Update October 2009

How time has flown since April and here we are 6 months into the year and starting to prepare for the AGM already. I knew it was going to be a busy year and whilst so far it has been dominated by “The Survey” there are other things going on and I am really enjoying my time as National Membership & Extension Officer. The major issue now for us is the membership debate.

Membership debate

There has been some good debate at many clubs members of National Council have visited and spoken to and equally for many clubs the source of information has been the Chairman or club contact. Now is the time though for all clubs to debate this major issue and I want to give you as much information as I can to help you. The survey results are on the link attached and power point presentation. Your National Councillors have also got the full information for all the clubs in their regions. All clubs will shortly be receiving a letter from the National President asking you to debate the issue fully now and I would urge you to do just that.

The survey results clearly indicate that a significant majority (67%) want to change the rules to allow non ex-Round Tablers to join as full members. National Council has debated this issue in accordance with the timescales we published earlier in the year. It isn’t a proposal at this stage and as such National Council have not approved it or formalised it. The survey response has formulated our thinking and we are publishing our current thoughts now to enable all clubs to have an informed debate and to give us some response. Here is our first draft which we now need you to debate and let us have some feedback to enable us to properly formulate a proper proposal to bring before the AGM in Scarborough as instructed by the member clubs at the Southport AGM. There really is only 1 rule on membership (rule 2.1) but it does knock on into a rule for clubs (rule 4.1).

Draft Rule 2.1

• "full members" means like minded men who have agreed to adopt the values of Round Table and the purposes of the Association as defined by these rules and who have reached the age of forty years.
• Reference to Associate membership to be deleted.

Draft Rule 4.1

• Clubs shall only be affiliated where membership is confined to full members, for whom annual capitation fees shall be payable to the Association.

Before you discuss them it is important to understand the background.

• Strong anecdotal evidence tells us that at least 25% of clubs already have members who have not been in Round Table
• Those clubs according to the current rules should be disaffiliated through non-compliance with Rule 4.1 but who is going to tell us which clubs they are?
• We can’t effectively police the rules as we do not have an individual membership system with a registration requirement. This really is the key and as such any specific rule we put in place, including the current rule is unworkable, unless the membership wanted to change from an Association of Clubs to An Association of Members
• Every club will continue to do what they do whether they bend the “rules” or not

This is not a cop out just a logical assessment of what we can and can’t do. We have not decided the final proposal at Council or whether or not it is recommended by Council. The most important thing though is that the matter is left with clubs to debate. Under the proposals there is no compulsion to open the doors and no compulsion to close them either. We have also debated some guidelines which whilst not part of the rules we think are appropriate.

• Clubs should determine their own policy on admission to membership.
• All clubs should have as a minimum 2 officers being a Chairman and a Club Contact/Secretary/Treasurer. The details of those officers are to be confirmed annually on the Association’s Club Administration System.
• All clubs should adopt the Purposes of the Association as defined in the Rules of the Association.
• Clubs should actively encourage membership from ex-Round Tablers
• It remains a right of ex-Round Table members to apply to join a club
• A club may determine to invite membership from non-ex Round Tablers. In doing so it should define its own policy at a general meeting but it is recommended that no less than 50% of the membership shall at any time be ex-Round Table members.
• Clubs should adopt the same principles with new non-ex table members as Round Table in that they should be invited as guests for a period of time, say 3 months, before becoming a prospective member and then formally inducted at an appropriate time thereafter.
• New clubs to be started with a minimum of 50% ex-Round Tablers

So now on to the debate. Let us know what you think.

For other membership issues and stories follow the links below.

Membership survey results and presentation.

Active Clubs & Assistance to Round Table