Outcomes of Financial Matters and Strategic Planning Meeting Held at ETC Elizabeth Town 23 June 2018

1     Meeting

This meeting, open to all clubs and members, was attended by SMC members and seven others – Graham Bucknell, Greg Johnson, Tracy Nutting, Shayne Williams, Andrew Miles, Seline Lee, and Laurie Nicolle.  Three written submissions were also received; from Tara Nicklason, Mark Dunn and Pam Shadbolt.

A range of matters, suggestions and ideas were discussed. Some were rejected by the meeting for various reasons. Others were promoted for further considerations and others modified to be worthy of consideration.

2     Follow Up

At the following SMC meeting, held 11 July, all matters were again reviewed, taking into account

  • the views expressed at the ETC meeting
  • practicality
  • cost and affordability
  • availability of the necessary resources, both financial and human
  • the objectives of the exercise, which were to

1.      Reduce the cost of membership;

2.      Reduce the cost of running and thus entering rides;

3.      Reduce the work associated with running a ride;

4.      Improve the sense of member representation.

An early issue identified was that expectations of the SMC's capability were not realistic, in that additional work on top of that already involved is not possible.  As a whole, the committee is fully, if not over extended already.  Individually, the work loads , capabilities and time available vary greatly. In some cases, the work load of combined SMC and other endurance related tasks is not sustainable.  The effect of this will be felt at the end of the year when five SMC members will be at the end of their two year term and may choose, or have chosen, not to renominate.

To recognise this situation, but to have a way ahead, it was decided that positions on several sub-committees will be offered.  These sub-committees will develop and recommend the way ahead, including how the objectives will be achieved, plus identifying and gaining the agreement of the necessary and competent resources.  The work of some needs to start in the very near future to meet time constraints.

 3     Sub-committees

Volunteers are sought for the following sub-committees and should be notified to the Secretary;

1.       Development of a TEERA Mission Statement and 1 and 5 year goals

2.       Annual Dinner

3.       Awards

4.       Youth Development program

5.       TEERA teams (information will be provided separately).

4     Objectives

Re. Objective 1 – Reduce the cost of membership, it was decided that the TEERA take of membership charges should not be reduced if member services were to be maintained.

Re. Objective 2 – Reduce the cost of running and thus entering rides

a)      From 2019 the payment of ride insurances by TEERA would be extended to cover all rides, from currently covering a club’s second and subsequent rides each year.  This will be an interim measure and its life depend on available funds.

b)      Provision of a ‘gazebo’ to each club – need to know how universal is the need, size, walls etc. before further consideration.

c)       Toilets and lighting – TEERA provision not practical due to maintenance and transport requirements. Hiring best organised and cost negotiated by clubs.

d)      Vet payments – best arranged and negotiated by clubs.

e)      “Special’ rides, e.g. themed rides or promotional/training rides.  Very likely that TEERA would financially support such initiatives undertaken by clubs, given proposals in writing.

f)       Clubs seeking financial support to meet unexpected shortfalls associated with low entry numbers can approach TEERA for assistance.

Re.Objective 3 – Reduce the work associated with running a ride – the subject of much discussion, some of which is ongoing.  The work associated with organising a ride has increased significantly, including due to greater risk management requirements,  land owner demands and biosecurity needs. The introduction of more technology has changed the nature of some of the work, narrowing the pool of volunteers.

a)      Resolved to provide each club with a set of scales and a clock to avoid having to move from ride to ride.  Level of cost assistance to be reviewed when quotes available.

b)      Trailer to store and transport ride equipment, with potential to equip and use as a ride ‘office’.  Much debate on the pros and cons of this proposal, mainly due to the concern about having to arrange for the trailer to be transported between ride sites and/or its ‘home base’.  Needs to be considered with the ongoing storage and maintenance of ride equipment, which will need to change before the end of the year recognising  the change of SMC members and associated circumstances.  This is likely to be a significant cost which needs to be resolved before committing to other expenses.

Objective 4 - Improve the sense of member representation.

Video conferencing for meetings. The small number of current SMC members who may have the knowledge to organise facilities are fully engaged at meetings. It would require additional resources.  Basic telephone conferencing is available and can be arranged, given notice of intention to ‘attend’ a meeting, via the Secretary.  If the need arises with the election of a geographically separated SMC, that SMC can organise remote conferencing.

Meetings at e.g. Campbell Town.  Little support for this proposal due to past experience when group transport arranged from the North West, with considerably greater time involved, then there being minimal attendance from elsewhere.  May change with SMC changes.

Electronic/postal voting – a commitment has been made to do this in one or more forms.  A number of issues need to be considered.

a)      A ballot is only necessary if there are more nominations than positions to fill.  The Rules require that nominations to be made 30 days in advance. This is commonly extended due the lack of nominations.  This extension could not be the case, given the set up time for remote voting, whichever method is used.

b)      There is a small but vocal minority wanting postal voting. This is a costly and resource heavy alternative which will be made available on an individual basis on prior request.

c)       The current concerns regarding the role of the SMC, and pressure directed at individual members, may determine that SMC members have a broader skill set and meet greater demands.  This may make it more difficult to fill positions appropriately.

5     Other items for attention

  • Ride calendar – three weeks between rides where possible.  Some ride venues have restricted availability which may determine occasional ‘out of sync’ scheduling.
  • Availability of AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) at rides - Purchased and available.
  • Availability of first-aiders and chainsaw operators – list of qualified people to be established and maintained.  Webmaster to organise list.
  • Mentoring program for new riders – felt that the club running a ride was usually short of resources so mentoring needs to be external. Volunteers to be sought and, if suitable, included on a list contactable by clubs.  Volunteers to contact the TEERA Secretary.
  • Inclusion of a volunteer availability section on membership form – when this was the case, only two people completed the section.