Dear Companions, there were many new initiatives introduced during the 2019-2020 year of our order one of which was the idea of a Travelling Loving Cup, an initiative designed to help encourage RA members to visit other Chapters.
Through your enthusiasm I was delighted to see it moving around the Province which it did for its initial year, but recently it has been stuck in the safe hands of Leigh Chapter where it is being cared for by E Comp Mike Hogarth.
As most of the Chapters in the Province have far fewer members than Leigh Chapter I’ve decided to fine tune the TLC idea so that all Chapters have an equal opportunity to be recipients of this lovely emblem of our society, if only for a few short months!
As and when our Province resumes a state of normality in terms of Chapters meeting regularly once more, a state of operation we’re used to experiencing, I intend to place an obligation on Leigh Chapter members to within 2 months of that notice to have selected by agreement, and have visited another Chapter outside of their usual meeting rooms to present them with the TLC.
In accepting the visit and therefore the TLC from Leigh, the receiving chapter will then enter an obligation to have handed it on, by agreement, to another Warwickshire Chapter that meets in a different centre. Each time it is handed on the TLC must be escorted by at least three Companions from the host chapter to ensure its safe delivery.
I would suggest the hand-over is made during the visitors’ response at the Festive board, and if photos of its transfer to the recipient Chapter could be captured these could be used to make a record of its journey around the province through the Provincial website and social media.
This will I’m sure ensure the TLC keeps moving around our Province and will enable some of our smaller Chapters to both receive it and to hand it on and I hope this will encourage more inter visiting to occur.
Philip