See list of Honorary Life Members and Friends of the Morris Federation.
Val Parker, past Secretary (1977 – 1992) – Honorary Life Member (1993)
Nomination by Sally Wearing at our AGM in 1993:
The Morris Federation owes a great deal to Val Parker. Of all the people who have been involved in the Federation, she has played the biggest role in changing WMF from a well-meaning bunch of amateurs to the organised professional organisation it is today.
She has been involved in the Federation right from the start. As a member of Bath City Morris, the first women’s team of the 1970’s, she was part of the group who first voiced the need for a women’s morris organisation. She showed her dedication straight away, by standing for Secretary at the inaugural meeting in 1975 and then again in 1976, before being elected in 1977. She held the post unopposed until she decided to stand down in 1992. Even before she was elected, she had been busy behind the scene: taking the AGM minutes, researching into the history of women’s involvement in the Morris and proposing improved structures for the committee of the Federation.
After she was elected she embarked on the work the Federation desperately needed- providing the proper foundation on which the aims of MF could be furthered. She sorted out the constitution and standing orders and set up the systems for organising the Federation which are still in use today. This had the unfortunate side effect of earning the Federation’s one-time reputation for being too bureaucratic, which time and experience have rightly proved to be unjustified.
When Val was first elected, she was single: in the 15 years she was on the committee, she married and had two children, who are now old enough for her return to work. Throughout all this, she managed to keep the Federation running, occupying the least glamorous and most necessary position.
She has always been organised, efficient and hard working. Even the rest of the committee has had little idea of how much work she has willingly carried out over the years. In the early days, she fulfilled the posts of Treasurer and Newsletter editor, as these were part of the Secretary’s role. This unequal share of the burden of running the Federation resulted in two other posts being created, a good indication of how much work Val had been doing.
On a personal note, I have spent the last 15 years relying on Val. She’s nursed me through the AGMs I have chaired, organised me through numerous committee meetings and tolerated my foibles, all far more than I have deserved.
In all this Val has received little real appreciation. Letters from Federation members saying “well done” or “thank you” have been rare. Now is the time for the whole Federation to show how much Val had been valued by electing her as an Honorary member. It seems little in return for so many years’ dedication but I know that it will mean a lot to Val to receive the appreciation she so richly deserves.
