Things are changing at Wincanton Window
Since October 2009, Wincanton Window has been bringing you news, views and opinions from around the area. Seven years! How time flies!
Our intention was always to be an unbiased, non-profit-making, volunteer-based organisation; we decided that the best way to assure that objective was to become a charity, which duly took place in 2011. From then until now, Wincanton Window has been headed up by a board of trustees and run on a day-to-day basis by a volunteer editor and website manager.
With time comes change, and we wanted to let everyone know about a few changes coming to Wincanton Window. Don’t worry, they’re all based around some internal restructuring so you shouldn’t notice a thing – we’ll still be bringing you the same in-depth local news, publishing your articles, views and opinion pieces.
So here’s what’s going on...
Wincanton Window’s charitable status
First of all, the trustees decided that Wincanton Window’s day-to-day operation was so straightforward, and their own involvement (whilst always supportive and knowledgeable) so infrequent, that its formal charitable status was overkill. The Window doesn’t raise money, pay wages, have many expenses and has only ever received a few donations of money.
It’s therefore been decided the wind up Wincanton Window’s charitable status and for the time-being the organisation will revert to its pre-2011 status as a simple, volunteer-led community venture.
I’d like to thank all our trustees: Richard Porter (Chair), John O’Neill (Treasurer) and John Baxter (who was also Wincanton Window’s first editor) for their enthusiastic support for Wincanton Window over the last seven years, their expertise and hard work involved in setting up and running a charity, and their unstinting support for myself and Dave whenever we’ve needed them.
Change of editor
I’m afraid I’m responsible for the next change! Quite by coincidence, at the same time the trustees were considering the Window’s status, I made the difficult decision to end my time as editor. After five years in this role (and the previous two as sub-editor), I felt an increasing need to reclaim some spare time, ease myself out from behind my laptop and spend more quality time with my kids while they’re still young enough to want to spend time with me!
I’ve loved my time with Wincanton Window. It’s taught me a lot about online publishing and brought me into contact with some great local people and businesses; whatever I do in the future, Wincanton Window will always have a special place in my heart.
Your new editor is no stranger to Wincanton Window and he’s a well-known figure in the community, too. Dave Smith has been there from day one, designing, building and maintaining the website, publishing your articles, running around town taking photos and generally chasing up the details that I was, quite frankly, too busy to chase up myself. He’s a nifty editor too, and pretty much the only person I’d trust with my red pen, so you’ll be in very capable hands.
I want to thank Dave for everything he’s taught me over the years – what little I ever cared to know about geeky stuff is entirely down to him. He’s also been a fantastic friend, something I hope will continue (even though my departure is giving him more work to do – sorry!) and I wish both him and Wincanton Window all the best. I know he has some great ideas to develop the Window in the future, so keep tuning in; the best is surely yet to come!
We still need you!
The one thing that hasn’t changed is that Wincanton Window is still primarily powered by your articles. Dave and his dad, John Smith, write up as much as they can, but their time is limited and they do occasionally work for a living! We know we’re scratching the surface of what’s happening in the community, so we need you to tell us about it.
Keep sending your articles and images to . If you’re not a confident writer, get in touch and we’ll do our best to help you tell your story or share details of your event.
Comments
Posts: 1
Reply #1 on : Sat March 18, 2017, 22:35:51
Login to comment!