West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Rare for me to agree with you, but in this case I do.
Thousands of shares in my employer and (now the company I have retired from) still mean I get no notification of board changes, or for that matter even when the company were proposing to sue five of its own Senior Managers (who were the company nominated pension trustees) in the High Court as part of of a company pension dispute.

 

Bowing to the knowledge of youth, I wonder are there any Companies with thousands of Shareholders
where all those shareholders either have an email address or are prepared to proffer said address ?

My limited octogenarian understanding/experience is that when you have say 75% of shareholders
contactable by email, the hassle of communicating with the other 25% tends to discourage attempting
any individual legal or commercial Company correspondence whether by snail mail or email out with
the statutory requirements.

Michael Rowe.

 

Not quite sure I can get onboard with the approach of 'if you can't tell everyone then don't tell anyone', but I do accept it I'd a company decision. What I would note is that they was quite a bit of publicity when he joined, and rather less for his departure.

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I was merely pointing out that to contact 6,000 WSR shareholders ( of whom I am one ) INDIVIDUALLY
( excuse capitals … ) is not IMHO a sensible use of resources. I am not sure that the WSR Plc GM would
recognise herself as ‘ageing white middle class men” or her commercial manager or HR manager who are
also ladies, However never let the facts get in the way of prejudice. I doubt Seb would appreciate being
considered ‘ageing, : I could go on !

wrt to ‘platform 3 ‘if you cannot tell everyone don’t tell anyone’ Contacting some shareholders INDIVIDUALLY
and not others is surely fraught with potential disaster ?

AFAIK the most accessible ( and accessed ) source of WSR information is Mr Edge’s site ( this is available to all ).

Similarly I am afraid that more often than not the ‘arrival’ , particularly when times are difficult is serenaded
with greater vigour than the subsequent ‘departure’.

My original posting was prompted by the suggestion, IMHO totally without foundation, that not only was
Bob Meanley’s departure. ( actually partly because of travelling distance from home and partly because he believes
he has completed the reorganisation of the Mech Eng. department ) being hushed up but that selection of his
successor would be less than open.

Michael Rowe

 

That is impractical for countless reasons, hence why companies tend to have a web page with a dedicated news section. This gives the opportunity to keep shareholders and stakeholders informed. The departure of a particularly valued member of staff gives the opportunity for the board to thank them for their contribution. Furthermore, the departee can comment on how the company has gone from strength to strength and wish them well for the future. I don't see how the traditional press release and congratulatory statements would have undue influence on a successor. Can you elaborate ?

Talking of an open selection process (and we both agree that it is good business practice), I don't recall seeing any announcement of a recently appointed director. Companies House records that they were appointed around the time of the AGM and yet I don't recall it being mentioned. Most unusual.

 

It's rare for a masonry arch to be problematic. I suppose it must be the wing walls or spandrels that are defective.

 

Well yes, if you have a company that is still thinking along the lines of writing everyone a letter. The WSR plc has my email address and uses it to send me newsletters. I very much doubt that someone types in the email addresses for all the newsletter recipients individually, and if they do, that really is a waste of resources. It should be a matter of seconds to send an email to everyone who wishes to be kept in the loop about things such as the resignation or appointment of a director in exactly the same way as they are sent newsletters. I am sorry, but the idea that if you can't tell everyone, you should tell no-one is simply laughable. It is reasonable to expect the directors of a company to make some effort to contact the owners when one of their number is recruited or leaves. After all they are appointed by the owners to run the company on the owners' behalf, although I do realise it is very common for directors to behave as if they were the owners of the company. It is not reasonable to expect them to contact all the owners, when there are thousands of them, nor is it reasonable of the directors not to contact any of them.

 

That rather assumes that the WSR is best considered through the lens of a company. Setting the semantics of legal form to one side (I don’t think anyone is arguing that bulk notification of this change would be a mandatory communication for company or society), it would appear to be good stakeholder engagement, especially where the role of supporters is important.


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or if

I would like to extend my appreciation to Seb Walsh and the special event team for their hard work in the context of railway heritage at the moment and the WSR in particular.

I have an idea for a WSR event a little later in the year. Details to follow as appropriate.

 

Many thanks Robin, that means a lot coming from yourself. The hard work is beginning to pay off.
I am always open to sensible ideas for events

 

I will break my silence on this often time wasting vipers den to express my admiration for the reinvigorated Gala team's efforts which Seb is now leading. All power to you and we are right behind you!

 

Despite the critics it seems that the WSR is now making good progress and those who have been a thorn in the WSR flesh are taking a more moderate stance.

 

Important to make some distinctions. The WSR has many wonderful features, some amazing people and great potential. The current WSR plc Board of Directors, however…

Oh, and I’ll never be a moderate.

 

I think that those distinctions are less than you think. I travelled on the line yesterday. The loco and stock turnout was exceptional. Staff were friendly and helpful, the stations looked fantastic and we had a great day. You cannot divorce this from the board of directors...who have worked to make sure the railway looks as good as it does. The gala visitors which Seb had arranged are great news and whilst Seb has done all the hard work and enormous credit to him, it couldn't have happened without the board's approval. So credit where credit is due. While at Minehead I was offered a new volunteering activity which I was very glad to accept, knowing that I can help the railway in a material way.
Ian Coleby

 

I seem to remember the WSR PLC being very good at issuing a press release when they wanted to make a point to the outside world, such as the one about a cuckoo. So why not a public thank-you to Bob Meanley, a summary of the good changes that he has made, and an announcement of the process to recruit a successor?

 

well it was built at swindon works

 

The GWR themed gala comes later...

Variety is the spice of life