The Lincolnshire Bird Club

Following on from the AGM, at last nights committee meeting we discussed the issue of whether the AGM should continue to be on a Tuesday evening or switch as an experiment to a Saturday afternoon in March 2016. At the AGM it was suggested an afternoon slot might suit a wider audience of attendees and provide more time for discussion. The general feeling of the committee was that the current arrangements have been successful and many birders who currently attend would prefer to be out on a Saturday afternoon rather than at a meeting. However we thought we would consult the membership by a poll below to see if our feeling coincides with what members think.

In recognition of the point that more debate time might be helpful we decided that our next committee meeting at The Fighting Cocks Horncastle at 7.30pm on 18th November would be an open one at which any member could attend and raise any matter should they wish. So if you feel strongly about anything please come. We will limit any single new point to be raised to 5 minutes under Any Other Business but you will be welcome to join the debate on any of the other matters on the agenda.

If you have any comment on this please feel free to comment on this post or contact me by pm. It would be helpful when commenting if you could say how many of the last 5 AGMs you have attended.

I would prefer for the AGM to precede the visiting speaker having attended four of the last five AGM's. Quite often the AGM has been fore shortened because the first half of the evening has overrun - it would also enable those who are not interested in the Speakers' topic to leave after the AGM.

Perhaps we should have a poll on that question as well. I'd be interested to see how many agree.

Rob

Phil

Colin has completed this poll and I would now like to register my vote. Unfortunately the system will not allow 2 votes from us.

So I would like you to accept this post to register my vote which is to continue AGMs on a Tuesday evening.

If the AGM preceded the visiting speaker we think this would deter non-members wishing to attend the presentation.

C&S

The poll seems slightly skewed towards retaining the status quo because it invites members to "prefer" Tuesday evenings.

I should have liked a poll along the lines of a choice between:

A The 2016 agm should be held on a Tuesday evening.

B On a trial basis for 2016, the agm should be held on a Saturday afternoon.

However credit to the committee for being democratically minded and opening it up the membership to decide.

In the interests of everyone ( including young people and prospective new members) I favour Saturday afternoon.

An evening meeting in Horncastle is always liable to be tricky for under-18s or for those who rely on public transport.

Some women and over 60s don't like driving on country roads after dark.

The evening kick-off might also be a deterrent to potential guest speakers, especially for those travelling from a long distance. Does the club currently have to pay for any overnight accommodation expenses incurred?

Another downside is that people may be getting a bit tired by the time of the agm. They want to get off home because of work next day, the missus is fretting etc. That means some business might have to held over because time has run out.

As far as I know the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust holds its AGM on a Saturday afternoon. Likewise BTO regional conferences are held during the daytime at weekends.

I suspect that other county bird clubs favour Saturday afternoons (though I have no evidence to support this).

Without wishing to sound too much like the vicar, I do not think a licensed premises is appropriate for the annual meeting because you can't really have much of a drink if you're driving home afterwards.

Fo these reasons, I think the annual meeting should be at 2pm at a village / community hall venue, perhaps with a mid-session break for tea/coffee/ sandwiches/cakes.

For the future, maybe we could look at having an all-day Saturday meeting with several speakers and a few stalls/stands etc. Such a sshowpiece event could be well publicised with a view to attracting a large attendance, with the prospect of recruiting new members.

I also favour introducing a charge for attendance if there is a guest speaker (as someone suggested at this year's meeting). Maybe £2 for members and £3 for non-members

At the very least, couldn't there be a fundraising raffle?

If any of these prooposals are flawed, please post a message on this site to say so.

Hi Jim,
In response to some of your points, may I add my opinion (though it might upset one or two!)

I accept your point re under 18's and transport but those keen enough usually use Mum and Dads taxi.
I am 67 and when I can't drive on country roads at night I will surrender my driving licence!
I have always advocated the AGM should proceed the speaker so this would allow the AGM to discuss all the business on the night.
In my opinion if the AGM was not held on licensed premises the attendance would be well down - isn't that right, Dean!
Saturday's are a day when the vast majority of the membership are bird watching, conducting avian surveys, ringing, photographing etc.
As far as I am aware the LBC is not strapped for cash so fund raising is not an issue.
See you at the 2016 AGM wherever and whenever it is.
Regards,
Stuart

In principle, I agree with Stuart that the agm should precede the main speaker who is, after all, the headline act.

Trouble is that with the current evening format, it might lead to a time-guillotine, with the result that the Q&A session with the speaker has to be curtailed or even scrapped altogether.

An afternoon meeting would probably allow an extra couple of hours.

I can't believe anyone would seriously object to forfeiting a single Saturday afternoon's birding, photography, ringing to attend the agm. It's not as if mid-March is a particularly special time in the birding calendar.

There are plenty of other Saturday afternoons in the year to make up for lost time.

Hi Phil,
You have given the membership the opportunity to express their views by creating a poll to find what the majority think is the most suitable day/time for the AGM. However, one week on just 4.3% of the membership have responded! I think that tells you and the Committee all you need to know!
Regards,
Stuart.

I am disappointed that you have not asked about the venue. I would prefer Lincoln, because I live there but also because it is a more central location for all members and, I suspect, where the largest number of them may live. Another option would be to alternate between Horncastle and Lincoln.

Hi Aidan,
Just as a point of fact, Horncastle is the nearest town to the centre of the "old" county of Lincolnshire which is Waddingworth Church. Therefore it is sensible to hold the AGM there as Lincoln is a longer trip for those many members who live at Spalding/Boston/Skegness etc. Finally, the poll has generated just two more votes since my post on August 8th!!
Regards,
Stuart

If the agm had a Saturday afternoon kick-off, the location wouldn't matter so much.

Members could do a bit of birding in the morning, take the family along for the ride, etc, etc.

Also there would be more of a chance to meet and chat with other members who may currently just be names on this website

It's surely time to escape the straitjacket of a limited-timespan session in a stuffy room on a midweek night.

Even if only for an experiment in 2016, let's gIve the AGM a bit of time, light and space to breathe!

Surely 71% for keeping things as they are says it all!
Enjoy your birding when you can, you would not be out in the field on a Tuesday evening in March.

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Regards,

Andy.

Or put another way 17 members out of 345 have cast a vote which is 5% plus a very small fraction.

From those figures the large majority couldn't give two hoots about when/where the meetings are held. As yet I've not cast a vote and more than likely won't, like the other 95% probably won't.

I've never been to a meeting, main reason being I can't be bothered driving to Horncastle and having to drive home in the dark even though I know the road. Also don't particularly want to listen to a guest speaker, I'd much prefer to listen to the clubs business and then go. If it was held in daylight hours and closer to where I live then I may go health allowing. Why is it held in a pub why not in a community centre or something similar?

If it was held at Whisby nature reserve that is about central in Lincs and instead of being in March have it when we have daylight till nearly 22:00 then we can combine the meeting with birding at this great reserve and other places nearby! Am sure those that want to whet their whistle will still be able to

I wasn't going to comment but thought why not I'm a member.

I'm sure whatever happens it will suit some, not others and the biggest majority won't care less

Kind regards

Max

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GETTING OLD HAS IT'S ADVANTAGES BUT I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT THEY ARE lol

With regards to location could you not have two meetings..one at Lincoln & one at horncastle..also just have speaker at one meeting.
At these meetings can we vote for things like changing Lbc forum meeting page/topic to something else considering last post was in 2011.. I suggest OPEN..meaning where you can discuss anything from hints & tips to asking for a lift or swaps..even meetings!

This poll runs out tomorrow and I'd like to thank the 21 who have voted and all those who have made contributions. It's clear to me based on the poll result and the number of people voting that there is no obvious thirst for change. We will therefore be leaving the AGM as it is in time and place.

Based on the points raised by contributors, as a one off experiment I will suggest to the committee at our next meeting that we should organise a Saturday afternoon meeting next November 2016 in the Lincoln area, with the format of a speaker followed by an open forum for members to discuss any issues they wish to raise. If it is successful I am sure it could be continued. Success will be measured by the numbers attending compared to the numbers attending the 2016 AGM. In the interim, any members wishing to do so can attend our next LBC committee meeting at The Fighting Cocks, Horncastle at 7.00 pm on 18th November.