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 2026.
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 (from May 2026)
| Role | Name | Photo | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chair Aside from chairing committee meetings, the Chair is the public face of our u3a. | Sue Slater |  | Chair |
| Acting Vice Chair/Social 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. | Neil Kendrick |  | Treasurer |
| Assistant Treasurer | Gina Leballeur |  | |
| 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. | Mike Turff |   | Membership |
| Committee member Responsible for the New Members Group. | Pippa Gibbs |  | |
| Committee member | Gavin Glover |  | |
| Committee member | Sarah Norris |  |
All committee and other posts are filled by volunteers. The Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer can only hold the post for three to five years and must then step down. The maximum total period of service of any trustee is 10 years. The officers and committee members are all trustees of the charity.
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
- Newsletter Editor: Rachel Cockell
- Speaker Organiser: Jane Stephen
- Website Manager, YouTube Administrator, & Zoom Administrator: John Hunt
- Deputy Website Manager: John Parker
Plus there are 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 and the draft minutes of the AGM are 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, and there is a photo of the new Chair, Sue Slater, with the Exmouth Mayor Graham Deasy below. Also at the AGM, the annual subscription for 2027-28 was confirmed as remaining at £14 per person, the Treasurer's report and accounts for 2025-26 were approved, and the proposal to raise the maximum length of time an officer can serve from 3 to 5 years and proposal to raise the maximum total period of service of any trustee from 9 to 10 years were agreed.
Exmouth Mayor Graham Deasy with the new Chair of the u3a, Sue Slater, at the AGM
Annual General Meeting - 2025
Last year’s AGM was held at The Ocean on Thursday 8th May 2025 at 10:30 am. The papers are 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 took 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. 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 papers are 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. 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.