Dear
Member,
I hope you
have been having an enjoyable summer and that you have been able to shoot
a good few rolls of film.
May I
start these notes with a date for next years diary with regard to the AGM,
again at Repton, and is on for Saturday 18th, April 1998, we have also
managed to get another good outside speaker for the day, and he is Roger
Parry, ARPS,AFIAP,APAGB, sponsored by The Paterson Photax Group Ltd, Roger
gives various lectures and we have chosen
'Processing and Printing Colour Slides' I have also managed to
secure the Burnett Stuart
Lecture Room at Repton this has tiered seating, is fully blacked out so we
will not have the problem that we had this year, more details on this will
be given in the next newsletter.
Following
up one of the items from the AGM minutes in the last Newsletter, and an
idea (and it is still only an idea) for subscription changes, we at
committee are still discussing, this matter, and as yet we have no firm
proposal that we can put to the membership at the next AGM, I have to say
also that I have received a few critical, and some supportive letters from
members regarding this change, without boring you too much I would like to
clarify the main idea.
Firstly
though, I would like to state quite categorically that, it Is Not, Was
Not, and Will Not Be the intention of the NEC to do away with the Area Co-ordinators!
they play a very important link between the NEC and the members, and as I
am also Area 20 Co-ordinator I know this only too well.
Under the
present system we have, and using a very simple example, let us also take
a fictitious area, and let us say that this area has 12 single members and
2 family members, our area Co-ordinator doesn't produce a local
newsletter, nor do they have local meetings, but they have all paid on
time, and very conveniently bringing in a total area revenue of a £100.00.
He then sends £50.00 (half his income and part of the Constitution rules)
to central funds via the Treasurer (more on this part later) and then
keeps the other half for his running costs. Each member then receives four
newsletters a year by post, and this costs 80 pence per member, times this
by the area membership numbers, and if my calculator is correct comes to
£11.20, lets say his stationary costs £5.00, plus some incidentals,
maybe a increase in postal charges giving our area now a total outlay for
the year of £20.00. The £30.00 that is left goes into a bank or building
society and starts to add up each year, and it does not need me to tell
you of the low rate of interest we get, if it all were to be sent to
central, the co-ordinator would still get his running costs, but central
would have more money in the kitty.
Now if we
start to multiply these amounts by the number of area's around the country
you can see that over the years the amount of money that is starting to
build, and with the very low interest rate there is nothing more for the
members, also I'd like to stress another important factor!
most of the smaller area's Co-ordinators do not have their own club
bank or building society accounts, so the money is deposited into their
own personal accounts, this is of course understandable when we consider
the high banking charges. When I took over Area 20 the TSB
at that time were the only bank that were interested in giving
a stand alone club account, but even this policy may have changed
since they merged, a point which also must be considered is, that if
something unfortunate were to happen to these members, the club has NO
CLAIM on our money, it becomes part of their estate and therefore puts
everybody in a difficult situation at a very bad time. Now looking at the
amount of our area funds that is sent to the Treasurer, and I am sure you
do not need me to tell where the money goes! printing of the newsletter,
film and chemical purchase's, buying library books, subscription to the
photographic journals, PAGB and liability insurance subscriptions, AGM
accommodation payments, to name but a few, doesn't it make much more sense
to have each area Co-ordinator send all the cheques direct to the
Treasurer, together with an estimate for their years running costs, if
this includes cost for printing a local newsletter or running meetings,
great! the money would still be there as it is not the NEC's intention to
curtail any of these activities, rather it is the reverse and we wish to
encourage these more. This system
has been working in one area for a good few years now, and it works very
well, also personally, as an
area Co-ordinator would give me less of a headache at sub. renewal time
with balance sheets etc.
What we
are really trying to do, is make the club more accountable to the
membership, under the present system with money all over the country we
actually do not know what the true club finances are, and you can also see
how difficult it is for the Treasurer to give a true balance sheet year.
One of the criticisms I have also received, 'Is why alter something that
has been working well since 1973?' and the gentleman has a very valid
point, but I will answer him by saying!
that in 1972 when the club was first formed, all newsletter
printing, mailing, and chemicals, were paid for by the Ferrania Colour
Company, a sub. fee was only suggested if an area wished to start a local
activity, like meetings etc. but now with film and chemical sales falling
your subscription is what is keeping the club solvent, with more funds in
the central kitty we could improve the club, and a few things which come
to mind here are, more pages for the newsletter, (if copy allows) buying
in different makes of film, buying our own projector and screen, I am sure
you can think of a lot more, one last idea that might also be possible
would be to LOWER the subs. don't forget, under the present silly
half/half system, for us to get one more pound into central funds we have
to raise it by two pounds, have you ever known any other club to operate
in this way? with this in mind may I now throw the debate over to you,
please let us know what you think! have you another idea! it will only
cost you a stamp and a little of your time and it may help us a great
deal.
Ending on
a sad note, I have to tell you of the passing away of two of our members,
and they are, Henry Jenner an Area 14 member, who died peacefully in his
chair, on the 7th, of July, and Kevin Burne from Area 20 who also died in
early July.
Henry had
been a member of the club for many, many years, and he was at every AGM,
and always with constructive suggestions Kevin joined the club in the mid
eighties, and was a quite a shy man, he accompanied me in my car when he
attended a few AGM's and keep me amused with stories of people visiting
the 'Cutty Sark' at Greenwich where he was a tour guide, they will both be
sadly missed, and condolences have been sent to their families.
Best regards.
Pete.