Club AGM

Dear Colleagues
You are cordially invited to this year's Clydesdale Harriers Annual General Meeting which will take place on Friday 19th April in the Playdrome at 6.30p.m.
All paid-up, honorary and life members are eligible to attend and vote for office bearers.
The meeting should not last more than 1 hour.
Agenda is as follows:

1. Attendance
2. Apologies for absence
3. Minutes of last year's meeting
4. Matters arising from Minutes
5. Financial statement from Treasurer
6. Chairman's remarks
7. Election of Office Bearers

• President
• Vice President
• Secretary
• Assistant Secretary
• Treasurer
• Men's Captain
• Ladies' Captain
• Social Secretary
• Parents Reps
• Media Officer
• Child Welfare Officer
• General Committee (up to 12 persons)

     8.  Any other competent business

Peter Rudzinski
President and acting Secretary

National Cross Country Championships Results

Dear fellow members,

There has been some comment recently on the blog about the performance of the senior men’s team at the National Cross Country Championships.

For your interest I looked up the team results for the last 29 years. I picked that number because that is the number of times I have run the men’s championships and I was interested in researching my own finishing positions over the years.

2012	31	2004	15	1996	7	1988	12
2011	21	2003	6	1995	18	1987	13
2010	23	2002	18	1994	13	1986	unknown
2009	20	2001	12	1993	14	1985	Disq.
2008	27	2000	21	1992	18	1984	unknown
2007	27	1999	20	1991	17
2006	18	1998	7	1990	8
2005	12	1997	DNF	1989	12

As you can see from the results above, 4 times in 29 years we have finished in the top ten (although 2 years are not published). In addition we were disqualified in 1985 for using a “ringer”.

Interestingly, our highest finish was the year that we provided the winner. Graeme Reid is the only individual who has medalled in that time and indeed only one other, Ian Murphy, has finished in the top twenty in 29 years. (Ian finished 20^th).

One other interesting point I noted from the results was the consistent lack of young athletes competing in the National Championships, considering the numbers we have had as members during these years.

Peter Rudzinski

A Message from the President (still!)

Dear colleagues,

Last night at the A.G.M. we had a splendid attendance and managed to recruit several new members to the general committee.

Most of the existing post holders were re-elected, all of them unopposed. Only change was that Christine Duncanson has taken on the role of Ladies Captain.

Heather Abbott will take over the role of Welfare Officer until the return of Donald McLeod.

New members of the general committee are – Brian McAusland, Peter Bowman and Paul Ross.

There were some questions asked about the annual accounts which Jim Wright answered.
The financial position of the club looks healthy.

The issue of a possible purchase of a tent was discussed. Several people volunteered to look around for a suitable product and let me know so that I can go back to the Clyde Shopping Centre management for funding.

The blog content was discussed.  The issue to be discussed at the next committee meeting with a view to resolving potential conflicts.

Peter Rudzinski

Club - Annual General Meeting

The Club AGM will be held at Clydebank Playdrome on Friday 20 April at 6.30pm – all club members welcome to attend.  At the AGM there will be an election of office bearers for the following roles:

President 

Vice President

Secretary 

Asst. Secretary

Treasurer

Captain

Ladies Captain

Social Secretary

Parents Rep

Child Welfare Officer

Media Officer

Volunteer Programme Officer

General Committee

It would be helpful if you could  let me know by Wednesday 18 April if you have nominations for any of the above office bearers posts and/or items to be added to the AGM Agenda for discussion at the meeting although nominations for all the above posts will still be taken on the night as usual.

Yvonne Green 

Club Secretary

Annual General Meeting

I came down to the Playdrome for the club AGM on Friday and was really pleasantly surprised by the turnout - it's three years since I was at a General Meeting and the turn-out then was I think just over 10 people. On Friday there were almost 30 people ranging in age from Under 13 to Over 60 (and in one case, over 70!). The venue was another triumph for the Committee - light and airy inside, there was plenty of room for everyone and it was easy to read the documents produced; plenty of parking outside and centrally situated, it was easy to see why there were several suggesting it as a permanent venue for future Committee Meetings. The children waiting outside were able to see in to the room but very few did so and it is always possible to draw down the blinds and get over this minor point.
The business was dealt with appropriately by President Rudzinski and the election of the Committee went ahead with the three principals (President, Secretary and Treasurer) keeping their posts. Paul Carroll steppped up to become Captain in place of Gary Dick with Ian Robertson becoming Vice-Captain in succession to Paul. The balance of the Committee was probably improved with the additions of Brian McShea to General Committee and Johnathan Farrell as representative of the younger athletes. The three items that I wanted to raise under Other Competent Business were (1) Communication between the committee and the club and I'm not sure whether it was actually agreed that extracts from the Minutes of Meetings would be put up on the Blog or not; (2) The decision by the Committee not to go ahead with the Clubmark application and it was agreed that it would be taken up by the Committee; and recruitment where it was agreed to update the West Dunbarton Sports Council's excellent handbill and make it available at the Polaroid race.
There was also discussion of club subs and a possible increase and I left at that point. It was a good meeting and maybe more should have made the effort to attend but let's be happy that there were so many prepared to attend - I believe most spoke at some point in the meeting and youngsters such as Conor Ewing, David Campbell and Andrew Dunbar all said their pice well and clearly.

AGM: 15th April

The AGM is one week today in the Playdrome at 6:30. We should all make an effort to be there.
1. It is the only opportunity for members to ask the Committee the questions they want on the issues that matter to them. For my part, the questions I want to ask are about communication with the members and about the decision of the Committee not to pursue gaining the Clubmark. You might have others. So come and ask them.
2. Committee is elected at the AGM for the coming year. Any member can nominate any other member for any position on the Committee. A healthy club has elections for the positions: don't be backward in making your nominations - two or more nominations for any post is the ideal. The Committee has its own suggestions and this practice was begun because there were few being made at the AGM at that point and it has just continued. There is no offence to any nominee if another member is put up for the same post. No offence is taken by any member who is not elected in a straight competition.
3. Members, parents, young members and coaches should all make an effort to attend and say their piece. Or even attend and just listen. But please attend.

Annual General Meeting

It's just eleven days to the AGM and the rule in the old constitution was that all members had to be notified ten days beforehand - ten days being seen as the ideal time because three or four did not give folk time to re-arrange what they were doing in order to attend and any longer would give it a bigger chance of being forgotten. And believe it or not people did come along and, an even bigger 'believe-it-or-not', there were no recommendations by the Committee for posts. Nominations were made on the night and votes taken: there were certainly ideas floating around about who was suitable and it was assumed that unless something drastic happened any office bearer would be there for at least three years and the Treasurer and Secretary for longer with the treasurers having the edge in terms of longevity. In the 80's it was decided that although turn-out at the AGM was usually good, there were often gaps in the list of office-bearers that had to be filled at the next Committee Meeting so it was agreed that the Committee would put forward suggested office-bearers but these were up for discussion and other nominations were encouraged. There was never ever any animosity between two folk put up for the same position.
My own comments on the upcoming AGM are as follows. Withe Yvonne stepping down and Kath Scott not being available then there will be new Secretary and Assistant Secretary required. The Assistant Secretary does the Minutes and keeps the offficial copy of the Club Minutes: it is a very responsible but not very onerous job and does not require much in the way of work between meetings. The Secretary is the real power centre of the club in terms of keeping it going and needs someone who will give it time between meetings - the work is mostly done between meetings - receiving and sending correspondence, sending notificaations to club members, etc. Yvonne was doing it well and efficiently - and better every year too. But both need replacing this year. The treasurer is a very important member of Committee and the club has had some great treasurers in the past with Jim Wright being the present incumbent. It is a very responsible job and experience only makes you better at it - we really need Jim to stay on. I don't know how many years he has been doing it but he's not yet caught up with David Bowman!
I don't know of any others leaving or giving up their post but the Captain and Vice Captain are doing an excellent job as the performance at Livingston indicated and they should be retained (if they are willing and I hope they are). The selection of Ladies Captain and Vice Captain is a matter for the women themselves and I'm too much of a fearty to dabble in it!
Peter the President has done the club a real service over the past few years. The club needs continuity and there had been four Presidents in four years and not one of us has stayed on the Committee to pass on advice. Alistair Meikle was really a Gala Harrier at heart but did a good stint before stepping down as President, then Cliff Brown was a very good president with lots of initiatives (he attended the DALAP committee meetings and so on) before stepping down after only a year. Aileen Scott was next up but couldn't move in for another year so I stood in as president and carried on where Cliff left off with representing the club at various committees until Aileen was available. Aileen was a very dynamic President and again did many excellent things and took many initiatives on her own which were ratified by the committee and it was a shame when she stood down. Peter came in and has stabilised things over his four or five years as president. It used to be three years and David Bowman set a record after I joined the club when he did seven years - it was mainly because he was the only Committee Member with a car and since we had to collect trophies from the club jeweller (Edwards in Glasgow) and various other things, David held on to the job. The president's job is mainly to steer the club in the right direction - harder than might be thought - and keep the club moving. I don't know if Peter wants to stay as president or not although I suspect that he might be an ideal replacement for Yvonne in the engine-room that is the Secretary's job. Peter and Jim as Secretary and Treasurer? President? Several candidates present themselves - John Hanratty? Pamela McCrossan? Them's my thoughts, what's yours?

Annual General Meeting

The club Annual General Meeting is being held on Friday 15th April in the Playdrome. I commend the Committee for holding it there - it is a more friendly venue in a central location which is more modern and more brightly lit than in the Town Hall. There was a move a few years ago to move from the Antonine to the Sports Centre, mainly by some of the women in the club who felt that it would be a better and more attractive venue than the Antonine. However back to the Annual General Meeting. I would hope that it would be well attended: there are some who complain about how the club is run and about steps taken or not taken by the Committee to develop and progress the club: the moans should stop if you are not prepared to come to the only chance you will have to take them up with the committee and hear what they have to say. If you are not happy, vote them out; if you don't come, stop complaining.
The committee should be broader in composition than it is. There is a parents representative on it and in the past there have been good reps such as Mary Ann Savage and Donald Macleod. But the parents need not be stuck in a box like that - the ideal would be one officially there to represent the young athletes and others to fill some of the other positions as general committee members or in one or other of the offices of the club. Track and field should be better represented there as well and they should be encouraged. There could also be a bid to have younger members on the committee - this would bridge the gap between committee members and the younger athletes and train them in how a committee is run.
Some clubs have sub-committees such as Recruitment and Membership Committee, Older Members Committee (Shettleston used to have what they called the Shettleston Harriers Older Members), a Coaching Committee including both parents and coaches) and at the meeting the new Committee could be asked to take that on and have a look at it.
My own comment would be what has happened to things like clubmark and the welcome pack that had some work done on them and which seem to have slipped through the floorboards.
BUT the main thing is - go along to the meeting. It's in a good venue at a central location and the committee could not have made a better choice. There should be at least a couple of dozen there: the Johnathan Farrells and Peter Bowmans, the Brian McSheas and the Michelle Busbys, the Gerry Montgomerys and the Ann Murrays, the Phil Dolans and the Peter Halpins - get along to the meeting and make it a positive one. Friday 15th April in the Playdrome at 6:30 pm

Annual General Meeting

It is probably well-known by now that Yvonne Green is stepping down as club secretary at the AGM in April: it's a pity because she is a good secretary and is also the first-ever woman to hold the post. I'll be sorry to see her go, and I'm not the only one. I have also heard that at least one other committee member might be going too.
Committees always need new blood - it is a healthy sign when there is competition for places on the Committee and when there is a spread of ages as well as of interests. When I joined the club there were men and women, track, cross-country and hill running specialists on board as well as all ages in the club being represented. You don't need to be a Committee member to go to the meetings of course but if it comes to a vote, non-members can't be counted.
Let's have a good turn-out for the AGM, coaches - encourage your athletes to go (Derek McGinley and John Tonner always did!) and go yourself - other members make yourself available. We need the Johnathans and Peter Bowmans on the Committee, we need parents onside as well. And if guys like Peter Halpin and Phil Dolan were to stand for office it would be a help too - we need more than one generation there. Putting my money where my mouth is, I would be prepared to come back on but only for a maximum of two years in any capacity that was required.
The Committee could of course re-instate the possibility of parents and friends, former members and others becoming associate members for half subscription rates to serve on the Committee.
Let's have a good turn out and have a range of people as members from April.

Annual General Meeting

The AGM is this Friday and it is important for the club at this stage of its development that there is a good turnout of members. It is not something that a member is entitled to go to - it is something that all members SHOULD go to. If you are not there, if you don't vote on committee members for the next year and if you don't add your voice to the discussion then you can have no right to complain about the actions or lact of action by the committee over the next year. It is about an hour and a quarter out of your month, not a lot to ask. It is not a night for the pictures unless you go later, it is not a night for the golf or the snooker, it is the club's Annual General Meeting. Make your arrangements tonight - it's Monday and you have plenty of time to alter any arrangements that need to be altered! Age is no barrier - Ideally we would like to see several in the late teens and early twenties in there shaking things up a bit!

AGM

Supporting Yvonne's reminder of the date of the Annual General Meeting of the club and the appeal for members to come along, I would urge all members who can to go along to the Town Hall that night. Members of all ages have the right to attend - and I would go even further and say that they have a DUTY to attend. It is your only chance to call the Committee to account, to congratulate them on their conduct of the club's affairs over the past year or to make sugestions as to what the new Committee might do next year. The two main officers in the club are the secretary and treasurer - presidents come and serve three or four years and move on to another office on the Committee but the best Secretaries and Treasurers go on for years. We are fortunate in having Yvonne and Jim in these positions and the club really needs them to stay on if they possibly can. Peter has done a good job as President as have the remainder of the Committee. There are two issues that I think need to be addressed.
The first is about the future training premises of the club. To determine that we need to know when the track at St Peter's is to become available. This is something that the Committee will have to start chasing up. Information seems hard to find. The Committee should write regularly or even frequently to get the information and any update available: don't expect the Local Authority to keep a letter we sent in 2009 in mind and reply as soon as they know what is happening. Anyone with connections on the Council should be asking them about the topic and anyone with contacts in the Regional Offices should be using that contact for the benefit of the club. Once we know that then it will be fairly clear what we will have to do. The second is what do we do for summer training premises in summer 2010. It is bad enough that the Seniors and Juniors never - or seldom - meet, it is worse when the Juniors do not have a single training venue that they can advertise to potential recruits. I would dare to suggest (it's OK for me, I don't have to do the work these days but I can see what works) that they train say twice a week at Scotstoun for a start. It is busier than Linwood but much, much easier to get to. Almost all school pupils in Clydebank and District know where it is. It is not expensive and it offers all the facilities we need. We used to use Crown Point into the late 90's and it is further away - all the athletes and their parents were happy to go there. And it was shared with Shettleston, Cambuslang, Glasgow Ladies AC, Victoria Park and many others. Scotstoun could be a go-er. The only exception would be field events which are difficult to access. I would suggest either Kelvin Hall or do a deal with West Dunbarton to use Postie's. That would give us Scotstoun on Tuesday and Thursday and the field events venue on either Wednesday or Saturday morning. You can criticise the above if you like but if you do, you need to come up with something better. The matter can't be left in limbo. So the two things I would ask the Committee would be (1) work as hard as possible on access to the new track; (2) Sort out this summer's training for the Juniors and for track athletes generally.