Membership Renewal
The renewal date of 31st July has now passed for those PSPS members who pay their subscription annually.
As National Chairman I would like to extend my appreciation to all PSPS members for their support over the past 12 months and I hope that those members who have yet to renew for 2018-2019 will now do so.
The Society is a membership organisation which holds the majority shareholding in two charitable companies – Waverley Steam Navigation Company Ltd which owns Waverley and Paddle Steamer Kingswear Castle Trust Ltd which owns Kingswear Castle. PSPS is therefore the ultimate controlling party in the ownership of our two paddle steamers. The Society’s strength is its members and as such I am grateful to each and every member for playing their part. All members should feel a sense of pride in being part of the Society and in playing a part in preserving Waverley and Kingswear Castle so that they can be enjoyed by the thousands of passengers who sail on each steamer every year.
PSPS membership payment can be by debit/credit card, cheque or by direct debit.
I would therefore ask that any member who has yet to renew their membership considers doing so as soon as possible. To renew online using a card, simply visit www.paddlesteamers.org/renew and follow the instructions or to renew by post complete the form issued with the summer issue of Paddle Wheels.
Looking Ahead
Since becoming PSPS National Chairman at last year’s AGM in November I have been working with the other Trustees to formulate a 3 year Development Plan for the charity. This is now finalised and will be published to members with the Autumn Paddle Wheels in early September. The Development Plan lists five Key Priorities in addition to a subsection on marking the Diamond Jubilee of the Society next year.
2019 will also mark the Golden Jubilee of the Scottish Branch and in addition we will hopefully see Maid of the Loch being fully restored. It looks set to be a year with much to celebrate.
The cover of the the 2018-2021 Development Plan. The full plan will be issued to all PSPS members.
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The Development Plan is ambitious but it does contain targets which we are already working towards, indeed some have already been achieved such as the restyling of our Paddle Wheels magazine which has received much positive feedback. Our magazine is one of the main benefits of being a PSPS member and I would therefore encourage members to contribute with articles and/or pictures – it is your magazine! Details of how to send contributions to the editor for future issues are given on the inside front cover.
Increasing the Society’s presence on social media is also an agreed target within the Development Plan and significant progress has been made. We now have a well established YouTube Channel with over 40 videos added in the past 6 months alone. (New material is very welcome, particularly archive footage of paddle steamers – please just get in touch). Our Facebook page continues to reach well over 10,000 a week. Our Twitter account has an increasing number of followers and more recently our Instagram account has started to develop with over 50 posts in the past two weeks. Members are very welcome to contribute to these by submitting pictures and videos.
Attracting new members to help increase the strength of the Society is central to the Development Plan and following our £10 Introductory Offer early this year we had a large number of new members signing up during an ‘off-season’ period. I would encourage anyone reading this who is not yet a member to now join us. Annual membership starts from only £10 for those under 26 or £25 otherwise. By joining you have the opportunity to be involved in our work, help support our Paddle Steamers and gain access to a range of exclusive benefits including receiving your FREE copy of our Paddle Wheels magazine every 3 months. Join today online.
Once again I would like to convey my sincere thanks to all those who have supported the Society in the past 12 months and I hope that each and every member will continue to offer their support as we take the Society forward.
Thinking of Joining?
New members are always very welcome to join. To sign up online simply go to www.paddlesteamers.org/join and follow the instructions. New members can also join aboard Waverley. Anyone joining on Waverley will receive a welcome pack with a HALF-PRICE Cruising Voucher for their next Waverley cruise (valid for one year from the date of issue).
