By Keighley & Craven CAMRA

Volunteers…CAMRA needs you!

“Volunteers are not paid, not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless!”

I stumbled across this phrase on a meme on Facebook and it got me thinking – just what makes a CAMRA volunteer?

At a recent committee meeting, Fred Baker, our long time branch secretary and editor of Alesman, our local pubs newsletter, found a copy of our 1985 membership list. This was the first full year that the branch was running.

There are 50 names on that list, three of which were actually in our meeting, holding committee posts and still active after 33 years.

I could also see five more names of people who still regularly attend as supporters of our events. That is quite a respectable 16 per cent of the list.

Thinking back to my time as a publican and CAMRA member in the late ‘80s I remember branch meetings with 45 to 50 people attending.

This meant probably all the 50 people on that list could be classed as actively supporting the campaign, enjoying drinking real ale in pubs and joining us on socials.

Fred also found the very first copy of the Alesman, which was from summer 1986. It features our first Beer Festival, at the TA Drill Hall in Lawkholme Lane, which featured 35 beers.

I’m sure nearly all the 50 members on that old list either worked or attended. These days our branch stands at 530 members, but we get less than 30 who actively participate in branch trips and pub surveys and who help us to run our beer festival.

Just 13 were present at a recent branch meeting, less than 2.5 per cent of the total membership. Some of you reading this may be members but have never got around to coming to a meeting or working at our festivals.

Sadly this has meant that for the past few years we’ve not been able to hold a festival in Keighley, instead concentrating our time and efforts at our Skipton venue.

Recently several active members have retired and moved away from the branch.

To run events safely we need to recruit some new faces to take on small jobs (with training) on the organising committee,

or even just to help behind the bars as staff. Otherwise our 13th Skipton Festival next Easter may well be “unlucky for more than some!”

We’re therefore asking, did you come to the festival and enjoy it? The feedback we’ve had from you indicates you did!Are you a CAMRA member, or a regular real ale drinker who is willing to become one of those priceless volunteers and give a few hours of your time, drinking beer and helping us organise events?

If we get enough support we may even be able to hold the festival in Keighley once more.

Come along to a branch meeting or social, have a pint with us and see what we do and how you can help. See the events list below or visit keighleyandcraven.camra.org.uk

EVENTS

July 21: Saturday Social bowls afternoon, Broughton Road Bowling Club, Skipton. Noon till 5pm or later.
July 28: Saturday Social / Presentation Summer “Pub of the Season” Talbot Arms, Settle, 2.30pm . 1:43pm train from Keighley.
August 7: Tuesday Branch Meeting, Lamb, Oxenhope, 8.15pm. Bus (B3) from Keighley at 7.35pm.
September 4: Tuesday Branch meeting, Cafe Choux Choux, Station Forecourt, Keighley, 8pm.