UCVO

Every voluntary organisation, no matter its size needs Committee Members. Each Committee Member will bring his or her own personal skills and will also have to teach others how to become an effective Committee Member.

Hopefully each Committee Member will have been nominated and elected for the best of reasons. i.e.:

• They have been active in the organisation for some time and are keen to join the committee.
• They are aware of, and are committed to the aims of the organisation.
• They have specific skills which the organisation needs.
• They have time, commitment and interest and are aware of the responsibilities involved in joining the committee.
• Unfortunately, in reality this rarely happens. How many Committee Members do you know who are there simply because they were there at the AGM or because no one else was willing to do it?

A well prepared Committee Member will be able to actively take part in committee meetings and should:

• Attend meetings regularly, arrive on time and stay to the end (send apologies to the secretary if unable to attend for a good reason).
• Arrive at the meeting with all the relevant papers, having read them beforehand.
• Be able to take an active part in the discussion in an informed and positive way.

Be briefed and informed about the agenda items, having taken time to make enquiries beforehand if necessary.

Be prepared to start discussion occasionally:

• Be prepared to give an opinion without dominating the committee.
• Keep to the agenda and keep in mind the aims and objectives of the organisation.
• Be supportive of other members of the committee particularly the Chairperson.
• Listen to the views of other Committee Members and also of the other people in the organisation who are not elected to the committee