Save the CTC Web Site

[gaz]

Yep and admin will have to merge the CTC Member Groups and the Charity Rides / Not-for-profit organised rides forum boards.

Will we have to rename the For Sale board the CTC Charity Shop?

[workhard]

I'm telling you readers, the thought of being on an all night ride with Workhard and Greg swapping Charity Management qualifications is the only thing that's getting me through the day....................

adopts careworn and world weary pose

"Charity Management. I was a charity manager once." Stares rheumily into the middle distance "'ardest game in the world, I was on this fundraising campaign once up Dartford way......" drones on until dawn. Zzzzzz

[Regulator]

I'm telling you readers, the thought of being on an all night ride with Workhard and Greg swapping Charity Management qualifications is the only thing that's getting me through the day....................

adopts careworn and world weary pose

"Charity Management. I was a charity manager once." Stares rheumily into the middle distance "'ardest game in the world, I was on this fundraising campaign once up Dartford way......" drones on until dawn. Zzzzzz

Oh - I never did anything as lowly as fundraising, dear chap. One had staff to do that sort of thing, although they might need a little leadership, direction and inspiration from time to time.

I concentrated on spending it....

[toontra]

Can we assume that the fact the site has been down for a few days and there is a general hush on the issue is an indication that things are going on behind the scenes? Perhaps in lieu of the meeting this week?

[Regulator]

Can we assume that the fact the site has been down for a few days and there is a general hush on the issue is an indication that things are going on behind the scenes? Perhaps in lieu of the meeting this week?

The sites down as it's being redesigned and we've in the middle of changing hosting services (and unfortunately, the changeover isn't going smoothly... )

[Regulator]

Good news (I hope). The new version of the Save the CTC web-site should be up and running again by the weekend...

[gaz]

I assume you have outsourced the necessary IT work to a charitable trust. In so doing you can achieve tax savings and maximise value for savethectc's members.

[The Bard]

I assume you have outsourced the necessary IT work to a charitable trust. In so doing you can achieve tax savings and maximise value for savethectc's members.

I think it's been outsourced to a business services company that usually specialises in membership processing

The Bard

[gaz]

Hot news! We (by which I mean Councillors, yrs truly and Colin) have all been invited to a meeting at National Office. Dates are being sorted out. This could be a bit of a breakthrough! Hope springs eternal!

Whilst appreciating that only Colin was expected to be able attend the meeting yesterday, did it go ahead and when might we hear more?

[Simon L6]

Hot news! We (by which I mean Councillors, yrs truly and Colin) have all been invited to a meeting at National Office. Dates are being sorted out. This could be a bit of a breakthrough! Hope springs eternal!

Whilst appreciating that only Colin was expected to be able attend the meeting yesterday, did it go ahead and when might we hear more?

Colin went, John went and I was there for the majority of the time. I'm seeing Colin on Monday evening, by which time we'll have looked at the numbers that we were given. We look at these things in slightly different ways - Colin assess the numbers as numbers and I try to divine the character and value represented by the numbers. I'm reluctant to attempt to paraphrase the discussion prior to talking to Colin, but for now....

- a great deal of work has been done by Barry Flood and Kevin Mayne to ensure that there is internal consistency in the accounts
- there are clearly efforts being made to make the accounts of the CTC more appropriate for the present task - bear in mind that the activities of the Trust have grown rapidly in the past few years
- Kevin made the perfectly reasonable point that Council sets the priorities. My point was that Councillors (and in my case ex-Councillors) lack the time and the experience to exercise a sensible level of control over the finances of the Trust.
- I couldn't reconcile the way that costs were recorded and attributed with my experience in similar sized organisations, and expressed a hope that costs would be recorded against people and their activities.

There was an odd conclusion to the meeting - and not an entirely happy one. You could call it a frank exchange of views. Kevin believes that people will vote on the numbers. He wanted me to agree that the numbers were fine. I wouldn't do this, although, as I say, the thing is ongoing....

I told him that the impression that I get from correspondence with members is that the numbers are not a prime concern. I wasn't shy about accepting that the 'nay' vote will be a loose coalition of refuseniks. I made the point, and it wasn't one he appreciated, that the 'pro' campaign had repeatedly shot itself in the foot - the Great E-Mail Scandal being the prime case in point.

As it happens I reckon that the top item of concern is the membership system, which irks folk no end. Then, in no particular order, there are those that are concerned about risk, those that are concerned about support for volunteers, those that are concerned about the cost of membership and those that are just totally hacked off by the 'pro' campaign, seeing it as arrogant.

Now those campaigning for the Special Resolution could reasonably say 'this is irrelevant'. Which, of course, it isn't, because as any fule kno the best time to make a point to someone is when they want something from you (in this case a vote) and at the heart of the debate on the charity there is the concern that the Club has been neglected both by Council and Management.

I have a great deal of sympathy for Kevin in his particular predicament. For years Karen, yours truly, Greg, Phil Benstead and a couple more banged on about the Club at Council meetings - not just the membership system and the DAs, but the hidden potential. It was like trying to push a pea up the wall with our noses. Now a bunch of members are getting bolshy, Kevin's getting the stick, but, really, Council took the decisions. They (we) might not have been across the implications of those decisions, but there you go....

[thirdcrank]

... I made the point, and it wasn't one he appreciated, that the 'pro' campaign had repeatedly shot itself in the foot - the Great E-Mail Scandal being the prime case in point. ...

The enthusiasm, bordering on glee, with which the various emails have been widely publicised by the people they were supposed to outwit should have been a bit of a clue.

[gaz]

Kevin believes that people will vote on the numbers. He wanted me to agree that the numbers were fine. I wouldn't do this, although, as I say, the thing is ongoing....

Well on that point I would feel that Kevin is mistaken. Apart from life members we all "vote" every year by choosing to renew or not. I doubt that anybody assesses the value of their membership by trawling through the accounts.

Whilst I remain happy about the value of my membership that's not a result of detailed number crunching and Gift Aid isn't going to change the equation.

[Simon L6]

... I made the point, and it wasn't one he appreciated, that the 'pro' campaign had repeatedly shot itself in the foot - the Great E-Mail Scandal being the prime case in point. ...

The enthusiasm, bordering on glee, with which the various emails have been widely publicised by the people they were supposed to outwit should have been a bit of a clue.

I wouldn't neccessarily use the word glee. Being described as someone who never said anything positive is no fun. To be honest it was touch and go whether I quit the day I read Arthur Spurr's e-mail.

Newsnet goes to 38,000 addresses. I would have thought that the Councillors who were invited to send out e-mails reached 75% of those We've got a grand total of 4,000 addresses and that includes my family. We're up against it

[toontra]

Simon, is is fair to say that you didn't hear/see anything yesterday to make you change your view about the forthcoming vote?

[thirdcrank]

Simon L6

Speaking as the person who posted on here the email from the CTC Councillor for Yorkshire and the Humber (for anybody looking at the profiles on the CTC desktop - the one without the hair) I'm sorry if doing so caused you any concern. I thought it did its write no credit, and for that reason did you no harm. I've not spoken to anybody who does not share that view.