43 years on - A Volunteer's story: by Dudley Davenport

First day at the Office: 1965. "Welcome to Lincoln National Assistance Board I am the Union Rep, HASSRA and CSSC rep. Sign here it is only a mere pittance a week". Being an Ex. RAF man, used to orders, I duly signed. Does it bring back memories?

Two/three years later - still paying those subscriptions and not receiving any information or benefits. We are now the Ministry of Social Security and the Union are calling for strike action! Low pay is the problem - have times changed? No idea what CSSC really stands for or what I could expect for my subscriptions. Then one day out of the blue a young John Rollitt asked if I was interested in a free pint at a local hostelry. Apparently it was the CSSC Lincoln Area, AGM and the inducement to attend was a free drink and buffet. As far as I can recall seven male members were present, so it is not to difficult to understand that I was elected, along with all those present, to be either an officer or a Committee member. Little did I know that 43 years later I would still be a "volunteer". Strange to reflect back on those days but for several years all the committee were male. It was a true boys club which catered for male activities. How times have changed for the better.

It is fair to say in those early days it was just a case of turning up at the quarterly meetings and listen to the "old boys" organising the annual cricket match and the odd game of five -a side football. I do recall that table tennis was the highlight of our activities with several of the Committee participating. . Funding was left to the treasurer and he made sure that what we received was the best kept secret since the Atomic bomb! Officers' reports at the AGM were nodded through by what were totally uneducated members who really did not understand what it was all about. To be fair those early Committee members did a sterling job because without them Lincoln Area just would not have managed to survive or even exist!

Trying to stimulate interest within the office was both time consuming and not very effective. Management were not too happy with the amount of time being expended in trying to recruit and in some cases retain members. Informal chats about CSSC activities were frowned upon. Nothing seems to have changed! No one seemed very interested and trying to get the ladies to attend meetings let alone become committee members was in the main unsuccessful .To be fair to the ladies we just did not offer any meaningful inducements. Apparently we only had limited funding so the thought of organising a social event was not on the agenda..

However within a few years Lincoln Area had changed beyond all recognition. We now had a progressive Committee with a strong identity who offered a wide range of activities with something to suit the taste of all our members. We still had more male committee members than female committee members. However within the next ten years we had a complete turn about with female members in the ascendance, all of whom play a very active part in the organisation of all our activities. At last within the committee we seemed to have reached that accommodation between Social and sports activities; so much so that the social side of our activities is becoming ever more dominant.

It was in 1999 that after many, many years as Lincoln Chair I was forced to resign following the onset of the big "C". I cannot begin to tell you what a difference that made to my life. CSSC becomes a way of life, the comradeship, the buzz that you get when a trip that you have organised goes particularly well, the grateful thanks offered by members when you have managed to secure sponsorship on their behalf. But it is not all a bed of roses, yes there are days when you could do without rearranging trips, cancelling an activity that you thought would go well only to find it does not have the support to make it viable, turning out on a night when Manchester United are playing live on the TV! But the enjoyment far outweighs the difficult times. It was in 2001 that I was asked to take up the mantle of Lincoln Chair once again. The following two/three years saw Lincoln surge ahead with its sporting and social activities. But in those two years I found that the pressures had also changed. Life was becoming hectic with regular monthly meetings which could last anything up to 3 hours. We set ourselves a hard target of having at least one major activity per month. The committee was amazingly brilliant. Nothing was too much bother, they seemed to thrive on the challenge to find something different to organise.

After another five years or so as Chair I decided that it was time to move on. Whilst the buzz was still there I recognised that we had over that period 'recruited' a brilliant Vice chair, Sec. and Treasurer who were up for the challenge and were well able to contribute towards the continuous improvement our members had become to expect. Personally, if I am honest, it was a real hard decision to let go, but a necessary one. If we are to progress we need a constant change of ideas, new expertise and volunteers who are passionate about making CSSC a success. I still attend Lincoln Area monthly meetings and would guess that I am seen as the 'old boy' who has a little knowledge that from time to time is useful. For my sins I have recently become Midland Regional Vice Chair, a post which gives me the opportunity to tackle some of the wider issues. Here I am once again very fortunate to have joined a team of real experts who are up to the challenges that face us all.

We at Lincoln are without exception dedicated to building a strong, vibrant CSSC and to contribute to the continuous performance of CSSC as a whole, and at the same time enjoy the benefits that belonging to this fantastic 'club' brings.

Dudley Davenport