Notification of AGM 2017

The Association’s AGM will be held electronically on the members’ forum this year. It will run from 7th -14th August and is open to all Full and Student members. All Full and Student members are encouraged to contribute to discussions (although only Full Members are entitled to vote on any motions), your attendance is important and valued.

Quorum for an AGM is 50% of full members, so please let The Secretary know if you won’t be able to attend The AGM during the proposed dates.

The final Agenda will be circulated after the Council meeting on the 18th July, but will include:

1. Reviewing minutes of previous AGM and Council Meeting

2. Matters Arising

3. Chairman’s Statement

4. Financial Update

5. Suggestions from members for consideration by the membership

Please email any suggestions to secretary@nullepauk.org or post them in reply to this topic.

6. Any Other Business

7. Council Elections

The one Council Member standing down this year is Vikki Fear. Vikki is assisting Nia Cooke with the secretary’s role, leaving Nia to concentrate on the financial side and has therefore decided not to stand for re-election and is retiring from council, although she will still be working closely with council. We thank her sincerely for her input during her term on the council.

This means that we need at least one more person to stand for council election.

According to Association rules, The Secretary requires the signature of the candidate and a proposer and seconder, (but electronic communication from a recognised member’s email address or a post on the forum will also be considered suitable for the nomination process). Candidates have until 7 days prior to the AGM (31st July) to submit their nominations to the Association Secretary.

Those seeking election to The Council should, once they’ve obtained a proposer and a seconder, write a brief “manifesto” (maximum 750 words). Manifestos should be emailed to secretary@nullepauk.org . The manifestos from all applicants will be posted simultaneously on the forum one week before the AGM.

Calling all Full Members to consider standing for Council!!

Perhaps it is not something you have considered before? Perhaps you are not sure what is required of a council member? Perhaps you prefer to sit in the background, but perhaps you would like to be able to have a positive and real impact on the way that your association is run? Maybe you are newly qualified so you think your input is not yet valuable enough? Not true!

The role of the council is to conduct and manage the business of the Association on behalf of the members. Some business is conducted during the AGMs but outside of that it is the council’s responsibility. Whenever things come up that affect the association the council will deal with them or appoint other members to do so.

Council meetings generally take place via telephone conferencing. They also take place in person when the council are together anyway for other reasons such as an EPA Conference. The council also communicate via the Council section on the EPA Forum. When meetings are held the chairperson (or other nominated member) takes minutes and writes them up for the council members to check. If relevant, these minutes will be made available for the rest of the membership to see.

Questions arising at any meeting are decided by a majority of votes so all council members have a say and an impact.

The frequency of council meetings varies; the council may call a meeting whenever they see fit. If there is not a lot going on then meetings might be quarterly. If there is something specific to deal with then there may be a period during which these are more frequent.
You can find more details on the proceedings and powers of the council in the Articles of Association. https://www.epauk.org/rules/memandarticles.php

If you would like to put yourself forward for council or have someone else in mind who you think would be a good candidate (please speak to them before nominating) please contact the association secretary on or before the 31st July.

About the Author: Vikki Fear