HOW WE ARE RUN.
The Boring Stuff
We are a company limited by guarantee. This means that our affairs are conducted fully in accordance with the various Companies Acts at present in force and our accounts are examined by qualified accountants and are filed at Companies House available for public inspection. Being a company limited by guarantee we do not have shareholders and the liability of our members is limited to £1.
Our day to day affairs are conducted by a Board of Directors. We actually call it "The Council" and we meet monthly on the third Tuesday of every month. The Council is elected at the Annual General Meeting of the Club held every March.
The Bosses
Being a Boat Club the senior Council members (the "managing director" and his two assistants) are known as the "Flag Officers". Each Flag Officer normally serves for two years and works his way up from rear-commodore for the first two years, then vice-commodore for two years and then serves in the most senior position as commodore for two years. This enables the flag officers to gain experience in the position and to give continuuity. You will probably have noticed that these are naval terms. "Vice" comes from the Latin "in place of" and the role of the Vice-Commodore was to take over when the Commodore was not able to function. The Rear-Commodore was the officer who commanded the ship at the rear of the fleet and occupied the important role of protecting the Fleet from attacks from the rear. The closeness of the analogy has varied over the years from Flag Officer to Flag Officer and, like most organisations, we have had our Trafalgars. However, the system has been proved to be robust and has stood up to the various vicissitudes.
The Workers.
However, the Council also needs people who actually do the work!. In addition to the Flag Officers there are another twelve members who make up the full Council. These are also elected by the AGM. The reason for their election is based on a combination of factors:-
charm , good looks and ability to get on with people
technical ability and expertise,
overwhelming desire to serve their fellow men,
not seeing the Commodore approaching when he came up and asked them to stand.
Seriously, they all are people who love boating and want to put something back into it in return for all the pleasure that they have derived over the years.
Who to shoot at.
The Council members for the year 2008/2009 are as follows:-
| Commodore | Phil Thomas |
| Vice-commodore | Roger Stones |
| Rear-commodore | David Smith |
| Moorings Officer | Fred Machin; Deputy Ian Tilley |
| Slippng Officer | Tony Budworth, Bob Bradley & Richard Shield. Deputy: Mike Simpson. Bookings to be made with Richard Shield. |
| Insurance Officer | Fred Luscombe |
| Security & Safety | Martyn Stenton |
| Projects Group Leader | Mike Simpson. Other team members will be listed once the Group is formed. |
| Social & Entertainment | David Smith, Wendy Terry, Brenda Lawson, Frances Estella & Joan Simpson |
| Sale of badges, burgees & ties | Tony Budworth |
| Secretary & Treasurer | Keith Goodman |
In addition to the above Council Members other people also have varying responsibilities
| President | John Blake |
| AWCC Representative | Terence Balchin |
| TBA Representative/td> | Leo Estella |
| BWB User Group | Heather Seaman |
| Boat Watch Representative | Christine Booth |
| Club Magazine Editor | Terence Balchin |
You may wonder why we have no photographs of our Council Members. This is to avoid jamming the switchboard of Crimewatch UK and the inclusion of this site in the categrory of those unsuitable for the eyes of children