So Long, Farewell!

Thu 10 Dec 2009 by Jo_Moore

Jo says "As the year draws to a close it seems an appropriate time to announce that both Fred and I will be stepping down from the BiG committee at the end of the year. BiG is now entering its third decade (having celebrated its twentieth birthday last summer) and it's time for the group to evolve and continue to develop in new ways. The most heartening thing is that BiG has never been stronger or more vibrant. This summer has seen a major shift in how we deliver news to the group; via our wonderful new website and blog. No longer will we be frantically stuffing envelopes and dashing to catch the last post! The aim of the new site is to allow far greater communication and participation between all BiG members as well as to continue to promote all our work through the folios section of the site. It was really important for Fred and I, with the assistance of the BiG committee, to oversee the transition into the 'digital era'. We feel sure that it is now time to hand over the reigns to other folks with more ideas and more energy! I have been Chair of the group for eleven enjoyable years and prior to that I was meetings organiser for a number of years assisting Judy Stevens. The role of the Chair would be nothing without the loyal and hard-working committee who all give up their valuable time in support of BiG. We all do it because we believe that BiG has an important role to fulfill. I thank every one of you. We are always keen for more contributors and committee members, so now is your chance to get involved.

On a personal level I can hardly begin to say how much BiG has meant to me. Over the years I have met so many wonderful people; meeting speakers and interviewing contributors for BiG News has always been a pleasure, never a chore. The contributors have always been interesting, most entertaining, some controversial, but never dull. And, of course, I have made so many dear and true friends. BiG is now positively blooming; with a strong membership, great blog contributors and stimulating meetings. I'm not leaving the group, just stepping into the wings. It's been a lot of fun!"

Fred says "After more years that I can remember serving on the BiG committee, I have decided to retire, now that the new all-singing all-dancing website is up and running. I'll still be proud to be a BiG member, even though I'm doing much less illustrating these days than I used to (having said that, I just got a job this morning!), and I'll be keeping an admin's eye on the blog entries to make sure you've put apostophe's in all the right places. I first joined BiG soon after I moved to Brighton, 20-odd years ago, being introduced to David O'Connor by cartoonist Martin Shovel, who was a friend of a friend. Back in those days we met at the polyversity and it was more like an encounter group, with lonely illustrators sitting in a circle on hard seats in a cold room wondering what to talk about. We couldn't wait to get to the pub afterwards where the meeting really took off. Then someone, possibly me, suggested that things may be more relaxed if we held the meetings in a pub instead. Now the group has come full circle, and we're back in a pub environment. BiG is currently going from strength to strength, with excellent lively meetings, a fabulous website and a solid committee (although they'll probably be looking for some new blood now), and it'll be great to go out on a high." 

See you at the party.

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