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On Mon, 15 Sep 2008 14:44:52 +0100 (BST), "Damian Brasher"
<lug@???> wrote:
> Tony Whitmore wrote:
>> Just to confirm, John, Adrian and I have said we are not going to stand
>> again for our current positions, so we would very much like new
> candidates
>> to step up and take over the reins.
>>
>> If you are interested in standing, please say so you can be formally
>> nominated and seconded.
>
> I'll be candid with HL members and the committee. I have been a little
> confused by the current committee's lack of agreement on how potential
> nominees offer to stand.
They hit "reply" and say "I'm up for standing as the $position." There's no
formal process for offering to stand. People wanting to stand must be
nominated and seconded though. However historically this has not been a
problem.
> I get the impression that the current committee
> are very busy people and where they had the time for the past few years
> other commitments, certainly well deserved positive career developments,
> have taken precedence, you old war horses:)
Well, that's pretty much the case for me. My work commitments have
increased in the last couple of years and I just don't have the time to
dedicate to LUG activities that I used to. Besides, it must be other
people's turn to have the fun of organising meetings. :)
<snip>
> However as an unincorporated association committee members are liable if
> anything goes wrong. I was in this position when I was on a committee in
> 2000. The then Chair worked towards changing the organisation slightly so
> that we all had limited liability of exactly £1. I understand that there
> has not been a necessity to go to all the bother of turning HL into
> something that protects the committee from liability thus far, the ML was
> been closed and previously Linux was not as main stream as it is now
which
> does ironically increase the risk for a committee. Linux is set to be
used
> by more and more local business's and individuals; HL has a potential to
> really expand the role as a local community pillar and support magnet.
That sounds like the sort of thing that the next chair could look at.
However there is not a necessity to incorporate just to run a "social
club", essentially what we are, and I wouldn't want to dissuade people from
standing on the basis that there might be legal hoops to think about.
> As an example, I for one run a small(tiny) business, liability is limited
> and share holders are responsible for up to the value of the shares if
> something went wrong. That way we are protected (well we only loose our
> profits) in the event we accidentally delete the Crown Jewels
figuratively
> speaking. I'm cash limited so as a potential committee member in the
event
> of say a law suit against the committee, for all the reasons I can't
think
> of, my business and career could be damaged irreparably.
>
> I may be thinking in a very over cautious manner or subconsciously future
> proofing? but perhaps the current committee or members can suggest why
> liability is not a cause for concern. I'm really open to any discussion
or
> criticism here and totally happy to stand corrected and be in the wrong.
I suspect you are being over-cautious. There are dozens (a hundred) LUGs in
the country and few of them even have a constitution, let alone a bank
account as we do. I suspect none are incorporated entities.
Some venues have said we need public liability insurance to hold meetings
there as our meetings are, potentially, open to the public. However we have
chosen not to use these venues, mostly for financial reasons. (Just
anecdotally, it does seem to be getting harder for social groups like us to
find suitable venues for a reasonable fee. It makes me realise how lucky we
have been with Hugo, Stephen and others in recent years.)
We state on the website that people attend our meetings at their own risk
which is supposed to remove the group's liability if there is an accident
or someone's computer goes up in smoke.
HTH,
Tony
