Sound Hall saved from possible closure as over 20 people answer call for volunteers

The Sound Hall in Lerwick has been saved from the axe after over 20 people turned up to its annual general meeting – forming a “queue at the door” before it could begin.

It comes after the hall had reached “crisis point” with four of its 12 committee members announcing they would stand down ahead of last night’s [Thursday’s] meeting.

But now 11 people have volunteered to join the committee, while others have said they would carry out various jobs for the hall.

The new chairwoman is former vice chairwoman Moira Thomason. Her predecessor as chair is Ellen Anderson, who said she was delighted to be stepping down from the committee on such a high note.

“We had a queue at the door – they just kept coming in,” she said.

“We had 22 people turn up.

“Of that 22, 11 people have volunteered to come on to the committee.”

She said others had shown willing to help carry out maintenance, or help during functions by carrying out bar work.

“But we’ve got 11 people who have taken the forms away to be registered as a committee member. It was super.”

She added there was a varied age range in people coming forward, too – and expect to see a better gender mix in the new Sound Hall committee.

“For once we had a few males,” she said.

Sound Hall, which has operated since the 1970s, had warned it may have to hold an emergency general meeting if insufficient numbers came forward.

But Ms Anderson said Shetland Times coverage, and a warning on the hall’s Facebook page, had helped make the difference.

“I think people had realised that we were serious.”

The news also means events which had been on hold can now go ahead at the hall. Chief among those is a clothes swap planned by the local MS group for next month.

The hope is that larger functions may be able to return in the New Year.

Ms Anderson, who is stepping down after 12 years as chairwoman, said being a hall committee member had been well worthwhile.

“It’s been fantastic,” she said. “It really is worthwhile.”