DAVID WOOD, or Chippy as he is known within the Young Farmers Club circuit, served as Catterick Young Farmers Club’s president for 22 years until his retirement this July at the club’s 88th AGM.

He joined the club in November 1959, aged 12 and apart from missing a year here or there he has remained involved to this day. He remembers his first YFC meeting was a talk by Sir Timothy Kitson, Conservative MP for Richmond at the time. The talk covered Timothy’s experiences in the Houses of Parliament and a recent trip to see Argentinian beef feed lots.

In the early years of Chippy joining Catterick, for one reason or another, there were only ten to 12 members and meetings were held in the president’s front room. After a steady few years, the club regained momentum with increased membership levels and many more social events.

In the mid 1960s to early 1970s the club held a number of large very successful fundraising events including barbecues and big dances which has led to the club’s finances being in the position they are today and a number of charities benefitting from the fundraising along the way.

Chippy took on the role of sports captain before standing as honorary treasurer for a couple of years towards the end of his time in membership. It must be noted that at age 24, Chippy was the first and only YFC member from the North Riding area to qualify in dairy stockjudging and go through to judge at Olympia.

Once reaching the upper limit for membership within the club, Chippy took a year’s break before returning to assist with the running of the club. As a club leader he dedicated ten to 12 years to the club in this role, following which he became a member of the club’s advisory committee, once again, standing in this role for over a decade before becoming one of the club’s vice presidents prior to being elected club president in June 2000.

During his time as president, he has guided the club through 22 new membership years, countless successful fundraising events, several District Rally Victories and helped navigate through a foot and mouth outbreak and more recently a coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking at the 88th AGM on his retirement, Chippy thanked the club for having him as president for such a long period and hoped that the current and future members would enjoy being part of Catterick Young Farmers Club as much as he had. He also took the opportunity to congratulate the new president, Kathy Pullan, on her role. Kathy has held many roles in the club over the years, from member to club leader and vice president for a number of years and her knowledge will continue to be a valuable asset to the club.

Current chairperson, Tim Wilson, thanked Chippy on behalf of Catterick Young Farmers both past and present members for his support and commitment to the club for several years, since before all of our current members were born.

On a final note, Chippy would like to thank everyone who has provided support to him during his time within the club and also to those who have supported the club for the past 90 years.

Catterick YFC always welcomes new members, so if any young person between ten and 26 is interested in joining, the club meets weekly on Tuesday evenings – and people don’t have to be a farmer to join. For further details, contact the secretary at catterick-yfc@outlook.com or find the club on Facebook at Catterick YFC.