Jason Thomson

I am, honoured and privileged to have been elected as your National Vice President at our National Conference in Liverpool.  I am very much looking forward to the year ahead, working with the National Council and President Wynn as ‘Your Opinion Counts’ and we are keen to consult with the membership to move our Association forward.

As Vice President, my role is to lead the Forward Planning committee, whose primary task is to help steer and shape the future of our Association for the benefit of us all.  The National Council have agreed on a full review of the Association and approved the Terms of Reference which I have coordinated writing.  The review will comprise of two work streams, Service Delivery and Governance & Structure, both will cover the 7 pillars outlined in the 41 Club strategy and will overlap ensuring we have integrated and coherent outcomes.

One of the main points I made in my speech at the National AGM, was that there are so many accomplished members in our Association, and we can achieve so much more when we pool our ideas, skills and enthusiasm.  Put simply, we need to team up and get stuck in.  The involvement of our members is important, and the review includes fifteen who have put themselves forward to support this pivotal piece of work, with set timelines for delivery.  I look forward to working with them over these next 12 months.  Maybe you would be interested in joining one of the seven committees that we have; if so, please get in touch…be part of the present to deliver the future!

Part of the review will draw on information gathered from the recent survey that I led on.  We now know the demographic of our membership, have the facts to work with and can see the opportunities available to us.  The results of the survey coupled with the outcomes from our review will support us in formulating 41 Club’s future: developing a vision and aspiration for its growth!

I also made clear in my speech that membership matter most.  We need to respond to the needs of our existing members whilst working to attract new ones.

In terms of retaining members, communication, both external and internal, is vital in keeping you informed, engaged and interested and is crucial in bringing us together as a cohesive whole.  I want to help you maximise your membership so that you know what is happening, what is available and what support there is on offer.

But we also need to work on recruiting members by reaching out and reintroducing those who never followed over from Table to 41 Club or asking a like-minded friend along to a meeting.  And some of us may even want to consider a different structure, model or profile for a club as long as it meets the interests of members.  Also, by raising our external profile, sharing our good news stories, shouting about how great we are at giving back and showing how we are still doing more, people will know more about the contribution we make to society and could be motivated to join.

The more members, the more collaboration, the more resources, the more success!

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you want to discuss any of the above or are keen to be involved in the future direction of the Association.  I look forward to meeting up with many of you in the coming year and seeing first-hand the continued fellowship which is the fabric of our Association.

YiCF

Jason Thomson

jasonthomson@41club.org