Newbury Speakers Club Celebrates 40 years

Newbury Speakers Club recently celebrated its 40th anniversary in a special meeting last month. Attending the meeting as special guests were Councillor Andy Moore, OBE, then deputy Mayor, and Rupa Datta, Divisional Director. The club, which enables people to practice public speaking and leadership skills, chartered in May 1984, as part of Toastmasters International. It was first formed under the name of Anglo-American Speakers, by staff at USAF Greenham Common, and local people were able to join too. But they had to technically travel to the US for meetings, as they were held inside the air base, and members had to take their passports and change their money to dollars to buy refreshments.

At the anniversary meeting the club formally presented the annual awards, Pictured are, from left to right, guests and award winners Rupa Datta, Alexis Sugden, Kate Jones, Cllr. Any Moore, Alexander Herbert and club president Colin Barker.

Since the early days the club moved to other venues in Newbury, and they currently meet twice a month at Nuffield Health on the race course. If you wish to know more about the club please visit www.newburyspeakers.org.