WSRA Trustee Election Hustings

I've not long got in from a very long but enjoyable day at a certain other railway in the Midlands, and having read through several pages of new posts (over a well deserved cold beer)........ it has dismayed me to read that things are back to square one..........

Given the positivity of posts on here over the last week or so, I like many others not involved in this debacle had hoped that when I came home today, I would read that things had turned out for the good of everyone.....

 

I find this saga so sad. If the reports from members attending are true, I dont doubt they are not but as not there covering my posterior, the antics of the chair would make the antics of a military dictator in a banana republic look sane IMHO. If 90 odd proxies are normal getting 700 this year seems interesting. Watching this space

 

Barrie

Whilst we did not 'move the mountain' today, the difficulties will now be impossible for the Trustees to 'sweep under carpet' so we have in fact made some positive progress. I am having some tactical discussions in the coming days about next steps, and there is the outline of a plan in mind.

We will be working hard to get this sorted. But we need all members of good sense to stay members, please, at least for now. What you do as a volunteer is, of course, a matter for you, but in particular I would ask you to consider NOT withdrawing from the Steam Rally, which has something of a life independent from the WSRA, and an immense amount of work is put in by Ian Jonas, Wendy Turner and all their helpers, who need your help. We must be very careful not to 'cut off our nose to spite our face'.

If you would like to make a contribution to the Railway NOT centred on the WSRA, can I invite you to consider the WSSRT heritage carriages working parties (see WSSRT website for details). All are very welcome to this select but important band making a significant contribution to our heritage. No special skills are required. There are many alternative ways to make a contribution to the work of the WSR.

kind regards

Robin White

 

Attached to this post are two documents. The first is my account of events today. The second is the text of the address I made to the meeting.

(EDIT - a small error appears in the 'Account' document in that Mike Rowe is missed out of para 4 on page 2. A corrected version is attached to post 708)

The greatest positive from today is the common purpose established by those who see the need for change (notwithstanding any personal differences we may have). After the meeting, two members with whom I have not see eye-to-eye with for some years came to speak to me to offer support and put differences to one side for the good of our Railway.

A second positive is that the view of the present Trustees taken by the working members will now be impossible to disguise to the more remote WSRA members.

I have this evening arranged some discussions about what the next steps should be. It may well be a fortnight or so before it is announced what they are.

Please, please, all concerned, stick with the WSRA for now. We need you.

kind regards

Robin White

 

A positive, internal solution is being sought. There are still a number of such options to pursue. The WSRA can still be a force for good.

kind regards

Robin

 

I agree with Robins summary but would like to add that Magda Davis also stood down. I understand it had been a long day but if Robin could amend that please.



As an aside

Past Chairman - Robin White,Don Bishop, Steve Roberts, John Pearce (via proxy) & I am not sure if Davis Morgan was a chairman ALL voted against the current board. Doers that tell you something.

Rodders

 

Rodney

She is in there already - look at para 4 on page 2. She is Magda DAVIS and appears under her surname as do we all.

Kind regards

Robin

 

Rodney

It is Mike ROWE I had missed from para 4 on page 2. A thousand apologies to him especially, but I was typing late at night after a long day.

Corrected version attached. I'll correct it elsewhere as well.

kind regards

Robin White

 

I meant to write Mike Rowe dont know why I wrote Magda!!
I must be going senile.

Rodders

 

For many years I have found writing verse calms me when I am stressed by some event. These following few words I have written have helped me and I humbly add them here so they may be of some help to you. Should any group or individual wish to adopt them as a 'battle cry' be my guest.

Lets build a group, lets make it good,
Lets make it work the way it should.
We’re simply done with this trustee band,
Slippery as eels, like pushing sand.
Apply the pressure until they squeak,
This rotten bunch, this lousy clique.


So all good people stand, be true
And with one voice and calls most new,
We say to them that do us wrong,
Pack up your bags and be thee gone.
Resign we say, and get thee hence,
We’d like to see you outside our fence.


They’ve besmirched the name WSRA,
And now’s their time to go away.
Resign we say get away from here
And never come again too near.
Resign we say you’ve wrecked your chance
Because, now its time, we shall advance.

Faol 20 July 2014

 

AIUI from information previously given on this thread, the WSRA owns significant assets (such as 4561) and, notably, about 10% of the shares in the plc as well as the land at Norton that is presumably operationally valuable to the railway as a whole. So it is one thing saying the WSRA should be sidelined, another actually achieving it. A nightmare scenario could be a WSRA that has shrivelled away in membership but still holds significant assets and shareholding and refuses to dissolve itself and transfer those assets to where they could be more gainfully employed. So even though it will be a hard slog, I still see reform of the WSRA as preferable to any other course of action.

Thanks to Robin and others for their reports. I do see one glimmer of light, in that it seems that the reform-minded candidates and voters seem decisively to have realised that whatever their individual differences, they are stronger together than apart.

Tom

 

No one is saying the WSRA should be sidelined and the WSRA is not going to be dismantled.
The main problem is the trustees. Yes the WSRA needs a root and branch looking at but that is in the future. NOBODY to my knowledge wants to see the end of the association.

Rodders

 

A lesson to learn from yesterday is that the number of 'rebel' candidates needs to match the number of Trustee vacancies. 7 rebel candidates for 4 posts was always going to spread the vote and lower the chance of any rebels being elected.

Barrie

 

I will be forwarding both your documents to SCC with a covering letter. It is crucial that SCC know what the WSRA's true colours are at present.

 

In one respect I do not want to see the end of the WSRA BUT if the current Trustees fail to accept the inevitable then dislodging them will take a lot of time and effort that - quite simply - ought to be going into support and activity with the WSR. It was for the sake of that (lost) effort that I suggested that if the removal of these trustees will take so much to achieve would it be better to redirect effort creating a new organisation rather than trying to rebuild the old one.

In simple terms is it better to look for a working locomotive rather than seek to restore the Barry hulk - which in one sense is what the WSRA has become to many.

Agreed the WSRA has assets which are important for the WSR but it may be worth checking whether the current WSRA position is against Charity Commission rules and what consequence - if any - that may have on the ownership of assets.

I welcome Robin's thoughts on this point but whilst I acknowledge her view that the WSRA "could still be a force for good" I wonder if the besmirching of its reputation will offset any "good" that may be achieved hence another reason to suggest a new organisation that can start with a clean sheet.

 

I agree with Robin on the subject of membership. The more working volunteers that are members of the WRSA the more chance we have of restoring the WSRA to it's proper position of supporters organisation assisting the WSR family. What, to me, is key is to reach out to the WSRA membership at large and let them know the collective opinion of the working volunteers on the railway.

 

That Address for the AGM... "committee's"... bleurgh

 

Every other candidate withdrew and all stated they wanted Jeff Price to go forward as the only candidate to have a chance on the day but the proxies had it.

Susan said something early on in the meeting when asked about a question and I admit I didn't pick up on it but she said when asked about number of votes being held by various people in the hall "It doesn't matter because of the proxies" which in hindsight already told us the election was decided before the meeting opened and what we went through was a sham.

Onwards and upwards

Rodders

 

Agreed, though clearly knowing the exact mechanics of the election in advance is also crucial! That was sadly (and IMHO inexcusably) lacking this time round. Not just "how will this election be conducted?" being known before the meeting starts, but being known before candidates have to be registered - months in advance.

I'd be interested to know how the proxies were used where a voter had sent in a proxy in favour of one of the candidates who stood down. For example, if I registered a proxy for e.g. Robin, but with the unwritten sentiment that basically I wanted to see change, once the reform-candidates rationalised around the single person, would my proxy have been allowed to be transferred to Jeff Price? I suspect not, and it appears to be another way in which the deck was stacked against the reform candidates.

There is a lot to be said for saying that proxies are not allowable: only people in the meeting can vote! It has disadvantages as well, but the advantages seem to outweigh the problems in my eyes.

Tom

 

In retrospect it was a bit brisk to suggest, as I did in a post on the "other" thread, that people should "belt up". However I remain of this opinion! It is at least arguable that the silence of the Trustees was more attractive to the uncommitted than some of the comments from the other side. Even if most of these, indeed none, were not actually grandstanding or even exhibitionism, it would be easy to mistake them for such.

Now I have broken my commitment to belting up, a couple of things come to mind!

Firstly, it would seem at least possible that things may take a legalistic turn. More important than ever to keep matters private and not discuss tactics in the glare of electronic media.

Secondly, the sooner things are not dug up daily, the more likely the railway will find it to recruit additional people. As it there can be few sentient beings around who are not aware of the situation and are thus highly likely to avoid the WSR.

Lastly, anyone who wants to start up a heritage railway, do not, on any account, copy the structure of the WSR.

I will now honour my commitment again!

PH