Dear members,
Ideally I would have liked to have been at the Feb 17 Gathering, but that was not possible.
The AGM is next month. I want to impress on you all how truly vital it is that a new president is elected. It is vital because I am not prepared to continue due to family and health reasons, so without someone taking on the role, Stitching and Beyond cannot continue to operate.
Below you will find the clear statement of duties which are not actually onerous if you read it carefully.
Please engage in a fully frank and open discussion at the gathering.
With many thanks,
Chris Hussey
Stitching and Beyond Inc.
President – Statement of Duties
Stitching and Beyond is a group of about 120 to 160 people. The group’s Model Rules attempt to keep duties to a minimum. The group is led by a committee consisting of:
- President
- Public Officer
- Secretary
- Treasurer, and
- 2 ordinary members.
There are only 4 committee meetings annually plus the AGM.
Non committee roles include a webmaster, newsletter editors, challenge committee and workshop coordinators.
The President’s role is to be the public face of the group and to oversee, lead and work collaboratively with the committee and non-committee members to foster and develop the core values of the group. Specifically to:
- share a personal love of textiles encouraging everyone to feel connected to the standing of textiles in the art world
- build an appreciation of all forms of textile skills within the wider community
- build the development of textile related skills within the group
- confirm by their actions that our group is all inclusive in terms of race, gender, sexuality and experience in textiles
- foster a sense of community and shared purpose by their actions, where everyone feels connected to the importance of textiles
- help maintain an environment where everyone feels valued and motivated, leading to greater success and a positive and attractive public profile within our community.
The person taking on the role of President will need to:
- chair committee meetings
- be adaptable, willing always to listen, receive ideas and consider, think things through, responding to challenges and changes to “inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more”
- have open communication with committee members, especially the Treasurer
- at times, step in and advise, collaborate with the committee in dealing with an issue, perhaps source information, perhaps negotiate a difficult situation (to date difficult situations have been very, very rare and were mostly solved well with committee support)
- support those who coordinate our fundraising efforts – largely workshops and the biennial raffle
- when necessary, be available to discuss relevant matters with those who lead workshop organisation and raffles
- communicate effectively by sharing updates on Stitching and Beyond’s progress and impact
- be willing to make every member feel valued and respected thus encouraging members to have a sense of belonging and a willingness to support our activities.
A COPY OF THE DUTY STATEMENT CAN BE FOUND HERE.