News
This year we are aware that there will be some positions on the regional committee made vacant by recent resignations, but I am also acutely aware that some members are responsible for more than one role and I would like to spread the work a bit more evenly. Having said that, we also need to plan ahead, the new Governance arrangements are going to insist that the period of time committee posts are held is limited; see Governance Working Group article elsewhere in this newsletter. We need to do some succession planning.
So what does being a committee member involve and how do you become one? Well most of the committee roles are administrative, that is keeping records up to date, issuing advice and updates on procedures. Currently we meet virtually using Zoom, on the first Monday of the month for an hour or so in the evening. However, there are occasions when we need to meet collectively to deliver a service for the members. That might be to man a recruitment stand or to help to deliver training. But don’t worry, we are volunteers and nothing is compulsory. We also understand that you join the club to go marshalling, not to sit at a desk drafting letters or updating procedures.
How do you become a committee member? Officially you are nominated and elected by BMMC members of a region as a committee member at their Annual General Meeting (AGM). You do not necessarily need to belong to that region but it is preferred you are. Roles and duties are usually assigned at the first committee meeting after the AGM. You can also be co-opted on to a committee at any time to fill a recently vacated role, but your official membership of the committee does not commence until it is ratified at the AGM even if you are delivering a co-opted role in the interim. You are nominally elected for a three-year term and the new Governance arrangements would limit you to a maximum of three terms, i.e. nine years. But at the risk of repeating myself, we are volunteers, you can quit at any time, but remain “in post” until the next AGM.
You will hopefully have noted that we are currently looking for a new Training Officer and our Membership Secretary has very recently advised of his decision to resign at our regional AGM in October. From time to time we do issue notices of such vacancies but we do not expect anyone to jump into a post without some knowledge of what they are letting themselves in for. We have detailed job descriptions for each committee role and we strongly recommend that you attend a committee meeting or two before you make any commitment to join.
We are a friendly group of like-minded souls in South Mids and are always happy to meet members and discuss their issues. We need to know what members think about the club and what we are doing. If you are interested in getting involved please contact Marion Quarrington at sm.secretary@marshals.co.uk and she can send you job descriptions and invites to committee meetings.
Being a Committee member might sound incredibly boring but we seem to enjoy ourselves and we do get involved in setting the marshalling world right. We would welcome your involvement.
Chris Whitlock