RAAus Media Release

[Admin]

RA-Aus AGM heralds a new era of member involvement with largest turnout.

 

The AGM and Board meeting held in Canberra over the weekend were two of the most

 

constructive meetings held in recent history. At the AGM, the special resolution relating to

 

redistribution of board positions between Victoria and QLD was voted on, but did not reach

 

the necessary 75% to pass. The active participation of our members, who travelled far

 

and wide to attend the meeting in Canberra, was applauded.

 

The sheer volume of content covered during the three days the Board meets takes time to

 

be formally recorded before information can be provided to members. President Eugene

 

Reid stated “We know we need to communicate more quickly with our members using

 

every means possible. We’ve heard this loud and clear and we are addressing it by

 

ensuring more timely distribution of information to all members. This member media

 

release embodies this commitment.”

 

The Board meeting ran over three days, concluding early Sunday afternoon. During this

 

time no less than ten reports and approximately two dozen action items, proposals,

 

requests and reviews were addressed.

 

Senior management and the Board worked together on important items, ranging from

 

education and training initiatives within RA-Aus, to reports on both the Natfly and Monto

 

flyins, with feedback from members integrated into these detailed discussions.

 

Eugene Reid, David Caban and Lynn Jarvis were all returned unanimously to their

 

respective executive positions of President, Treasurer and Secretary.

 

Some of the agenda items addressed throughout the meeting included operations manual

 

revisions, training and endorsement of aircraft maintainers at all levels, and efficient use of

 

member funds in providing services such as safety information, training and insurance.

 

Other items addressed included; the positive ongoing relationship with CASA; ensuring

 

that our processes are no more complicated than any other similar aviation discipline;

 

improving and revamping our website; and, reviewing compliance processes with a view

 

to making them easier as well as effective. Striking the balance between over-regulation

 

and freedom to aviate while maintaining strong communication channels with the

 

membership, was central to every discussion held in the meeting.

 

Brian Melbourne, a first time proxy board member in attendance at the meeting said “I will

 

be reporting back to the members at my club that I have confidence in the way the board

 

conducts its business on behalf of the membership”

 

 

[Guest davidh10]

Following Steve Runciman's comments, my feedback in this post has been replaced and is now expressed in Post.

 

 

[Guest Steven Runciman]

Guys,

 

Why such negativity towards the board? Blackrod let me correct you on your comments about it being a 3 day meeting - the board meeting started late Fri afternoon after the AGM and concluded before lunch on Sunday, so a day and a half at best. Also, please do not forget that there is a lot of work being done by the board members on behalf of the organisation and it's members. I can assure you that most of the work is done prior to the board meeting and continues after the board meeting and because of this it allows all board members to have their say before voting. I am a new board members and I must say that overall I was impressed. Don't get me wrong I am not saying that the board is everything it should be but, in my opinion, we are heading in the right direction. It is a shame that Ian has put a negative slant on the media release but the members asked for better and faster communicaton with it's members and this is a positive step in the right direction. What he did not mention is that it was agreed that the minutes of the AGM will be published on the RAAus website and that each members will receive a copy of the financial statement with their renewal paperwork in the future (not sure when this will take effect as work is still ongoing to make this happen) so these are a steps in the right direction. Please remember that the majority of the board hold down full time jobs and the board work is done in spare time. Not sure what fewer board members would do because as stated they are volunteers and work because they have a desire to take the organisation forward. Kind Regards and Happy and Safe flying. Steve

 

 

[Admin]

What he did not mention is that it was agreed that the minutes of the AGM will be published on the RAAus website and that each members will receive a copy of the financial statement with their renewal paperwork in the future (not sure when this will take effect as work is still ongoing to make this happen) so these are a steps in the right direction.

Steve, wasn't it decided that the minutes have to get approved first which as we have seen are done at the next board meeting...in this case I am guessing Feb before the AGM minutes are approved. Also re the financial statement wasn't stated that we were not allowed to say anything that is discussed in a board meeting until the minutes are approved...again probably not until Feb.

Perhaps I got it wrong when the meeting opened with the demand of confidentiality on everything that is discussed in a board meeting. The reason gave was that everything is not confirmed until the minutes are approved which I argued was far too long for members to have to wait

 

 

[Guest Steven Runciman]

Ian,

 

No, it was agreed that the minutes in future would be released to allow them to be published on the web-site in a timely manner and I asked if this matter could be released immediately after the board meeting and it was agreed and also I asked if I could tell members about the release of the financial statement and, again, it was agreed. It was not demanded at the beginning of the meeting about confidentiality but it was explained to all present by an independent lawyer that, by law, minutes of a board meeting, no matter what board it is, remain confidential until agreed for release by the board. I took the opportunity to ask two points (mentioned above) and it was agreed that these could be released. You could have asked about anything being discussed but you chose not to at the time. Regards, Steve

 

 

[Admin]

Steve, the lawyer wasn't until the next day. it was Birrell that opened up at the beginning saying that everyone had not signed a confidentiality agreement

 

 

[Guest Steven Runciman]

Ian,

 

I stand corrected, you are right. The lawer was the following day and I remember that most of Fri afternoon was taken up discussing confidentiality. Sorry for any confusion caused and please rest assured that I did not mean to mislead your readers. My point is that, in my opinion, the media release is a step in the right direction and if we continue the momentum the communication between board and members will get better and better. Kind Regards, Steve

 

 

[Powerin]

I am not too worried about the confidentiality aspect of RAAus board meetings. Any effective Board needs to be able to have free, open and frank discussion at meetings - without fear of those discussions becoming public and perhaps being subject to legal action (if they were defamatory for instance). Signing confidentialty agreements might be taking things a bit far, but perhaps it's needed when board members come from all over Australia and none of them know each other. Important things are often left unsaid in a boardroom if members fear reprisals should they become public.

 

Minutes are always a "sanitised" version of what goes on in a meeting, but I think it's an important move forward to make them more available to members. Even more important is making the financials more easily available. Remember, all documents and financials have always been available for RAAus members to look at...it's just you had to go to Canberra to see them.

 

 

[Guest davidh10]

Guys,Why such negativity towards the board? ...

Steve;

 

I don't consider that my post was expressing negativity towards the Board, however the "Media Release" is worded in a way that is well characterised by the manner used by politicians... It leaves everyone with a warm feeling but does not actually impart anything you can hang your hat on. As such, my remarks are one member's feedback. Here's some more thoughts..

 

In the end, the promise of better communication is in itself worthless. It is the relevance, content and effectiveness of the communication that will be undertaken that will be the ultimate measure.... actions, not words.

 

I applaud the idea of publishing the Board meeting minutes as one means of demonstrating the areas of activity of the Board and the decisions made. Time will tell if it achieves its aim, but it is definitely worth a run.

 

As Powerin has pointed out, the Secretary's notes only become Minutes after they are passed by the succeeding meeting, and I think everyone would understand that there will sometimes be activities that are sensitive and which cannot be reported in detail until some milestone point is reached.

 

An agreed communiqué is probably a good tool to provide timely information about new initiatives or progress, provided that it does not have to be so bland as to not convey anything substantive. The discussion in this thread between yourself and Ian demonstrates the different memories that individual members take away from a meeting and re-inforces the need to have an agreed communiqué, rather than individuals views as the main means of communication. Individual's views still have a place, but would be less necessary alongside an effective programme of communication.

 

It will undoubtedly take time to get the balancing act right to gain substantial member acceptance. Feedback is the only way in which they can gauge effectiveness in the member's eyes. How feedback is obtained and what weight to place on an individual's comments is itself a challenge.

 

A topical article or Blog that tells the story of some achievement in sufficient detail that they can appreciate the effort and challenges. Obviously this takes time and effort to draft and would not be possible for every achievement, but picking a few that are topical or of high interest to the membership in general would be good.

 

I have to say that I usually find the regular articles written by the CEO, Operations Manager and Technical Manager to be interesting, informative and useful, although I find myself tending to agree with part of a previous President's comments (in another thread) with respect to the recent article(s) by the current CEO.

 

While in the latest CEO's article, I had a bit of a chuckle at one of the anecdotes, they should be a miniscule part of the article, not the only thing that I can recall having read. Hopefully his articles will become more informative in the future. I'm sure that the impression created sells short the effort behind the scenes.

 

While in the past, the monthly magazine has been the main communication channel to members, perhaps the strategy now has to also include on-line communication as a main-line delivery channel. I think the organisation has outgrown its current web site, which is in need of a make-over. I'll be happy to make a separate thread about some thoughts in that direction.

 

 

[Guest Steven Runciman]

David,

 

Thanks for your comments. Maybe not negativety on your part but - If this is their idea of increased communication is unhelpful and unwarranted in my opinion. As I have said there is a lot of work being done by board members for the good and benefit of the organisation and it's members. We will not always get it right and as I have said, compared to what was previously produced we have taken a step in the right direction and we will continue to work to get it right. My personal opinion is that there is more snipets that we could have released but please remember the communication is a first and I am sure that it will improve with time. The communication between Ian and myself should not have taken place on this forum but you are correct about the different memories of events; however, I put this down to this being my first board meeting and inexperience! I am sure that all board members would be receptive to constructive criticism and there are other options open to you to allow you to express your opinions and concerns - for example letters to the editor in the magazine; I am not sure how many other board members visit this site. If you have concerns about the content of the CEO reports lately why not write to him to express these concerns? Kind Regards and Happy and Safe flying, Steve

 

 

[FlyingVizsla]

Out here, Council minutes are circulated by email to Councillors who have a week to request changes, then they are posted on the website. Journalists who sit in on the meetings have often written up and published the meatier bits before the minutes were released so they were old news even a week after.

 

The Agenda used to be available too - this included all the background information, reports, recommendations, costings, correspondance which gave you a better understanding of the final result. However this was later restricted to Councillors and senior staff (when the Council amalgamated), but the minutes had good information. Now the minutes are a sanitised version and it is hard to get much information out of them. The budget meeting minutes did not once mention a $ amount. The whole thing was a heading (Sewerage) a note that all Councillors owned land and had a vested interest but because they all did they could deal with it .... etc and The budget for (sewerage) was passed. Only the (bit in brackets) changed in each paragraph - pages and pages of them. The smaller the organisation the more info.

 

I would imagine our board meetings have been going the same way - the larger the organisation the more acutely aware they are of upsetting or giving competitive advantage or causing controversy with the members. Governments often let it leak so they can run it up the flagpole and gauge public opinion and flush out the dissenters. So maybe there is either a better mechanism for approving and releasing minutes, or a Board Reporter (journalist) to float the pithier issues in a timely manner.

 

Sue

 

 

[Guest davidh10]

David,Thanks for your comments. Maybe not negativety on your part but - If this is their idea of increased communication is unhelpful and unwarranted in my opinion.

Ok. A bit terse, and yes, it wasn't constructive. On that basis, I've removed the comments in that post and replaced with a link to my later post.

 

With respect to emailing the CEO; The thought had crossed my mind after reading the article, but I'm sure he has more important things to do than respond to such an email from an individual member. Better that it be canvassed here and if enough people feel the same, it is worth letting him know, otherwise maybe he trips over the thread in this forum and job's done without him feeling the need to respond :-)

 

There's now three Board members, to my knowledge, who are active in these forums, so there's an avenue for the weight of member opinion to filter back without the work load of responding to individual emails. This forum also enables us to see other's opinions and this may cause us to modify our own when cast in a different light.

 

 

[Guest Steven Runciman]

BlackRod,

 

You also do sarcasm - well done you!

 

Steve

 

 

[facthunter]

comments on minutes (General)

 

Minutes are required to be taken of certain meetings. They are supposed to be "a true and accurate RECORD of that meeting". Read that how you wish.

 

Any organisation where I chair a meeting gets my signature on each page of the original . Those originals a kept for a period of time , as a record in case there is something in dispute.

 

Subsequent meetings of the same nature by the same group. eg.AGM to AGM, would ratify the previous minutes. This can only be done by those members who were at the previous meeting. (would be ridiculous to expect someone who was not there to know). This would give a 12 month delay in this instance.

 

Unsatisfactory, but why cannot an agreed report of the meeting be made available almost immediately? You could annotate it "subject to ratification of minutes......etc. Where there is a WILL there will be a way.

 

With regard to the alleged actions of various people, if there is some doubt give them the BENEFIT of the doubt. They are all working for us and if we are too critical, no one will want to do it. Don't spread rumours . Peoples reputations are worth a lot. Nev

 

 

[Guest davidh10]

...This would give a 12 month delay in this instance. ...

Best practice in this regard with AGM Minutes is to pass a resolution at the AGM that permits the Minutes to be confirmed at the next GM or at the next Board / Committee Meeting. I doubt anyone has a completely accurate recollection of a meeting that occurred 12 months ago, particularly if you haven't had the benefit of seeing the candidate minutes in the interim.

 

The record can still be challenged at the succeeding AGM, but any change is recorded as a correction without removing the corrected information.

 

That said, I have yet to see this implemented in practice in any organisation.

 

 

[facthunter]

practice of minutes confirmation.

 

Without trying to be provocative, I haven't seen one that doesn't. Usually they are printed out and like all notices of motion, agenda items etc are available 3 weeks before the meeting. Nev