the right time</em>, and put myself forward.</p><p>Now, as we approach the 2025 AGM, it is a great opportunity for me to pause and reflect on the last 12 months, and I can unquestionably say how delighted I am that I made that step. I reflect on how much less nervous I’d have been had I known how very welcoming and thoughtful the committee would be in how we met, communicated and distributed tasks. It’s amazing how modern technology provides flexibility and convenience in how people can co-operate together!</p><p>Despite my distance from London and the limitations on my time and schedule, I found I was nevertheless able to make meaningful contributions. I can’t stress enough how much the experience has given back. As always in life, going outside one’s comfort zone delivers great rewards. In this case I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that it has transformed club members who were good acquaintances and rendered them deeply appreciated friendships forged through shared challenges and successes.</p><p><strong>-James Shepherd, Club Liaison</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>London Leathermen would like to invite you to take a part of our Executive Committee, forming the leadership team that would take the club further over the next year. If you are interested, please submit an application with two backing members on <a href="https://forms.gle/jqbbYuUrvUy8jeM76" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">this link</a>.</strong></p> <strong>LDN Leathermen</strong> <p></p> <p><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://londonleathermen.co.uk/tag/agm/" target="_blank">#AGM</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://londonleathermen.co.uk/tag/executive-committee/" target="_blank">#ExecutiveCommittee</a></p>