Busy little bear
Another busy weekend for TB so blogging will be light to non-existant...
Will get the the NME ratings index up in the next few days if you're lucky...
Seems it all got a little heated in the last 24 hours if the amount of emails and texts TB got last night are anything to go by. Here's a little song to lighten up your Friday...
If that doesn't calm things down nothing will!
Posts
2 comments:
Dear Michael, members of the NME and fellow Area Chairmen,
Michael, if I may start with your first and third points? It is clear that your first point is fundamentally flawed; as Area Chairman we supposedly report directly to the NME. Any reform of this body therefore has an immediate effect on our own positions.
Furthermore, "regional and local level engagement" would be better served by empowering Area Chairman, and focussing on our links to the higher levels of CF as it currently stands. I argued during the elections, and you seemed to concur, that Area Chairmen are the pivotal link in the CF structure. However, and I am sure I am not alone amongst my colleagues here, I still feel as cut off from the central CF structure as ever. Whilst you efforts to bring future reform are to be applauded, immediate action to bring Area Chairmen, and therefore the rest of the membership, closer to the NME and yourself as National Chairman would bring clear benefits to CF much more quickly.
In relation to your second point Michael, consultation of any kind is never a waste of time. Keeping us aware of your thoughts even if nothing concrete is in place is good practice. I'm sure I am not the only Chairman who is put in a position of helplessness when our branch chairmen come to us asking for clarification. It all comes back to you and your NME ensuring Area Chairmen are kept in the loop to a larger extent, even if understandably you wish to keep some NME business confidential.
I make a point of not reading the bestial-authored gossip blogs, although the obvious furore over your proposed changes could have been easily diverted had Area Chairman had some degree of understanding of the proposed changes, and so could have disseminated some information further down the ladder. We ACs are your 'guys on the ground', please make use of us.
regards,
Matt Lewis
Staffordshire AC
Dear all, I have not read the blogs which are mentioned in the original e-mail, butI have been informed of the proposed changes. I too believe that thechanges will not serve to increase participation between branches and theNME, but I also believe that this debate is secondary to what should beour main concern. CF as a whole is chronically disorganised. We have branches which seemhappy with their own little fiefdom and do not wish to participate inother areas. We lack a central database from which area chairmen are ableto find out all of the CF branches within their area and contact them. There is not a proper hand over system between the old AC and the new AC,nor a formal introduction to the branches. This is also the first timethat I have been contacted since I was elected as a chairman at thebeginning of the year. The arguments against the current proposals are sound and ring true tomany members. However instead of concentrating on this we need to startwith getting basic organisational principals sorted, such as a completelist of branches with contact details, and getting individual branchesmore involved in the bigger picture. If we are able to show that we canmobilise branches across the country to work in target seats duringelections then maybe the central party will start to see the intrinsicvalue of CF, and provide funding accordingly. Regards, Matthew DavisonAC Norfolk and Suffolk