Murray Valley Bushwalkers

Committee Meeting 4

Date: Friday Feb 17 2012

Location: Commercial Club Piano Lounge 7pm

Attendance Hans Kaspers, Tony Marsh, Peter Presutti,Tracey Barkley - apology Trish Madden

Minutes of Meeting 3 Dec 9 2011

The minutes accessible here were reviewed and accepted as a true and accurate record of that meeting

Moved: Peter Presutti

Seconded: Hans Kaspers

The motion was carried

Business Arising from Previous Meeting

Committee Enhancement- which new positions do we create?

After lengthy discussion Publicity and Development Coordinator and Website administrator were the new committee positions agreed upon - roles to be defined

Moved Tony and Seconded Peter - the motion was carried
NSW Department of Sport and Recreation funding submission - still waiting to hear on a decision regarding this and in the meantime we need to explore alternative funding options
Club strategy re promotion of leadership - the discussion regarding this at the last meeting was revisited and as the suggeste

"invite interested members intending to participate in an event to consider suggesting to the leader that they would like to learn the ropes of planning and running an event. The leader would then coach/mentor that person to eventually become a co leader for club events. A formalised process for this may evolve."

Tony reported that an excellent trainee canoeing leader has emerged and will be mentored to undertake a leadership role in the next canoeing season

Tony to contact the VNPA to establish if leadership training may be an option for us to pursue in 2012 with that organisation

4. Minimum numbers for events for official club event status -

motion that the following be adopted as club policy

That a minimum of two members is sufficient to deem an activity as official club event provided that a GPS and a mobile phone are carried - the usage of a personal locator beacon is mandated once the club has one to provide to members. Update of the online booking form to add this requirement recommended.

Moved Hans seconded Peter the motion was carried

5. Car Pooling Policy

Discussion on this topic from last meeting was revisited and the following motion put

"That club policy on contributions to travel expenses be set at 10 cents per km of distance travelled per person for pooled transport arrangements."

Moved Tony Seconded Peter - the motion was carried

The wording of responsibilities of leaders / drivers / passengers still not agreed upon and needs further discussion.

6. Membership dues for those that join the club in the new year.

The following motion was put to establish this as club policy

"It was decided that a maximum of 2 months grace should be applicable - that means if someone joins after May 1st then membership will be valid for 14 months. Memberships received between Jan 1st and May 1st may attract a discount up to a maximum of 50% but should not fall below $20 for individual members not a member of another walking club.

Also that the fee for single membership for those who are a member of another club be raised to $20

Moved Tony Seconded Peter - the motion was carried.

7. Emergency Contact info - motion

"That usage of the electronic booking forms on Google docs be implemented by all leaders to act as an accurate record of club events for emergency contact purposes. All members of the committee and at least one other member to have access to the Google docs booking sheets at all times. Leaders to be trained and instructed to use the booking form for this purpose. Tony to develop online help documents."

Moved Peter and seconded Hans - motion carried

Correspondence

New membership registrations and payments - about 13 since last meeting - two to follow up Sharyn Melzer and Shannon Anderson
Further correspondence with solicitor Matthew Rogers re abseiling at Tabletop Mountain resort
Responses to weekly bulletins to members re program of events
Registrations for events - numerous
Abseiling insurance arrangements further email exchanges with David Gordon - successful outcome
NSW Dept Sport Rec Sports Shorts Newsletter
NSW Confed Insurance Officer apology for non response to request - outcome still no response
Paypal notice of policy updates
Notifications of event report submissions
Hume Building Society electronic bank statement (Jan 2 2011)
Coodinator regarding event management issues
Kay Hardie re event listing changes
Upper Kiewa Valley Lions Club re invitation to participate in the Bogong Conquestathon
Australian Sports Federation re funding enquiry - outcome no go but Grant Guru recommended - Hans has followed up

Out:

Weekly bulletins to all members,
To admin Gail at Confed re date insurance 2012 payment due - response July 2012
To Neil Brown re clarification of our certificate of currency of insurance policies
To Access for All - at the CARN part of The Centre at Wangaratta registering our club and requesting further discussioons
Numerous email exchanges with member Neil Brown re abseiling arrangements
Numerous email sent to new members upon joining and registering for events
Note: Outstanding: re Mathew Rogers of Kell and Moore re potential liability of landowners at Tabletop Mountain - doc from Insurance rep for Confed not received to complete this communication

Reports

Event coordination

Auto notificationto coordinator of new events posted on the website has been restored .
Abseiling underway- motion that a letter of thanks to Neil Brown for his commitment and persistence to develop this program and expressing our thanks for this highly valued addition to the club program be sent by the secretary - Moved Tony and seconded Hans - the motion was carried
Canoeing program- Tony reported on the success of this intiative which had its roots in the program run by Tracey for another club in 2010/2011 summer - there have been 14 MVB canoeing events to this point in time with a possibility of another 7 before daylight savings concludes. Tracey reported that the overnight paddlers have one more section to go to complete the Hume Weir to Lake Mulwala section of the river - a tremendous achievement for this club in its first year.
Evening walks program- Wednesday evening walks have continued throughout summer and have also been highly successful - the most recent of which was a walk around Chiltern Valley Dam 2 led by Hans and the next the Tuan track also in Chiltern.
Weekend activities- there has virtually never been a weekend go by all summer without a day or occasionally an overnight walk on the program thanks almost entirely to Hans
Mid week day activities - Peter reported that he is still keen to encourage cycling, walking and running for those that can participate during normal work time.

Website developments

Tony reported on the most recent changes to the website - the design changes for the intro view of events (what you see when you click on a date on the calendar on the home page) were actually suggested by member Kay Hardie and have been well received. Some technical issues were only resolved after extensive free support from the RSJoomla team for which we are very grateful.

Treasury Report

Peter presented the treasurers summary which indicated after transfer of $144 from the Paypal account a total of $1145 in the account - this is a healthy situation for a start up club very much in growth mode. Tony reported that the next insurance payment was not due until July 2012.

A motion to accept the treasurers report was moved by Tony and seconded by Hans and was carried.

Membership report

14 new members have joined since last committee meeting all of whom have participated in a canoeing, evening or weekend day walk - this takes our current financial membership to 70

Presidents summary

From the previous meeting - need for a logo

...Discussion then turned to the need for a logo for our club. Hans presented a logo option that he has developed and was tabled. Sample of the logo to be appended to these minutes. Tony indicated he has requested a quotation for the preparation of an integrated logo system for website/correspondence/t-shirt/fridge magnet/stubbie holder design from a graphic designer Nina Kelabora with the intention of including this in a funding submission with the Victorian DPCD Country Action Grant Scheme due March 1st.

Tony to clarify asap if our organisation is eligible to apply for funding in Victoria.

Agenda

1. Vic Department of Community Development funding submission

Community Action Grants Scheme funding opportunity due March 1st - details of draft submission to be discussed - items to consider if we are eligible

First aid training for members
Canoe safety training for members and leaders
Information technology training for committee and general members
Potential partnership with Activities for All at the Centre Wangaratta
Logo design and implementation across a wide range of club applications

2. Program for 2012 - timetabling public meeting and AGM

It was decided that a public meeting /information night would be held on Friday May 11 with a guest speaker to be sought from Parklands Albury Wodonga with a focus on the development of walking trails, revegetation, weed control in and access points to public lands managed by this organisation. An additional person from the club not currently a committee member will be invited / co-opted to organise the evening

General Business

Meeting location - it was agreed that a new venue be sought and Tony was authorised to approach Parklands Albury Wodonga re possibility of conducting committee meeting on their premises

Next meeting : to be before the public meeting on May 11 and to be held before April 19th as Hans will be away from then to the end of April. Suggested date Friday 13th April which is a week after Easter Friday.

There being no further business to discuss the meetng was closed at 9:00 pm

Incident Report Form

MVB Inc Incident Report Form

To be completed by event coordinator or leader(s) as soon as practical after the incident. This report should be kept by the club secretary as a formal club record. In the event of any serious injury (an injury requiring medical treatment) copies of the incident report must be forwarded to the Insurance Convener for the State of the Member Club.

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This form is a component of the Murray Valley Bushwalkers Inc risk management policies.

Click the submit button to post this report to the MVB secretary

Murray Valley Bushwalkers Inc Newsletter Number 2 September 2011

The MVB Official Launch

Yes its happening this Sunday September 18th - bring along your friends and plan for a self catered BBQ in Hovell Tree Park after the walk

We meet at the Botanical Gardens in Albury at 10am - click here for further details

To help things go smoothly the more people who register for the walk prior to the day the better.

To that end we have created an online booking form.and encourage you to complete and submit if you intend joining us

Recent Developments

We have successfully applied for affiliation and insurance coverage with the Confederation of Bushwalking Clubs NSW - this means members and guests are covered for personal accident and the club for public liability insurance while participating in an official club activity.
The second Committee meeting was heldon Aug 24 at the Commercial Club - minutes are available here
An application for funding was made to the NSW Dept of Sport and Recreation for the provision of safety equipment and training to enable our club to deliver safely a range of outdoor activities on week
days after normal 9-5 work hours particularly during the daylight savings period as well as for mid week and weekends. Further details on the items included in the proposed budget are available upon request from Tony Marsh.
We have now become eligible with our website hosting service WebHosts Australia for free hosting due to our not for profit status. The club acknowledges the generous and timely support we (and many other not for profit associations) receive from this organisation.
We have paid for a Pro Flickr account which provides us with unlimited storage of photos and video for $25 per year - there are now 19 sets of photos available and there is also a page on the website under News which displays the most recent 20 photos that have been uploaded to our Flickr site.
We now have a Paypal account which enables us to receive paypal / credit card membership fee payments and donations in addition to electronic funds transfer (internet banking)
Event management - further revision of nomenclature for event bookings on the website has hopefully made this more intuitive to follow.

Acknowledgement of risks form

Members are required to lodge this form once a year - usually at the time of membership renewal. In case you need reminding of the document you accepted the terms and conditons of when you first registered it is now available under the Join menu item on the website. There is no need to complete this form again until membership renewals are imminent (end of June 2012)

However visitors on club events are required to complete a risk form for every club event they participate in (and pay $5) preferably before the day of the event.

The Program

The event calendar under the program menu is where all the action is. As mentioned in the previous newsletter club events are often scheduled (and postponed) at short notice due as leaders and members respond to changes in availability, weather and enthusiasm! One of the ways to keep informed about developments in the program is to use RSS - this is a tool which automates the notification of changes to a website to those who subscribe. Notifications can be by email and/or an RSS reader. On the top right of the List of Events page is an orange and white RSS icon which you can use to generate this feed as it is known as. If you need any help getting this up and running contact Tony.

The committee will be exploring options for mid week after work events in the upcoming daylight savings period. If you have any ideas on this we would like to hear from you.

As mentioned in the first newsletter we would love to see other members propose an event. Did you know that when logged in to the website you can go to the Program menu item and choose Add Event? You just need to fill out the mandatory fields (marked with an asterisk) then press the next button and write a description and finally choose Save and Trish will pick up from where you left off. It doesn't even have to be you who leads the event you can nominate another club member and Trish can do the negotiations!.

Club membership

The club now has 32 paid up and registered members. You can always check and update your membership details (including when you are financial to and if you have accepted the acknowledgment of risks statement) by logging in to the website with your username and password and choosing Members, My Profile and exploring the contact info and membership info tabs. Most (but not all) fields can be updated and saved by you.

We encourage members to upload their photos to the clubs Flickr site for the purpose of sharing the experience and to assist in the generation of reports of club events. You can email Tony for instructions and login information and help if you get stuck.

Feedback

Please note that you are encouraged to fill out the Feedback form - accessible under the Home main menu entry - to suggest changes, report problems or comment about just about anything you like. We would love to hear from you.

regards

Tony Marsh

Secretary Murray Valley Bushwalkers Inc

Murray Valley Bushwalkers Inc Newsletter Number 1 August 2011

Welcome to the first newsletter of our fledgling club! It features no images, no bells and whistles and best of all no need to have a pdf reader installed. There are lots of links in this newsletter to articles on the club's website - they should all open in a new tab or window. To get back to the newsletter just close the newly opened article. Ive restricted links to those that are publicly accessible. If you come across a failed link please email me

In case you've forgotten who we are you can access the office bearers and their contact details in the minutes of the inaugural meeting held on July 7th at the Commercial Club Albury

This newsletter updates you on how the club is developing, what directions we are heading in and most importantly what's on the program.

The Program

So you should have a look at the fantastic program summary of what we have offered in the first month or so of our club's existence. Thanks particularly to Hans for putting on so many fun walks usually on both days of the weekend . There are also regular midweek bird observing activities and cross country skiing on weekends happening at the moment.

We would love to see other members propose an event. Did you know that when logged in to the website you can go to the Program menu item and choose Add Event? You just need to fill out the mandatory fields (marked with an asterisk) then press the next button and write a description and finally choose Save and Trish will pick up from where you left off. It doesn't even have to be you who leads the event you can nominate another club member and Trish can do the negotiations!.

Whats On

The event calendar under the program menu or go directly to it here is available on the website at all times. Please note that if it looks a little threadbare this doesnt necessarily mean nothing is on! One of the hallmarks of our club is a willingness to schedule events at short notice that are approved by the coordinator Trish Madden. Also note that there have been a few cancellations recently due to poor weather and an update for an event to indicate a postponement or cancellation will always be made. If in doubt check the website calendar of events.

Founding Members

We have a total of 10 founding members to date with another 2 months in which founding membership can be obtained. The idea for this came from David Gordon and has been a resounding success as we have a healthy bank balance as I write and we are now in position to refund Hans and Tony for the money they put in to get the club established. For a list of founding members you will need to firstly login to the website and then go to the Members option from the Main Menu.

Club membership

The club now has 27 paid up and registered members. We are anticipating a growth in membership as a result of the publicity surrounding the official club launch event hopefully to be held in September. You can always update your membership details by logging in to the website with your username and password and choosing Members, My Profile and exploring the contact info and membership info tabs. Most (but not all) fields can be updated and saved by you. If you need any help with this contact Tony

Incorporation

We are now an officially incorporated body - Murray Valley Bushwalkers Inc. This has lots of implications for our operations.We have now applied for affiliation with the Confederation of Bushwalking Clubs NSW. We can also apply for not for profit status with our website hosting service WebHosts Australia which will then give us free hosting. We can now also apply for funding when grants applications become available. Finally we can apply for a Paypal account which will enable us to receive credit card subscription fee payments.

The Website

The Event subscription tool (booking in to events by email accessible from the Details view of an event) has undergone an overhaul and hopefully should be much easier to use now and provide better feedback to both leaders and members/guests.

Dont forget to check out the new event reporting process offered on the website. You can access the submit event report form from the Program main menu option and you can view reports on club events by clicking on an event name here

Website Tips and Tricks

You should be aware that there is some content on the website that requires you to login before you can view it - eg the founding members page. If you follow a link and get an access denied message then you need to go the Home page and login to the website.Then try to access the content again.

Similarly if you were logged in but then had an extended period of inactivity the website will (secretly) log you out and next time you try to access an article that requires a login you will get a red 404 error message. The solution is go to the Home page, log back in again and then access the page again and this time it will magically appear. These are security measures to protect the site from hackers - a necessary evil unfortunately.

The Clubs Photos on Flickr

We have a free Flickr website with currently 5 sets of photos from club events which you can access at

the Murray Valley Bushwalkers Flickr Site

Insurance

At this point in time we are still in limbo with regards to insurance coverage for our members and guests when participating in club events. Please be aware of the advisory regarding insurance on the website located under The Club, Insurance and Affiliation link in the main menu.

Acknowledgement of Risks

Once we have affiliation and insurance stitched up we will require members to agree to the acknowledgement of risk advice (see under Members in the main menu on the website when logged in). We will require visitors to sign an acknowledgement of risk form and pay a fee of $5 for temporary insurance coverage during the event. Please note that until this occurs we are not charging visitors for participation in club events.

Club Policies

These are a work in progress but a high priority. Draft policies will be available for comment on the website soon and you will be notified and asked for feedback. Our policy on children's participation in club events is already available on the website.

MVB Official Launch

The committee held an impromptu meeting on Thurs July 28th and the main topic of discussion was when and where to hold the official launch event of the club.

It was agreed that the activity would be delayed until such time as the affiliation and insurance applications were successfully in place. We are currently aiming at Sunday September 24th.

For more details you can view the committee meeting minutes