Y.F.C. Leadership Lectures

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 45, 11 May 1948, Page 6

Y.F.C. Leadership Lectures

How To Be An Efficient Clnlb Secretary

(By A. V. Alio, District Secretary, Western Bay of Plenty Y.F. Clubs) At most annual meetings of Y.F.C. which I have attended I have noticed that it is most difficult to find anyone willing to take on the job of secretary. Most club members appear to be a bit scared of the responsibility and work involved, and will always “leave it to the other chap” if they can. It must be admitted that the efficient club secretary is undoubtedly the hardest worked member of the club, but it must also be realised that, for anyone who really has the interest of the movement at heart, the position of secretary, if carried out in a conscientious manner, offers an unrivalled opportunity to do something really worth while for the movement. I would first stress to all secretaries the need to be thorough and conscientious. Don’t do half a job. If you are writing up minutes, do the job properly and make a full record in the club minute book. Don’t come along to the meeting with a few notes on a scrap of paper and present those as minutes. A thorough and conscientious secretary is worth his weight in gold. Secondly, be punctual and prompt with your work. Don’t leave the writing up of minutes of one meeting until a few hours before the next is due to be held. Answer all letters promptly, especially those relating to district committee work. There is. nothing more annoying to a district secretary than to have all arrangements for some district function held up because one club secretary has delayed forwarding vital information. The golden rule is to write up the minutes as soon as possible after the meeting. I realise that most club meetings are over at too late an hour to allow for of the minutes being written up that night, but the job should certainly be done within the next two days. By doing this the work is done while details of the meeting are still fresh in your mind. At the same time, attend to any correspondence or matters arising out of meetings. If, during the month, letters come in demanding an immediate reply, attend to them immediately. Remember always that delay leads to inefficiency. A week before the club meeting is to be held, notify all your club members as to the time and .place of the meeting, giving details of any lecture that is to be given. At the same time, invite any prospective members to come along. In all clubs there are found those members who will only turn up perhaps once or twice a year, usually when an athletic or football meeting is being arranged, or when a tour is being organised. The good club secretary must be like a sheep dog and round up those chaps to attend meetings regularly. Give the poor attender a ring on the telephone a couple of hours before the meeting and try to get him along. If he makes the excuse that he has no car, try and arrange transport for him.

A day before the meeting prepare a proper agenda paper for your chairman. The method of doing this ■ is described on page 24 Of the constitution. Do not hand your chairman a dog-eared scrap of paper that you have written out a few minutes before the meeting; worse still, don’t try and use the minutes of the previous meeting as an agenda paper. There is nothing that de- : lays a meeting more than the lack of a decent agenda paper, and longdrawn out, inefficiently run business meetings are the most common cause of reduced attendances. As you all know, you frequently receive lengthy circulars from the Organising Secretary, Provincial Council and District Committee. It is a good scheme to write, out a brief summary of the main points of these circulars, to present to the meeting. This will save time and will also help club members to have a better picture of the particular subject under discussion. During the meeting keep rough notes on what goes on, and write up your minutes from these notes. Your notes should include a list of all present at the meeting, all those from whom apologies for absence have been received, all resolutions with names and movers and seconders, and details of lectures or talks given, with names and professions (if any) of speakers. As you know, there is a special form provided, of which two copies are sent to your district secretary, in which a brief outline of your meeting is given. These should contain the principal points of business dealt with at the meeting, and should also give details of any lecture or talk, delivered. It is essential that you /send in these reports promptly, so that one can be sent on to Mr Freeman for inclusion in the Y.F.C. supplement of the Journal of Agriculture. If you want publicity for your club, send in these reports, and also reports on any special meetings, field days or tours you may hold. You have all just had your club’s annual meetings. As soon as the annual meeting is held, fn vwpiyl +U,o I

district Secretary a complete roll of members on the correct form, plus a list of your new club officers.

Finally, keep all the letters you receive oh a letter file. You never know when you may want to refer to something that was mentioned in a letter received several months previously. Some secretaries have club correspondence lying around all over the place. This is how things get lost, and how trouble begins. Keep copies of all outward correspondence. In this connection you will find a letter-book very handy. A good secretary can do more than anyone else to assure well-attended, profitable club meetings. If he is efficient and keen, he will see that the business is handled briskly and thoroughly. He should, in conjunction with his chairman, .see that there is'something featured for each meeting. I am afraid that in many cases clubs are losing sight of the main activity of our movement—the educational aspect—and in many cases club meetings resolve themselves into purely business meetings, or, when is worse, a discussion of social activities. Our movement is not an organisation of social clubs, and the secretary should see that arrangements are made for a speaker to give a talk or a lecture to each meeting. As regards the relationship between your club and the District Committee, remember that you are the main connecting link. I have already mentioned how important it is.that you should answer the letters from the District Secretary promptly. I can assure you that he does not write them for a joke, or just to give you something to do. If you do your job efficiently you will help him to do a better job. And remember to make sure that your club delegates attend District Committee meetings. You should advise your delegates of the time and place of such meetings, and arrange for substitutes when necessary. Make a point of attending these meetings yourself, even if it means considerable personal inconvenience, because your specialised knowledge of the doings of your own club will be invaluable. I know that what I have said makes it appear that the club secretary has a formidable task, but (and here is the crucial point) our movement is worth working for, and it offers to the young farmer of today an opportunity for self-education and self-expression that he cannot get anywhere else.