Committee Meeting

Dear all (that's always assuming more than one person actually reads this, which doesn't seem to have been the case for my other recent postings)

This week, the Bracknell Forest Bridge Club Committee met. I think it was the first physical committee meeting for several years. The minutes will be published on the web site as soon as they become available.

Probably the main topic of conversation was the club constitution, which we felt was now out of date and in need of a major overhaul. The details were discussed at some length and the committee will, in the near future, be proposing a revised constitution for the members to consider.

It was noted that there were a number of items of club policy that would benefit from being put in writing but which are best not "set in stone" by being included in the constitution. What we are thinking about here are things like the rules for the Alf Biggs cup, the dates for our various competitions and any local rules (such as the scoring of unplayed boards). The committee therefore intend to produce a second document, to complement the constitution, entitled (probably) "Club Policies".

Publication of the accounts was also discussed. Unfortunately there is a minor omission from the accounts as presented to the AGM, which the treasurer is working to rectify. This work has been delayed by technical problems on the treasurer's computer but the revised accounts will be published to the membership as soon as possible. One thing that was noted is that some members are talking about an auditor, or auditing the accounts. We have been advised the term "Auditing" has legal connotations which may not be practical in a small organisation like ours. Instead, we have been advised that we should appoint an account "examiner" and that the accounts will be examined, rather than audited.

When all of the following are in place:

• Proposed new constitution
• Amended accounts
• Selection of account examiner

The committee propose to call an EGM to ratify both the constitution and the selection of the accounts examiner, and to approve the accounts. The proposed new constitution and the revised accounts will be published to the members well in advance of any such EGM, to allow time for discussion, amendments etc.

Maintenance of the club's membership database was also discussed and new procedures were proposed to ensure both the database, and the secretary's circulation list, were kept up to date better than they have been in the past.

The tenure of committee members was discussed. The committee is keen to avoid any notions of elitism, or committee members hanging onto their posts. On the other hand, it is notoriously difficult to conscript "volunteers" to sit on club committees. It was generally felt that it would be a good thing to have a limited term of office (the draft club constitution on the EBU web site suggests limiting the chair-person to five years continuous service but does not venture any opinion on other club officers). As it happens, it is likely that two members of the current committee will be seeking to step down at the end of this year (me, for one!) and it was felt that it might not be a good idea to replace the entire committee at once as that would lack continuity. Any decision on maximum terms of office was therefore shelved for the time being.

And that's about it. I hope some people have managed to read thus far. I find it very galling to have set up this blog in direct response to the criticism that the committee doesn't communicate with the membership only to discover that (apparently) hardly anyone is interested in reading it.

Keith