AGM/Membership Renewal

[CC]

Dawn and Andrew,

I can fully appreciate that you are busy but I still haven't received a copy of the AGM Minutes from June 2009.   You also said that the details of the meeting would be published on the forum so that members can see what was discussed.

One of the items discussed was the membership renewal or the new members which I offered to help with.  It will soon be time for the membership renewal in 2010 and we haven't collected for 2009 as yet.

I am concerned that the forum will fold as we don't see you on the forum any more.

Please let us all know what is happening.

[Dawn]

Hi CC

I've been alerted to this as a reported post by several members who are uspet by it.

I'm sorry I ahven't been on for a while however I've been ill and also working manicaly trying not to lose my workshop so abck at work full time. I've a major deadline this weekend and also several classes I'm teaching so my brain power hasn't been sufficent at the end of teh day to talk intelligently to members. i ahve looked on from time to tiem and the forum is running very well without my constant prescence, in the same way as Mary doesn't need to be on hers every day. You are all helping each other and for that I'm very proud.

I am doing other T-D things such as trying to get the new website done, sorting out the huge cock up Smartgive have made of your generous donations and keepign involved with the NDT problems we are experiencing, as well as making plans for a fundraising event next year so not leaving you totally alone jsut doing my job as chair and thinking of future outcomes fro us.

re minutes form teh AGM, we have snet through to you twice however minutes are only generally presented at teh enxt committee meeting and there is no legal requirement to send thorugh before then. We only got them sooner before when Helen was secretary as she wasn't working, as I'm doing that work myself now then there are otehr priorities. We had to cancel teh last meeting as you are aware and I've not yet heard back from any committee memebrs yourself included, when you will be avialbel for one to eb held, either by email or in person

re membership many folsk once the reminder went out sent renewal money, it hasn't been banked yet because our bank account is postal and it coincided with teh strikes sio safeguared it by holding on until we ahd stopped getting letters through. I should perhaps do a different colur star fro those who ahve renewed

I am aware you ahve volunteered to do the membeships for us, which is fab however I didnt' give you any banking slips and envelopes so you won't be able to post out to the bank and it is pointless sending the actual forms out to you once we get them as that costs us time and money

. I'm also still cahsing the peopel who did the memebrship cards for us and now looking elsewhere as am totally fed up with them. Paid Memebrship sin't a priority for me to keep teh site running, it is very generous of members to want to ehlp us this way to keep it running without myself and Andrew paying out for it but It's not going to fold it folks don't pay, otehrwise it would all only be paid memebrship, we'll jsut find it ourselves somehow


I am remiss in letting you all knwo what ahppened re cards and calendars. Unfortunaley despite sending out about 50 application froms, I don't know who else did any adverstign of it to raise awareness, we only ahd 1 person actually send one back with 2 pics, therefore we coudlnt' run the competition. I did ask advice form teh committe abpout what to do but got no response to took an executive decision to hold off for this yea. We didn't ahve ahuge response from members saying they would buy them and as Smartgive have delayed in paying us the sponsiosorship moeny , whcih woudl ahve gone to pay for on of the items we couldn't afford them and I wasn't prepared to use the ltd funds we had on teh off chance oflks would buy, and oculdn't afford to pay fro them myself. It is soemthing fro us to consider next year and perhaps make an ealeir start

I hope that sorts a few things out. I will eb back online as soson as I am mentally and physically able and will eb putting it's christmas decs up soon, we also ahve a lovely christmas Betty whihc was done for teh cards so will put ehr up as well

[lupin]

Hi Dawn

Sorry to hear you're not feeling too well. I hope things calm down for you in the New Year and that you feel a bit better soon.
Thanks for all the hard work you are doing for the thyroid community.

Lupin 

[CC]

I apologise to the several members who were upset by my post.

I have written to Dawn and Andrew a few times, I have not received the Minutes of the last meeting.  My husband kindly drove me to Leeds for the AGM in June and I am embarrassed to keep asking for the money which was offered to me for the cost of the petrol.

I am still waiting patiently for my good health to return but thought that it was a good idea to accept the invitation of being Secretary for Thyroid-Disease.org, after all if there is one thing that I have it is time and thought that I would be able to help.

I do regret saying yes to become Secretary as I feel very uncomfortable putting my name to something that I have absolutely no involvement in.  I don't know what the legalities are with this but I would like to resign from being Secretary, I have not signed anything but feel that it is not right and do not want any part of it.  I cannot go into that on a forum.

I am very disappointed as, at the end of the day I just want to help people.

[steff]

Wish this could all have been done by PMs.

Most of us are not involved in the "behind the scene's" content, we just want to help others in the same boat as us and those who find them-self newly diagnosed and in need of help.

Can we all please Kiss and make up now

Steff.                        

[Dawn]

so do I tbh

I was not aware Sue felt like this, I ahve replied to an email she sent soem tiem ago but not had any others from her.

There have been no decisons or actions taken without my emailing all committee members, and the only decisions needed have been with regards to the cards and calenders, No items have been bought nor anything done for teh last few months, except for the monthly payment of the site hosting, which is longstanding, so there have been no behind the scenes to be involved with it's all been happening on teh forum, which is effectively The Organisation rather than anything else.

I am effectively running 3 busineses atm, inc T-D, without any day to day ehlp of any of tehm and it's pretty exhausting and I woudl welcome soemone being more involved in the paperwork, meetings etc, which I haven't been able to go to like I used, therefore I haven't been able to devote as much time as I woudl like to here. I ahve in fact been advised to resign myself or even close it down but do not want to do that, I respond to any actions you wish me to take as soon as physically possible and am doing what I can.

Obvioulsy I accept, with regret,  Sue's decision to resign form teh committee if she is unhappy and hope we can get osmeone else to fulfill the role asap, as we can't apply for any grants and do further work until we do

[mary55]

CC, dont feel bad about raising your concerns or about the replies posted here. I don’t post much but I read and youre the person who has kept this forum going despite your own ill health. The owners and/or moderators should be grateful to you.

[Lindy222]

Aw Sue - I have no idea about the politics going on here - i Just know how much I have appreciated your response to my posts and your obvious care and concern for the folks who turn to this forum for help and information.    You have been the backbone - honest - sensible, informative, caring and considerate.

I'm sure most people would join me in saying we do not want you to be sad or unhappy - you have enough to cope with regarding your own ill health and becoming distressed as well will only hinder your recovery.

How can us ordinary members help please -

Lindy

[Dawn]

We are very grateful that is why we invited CC onto the committee and made her a moderator as she was able to be on the fourm whenever I couldnt' be aorund.

Unlike other thyroid orgs I don't get paid to run this nor have a secretary nor am I interested in rasiing enough funds so i can be and do 95% of the work to keep it afloat myself without wanting to bother other folks who are ill, depsite that fact that I am not fully recovered either.

As a result of not having a spouse with a job I have had to go abck to work full time to eb able to eat and pay bills, I ahve also set up another company whihc si becoming a social enterprise wiht teh social aim that any profits go back to here to help you all as members.

i am aslo hunting for grants so that those who have asked to set up local offline support groups are not out of pocket, the way i am, for doing their best to help you and I live and breath this site whether I am on here constantly or not.

For those who are fairly new here. I started this website in 2006 after 5 years of being ill, paying for it all myself. it rapildy grew until i was persuaded to turn it into a proper orgnaistion last year, as members were asking to pay to contribute to it's upkeep,  with the promise of help form outside sources. thsoe people once we ahd set up disappeared wihtout saying anything and leaving me wiht the huge workload it takes to keep it afloat. My right hand person was also barred form staying on our committee beacuse she was on the committee of a related organistion and those we ahd left on there were busy with tehir own lives resigning at teh AGM this year. Leadin us to ask Sue if she would mind being teh secretary a well, as it is not the done thing  fro the chair and treasurer/secretary to be related in any way and on teh bank account, which we now are agian

We all ahve busy lives so i don't expect those on my committee to work as hard as I do nor do I expect my request for help form teh membership to be answered as I know how ill you all are. it is therefore wonderful when folks do and we get projects such as the video from noorulan as a thoughtful project i had no idea she was doing, and sponsiosorhsip races from people such as Carol who want to put back here and ehlp us stay afloat.

We are way behind putting up the new website becasue of teh sheer amount of work which is going into it, some members gave tehir time to link check all teh forum pages but these still need cross referencing, and the pages writing this si what i am doing when I can't answer questions here however I think that sorting otut eh bigger picture is improtant when tehre are otehrs who could help folks as well as I can

I also have no idea of the politcs which started this or why it was made public, but do know it ahs upset a lot of people, myself included, and for a while I did seriously consider those suggestions thta I aslo resign and close the site down, but i don't ahve the luxury of walkign away when things get tough as I now ahve a moral duty to you all to keep it aflaot no matter whether I cna cope wiht it or not. A big thank you to thsoe who ahve contacted me to ask it stays up and given me support today woithout it I might jsut ahve pulled the plug