Exec Meeting @ 2012-09-27 17:52:00
Exec Meeting - Thursday 27 September 2012
In Attendance: Timothy Green (Acting President/Vice-President, Chair), Edward McCutcheon (Treasurer), James McLachlan (Films Officer), Harry Austin (Chief Duty Manager), Enrik Nako (Chief Projectionist), Robert Maas (Technical Officer), Scott Griffiths (Marketing Officer, attending by Skype), Richard Townsend (IT Officer, late with apologies), Matthew Wilkinson (member, minute taker), Fergus Cooper (member), Georgie Rawson (member)
Apologies: None
Meeting Commences 17:52
Key Distribution Policy
After problems were encountered in previous years with obtaining keys back from certain members of crew, management and distribution of keys to WSC property is to be more closely monitored this year. This is also made worse by the limited number of keys we have available to assign to crew. Enrik has started to monitor the levels of activity within his committee, and will be actively revoking keys from those who do not keep up their regular commitments to the society so that their keys can be reassigned to those that may require them.
It was noted that the current wording in Key Allowances and Agreement does not make it clear that keys are a privilege, and not a right, of crew, using the phrase “shall be assigned” without qualification. It was proposed that the document be amended such that “The following keys shall be issued to the appropriate members” will now read “The following keys shall be issued to the appropriate members at the discretion of their respective committee head and President”.
Motion carried. It was also agreed that if the President and committee head cannot agree between them, the decision shall become a matter for the whole executive. It should be noted that members have a right to appeal any decisions made under this new wording.
Decision: Amended wording in Key Allowances and Agreement. Agreed by Consensus.
Publicity
The first publicity run of the term shall be held on Saturday (29th) at 11am in L3. All members are welcome, and if a good job is done on the day, free food may be provided as a reward.
The society has been granted a stall in the Atrium for the Fresher’s Fair over the upcoming weekend, and it may be possible for us to set up on Friday night. Any help preparing for or manning the stall is appreciated.
In order to be prepared for the first week of films, Week 1 publicity and Getting Involved meeting publicity should be made up as soon as possible.
There are some new advertising screens on the walkway next to the Chaplaincy, it was suggested we attempt to get some publicity on them on a weekly basis.
By-Election
A number of Exec members have resigned recently, and so a by-election is to be held to elect new persons to these roles. Edward shall be the Returning Officer at the elections.
After a brief review of the constitution, it was agreed that while general meetings (excluding the AGM) do not have a specific notice period, general meetings called for the purposes of elections must be given at least one week’s notice. It was also noted that any current Exec members who wish to stand for a different position must resign at least one hour in advance of the announcement of the elections (with resignation effective the day of the election, i.e. the member stays in post until the election.)
The date of the election was considered, both Wednesday of Week 2 (10th October) and Week 3 (17th October) were thought acceptable, and a vote between the two was taken. Wednesday Week 2. The time at which to hold it was also considered, and 17:30 was thought to be the best time as it both allowed members who work to attend and was not late enough to run on too far into the evening.
It was decided that nominations shall open when the election is announced by Edward on Wednesday Week 1 (3rd October) at 17:30 and shall close 24 hours in advance of the general meeting (Tuesday 9th October, 17:30). Current Exec members are therefore required to resign by 16:30 on this day. The Vice-President is to book a room to hold the elections in.
Decision: General meetings do not require any specific notice period. Agreed by Consensus.
Decision: General meetings called as elections (excluding the AGM) require at least one week’s notice. Agreed by Consensus. Decision: Whether the by-election is to be held in Week 2 or Week 3. Week 2: 5; Week 3: 2; Abstaining: 0.
Stalls
We have five days of stalls in the next week, and any members who wish to assist at any time on those days is more than welcome and will be gladly received.
Getting Involved
The Getting Involved meeting for this academic year will be on the first Saturday of term (6th October) and starts at 4pm. Heads of committees are required to write and perform a speech summarising their committee’s role in the society and to encourage new members to help out. The speech for publicity is (tentatively) to be performed by George Marshall.
It was noted that a photo slideshow playing in the background of the meeting might be visually interesting.
Action: Committee heads to write speeches in advance of the getting involved meeting.
40th Birthday Film Hosting
An ex-crew member has recently contacted the society asking if we would be willing to put on a film for himself and a substantial number of guests in celebration of his 40th birthday. Several details need to be further defined with him, however the decision was made that we would only charge for film hire and that unless requested only a Projectionist and a Duty Manager would be required to staff the show.
Decision: To only charge film hire for the film. Agreed by Consensus.
Film Pub Quiz
The society will be hosting a pub quiz on Saturday of Week 2 (13th October) in the Mighty Duck (which has been booked in advance.) If crew wish to attend as guests, they will need to purchase tickets at the door. Only a few crew will be needed to staff the event, and James will be providing the event with a “liquid cash flow” throughout the evening as there is a minimum bar spend of £50 required.
Ticket Prices and Free Tickets
It was proposed that the ticket prices (that were already printed on termly publicity) be approved for the year. For. Edward is becoming concerned that we are gifting too many crew and crew guests tickets because of poor crew status management and a marked increase in ticket sales this year. It was requested that committee heads be more focused on keeping crew status up to date.
In more general terms, ticket sales were up, in line with the normal year-on-year increase; however gross sales, while still up, were not as high as expected due to the increase in free tickets this year.
There was also no particularly “large” film last year, but multiple this coming year, which should contribute to this year being more financially successful than last. A concentration on publicising AllNighters more heavily this year in order to increase their financial success was also suggested. It was noted that we must continue offering a free ticket with membership, and that we do benefit every year from unused free tickets.
Decision: To approve the ticket prices in the published publicity for the year. For: 7, Against: 0, Abstaining: 0
Ask the Exec Returns
Ask the Exec was relatively successful last term, and the exec committed to holding another this coming term. It was agreed that since the election had been scheduled for Week 2, that Ask the Exec could be scheduled on Wednesday Week 3 (17th October) at 17:30 to precede the programming meeting to be held that day.
Outdoor Screening Post-Mortem
Robert wishes to garner feedback in order to write a short document for the next Technical Officer. If any members have any non-technical comments about the screening, it would be appreciated if they could forward them either to Robert or the Exec.
Exec Dropbox Account
In order to facilitate easier sharing of files between exec members, the Dropbox account that was created a few years ago for just this such purpose is to be resurrected for the use of the current Exec.
Qualification Ratifications
It was proposed that the qualification by the projection committee of R.H., at the 7th June showing of Wanderlust, be ratified. For.
It was proposed that the qualification by the projection committee of Samuel Kidman at the 10th June showing of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, be ratified. For.
It was proposed that the qualification by the front of house committee of Jorja Ellison, at the 21st June showing of The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists, be ratified. For.
Decision: To ratify the qualification of R.H. For: 8, Against: 0, Abstaining: 0 Decision: To ratify the qualification of Samuel Kidman For: 8, Against: 0, Abstaining: 0 Decision: To ratify the qualification of Jorja Ellison For: 8, Against: 0, Abstaining: 0
Presidential Key Box
A previously unforeseen problematic circumstance surrounding the President’s key box has recently arisen; the President resigned due to health problems, and was unable to forward the key for the key box onto the Vice-President in order that they could assign keys to crew upon their return to university, under the authority of their temporary role as Acting President. This left crew unable to gain keys for regular activities, and so somewhat drastic action had to be taken to rectify this, and keys will be assigned to the requisite crew members shortly.
A motion was tabled to assign a spare key to the Vice-President for the key box to allow a contingency for just this situation and others, whereby the Vice-President may access the key box with the President’s permission or in the case where the Vice-President assumes the President’s responsibilities. Motion carried.
Decision: That the Vice-President be assigned a key for the President’s key box to be used with the President’s permission or in the case that they assume the President’s responsibilities. For: 8, Against: 0, Abstaining: 0
Safe Provision in Constitution
It has been noted that the safe that was installed at the end of last year is not accounted for in the constitution currently, and it was felt that it was important to codify a number of the rules surrounding the use of the safe, especially those that are conditions placed upon us by the Students’ Union. It was proposed that the following changes be made to two of the Accompanying Documents:
To Committees, section 1 (Front of House Committee), add:
· “When it is required for the proper execution of their duty, members shall be granted knowledge of the code to WSC's safe, on the understanding that they are not to share or change it.”
To Executive Roles and Responsibilities, in each of sections 1, 3 and 6 (President, Treasurer and Chief Duty Manager), add:
Shall have knowledge of the code to WSC’s safe.
· May only distribute the safe code to members that require it.
To Executive Roles and Responsibilities, in section 1 (President), add:
· Responsible, along with the Treasurer and Chief Duty Manager, for ensuring the on-going security of this code, which may include regularly changing the code.
To Executive Roles and Responsibilities, in section 3 (Treasurer), add:
· Responsible, along with the President and Chief Duty Manager, for ensuring the on-going security of this code, which may include regularly changing the code.
To Executive Roles and Responsibilities, in section 6 (Chief Duty Manager), add:
· Responsible, along with the President and Treasurer, for ensuring the on-going security of this code, which may include regularly changing the code.
For.
Decision: To approve the amendments to the Accompanying Documents. For: 8, Against: 0, Abstaining: 0
Time and Date of Next Meeting
It was agreed that Sunday Week 2 (14th October) would be the best time for the next meeting, as the new Exec members would be in office and would allow planning for the Sponsored Event in Week 4.
Any Other Business
Exec Alias Archive Access
Matthew offered any Exec members who wanted it access to the archives for their official WSC aliases. Both James and Enrik expressed interest.
Sound Associates Visit
Sound Associates are visiting on Friday (28th September) but there is quite a large list of issues that need to be addressed with them, which may entail a second visit.
Communication
Fergus expressed concern that communication from the Exec as of late has been somewhat problematic, and requested that dedicated crew members be kept “in the loop” a little more.
Society Membership
Edward reminded all present that membership of the society lapses on Sunday (30th September) at midnight, and that everyone must renew their membership at this time, especially Exec members, who must be members in order to continue their duties. It was noted that while we usually grant a grace period to crew to renew memberships before revoking crew status or keys, projectionists would not be permitted to work shows until they had renewed their membership, as they are not covered by insurance otherwise.
Associate Memberships
Timothy informed the Exec that he would be sending out emails to recently graduated members who wished to remain as members about associate membership of both the Students’ Union and WSC.
Meeting Adjourned 19:32