Your Committee Needs YOU!
It's our Annual General Meeting (AGM) on the 21st of October, 12pm in the garden. We need Culpeper members to stand as, propose and elect new committee members (aka trustees).
What does the Committee do?
Culpeper Community Garden's Committee is responsible for managing the garden. We meet every 6 weeks along with the Garden Workers, Mandy and Martha to plan, solve problems and decide on issues which affect the Garden and its members.
Who is on the Committee?
Currently, the Committee members are:
Pauline Lord
Nikki Burkes
Caroline Foley
Shakir Lih Razak
Dorothy Boswell (Secretary)
Jack Mallinson (Chair)
Stephen Mullin (Treasurer)
Margaret Pitt (Fundraiser)
Who can be on the Committee?
Any Garden Member can join the commitee. The constitution states that a majority of the committee must be plotholders. This is to ensure that we represent the Garden Members interests properly.
How do I join?
To join the committee, you must be recommended by two other garden members. One will "propose" you and the other will "second" you in writing. After this, garden members will vote for you at the AGM.
What's in it for me?
You get to make decisions about how Culpeper is run and support this fantastic garden and the vital community work it does. It will develop your management and community engagement skills and you will work alongside a group of experienced, committed Trustees.
What is a Trustee and what are their responsibilities?
A Trustee is a more formal word for committee member. Trustees make key decisions about Culpeper and are ultimately responsible it. This is a serious responsibility as Trustees are personally liable if a charity is mismanaged. However, Culpeper is a long established, Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) which limits trustee liability.
Ideally, Trustees should commit to attending at least 6 meetings per year. Meetings take place every 6 weeks and are usually on Wednesdays between 7pm-9pm. Every year, the committee members resign at the AGM and a new committee is elected by the members.
What happens in Committee meetings?
Any Culpeper member is most welcome to attend and see for yourself!
We start the meeting looking at the record of the previous meeting (the minutes) to check it is accurate and we've done what we agreed (action points). We then go through a list of of discussion points (the agenda), which includes finances, fundraising, the Garden Workers report and any day to day planning or problems which need to be sorted out.
What happens if no one volunteers to be on the committee?
With no one to manage it Culpeper could close down. The garden needs to be maintained, everyone has to get on, plots have to be fairly allocated and managed...there's a lot of work which wouldn't get done if it wasn't for the committee and the Garden Workers.
