Club Secretary Becky Willis has been stepping up to support Upton Upon Severn YFC in Worcestershire since she was 18 and has found their 50 members to be just as supportive back when times got tough.
I have been a member of Upton Upon Severn Young Farmers for 10 years, joining when I was 12. I was the club chair last year.
Having been on Upton’s committee for over four years now, I originally took on the role as club secretary at age 18, as we had very few senior members in our club.
I wanted to give back to the club and ensure that the juniors coming through had the same experiences that helped develop my confidence and also my love for Young Farmers.
Club secretary is a very varied role, and no two weeks are the same. From ensuring all junior consent forms are completed, minuting our advisory meetings and ensuring competitions are filled, to running and building our social media channels and helping organise events there is lots to do!
The most important thing is to support the club and our club chair in having a successful and fun year for all our members.
It’s a challenge! But having a supportive employer, who gets behind everything we do helps massively – from sponsoring club tops and events to offering fundraising space and allowing me to work flexibly.
I am also lucky that I have a great group of friends, some who are Young Farmers, so it’s a great excuse to spend more time with them, and others who are now quite used to the crazy Young Farmers' events and things I drag them along to!
My confidence has definitely improved massively since taking on a role on the committee, particularly last year when I was club chair.
When I first joined Young Farmers, my younger sister and I were both inseparable and very shy, now I am leading meetings, and members can’t shut me up!
We are a very inclusive club, where all the older members look out for the younger members. We try to vary meetings so something will appeal to everyone throughout the year and we always try to make everything accessible for juniors and seniors. Having a very junior heavy club, this can sometimes be a challenge!
Every year we hold a new members day/evening, usually at Upton Rugby Club. We put on a showcase of YFC life, with tug of war and stockjudging demonstrations. We usually get our senior members dressed up as some questionable looking animals, which is always very funny!
Having our members CPR and Defib trained was one of my top priorities last year, so I organised Upton’s first ever 'I’m a Young a Farmer Get Me Out of Here' fundraiser, which involved teams entering to take on some daring challenges!
It was a hugely successful fundraiser, which we hope to make an annual event. The profits helped us give a £1000 donation to Heart Start Malvern and over 25 of our members and advisory received CPR and defib training!
Unfortunately at the beginning of my chairmanship year last year my Dad had a heart attack at home, where we had to administer CPR while waiting for an ambulance. This was shortly followed by the passing of my Nan.
Both of these events were incredibly difficult to deal with while juggling the Chair role at Young Farmers, a new job and trying to support my family. I quickly learnt to never be afraid to ask for help and the support I and my family received from our club is something I will always be incredibly grateful for!
My biggest advice for anything with Young Farmers is the more you put in, the more you will get out of it, so just have a go, get involved and have fun!
If you would like to be featured in NFYFC's club officer check in, email media@nfyfc.org.uk. Find more information and guidance for club officers in the YFC Handbook.
