But this is a discussion we should have had a year ago when I first posted
on this issue.
And in reply to your private email - no I'm not angry,
Best Wishes,
Geoff
PS Guess who I have upset by posting this at the top!
--------------------------------------------------
From: "John Gilpin" <thegilp...@btinternet.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 29, 2011 3:15 PM
To: "ql-users" <ql-us...@q-v-d.com>
Subject: [Ql-Users] Finally a reply - from the Treasurer
Having read with interest Geoff Wicks' musings about the errors in
QUANTA's ways, I would like to give you all, the facts that both me and
the QUANTA Committee considered to be in accordance with the current (at
that time) QUANTA Constitution.
I joined the QUANTA Committee in April 2001 - see copy of the minutes of
the A. G. M. for that year - as an ordinary Committee member and was asked
to take on the duties of (head) librarian - there being no other
librarians anyway.
At the A. G. M. in the following year - 2002 - following the resignation
of both Bill Newell and John Taylor I was nominated as Treasurer to the
QUANTA Committee - a post that was amalgamated with that of Membership
Secretary - two posts that were seen to be connected by the payment of
subscription and the handling of QUANTA funds.
Similarly, the posts of Software Controller and Librarian were also
combined - a post undertaken by the then Software Controller John Gregory
which meant that I relinquished my previous role of Librarian.
Early in 2005, QUANTA Committee discussed and then decided that moves
ought to be put in place to limit the length of time served by committee
members (Officers and Ordinary members) with the result that members were
asked to approve Special Resolution No. 1 (Changes to clause 5 of the
QUANTA Constitution) at the A. G. M. in April 2005. The original
discussions on this topic came from comments heard that the QUANTA
Committee were getting stale and had nothing further to offer.The
Resolution was approved and the Constitution was duly updated and
re-issued to all members in February 2006 as Issue 2 Revision 0. This
revision was deemed to be effective from that date.
At the date of the A. G. M. 2009, both John Mason (Chairman) and John
Gilpin (Treasurer), under the new clause 5 of the constitution were due to
stand down and in accordance with Clause 5.5 they, JM & JG, by agreement
decided that John Mason would stand down since he had served slightly
longer than John Gilpin on the Committee without a break.
The following year (April 2010), having served continuously on the
committee since 2001, (over 6 years) and as an officer since 2002 (over
three years), John Gilpin tendered his resignation from the committee
(under clauses 5.2 and 5.4 of the constitution). At this point, April
2010, John Gilpin's QUANTA membership status reverted to that of Ordinary
Member.There were no nominations for the post of Treasurer/Membership
Secretary and immediately following the A. G. M. the new committee held a
meeting where they co-opted John Gilpin (Ordinary Member) onto the
committee under clause 5.8. By agreement of all concerned, John Gilpin was
asked to carry out the duties of Treasurer/Membership Secretary until "The
Next A. G. M." - see clause 5.8. - to see if anyone had decided to take on
this role.
One has to pay quite a lot of money to have clauses drafted which are word
perfect with no errors and/or ambiguities by a professional and the
committee having submitted the Special resolution approved at the AGM in
2005 to it's members and having not received any requests to amend the
same the then committee deemed that the suggested modifications were
adequate for the purpose intended - to limit the time served on the
committee to six continuous years for ordinary committee members of which
not more than three continuous years may be served as an officer
With all Geoff Wicks' working experience as an officer of the British law
Courts, surely he could have spotted what he seems to feel are these
anomalies while they were still at committee stage and suggest further
discussion (even if that would have meant putting any ill feeling between
himself and other Committee member(s) in abeyance for a while!) rather
than find objections some six years later.
My suggestion to him and any other QUANTA Members now is this: If there is
anything about QUANTA that you don't understand or that you disapprove of
then drop a line to the Secretary expressing your concerns and give the
Committee the opportunity to discuss the matter(s) instead of joining the
vast majority of QUANTA Members in their apathy. Perhaps he could also
suggest the basis of a Special resolution to be put before the Members at
the coming A. G. M. in April in order to remove what he feels are errors
in the constitution.. What we DON'T want is a document which is far more
wordy and difficult to understand than the one we already have.
QUANTA's Constitution is NOT written in stone. All it needs is for a
member, be they ordinary member, committee member or Officer, to propose a
Special resolution to be put before the members at a General Meeting (A.
G. M.or Special General Meeting) for approval as has happened on numerous
occasions in the past, but DON'T leave it to someone else to do and then
criticise their efforts because no one else had the guts to get up and be
counted.
To me it seems that those with any views at all on this topic and that of
winding up QUANTA are already voting without being asked or are they
merely offering their fingers to Geoff to be counted?
See you all at the A. G. M. in April for the next thrilling instalment.
Regards to all,
John Gilpin
QUANTA Treasurer.
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