Login | Register

29 July 2010

Headlines » About

About the Wincanton Window

We are here to provide you with up to date news, information and opinion and a full diary of what’s on. We provide an opportunity for every local club, shop, business, sport, church, activity and interest group to put out its message and communicate with its members and the wider public – for the benefit of everyone.  We are also here to stimulate debate and discussion about local issues in an open and balanced way.

As a result we hope to get to know each other better, to encourage a sense of community and to help us link up with others who share our interests.

To do this we need lots of contributions from YOU and to encourage you to use it. We hope as this takes off lots of people will find that what the Window provides is really interesting, important and can be a lot of fun.

Below:
How are we funded?
How are we organised?
How much does it cost?
What does the editor do?
Who runs the web site?
Our Chairman

About Us

How are we funded?

After doing a presentation to the whole Town Council we were given a grant of £400 and after putting our case to the District Council we received a start-up grant of £550. These worthwhile grants are enough for us to get started, but obviously to keep going we will have to become self-sustaining.

How are we organised?

We have a small organising committee. Chairman: Richard Porter,  Secretary: Elizabeth Baxter, Treasurer: John O’Neill and Editor: John Baxter. The website has been designed and built by Dave Smith as a contribution to the community. He is a graduate IT professional and will maintain the site at a reduced rate. Everyone else is involved as an unpaid volunteer.

To see how this works in practice look at the diagram.  From this you will see activities have been broken down into Sectors. Each Sector such as Sport or Retail is led by one or several Sector Promoters who encourage and help Contributors in their Sector.  If you click on a Sector it will bring up a list of the organisations or groups that are contributing.

 

Click for a larger view

 

How much does it cost?

Our Treasurer, John O’Neill:  John is a retired management accountant.

This year there is no charge for anyone. I will soon have a detailed account of our spending on line so you can see exactly where money goes and what we need. After a year once the benefits to us all become clear, opportunities for advertising will be discussed.  Charges should be very modest.

Here is a detailed account of our spending for 2009:

 

 

 

What does the editor do?

John Baxter: Photographer and former writer for the Journal.

The Wincanton Window is not just a web site. It is a new type of community publication taking advantage of the opportunities the internet age gives us. These amount to the biggest revolution in communication ever. The trick is to use this positively to empower people, encourage a sense of community and break down barriers. We need more open discussion of local issues than we have had and more sharing and celebrating of the many good things and fascinating people who are around us. My job then is to see this is done and encourage as much participation as possible, to help anyone who wishes to send in stories, pictures or comments and to keep things civil, legal, decent and interesting. So if you have a story or idea to contribute, or would like to help in some way PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL to

 

 

Who runs the web site?

The webmaster, Dave Smith: Local self-employed IT professional.

As the Wincanton Window webmaster it has been my job to build the site, as it will be to maintain it, evolve it, and to keep it up to date. It's clear that an online web-magazine is a bold move for a town like Wincanton, so everyone involved will need to work especially hard to ensure its success. For me this involves making it as easy as humanly possible for everyone to get involved. Unlike so many other web sites of this type, we've chosen a contribution model that allows anyone to write an article or submit a diary entry, as oposed to using dedicated writers. Although it means we should have plenty of information for the site, it also means we need to make sure everyone can take part easilly. Should you have any difficulties with the article template, preparing images, using the web site or your computer, you can contact me at .

 

 

Our chairman

The chairman, Richard Porter.

It is good to be associated with a venture that can benefit everyone in Wincanton and the surrounding area. For the first time there will be an easy and cheap (well its free actually) way for individuals and organisations to check their diaries, advertise their events, hear the local news and generally be aware of all that Wincanton has to offer from its range shops, businesses, health services, sports clubs, charities and churches. Wincanton Window will ultimately be only as good as its contributors so please support us with articles and suggestions for the future.