With the new availability of meeting room, kitchen, toilet and enhanced ringing chamber and following an article in the Ringing World on Ringing Centres the Eckington Ringers agreed to a proposal to investigate the possibility of making the tower such a centre. The General Committee and the local PCC backed the proposal in the autumn of 2001. Application was duly made to the CC of Church Bellringers and Worshipful Company of Founders for grant aid. The Association Education committee took the proposal on board and set up a steering committee including invitations to surrounding Guilds/Associations.
This committee has now evolved into the centre management committee and has representatives from the tower, the DDA, EDWNA and the Sheffield Branch of the Yorkshire Association. During November 2002 we heard that financial backing from the Worshipful Company of Founders is to be granted. This funding will provide just less than 50% of the estimated costs to fully equip the centre. At the time of writing (February 2003) the Centre is about to be launched having provided some of the basic equipment. See elsewhere in this report for details of events to be held at the Centre during the year.
At the 2002 October General Meeting ideas were sought for a fitting way to provide a memorial to Gordon Halls. One suggestion mooted at that meeting was to name the Centre after Gordon. This was put to the General Committee in February 2003 and with Pat's approval agreed. As a result, I feel, we have a fitting memorial to Gordon which reflects his desire to provide good engineering logic to all things to do with bells and also his wish to encourage the training of bell ringers.
I look forward to an active Centre that I hope will attract ringers of all skill levels to both assist in and take part in the furtherance of ringing for the good of all.