Colin Jones - RA-Aus Board candidate for NSW 2011

[coljones]

RA-Aus Board Election 2011 - Candidate for NSW

 

Colin Jones

 

Aviation Employment Statement. "I hold no positions in any aviation related organisation which pays an income, remuneration or honorarium"

 

Relevant experience:-

 

o Ra-Aus Certificate, flying out of The Oaks, near Sydney

 

o Retired Professional Engineer and IT Manager - Telstra & OTC

 

o Retired National Treasurer (honorary) of a major member based advocacy not-for-profit (income exceeding $20Mil - over 80 staff)

 

o NSW Branch President of the above not-for-profit

 

o Committee member of a number of small local social, sporting and youth organisations

 

o Ashfield (NSW) Citizen of the Year 2010

 

o Australian Defence Medal (RAAF Reserve)

 

o Motorcyclist

 

As a Professional Engineer and IT Manager I have had significant experience in turning needs into solutions using technology. This required making the business case, determining standards, issuing and selecting tenders, employing staff and ensuring that the solutions were implemented in accordance with needs, met requirements of timeliness, costs and utility.

 

As the Treasurer, being part of the executive team, I had oversight of the organisation which was operated by a CEO. The function of the executive was to represent the members, setting the targets budgets and fees and monitoring the operations. With changes to the legislative basis of existence there was regular needs to review the rules of the organisation to ensure compliance and, as we changed through a range of mergers, to ensure equity and fairness of outcomes as well as representation and governance.

 

My involvement with Recreational Aviation is recent, however I have a life long family association with aviation where my father and uncles were commercial pilots and my brother a LAME. An early decision to go to University limited my choices to flying or eating and later having a family had the same effect. Having the kids off my hands meant I could once again indulge, now in RA, and it is bringing much enjoyment.

 

I am offering myself for election as I believe I have qualifications and a range of experiences that will be useful to the board and of benefit to the members.

 

I understand that there are issues of transparency and representation which are causing some debate as well as how the organisation is travelling financially and as the representative body of the members and as the delegate of CASA.

 

As the board of a member based organisation the RA-Aus board must face these challenges which are unlike those of a public company where you can sell your shares and just walk away.

 

It is my intention to fly around and see a lot more of NSW from upstairs. I hope to meet more rec flyers.

 

If I am elected I hope to exchange views and gather the opinions of members, particularly those who can’t get to NatFly, the AGM or other RA-Aus sponsored events.

 

Recreational aviation is fun, deserves to be sponsored to the rest of Australia and needs better access to more airstrips, without that access being undermined or compromised by CASA, government or local councils

 

Col Jones - RA-Aus Member 026402

 

0439 979 950

 

PS I was born in Belmont NSW and my association with the Royal Newcastle Aero Club dates from 23 August 1947

 

 

[Guest JRMobile]

A couple of quick questions if I may Col -

 

Do you believe we should combine an AGM with Natfly,

 

What is your option on getting RAA out of Canberra,

 

What are your views on the current secrecy bylaws before the current board.

 

Cheers John

 

 

[coljones]

John,

 

The AGM is an open meeting of members and should be better accessible to all including prior availability of papers and reports and easy access to voting on issues for which due notice has been given. This could be by simpler and better access to proxies or direct Internet or postal voting.

 

I need to be persuaded that the AGM should be at NATFLY. Other than flying in on your own it would appear that Temora is not the easiest place to get to and there may be more people reluctant to go to Temora than to any other locality. We would need a democratic survey and plebiscite. There appears to be no reason why the AGM could not be rotated through the major membership centres so that the members can see the board, CEO and Ops Manager in the flesh.

 

NatFly is our premier event and does deserve to be supported to the hilt. It is in Temora for a whole lot of logistical reasons related to the gathering of aviators, their planes and those who want to get up close. NatFly should not be the reason for holding an AGM nor vice versa. NatFly is also an opportunity for the members of the board to get out and talk to those who were able to come and for all to listen and learn. Board members need to get out and talk to members everywhere as much as is possible. Board members are representatives of the members and need to know what the members want from their organisation.

 

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association is in Sydney - so some organisations can exist outside Canberra. I can't see an overwhelming case for moving RA-AUS out of Canberra. If the AGM was made mobile it would then come down to economics and politics including the need/desirability to keep close to CASA and the politicians. The only person we need to keep in Canberra is the "Public Officer", who could be a local lawyer or accountant on a small retainer. The fact that there is not a RAA available airstrip close to Canberra is disappointing as is the closure of a range of RAA available airstrips around Australia

 

I am concerned that the Annual Accounts are not more easily available. I wouldn't buy shares in or deal with a bankrupt company and I believe that members and prospective members are entitled to access a minimum of the annual accounts, and other reports. Every resolution of the board and executive becomes policy of the organisation and except where privacy or commercial in confidence considerations exist all resolutions should generally be available to the membership.

 

Cheers

 

Col

 

 

[Guest JRMobile]

Col, Thanks for the prompt reply, we seem to have some good candidates here in NSW. :thumb_up:

 

 

[drifterdriver]

Good luck.

 

 

[facthunter]

It is good to see people putting themselves up for the Job. This is democracy. Only one can win. (What is the situation regarding Carol's vacancy?) Let's get plenty to vote and show that the apathy is gone. Nev

 

 

[drifterdriver]

Hi Colin,

 

Just a suggestion, how about putting a pic of yourself as an avatar so that the members can see who they may want to vote for?

 

Nick

 

 

[coljones]

Not a problem Don. I am trying to find out the timetable for the main show. Why they can't put the notices as PDFs on the website, I don't know.

 

Anything to do with the election is OK in this thread.

 

Cheers, Col

 

 

[drifterdriver]

Yeah thought about that and I've seen pretty much all that Fyshwick has to offer and don't want to go any further south at that time of year. Toowoomba has the Carnival of Flowers in September but an ASIC is required. How about Townsville, we could all stay with Steve. Plenty of rooms available if we manage to coincide with some Army exercise.

 

 

[coljones]

Do we have any attendance figures on NATFLY - both a bird and body count, members and non-members?

 

 

[Guest JRMobile]

My preference for the AGM to be at NATFLY (wherever NATFLY may be held) is that it gives us the best chance for the largest attendance by RA-Aus members at an AGM and surely that is desirable.

Could I second that motion Don?

 

Cheers John

 

 

[pudestcon]

Could I second that motion Don?Cheers John

Do you think 'the board' really wants as many members as possible at the AGM?

 

 

[pudestcon]

Pud,That was a loaded question buddy. I would say that some would and some would not. However, with the new breed of nominees I would say if they were successful then the Board generally would want as many as possible, what better way to demonstrate you representation and to get support?

David

Yeah, maybe I'm just a cynical ol' bastard and should keep my trap shut unless I have something positive to add eh? But just thinking..... It would be a big step up from organising an AGM with a handful of members, to one where there was likely to be 100 plus!!

 

With best intentions,

 

Pud

 

 

[Guernsey]

I have mixed feelings about the AGM being at Natfly as there are obviously pros and cons but there is only one way to find out and that is to try it out one year and then make a

 

decision on future AGM's based on experience rather that suppositions. Alan Marriette.

 

 

[Bubbleboy]

I have mixed feelings about the AGM being at Natfly as there are obviously pros and cons but there is only one way to find out and that is to try it out one year and then make adecision on future AGM's based on experience rather that suppositions. Alan Marriette.

Mr Reid at the Natfly meeting said its been done before, didnt work.

I believe its the only time in the year where you WILL get as many members together at anyone time. Its silly NOT to have it then. The members meeting this year at Natfly was proof enough for me. You cant dispute that unless someone can show me any other AGM that had several hundred members at it. If you really want to be involved in it, you will make the effort to get to Natfly. I drove 8 hours to get there.

 

Back to building...

 

Scotty

 

 

[coljones]

Dear all,

 

There is probably no reason why the financial year cannot be changed to the annual year (or any other time). But no matter how, where and why you might hold a meeting (AGM or General) of the members there is a need for democratisation of the business of the meeting by enabling better proxies and perhaps electronic voting. One of the biggest difficulties is how to handle motions from the floor - if you get 500 at a meeting, how do you ensure the rights of the other 9500 members.

 

In terms of NATFLY, the responses to the various questions of whether NATFLY should be the AGM or where NATFLY should be are still foggy as there have not been a huge number involved in the debate on these pages or outside the meetings held at NATFLY.

 

NATFLY will always require much work by a small band of people (usually without thanks) who must be given a fair degree of flexibility to pull it off, helped, of course, by all those other people turning up and being involved

 

Democracy is a different beast and needs the active engagement of many people who are willing to engage by attendance, by proxy, or by remote control. It could be held at NATFLY but I would have to find out what the other 9999 members of RA-Aus want and that decision is better served by plebiscite or survey conducted through the magazine or RA-Aus website so that the maximum number of people have an input (or you trust the 13 board members to do their job and represent the members)

 

I think we in these forums are all on the same page, there needs to be a review of governance and representation in RA-Aus. The model rules for a not-for-profit in the ACT (or the states) are not really sufficient but the ASIC rules are designed for the big boys (corporates) with deep pockets. Oh, what a quandary.

 

I do, however, expect that there will be a range of changes proposed to both the Rules and By-laws, from either the board or the members, to reform and/or clarify a range of matters, over the next few years.

 

Cheers

 

Col

 

 

[coljones]

The protection is that any motion that is going to make a difference to almost anything requires a notice in the Magazine. In the past, at an AGM in Canberra, less than a handful of ordinary members plus the Board Members - less than 20 in total - have been in a position to change the Constitution. The larger the number of attendees at an AGM the better the democracy works.

The problem I am grappling with is how to best involve and enfranchise those NOT in a position to get to an AGM - no matter where it is. I am thinking that, as a minimum, we need directed proxies and online voting and a restriction on the range of motions which can be sprung from the floor.

 

Cheers

 

Col

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

Col consider LIVE streaming.

 

 

[turboplanner]

Well worth pursuing Col and David