Date: 13th February 2017
Venue: Sea View Inn, 2 Preston Rd, Whittle-le-Woods, Chorley PR6 7HH
It’s that time of year when the AGM is upon us once again, yes, of course you’ve got more interesting stuff to do like change the cat litter, but have a think about what this means:
We live in an increasingly surveilled and officially-controlled world, so continuing to enjoy the freedom of our form of flight means being self-regulating within a recognised structure. Love 'em or hate 'em, the BHPA is our structure and PSC is an important component of that, and membership gives you access to that framework. To remain a functioning part of this whole, there are endless background tasks to fulfil: maintaining records of members and their qualification levels, administering the cash that flows in and out, keeping track of safety issues, liaising with relevant bodies over site access and dealing with complaints . . . you get the picture.
A looming threat on the horizon is the proposed expansion of the Leeds Bradford International Airport controlled airspace. The initial plans could severely curtail our options for XC flights towards the east coast, and are a threat to our fellow pilots in the Dales, Cumbria and Derbyshire. To this end we are going to create a new committee post of Airspace Officer to monitor developments and liaise with BHPA, CAA, the General Aviation and Gliding community and our neighbour clubs. This is the kind of background work that is essential to maintain our ability to enjoy our most unique and wonderful sport(s).
To carry out this work needs willing volunteers from the membership; we call this group 'the committee' but really they are simply members who are putting a bit back into our sport - sometimes remaining in post year after year because no-one else is daft enough to do it. Every year, all members of the club are offered the opportunity to offer their services; the following list shows the present members of the committee in case you don't know who they are, together with an indication of their intention to stand for re-election, nominations received to date, and a brief summary of what they do, in their own words, in addition to what it says in the constitution and BHPA documents:
Position
Name
Standing again?
Nominations
Duties
Webmaster
Carl Fairhurst
Yes
Responsible for managing the hosting, application and content of the Pennine Soaring Club website and the domain registration. Working with the other member of the committee to ensure that content and events are posted promptly and available to be linked from emails or Facebook.
Secretary
Brian Stewart
No
Paul Hester
Maintaining a written record of meetings, correspondence with third parties, legal documents and proceedings. Being the focal point for external bodies communicating with PSC.
Chairman
Graham Jones
Yes
Coordinating and chairing committee meetings,
Sites Officer
Andy Archer
Yes
Building and maintaining relationships with our site owners, tenant farmers, statutory bodies; in fact anybody who has an interest in the land we launch from, fly above or land on. Quickly dealing with issues that could escalate into the potential for losing a site and being a single point of contact for site issues for those interested parties and club members alike.
MembershipSec
Jim Ashley
Yes
Keep and update membership data base using information from treasurer / online bank. Contact members when subs due or overdue / incorrect. Check members BHPA membership up to date. Contact / welcome new members - distribute helmet stickers.
Social Sec
Graham Jones
Arranger of club and social nights.
Chief Coach
John Murphy
Yes
a) Organise and co-ordinate coaching within their club.
b) Provide information, guidance and help in a safe, proven manner to club pilots qualified for the activity undertaken.
c) Encourage pilots to use the club coaching facility through promotion and education.
d) Establish and maintain an effective coaching team within the club.
e) Establish and maintain an effective liaison with the Club Safety Officer
f) Supervise and monitor the development of potential coaches, and select and appoint
Club Coaches and Senior Coaches.
g) Operate safely within their known skills and personal environments in accordance
with the recognised procedures and regulations contained in the TM.
h) Improving their own flying and coaching skills and knowledge in various ways, including studying the TM, handbooks, articles in Skywings (especially the Safety Matters Page) and Incident Summaries and Safety Notices.
i) Promote the use of the Incident reporting scheme within the club.
j) Maintain and promote a positive attitude to the sport, the FSC and the BHPA.
k) Maintain an effective liaison with the FSC. Chief Coaches should have regular contact with the FSC, and in particular they should keep the FSC fully informed of new ideas or any difficulties occurring in their clubs.
l) Organise and supervise pilot exams and lectures.
In addition, to become a chief coach the BHPA advise that the candidate should be:
a) Hold a Senior Coach or Club Coach Licence.
b) Possess P rating with good active experience.
c) Be recommended by his/her club. (Chairman’s signature required.)
Treasurer
Richard Chadwick
No
Bank and keep a spreadsheet record of all receipts paid to the club (income) and pay and record all the bills (expenses like site fees, comp fees, website fees and trophies etc.).
Produce a set of annual accounts to present to members at the AGM.
Organise and deliver the Christmas bottle run to the farmers and residents most affected by our sites.
Safety Officer
Phil Wallbank
No
Brian Stewart
Act as the local technical officer. Disseminate Safety Notices and information within the club. Act as a technical reference source within the club. Support the coaching team in their efforts to ensure that accidents and incidents within the club are reported to the FSC. Maintain, through a programme of continuous education and encouragement, an awareness of flying and technical safety standards within the club.
Competition Sec
Simon Blake
Yes
Coordinating all aspects of local and UK competition, supporting and encouraging Pennine pilots to push their flying to the next level by setting targets and flying competitively: scoring the Parlick Grid Challenge, setting and scoring competition tasks at, liaising with the organisers of the BP Cup, liaising with neighbouring club Comps Secs to arrange rounds of the Advance BCC when possible, promoting XC league flying and especially declared flights by helping pilots plan, fly and submit their tracklogs to the league.
Editor
Tony Colombat
Yes
Current: Produce the monthly newsletter, coordinating input from members, BHPA, advertisers etc.
Proposed: Disseminate this information across PSC webpage and Social Media.
Power Sec
Simon Scott
Yes
Provide a PSC point of contact for Paramotor and Powered HG pilots who fly within the Pennine Club area or are PSC members who wish to also fly PPG/PHG. Liaise with pilots in local groups/clubs to attempt to mutually promote powered and free flight foot launched aviation, the PSC and the BHPA. Promote the PSC as an inclusive club that power pilots can be part of.
Airspace Officer
New post
Phil Colbert
Liaise with BHPA, CAA, neighbouring clubs, General Aviation and Gliding community etc. regarding all airspace matters affecting our members.
Just because there's a name against a post doesn't mean you can't volunteer for it - most of us will be happy to step aside to allow in fresh blood. No matter whether you've amassed hundreds of hours or are still counting your airtime in minutes, if you want to get involved and give something back to our fabulous sport, just put yourself forward. So if you think this is for you then to nominate yourself for any post please send an email to secretary@penninesoaringclub.org.uk before 31st January 2017. Voting to decide any contested positions will take place at the AGM.
Extract from Club Constitution:
3.1 The AGM shall be held between February and May
3.2 Reasonable notice of the AGM shall be given to members and the following business shall be discussed.
- Election of Officers
- Report from the Treasurer and any other members of The Committee
- Revision and amendment of rules and regulations where necessary.
- Other items of which due notice will be given.
- Any other business (no voting allowed).
Re Item 3.2, any member wishing to propose an item for discussion must submit it to the secretary (secretary@penninesoaringclub.org.uk) by 31st January 2017.
So, the AGM is an important instrument in the operation of the PSC and, by extension, free flight in the UK. Thus it is your chance to question the committee members on past actions and propose ways in which you feel the club could progress,
Be there.
Brian Stewart
Secretary
