2009 AGM Annual General Meeting

The Review of the Year by the outgoing Chair, Professor Deirdre Kelly can be read here and the introduction letter by the incoming Chair, Marion Roberts, below.

Dear Member,

It was a great privilege to be elected to the Chair of our Society at the Annual General Meeting and here, I would like to pay great tribute to our outgoing Chairman, Professor Deirdre Kelly, for all her work in moving the Lunar Society forward. I will, as I always have done, continue that work by involving members through listening, motivating and facilitating, in an open way, with particular emphasis on contemporary concerns. The Executive Committee and I will also be meeting and talking to the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Councillor Michael Wilkes; the Minister for the West Midlands, Ian Austin.MP and the new Chairman of Advantage West Midlands, Sir Roy McNulty.CBE.

Our region and its people are, at present, unsure of their future. There is fragmentation and a lack of direction. Many will say, ‘We’ve been here before – so what?’ I say that it’s time for that attitude to cease. The West Midlands – one of the great powerhouses and innovators in manufacturing has been hard hit by this current recession. Many are no longer in employment and feel that loss – both of esteem, of earning capacity and the effect that has on families. We need to formulate, with other interested groups and parties, a cohesive strategy, a new spirit of innovation to help bring about better social and economic conditions for all, enhancing lives and the regeneration of our region.

As potential members, we are asked what we can contribute to the Lunar Society. I now ask each of you to look again at that statement and to offer those skills and abilities, through ideas and/or proposals, in whatever way you feel will help bring a new Industrial Revolution to our region. My watchwords will be communication, co-operation and collaboration, for the benefit of all, so that once again, all working together, as did the original Lunar Men, we can ‘surprise the World’.


Marion Roberts.