2016 has been a year of change for the Board, positive change.  It has been a year of hard work and positive engagement with the community.    The grant structure has been slimmed down  and there has been a broader and fairer distribution of grants throughout the community with emphasis away from individuals towards community based groups.   The energy grant to every home in Strathnairn was well received and the feedback received on our new plans was overwhelmingly in favour. It has been decided to keep this grant and increase it this year by £20.

New initiatives have been encouraged, such as the Strathnairn Music Initiative, and it is to be hoped that other groups will come forward with innovative schemes and ideas.  This year when the board has received grant applications which did not quite meet our criteria attempts were made to liaise with the group and work together to try and facilitate and thanks must be due to directors who have given of their free time for this.

Farr Hall and Strathnairn Hall are now funded so that Strathnairn-based groups can have free use without having to apply year on year for funding. There are plans afoot for both halls to be upgraded starting shortly with Farr Hall whose plans are well under way. I am sure most people have now seen the refurbished Play Park in Farr which has been well received and is being widely used.  It was a joy to be at the opening in October when the children ran through the ribbon and rushed immediately to play. 2016 has been a record year for funding and we hope to continue positively engaging with the community in future.

The board now has its own website and our thanks are due to Paul and Scott who worked so hard to get this up and running.  It is very well done and easy to access information.

We have had a very busy year and a lot of hard work and long meetings and thanks are due to all the directors who have given tirelessly of their time and talents, but we must thank a few people in particular.  Some directors are standing down at this meeting and the board owes a debt of gratitude to Mike Fitzgerald for his wise and able handling of the Chair and the legacy of change and innovation he has left.  Thanks are also due to Trevor Colbourne, vice chair, who had hoped to be here tonight but is detained by family circumstances and has sent a note which will be placed on the website. We are also losing Norma Duncan who will be greatly missed for her wise and thoughtful approach to every decision. We are pleased to have with us Mrs Christine Macpherson, who has applied to join us.   The board has decided due to the lack of applications to keep the process open and hope that some people may be persuaded to join us next year.

This year we have made some return on our investment. Thanks are also due to our Company Secretaries, Hayley, who left in the summer and David whose patience and tolerance knows no bounds.  Sadly we are also losing David and have decided to obtain the services of Foundation Scotland who are experts in the field of Wind farm Benefit funding and this will hopefully give us a sense of continuity.

The board remains committed to liaising with the community and bringing forward more exciting projects in the future.