History & background
Although the u3a movement has been going since 1981, Exmouth & District u3a was only started on 1st April 2012. Many of those who started our u3a are still members, including our first Chairman, Nick Ricketts.
From the nearly 300 members in the first year, we have grown to over 1,100 by 2025.
Where we cover
Although more than half of our members live in Exmouth, we have members in Budleigh Salterton, Woodbury, Lympstone, Topsham and other localities. With the option of associate membership, we have around 20 Exeter u3a members who also belong to our u3a.
Committee - 2026-2027 (with effect from the AGM held on 21 May 2026)
- Chair - Sue Slater
- Acting Vice-Chair/Social - Lyn Holmes
- Secretary - Olivia Pyne
- Treasurer - Neil Kendrick
- Asst Treasurer - Gina Leballeur
- Groups - Steve Gibbs
- New Members - Pippa Gibbs
- Membership - Mike Turff
- Committee member - Gavin Glover
- Committee member - Sarah Norris
Committee - 2025-2026 (up to the AGM held on 21 May 2026)
| Role | Name | Photo | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chair Aside from chairing committee meetings, the Chair is the public face of our u3a. Photo by Maurice Chittock. | Mike Turff |  | Chair |
| Vice Chair Fulfils all of the functions of the Chair in his/her absence and covers/co-ordinates the various non-committee roles | Lyn Holmes |  | Vicechair |
| Secretary Organises all correspondence and the circulation of information. | Olivia Pyne |  | Secretary |
| Treasurer Handles all Exmouth & District u3a finances | Olwen Smith |  | Treasurer |
| Groups Coordinator Exmouth & District u3a has a Groups Coordinator whose principal role is to liaise with group organisers to ensure that there is mutual collaboration and cooperation between groups where required, cross fertilisation of ideas and good practice, and a common adherence to professional standards of operation and accountability. | Steve Gibbs |  | Groups |
| Membership Secretary Responsible for the handling of all membership applications and renewals | Nigel Day |   | Membership |
Committee member Responsible for the New Members Group | Pippa Gibbs |  |
All committee and other posts are filled by volunteers. The Chair, Secretary and Treasurer can only hold the post for three years and must then step down.
In addition to u3a members who are on the committee and who are the trustees of the u3a, we have a number of other u3a members who have volunteered to undertake various roles to help the u3a, including:
- Database Administrator: Alison Hazell
- Minute Secretary: Olivia Pyne
- New Members' Group: Pippa Gibbs
- New members registration and membership renewals desk: Roy Norton and Janet Revis
- Newsletter Editor: Rachel Cockell
- Speaker Organiser: Jane Stephen
- Website Manager, YouTube Administrator, & Zoom Administrator: John Hunt
- Deputy Website Manager: John Parker
Plus all our Group Organisers, the members of the Social Committee, the Meeters & Greeters at the Monthly Meetings, and many others.
We are always looking for additional volunteers to support and shadow the committee and other roles.
The current constitution is the one that was revised in 2022 and operative from the u3a AGM in May 2022. You can see this in the Guidance for Members box of the Documentation section.
Annual General Meeting - 2026
Our AGM was held this year at Holy Trinity Church, Exmouth on 21st May. An email was sent to all members on 13 April attaching the advance notifications about this. A further email was sent to all members on 12 May with all the other papers for the AGM. All of these papers are also in the Members-only view of the Documentation part of the About section on this website. The officers and members of the committee who were elected to the new committee are shown above.
Annual General Meeting - 2025
Last year’s AGM was held at The Ocean on Thursday 8th May 2025 at 10:30 am. The agenda and other documents for the AGM were sent direct to members in April and all of the papers are also in the Documentation section on this website for members to see – members need to be logged in to see these. John Smith stepped down from his responsibilities as Groups Coordinator and Steve Gibbs is taking over. All of the other officers and members of the committee were re-elected, with Pippa Gibbs also being elected as a member of the committee. Details of our current committee are above. It was also agreed that the annual membership fee would increase from £12 to £14 next year.
Annual General Meeting - 2024
The 2024 AGM was held at Exmouth Pavilion on Thursday 9th May 2024 at 10:30 am. The agenda and other documents for the AGM were sent direct to members on 18 April 2024, and these papers are also in the first AGM box in the Documentation section for members who are logged in.. The officers and members of the committee were re-elected, and details of our current committee are above. It was also agreed that the annual membership fee would remain at £12. A recording of the AGM is on our Exmouth & District u3a YouTube channel – AGM video.