Club of the Month

Name of Club:

Llanfynydd Young Farmers Club

Number of Members:

42

Where you meet:

Speit Vestry, Llanfynydd every Friday night

Describe your club in 3 words:

Determined, Social, Family

Favourite Club Night Activity:

The club enjoys various activities and we like to learn through different visits and talks. A farm visit always goes down well, and we have had several club trips to different locations this year such as Bridgend to visit a racehorse yard, milk bottling plant and working farm with a farm shop and butchery. We also more recently had a trip to Hereford, where we went to a dairy and poultry farm, fruit farm and beef fattening unit. For our usual Friday club nights, anything goes, just as long as there is a pint involved at the Penybont after!

Fundraising accomplishments:

Throughout the year, we fundraise to give back to the community and to raise funds for the club itself. The whole club gets involved with these events, such as carol singing, a whist drive, concerts, firework display, a tractor run and of course our annual Shearing Match, which will be held on the 31st of July this year. After the tragic loss of one of our former members last year, Elin Ludgate, the club organised a Sponsored Walk in September last year to raise money for two very meaningful charities, Wales Air Ambulance and Sandy Bear. We invited social groups, friends and anyone that knew Elin to join us in the event, which was followed by a bingo and auction. These efforts and support of this day raised £16,500, to be split between both charities. This was truly a proud moment for the club.

Your work within the community:

We invited the whole community to be part of our fundraising efforts in memory of Elin, and it was great to be able to share the day with the whole village. The bingo and auction was held in the local pub, and it was packed to the rafters with support for the club, the locality and of course for Elin. It was great to see the pub so busy after it had been closed for a period of time. We also held a formal cheque presentation, again in the Penybont, to present £8,500 each to Sandy Bear and Wales Air Ambulance, where we invited members of the community along to understand how the money raised would go onto help others. We also get involved in local events such as reading at the local carol service and hosting a stand and organising the show dance for Llanfynydd Show.

Favourite competition:

We are a club that enjoys all competitions, and thrive off individual and team events. Stockjudging, singing, public speaking and clay pigeon shooting are some of our favourite solo competitions. As a team we love Tug of War being a long standing club favourite with the club, competing and succeeding in this competition since the early 90s. We also returned to the stage for the first time in nearly 8 years this year, competing and winning the English Entertainment at the county level. The club enjoyed coming together to take part in the competition, and thank you as always to all the club leaders and supporters that helped and gave up their time to the club. But overall, competing and having the ability to represent the club at our annual county Rally, is always a strong favourite.

How do you use the Welsh Language?

The Welsh language is used as much as possible. The vast majority of our members are first language Welsh speakers with many of our other members having learned the language or understand basic conversation. We keep this alive within the club by competing in Welsh Public Speaking and the Eisteddfod every year.

Any other fun facts?

We have a lot to celebrate this year! Due to the club celebrating its 80th anniversary, we are holding a Dinner Dance in a local venue on the 6th of June. We will also be drawing a grand raffle and holding an auction on the night to raise money for this years chosen charity, Sands. We are looking forward to celebrating with the members past, present and future as well as supporters and friends of the club.