THE new president is Ian Stalker (above).

Married with two daughters, Mr Stalker lives in Redditch and has been a member of the club since 1993.

He has been on the committee for two years and the club unanimously elected him.

Mr Stalker has great hopes for the future of the club.

"I hope to build on the work of previous presidents - to see the club grow in numbers, to encourage members to develop as speakers and to improve other skills such as chairmanship, evaluation of speeches and impromptu speaking,'' he said.

''I would also like to see the club win one of the area competitions".

Members invited guests to the annual dinner at Kings Court Hotel, Coughton.

Roger Jauncey was master of ceremonies for the evening.

Outgoing president Jim Fitzpatrick introduced the main speaker, Steve Quick, who gave an interesting and amusing account of his life as an actor.

Awards were presented to Joan Witherington-Perkins, Ian Stalker, Ron Sutton and Rhoda Lingard for their achievements during the year.

The society meets every other Tuesday at the Quality Hotel, Southcrest, at 7.30pm.

Anyone interested in joining the club, which encourages members to gain confidence in public speaking of all kinds, can call Mr Stalker on 01527 550086.