Terry Brown To Step Down As Chairman

AGM now on 14th Jan. Nominations to become a Board director need to be in by 18th Dec. Directors are elected by members. The current constitution is clear that "The Club Board shall elect from among their own number a Chair". So, no direct power at present for the membership to determine who is Chair, just who the Board are. Joining between now and the 18th does give the new member the chance to be nominated and elected as a Director of the Board with a say in who becomes Chair of course. The joiner could be elected Chair themselves by their fellow Board members. I am not seeking to be nominated because I am already a Director and also Chair of a charity based in the town.

Agree, Ian that co-opted members of the Board should be voted in by the members at the next AGM. This is what we will be doing at Basingtoke Mencap AGM in two weeks. With respect to co-option of External Directors the BTCFC constitution does state "external Directors shall be selected by virtue of their specialist skills and experience considered to be of benefit to the Club". This stipulation does not exist with respect to Members who are co-opted and rather than abolishing co-option of Members I would expect the constitution to change to include this same stipulation. I accept that in any organisation such a stipulation remains open to abuse and then we're back to the intergrity of Board Directors.

That is brilliant news, Rob.

I am aware you have issues with the direction the Club is headed in, and that some of your issues are ones I share and some are issues I perhaps do not share.

But we are both reasonable men, we both want the best long-term outcome for the Club, and it’s far better for anyone to be inside, arguing their case, than outside looking in.

The departure of a private owner and the advent of a Community Club - even if it’s current Constitution is currently flawed and needs fixing - creates a real opportunity for every single supporter of the Club to have a voice and an impact on policy and direction.

I was surrounded by brilliant young energised adults in 2006 and those people have gone on to have successful careers.

It would be great to have those people back getting involved.

You were very much one of those people and I hope you are the first of many to return.

This is great news so many people that care passionately about the club saying they are returning I know some very energised people have been driven out previously let’s hope now everybody pulls to get her and the future sure looks bright at this present time blue army

Obviously I understand the rationale behind co-opting, but I still don’t like it.

Co-opting can enable a Board to fill specific skill-set gaps between AGMs, but a well-organised Board should look to present such people to the members to be voted upon at the AGM and anyone already in place using this undemocratic device should definitely face a vote at the AGM.

I think the members should elect a Board at the AGM then, once that process is complete, the membership should then be able to nominate, second then vote upon candidates for Chair in the very same room the very same night.

The members then leave the meeting at the end having directly elected both the Board in it’s entirety and it’s Chair.

That, to me, is proper democracy and an additional benefit is a clearly popular Chair - they had to win a Members vote to get the role - is likely to have more goodwill as the Chair takes on the role.

It would bring both democracy and harmony to the Club.

It is good to see a new enthusiasm towards the community club, but talk of a vote for the whole board is unfortunately pointless. Having read the constitution twice in the past 24 hours, the rules are the rules.
I do wonder why the original AGM was delayed, maybe because they were ignoring the constitution, as the number who needed to stand has changed.

Yes the membership could after this AGM, then push to have a bigger say who is elected chairman and vice chairman and but again the constitution would confirm what voting process and percentage like any other board would be required for change. 
As for co-opted members, reading the constitution, they should never have been allowed on the board, but assigned (as per a previous comment) certain roles or tasks.
If the board does increase to the expected 10, then there should be no need for any co-opted members at all.
Was there not a fundraising committee at one point earlier this year ? Sub-committees completing certain tasks and roles that include new volunteers, should be created with all this new push for change.

It is good to see all this positive talk and ideas for our club, but maybe we should get over one hurdle at a time.