Committee roles

Getting elected to the Club committee can be an interesting way to get involved with the running of the club.  The committee typically meets every 4-6 weeks and helps with all sorts of things including socials, training, membership and of course shows. The formal duties of the committee are laid out in the constitution and are actually relatively few in number; this page serves to give more of a flavour of what being on committee could be like and how recent committees have run things. And of course, if you don't like the way the Club is run then standing for committee can be a great way to help change it - nothing on this page is set in stone.

General committee expectations
All committee members are expected to:

• be present at committee meetings
• take part in committee discussions at meetings and via e-mail
• decide on a show-by-show basis what charge to make the production company
• help out with events such as training days, Christmas dinner, the AGM etc.
• attend and be visible at First Wednesdays, in particular welcoming new members of the Club and answering any questions they may have
• contribute to the newsletter and/or encourage other members to do so
• ensure content on the website is up to date

Several members share responsibility for:

• moderating messages to the Club announcements mailing list
• responding to public-facing contact forms and e-mail addresses, which includes:
  • fielding requests for help with shows
  • acting as first point of contact for inquiries about membership
• collating and sending out regular lists of show roles available
• co-ordinating club social events.

Chairman
Additional specific responsibilities of the chairman are:

• run committee meetings according to the agreed agenda
• make a brief report on Club activity at each committee meeting
• co-ordinate discussions at meetings and ensure that every committee member has a say
• sum up discussions so as to reflect committee members’ various standpoints and opinions, and suggest actions that as far as possible reconcile all views
• represent the agreed standpoint of the committee in dealings with Club members, new contacts, production societies, and all other contacts
• where agreement between all committee members cannot be reached, make a decision on how to act that is in the best interests of the Club and be accountable for this decision
• liaise with Secretary over documentation and AGM organisation
• act as one of the moderators for the Club announcements mailing list

Secretary
Additional specific responsibilities of the secretary are:

• create agendas for meetings and circulate beforehand
• take minutes including action points and circulate ASAP after meetings
• upload agreed minutes to website
• send regular reminders about First Wednesday meetings
• co-ordinate and update AGM documentation and circulate to members
• manage election of new committee at AGM
• mark appropriate personal events and milestones among members (e.g. illness, marriage, babies and Club anniversaries)
• act as one of the moderators for the Club announcements mailing list

Treasurer
Additional specific responsibilities of the treasurer are:

• keep the Club’s accounts throughout the year
• make a brief report on the Club’s finances at each committee meeting
• find an auditor (any competent person independent of the committee - no need to be a chartered accountant!)  to inspect the Club’s accounts before each AGM
• present an audited account to the AGM
• invoice societies according to the current charging structure
• set the charge for Club membership
• keep the membership list on the website updated with members’ status
• act as one of the moderators for the Club announcements mailing list

Other roles
Recent committees have found it useful to give particular people specific roles in running the club; examples of these include:

• Training officer, to look after the training needs of members, co-ordinate training activities between membership, committee and venues, organise training events, workshops and shadowing or mentoring opportunities.
• Website co-ordinator, to:
  • look after the website, apply security updates and performing general maintenance where necessary
  • assist with managing the mailing list and membership database and configuration
  • develop new features for the website
  • liase with hosting providers
  • assist with developing content and ensure that user-edited pages maintain a consistent editorial style
• Newsletter editor, to produce and distribute regular newsletters to Club members

Note that while the committee is expected to maintain oversight of these roles they could be undertaken by any club member. If you're interested in helping out please do get in touch with the current committee.