JOHN Nelmes has stood down as chairman of Lydney after five years.
He paid tribute to many people within the club who had helped him during his tenure.
His business commitments were cited as the reason that will hinder him in giving the job the time it de-.
Nelmes (pictured) has overseen many changes within the club and was a supporter at all games home and away.
He received an ovation from the large number of people who attended the club's annual meeting.
Nelmes will be succeeded by Roger Edwards, who has been involved with the club on and off for 50 years.
Edwards has recently moved back into the area from Worcester and feels he has the time and the ideas to move the club forward.
The new vice-chairman will be Gareth Williams, who has been involved on the junior side for some time, He is young and enthusiastic and considered a real asset to the club.
Club stalwart Colin Henderson reported on playing matters and the success that was enjoyed by both first and second teams.
He paid tribute to head coach Duncan Bell, saying he had brought new ethics to the side.
Henderson said the players had bought into this and felt that was the springboard for the National Three South West title-winning performance last season.
Many players were singled out for praise and the playing record spoke for itself: played 26, won 24, drew one and lost one, with 113 tries were scored.
Henderson also warned that it will be a lot more difficult in National Two South and said that a mid-table finish would be acceptable.
Treasurer Wendy Ormerod said the club was in a better position financially than for many years.
She said there was now a transparency that was welcome and although the club are by no means out of the woods finan cially, she said they were moving in the right direction.
Derek Pomeroy will continue as president for the coming season.
He thanked Nelmes for his hard work over the past five years and also welcomed Edwards to the chair.
He added that he was certain that Edwards would continue to move the club forward.
