Communicating in our u3a


This web page illustrates and lists the various ways to communicate within Aughton & Ormskirk u3a (and a couple that are public too viz our website and Facebook presence).

Please note that there is currently no procedure for publicity across the board. So, for example, if you want to advertise an event to appear in multiple places such as Magazine, enews, website, facebook you need to contact each relevant  Editor.

The Magazine contains a variety of useful and interesting articles eg information about Group activities, advance warning of Social Events, reviews and photos of u3a happenings and much more.   It is free to all who have paid their annual Aughton & Ormskirk u3a subscription.

To have an item included in the next Magazine, the following contact methods are available:

enews is an electronic newsletter emailed at the end of each month to all members who have provided an email address on the Beacon Membership System. It covers topics such as  reminders of important / imminent u3a events, changes and cancellations to events or meetings and so on.  More information provides further detail about enews.

Items for  enews should be sent by NOON on the last Monday in the month for publication soon after. To have an item included in the next enews, the following contact methods are available:

email is widely used to communicate with members and non-members.  Around 92% of members have provided the Membership Team with an email address for the Beacon Membership System.

Some Group Leaders  keep an email list in order to readily communicate with members of their own Group.  This can be very useful for reminding people of the next meeting, late availability of places on outings, cancellations or changes to arrangements and so  on.  But members keeping data about other members on their personal computers should be mindful of GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) rulings relating to Data Privacy.

A way to avoid this issue is to use Beacon email to communicate with members of your Group. To enable this, the Group Leader / Coordinator requests the Membership Team to add Group members into the relevant Beacon Group.  The Group Leader also needs to request appropriate Beacon access privileges.  Once set up, they can  access and use a ready-made Beacon email list to easily contact their Group members. Group Leaders can delete members from their Group in Beacon but need to request Membership Team to add new members.

To contact the Beacon Membership Team for advice on using Beacon:

Horizons is a weekly coffee meeting held on Thursday mornings which provides an excellent chance to communicate with fellow u3a members and Committee Officers. There is also opportunities to book for trips, performances and socials.

Additionally, u3a activities and events can be advertised during Horizons as follows:

Announcements are made during almost all Horizons meetings.  These generally relate to:

  • special events requiring extra publicity such as the Speaker Meetings, Days Out, Holidays,  Social Events
  • items not mentioned already in the Magazine or in the enews
  • late changes to previously publicised information

Ask the Horizons Duty Manager on the day to make the Announcement for you.  It would be a good idea to have it already clearly written down on a paper note to hand to him/ her.

  • Flyers are sometimes put out on the tables at Horizons to give extra publicity to special u3a events such as Speaker Meetings, Short Courses and Drama or Musical Theatre  performances.
  • A Slideshow runs continuously at Horizons on Thursday mornings. It gives information about forthcoming events such as Speaker Meetings, changes in group meeting arrangements, spare tickets etc, and is updated every week. If you have information you would like to appear in the slideshow, please contact Pam Ball on 07974 749362 or email speakerteam@aughton-ormskirk-u3a.co.uk.

The Aughton & Ormskirk u3a Website provides information for both potential and existing members on the nature of the organisation and how it is run. It contains comprehensive details about its special interest groups and other activities. It is a good source for up-to-date information on all aspects of the u3a, though this does depend on Committee Officers, Group Leaders / Coordinators, Event Organisers and indeed members in general keeping us informed. To have your u3a information added to the website or request changes, the following contact methods are available:

Web Form is a useful Website feature enabling anyone to send in questions and comments by filling in and submitting a simple form to an appropriate u3a Officer such as Secretary, enews editor, Web Team.  For more information on these Forms and their use, see the Contact Us webpage

facebook_25  Facebook – Aughton & Ormskirk u3a also has a facebook page.  To find out more about our facebook presence, contact its administrator through our facebook presence or by using the Communications email address: commscomm@aughton-ormskirk-u3a.co.uk

Last Updated on November 16, 2023