Record Turnout for East of England Co-op's AGM and Open Day

Visitors had the opportunity to view the Wherstead Park site and the Grade II listed Mansion building as well as browse a range of exhibition stands in the main hall; these included Membership and Community, Pharmacy, Funeral Services, Tastes of Anglia, Paddy and Scott's coffee, and tastings from the Truly Irresistible range of Co-operative branded products.

Having previously held separate meetings in the three counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex, this was the first time the Society's Members from across the region were able to come together to hear how the Society had performed during the past financial year. Transport was made available from three regional locations for Members wishing to attend the meeting.

The day provided a high level of Member participation and included discussion groups, which were held in the spectacular Mansion building, followed by a presentation on Local Sourcing and the AGM in the central atrium of the Business Centre.

Richard Samson, the Society's Chief Executive, said: "AGM's are not normally termed 'exciting' events, but using our new headquarters at Wherstead Park on this occasion helped create a good atmosphere for our Members to enjoy a genuinely lively and interesting range of activities on the day and the feedback we've had has been very positive."

Members were able to raise questions on the Annual Report and the Society's plans for the future.

The proposal to pay Members' Dividend of £4.2 million, equivalent to a rate of 2.5p in the pound on qualifying purchases, was warmly received and approved by the membership.

A key part of the Annual Meeting is the election of Members to the Board of Directors, and those who had not already utilised a postal vote were able to vote in person on the day. Postal voting for Society Members was introduced in 2008 and has enabled greater participation by the membership with a larger number of votes cast than ever before.

Sally Chicken and Christopher Newbury were elected to the Board of Directors and retiring Directors, Dianne Dallender-Jones and John Pendle were returned to office.