History
Burgess Hill U3A: History
Mimi Goldman, moving to Burgess Hill, found little for her to do so she contacted the Third Age Trust, the parent body of U3A, who suggested that she might like to start one.
Early in 1993 Mimi placed an advertisement in the local paper and around 60 people attended a meeting in Marle Place. As a result of this meeting Burgess Hill U3A was formed with a committee of five members: Mimi, chairman; Audrey Jenkins, vice-chairman; John Haynes, treasurer; Margaret Hollis and Rachel Carse.
The first group formed was the Walks Group led by Mike and Margaret Hollis. After publicity at the annual Burgess Hill Festival that year more groups were formed including Furniture Restoration, Yoga, Art, Literature, Environment, Music Appreciation, and Patchwork Quilting. By Christmas 1993 there were 100 members and more groups were being affered to members.
At present the membership is approximately 800 with over 70 groups covering subjects such as Languages, Bridge, Cosmology, Crafts, Digital Photography, Discussion, Gardening, Geology and Landscape, Ornithology, and many more. Also on offer are Travel including holidays, home and abroad, short breaks and day trips, and a Theatre Group.
by Margaret and John Coppard.
Reading in the local paper of a meeting to discuss the formation of a U3A in Burgess Hill, John and Rosemary Haynes decided to attend. It was decided to form a committee to take the idea forward. During an interval John was talking to the Third Age Trust representative and, in his words, stupidly told him he had worked in a bank.
A committee was formed with Mimi Goldman as Chairman. There was no Treasurer, so the man from TAT looked at John, and he became our first treasurer. The constitution was based on the U3A headquarters model but later, with John, now chairman, it had to be amended to suit Burgess Hill.
John produced the first newsletter, eight pages three times a year, its purpose was to to provide a catalogue of courses available and was distributed by hand. He feels he got the job as he had a computer!
Rosemary soon became involved leading an early group.