What actually happened? - Council Resignation

[Chris Downward]

Broomcroft
I totally agree with your para 1 and on my behalf thank you for taking it on.
As to everything else why not leave it to a new council otherwise a new council may feel that they are acting as a "rubber stamp" for the steering group. I think constitutional changes or whatever are as you say to be done slowly and with much thought and then only carried through with the vast majority of the members in support.
Again lets ask members to put themselves forward for election and see what happens. Do we have a time limit on this?
Rutherford
My cry for elections is based on a simple premis--either we have them as soon as possible or we run the risk of the society falling apart. I am in full support of a steering group running the day to day affairs of the society but I am not in support of them being allowed to make basic changes to the society without elections first--the steering group should be unbiased and with no agends except for the day to day running of the society.
Your point on representation of members and distance travelled etc is very valid. I don't know how many meetings there are each year but why more than just one? A council should be for guidance and general direction not for the day to day running of the society, if a problem arises then why can't it be solved with a simple conference call on the telephone. If this as I know causes some legal problems then these can be overcome by council agreeing what was decided on the telephone at their annual council meeting. Much larger organisations than the DCS run in this way.
Lets just have elections first and see what happens--if nobody wishes to stand then defacto we don't have a society
Chris

[Kathy Millar]

It must be remembered that in a non-profit society (or whatever you call them in the UK) is run by folks who are volunteers and enthusiasts. They may not understand the administrative needs (eg. labour contracts) of the day to day running of an organization. Some folks are experienced at recognizing when they need specific help/ advice and others are not and most members have trouble understanding a constitution and most don't even bother to read them. I have no idea what the answer is although sometimes you get a council who won't even acknowledge there is a need and to get ouside help. And ocassionally it gets so personal and messy you end up splitting the organization. I really hope the DCS hangs together and gets back on its feet soon. I hope you don't mind me expressing my "outsider's" opinions except that volunteer groups all over the world can empathize with you.

[Rutherford]

Chris, until now, Council meets at least four times a year. I know there can be legal problems in teleconferencing, but where there is a will there is a way, and other organisations manage it, that and e-mailing, we succeed in having quite a good discussion in these columns! However, my point is that nobody is likely to volunteer, unless they have some idea of what they are letting themselves in for, at present that is utterly in abeyance. With so little success in the past, we need to find away to attract folks who are interested in the breed’s future, and equally importantly are capable. Not simply breed enthusiasts.
I certainly think Council would need more than one consultation a year, but do not see any need for it to be a physical meeting. I don’t think our sympathies are that far apart, but we do need to see the way ahead. One of my gripes in the past has been the lack of democracy, since decisions were taken with no reference to the wishes of the general membership, who would be notified months later.

Beryl

[Martin]

One simpe thought, most of those that have posted have said that a smaller Council could be better, our present Constitution states 12. Would you expect to stand for election and then make rule changes that meant you had to resign?

Martin. Medway Valley Dexters.

[Alison@Hatherland]

Martin - as I understand it at the moment, people are calling for an early election to rectify the problems with having an essentially unelected group/steering committee. This then becomes a bit Catch22 - as if the election is held prior to re-writing the constitution, as you point out, we would have 12 members, who would then be voting to reduce their number to say 7. I assume that as the whole council/board of trustees/(call it waht you will) will be elected in one go, we would have to assign a period of office to each member in decreasing number of years (3, 2 and 1 year), depending on their number of votes. I would then suggest that at the end of the first year, there would naturally be say 4 members whose term of office would come to an end and that this would be the point at which the reduction in numbers on the council could take place.
I have been reading everyone's comments with interest - and it's great that there are people out there looking for a workable way forward.
Many thanks to all those on the Steering Committee for their heroic attempts to save the Society. Without dedicated people like you, we would be in a hell of a mess!
(ps - "steering" committee - perhaps when the dust has settled there could be a great cartoon for the Bull-etin)

Alison Bunning
Hatherland
Devon

[Martin]

Alison, you have summed it up in a nutshell! We want to move to an election as soon as we possibly can (nominations will be called for soon). In the meantime we will attempt to find suitable ammendments to our Constitution TO PUT TO THE MEMBERSHIP, and or a NEW COUNCIL. We cannot, neither do we wish to impose a new constitution.
In an ideal world a new Constitution would be worked on, ratified by the membership, then an election held (my view). It would seem that the timescale to achieve this is too long for some members, and as is their right they are expressing their opinions. We have also been told by many to 'take your time and get it right'. It would seem that the former will get their wish as we do not want divisions deeper than they are now. I am sure that with the correct mandate a new Council can be installed to carry out the wishes of the membership, and concentrate on the important issues here, like Dexters.
Your cartoon idea is great, though I am not sure too many are laughing at present but I'm sure the British sense of humour will rise again soon.
Thank you for your support.
Martin. Medway Valley Dexters.

[Peter thornton]

If we do move quickly towards new elections then can we have a decent amount of information about each candidate?
I'd also like each candidate to be asked a few pertinent questions. Here's some to start with:

1. What is your opinion of the present state of the breed? Are you happy with it or would you seek to develop it, and in what way?

2. What is your opinion of the bulletin? Is it worth the money it costs?

3. What are your thoughts on bull registration? Have we made it too difficult or are we improving the breed by asking for DNA tests?

4. Dual purpose, beef or milk. What's the future and how should we tackle it.

5. How can we encourage wider membership and a greater proportion of registrations?

6. How would you propose to increase communication between Council and membership?

PLEASE I don't want to start a debate on the above, and I hope the questions don't betray my own views. But I DO want to know what the candidates think about these things.

[Colin]

Peter I think this is a good idea. I'd like to have information on the candidates background, the relevant experiences they can bring to the DCS and a manifesto on how they'd like the DCS to develop.

I also agree with points made elsewhere that we need a smaller council of around 7.

Colin

[welshdexterboy]

Peter and Colin --- in the papers for the AGM there was a list of people standing and a short piece on them i.e. where they have worked, what they have done previously, how many cattle they have etc. etc.

[Peter thornton]

That's right, but I want to know a bit more than that. I want to know which direction they want to take the society in. Knowing how many cows they have doesn't tell me this!

[Rutherford]

I included wanting a longer blurb from those seeking election, in submitting my thoughts to the steering committee. However, when I joined the Society and knew no-one, I would phone the candidates before an election, and find out something of their outlook, and aspirations, that solution has always been open to anyone.

Beryl (Woodmagic)

[Penny]

I think that answers to set questions is an excellent way forward, with an "additional comments" from the candidate at the end.

[ann]

However, when I joined the Society and knew no-one, I would phone the candidates before an election, and find out something of their outlook, and aspirations, that solution has always been open to anyone.
Beryl

,

My feeling too Beryl, as not all members purchase the herd book it would probably be a good idea if all prospective candidates included either their e-mail address or tel no or both

Ann