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The St Thomas Community Association Team

Everyone at St Thomas Community Association is a volunteer. They work hard throughout the year to make things happen in St Thomas.

Rosalind Johnson   Association Chair

Laura Ruiz  Secretary
Rosalind has been Chair since January 2018 and is the key decision maker for the group.
Laura officiates at meetings and is impeccable at organising our STCA admin.

Ruth Adams  Treasurer

Mary Ann Jennings Fundraising Coordinator
Ruth has been Treasurer since January 2018 and is a real whizz with the figures.
Mary Ann takes care of grant applications and communicating with sponsors to keep STCA events (such as the St Thomas Festival) free for all residents.​

Dani Wootton Volunteer Coordinator

Joe Levy   Youth Coordinator
Dani administrates all things to do with volunteering and also organises the stewards for the St Thomas Festival, with additional assistance from Paul Mouland.
Joe specialises in arranging events and activities for our young people in St Thomas.

Lizzie Groves  Communications Officer

Lars Laurisden Festival Coordinator
The Communications officer ensures that the activities of both STCA and the local community are publicised.
Lars is the creative brains behind the St Thomas Festival and is responsible for booking acts and deciding the programme of events.

How did St Thomas Community Association Begin?

The St Thomas festival grew out of friendship; a few friends would regularly meet up in the park with our children and often talked about the potential of the site. “Wouldn’t it be great to have a bit of music, a coffee cart and a few more people here?” we often asked ourselves.
We shared ideas with a few more friends and finally bit the bullet with an inaugural  meeting of (the yet unnamed) St Thomas Community Association (STCA),which took place in the Royal Oak  Pub in Okehampton Street in July 2012.
Soon we were regularly meeting in Café at 36 (then owned by STCA stalwarts J&S Taylor) and gradually revised our vision of “a bit of music in the park” into something more concrete.
The seemingly endless admin trail was quite daunting at first, as the core committee only consisted of three people. As Chair, it fell to me to do much of the admin work getting permission for the activity, booking marquees, loos, stallholders and not least, musicians. Sue Taylor and Roz Johnson were the other two tireless and invaluable committee members whse energy , vision and commitment made the first festival happen in September 2013.
The project couldn’t have got off the ground without Devon County Council and Exeter City Council grants and the patience, guidance and expertise of Dawn Rivers, (Community Involvement and Inclusion Officer ECC) and Val Wilson (Arts and Events Manager ECC), plus the offer of office space and advice generously donated by Corrinne Bailey of Age UK and the faith, friendship and often tested sense of humour of the small group of dedicated volunteers who had the energy to make the vision a reality."

Claire Hadfield, First Chair of STCA, 2013 & 2014
(Speaking in 2017) We're now in our fourth year of operation and glad to say that our core team of committee members has grown significantly. Membership of our association has also been taken up by those willing to lend a hand as and when they can with preparing and staffing our growing list of local events.
The annual festival will now be extended to involve more local schools, businesses, associations and good causes to maximise the sense of ownership. We hope that this will make St Thomas Festival much more prominent across the city drawing visitors and trade for a whole week. Larger events inevitably bring slightly higher running costs and our fundraising officer is seeking collaboration with local businesses to enable our events to become more self sufficient and less reliant on grant funding as we expand. The main day in St Thomas Pleasure Ground will continue to be a free festival of live music, performance, activities, stalls and more with something for all ages and tastes.
Our "St Thomas In Bloom" sub committee have really branched out and are actively improving and celebrating our public green spaces for all to enjoy. This project will have benefits for generations to come as the planning, planting and preservation of our local horticultural heritage is discussed and carried out with local residents, schools and other groups.
There are many fantastic community projects developing in St Thomas and we certainly can't take credit for all of them, but as an association we are on hand to work with all of the other local groups and our database of volunteers is ever growing. We also have an ear to the ground regarding any local issues or concerns that we may be able to help with.

Kathy Rufolo, Chair of STCA 2015, 2016 & 2017

St Thomas Community Association Files

2018
AGM Minutes - 21st Jan 2018
File Size: 88 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
STCA Meeting Minutes - 18th Feb 2018
File Size: 669 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
STCA Meeting Minutes - 29th Apr 2018
File Size: 646 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
2017
AGM Minutes - 22nd Jan 2017
File Size: 107 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
STCA Meeting Minutes - 7th May 2017
File Size: 69 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
STCA Meeting Minutes - 17th Sept 2017
File Size: 188 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
STCA Meeting Minutes - 12th Feb 2017
File Size: 472 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
STCA Meeting Minutes - 11th June 2017
File Size: 234 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
STCA Meeting Minutes - 5th Mar 2017
File Size: 170 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
STCA Meeting Minutes - 9th July 2017
File Size: 280 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File