Association of Open University Graduates
AGM and Social Weekend
4th - 6th June 2010
The 2010 AGM weekend is to be held at the HOLIDAY INN - TAUNTON. As last year, the weekend will be open to all Open University Graduates, their friends, family and guests.
2009 was a very special year with Anniversary celebrations of both The Open University and our own Association and so that event was in the form of an extended weekend which also included OU events. This 2010 weekend will follow the more traditional format of the previous years.
Attendees are welcome to arrive from 1pm on the Friday afternoon to be greeted by AOUG members at our special Reception desk. After booking in with the hotel, they will receive their weekend information pack and then be able to either to go to settle themselves in their room, or to sit and chat over a tea or coffee with others attending the event. Displays of both AOUG Foundation for Education and AOUG Trading will be on display and it is hoped that attendees will browse awhile and maybe purchase some souvenirs.
Then the weekend is off in full swing with the first of the optional excursions :- where else but to a cider farm! Although guests, friends and adult family are always made most welcome, most graduates attend on their own, so this excursion is an excellent opportunity to put all in the mood to socialise. After the evening meal, there is an in-house event :- a sing along of "traditional songs" (in the loose term) from around the Regions and Nations organised by our host members of AOUG in the South West.
Saturday morning is the formal part of the weekend with the AGM meetings and members workshop. Non members are always welcome to attend these meetings but will not of course have voting rights and may only participate in the debates at the discretion of the Chairman.
After lunch the Executive Committee hold another meeting that welcomes observers but for all other attendees, there is the second of the optional excursions:- a vintage coach and steam train outing. Then the evening is the time to don your glad rags for the formal Gala evening. Some members wear Dinner Jackets or evening dresses but any smart attire is acceptable. (However we do not permit jeans, t-shirts or jumpers, however smart you may feel they may be).
The Gala Evening begins with a drinks reception, then the gala dinner and is followed by a speaker and then entertainment. This year's speaker is to be Dr Tweeney and the entertainment is dancing to the music of "The Friendly Folk". Special invited guests including from Open University and the local area are present to share the festivities and often stay to dance with us long into the night. During the evening you will also get the chance to purchase raffle tickets to try to win the donated prizes.
Sunday sees our final excursion, this time to Taunton itself, offering the chance to follow the Heritage Trial, explore the shops or simply relax and chat in a coffee shop. Then back for our final meal, Sunday lunch, before wishing fond farewells to all your new found friends.
Anyone who has never attended an AGM/Social weekend before can be reassured that, unless they decide to hibernate in their room, they will soon be welcomed into the mix of other first timers and old hands and will quickly wonder why they had never attended before. AOUG is a sociable, face to face organisation and it is at events like these that life long friendships develop.
Do come and join us!!
Click here for the provisional programme
Click here for travel information
Click here to download a booking form (Word doc - 207K)
Click here for information on optional excursions
Click here for a brief history of Taunton