18.1 Members of the Board (the Directors of the Society)
Following adoption of a new set of Articles of Association by the 2022 AGM, the Board now comprises the following members:
(a) Elected Officers (Executive Directors):
- Chairman
- Vice-Chairman
- Honorary Secretary
- Finance Director
- Technical Director
- Members Director
- Chief Executive
- Sporting Director
- Outreach Director
With the exception of the Chief Executive who is employed, these posts are for two years with the Executive Director positions being directly elected by the full BMFA membership just before the AGM each year. To retain continuity, roughly half of the Executive Directors are subject to re-election each year.
(b) Area Delegates (non-Executive Directors)
In addition to the Executive Directors, the Board also includes four non-Executive Directors who are serving members of the Areas Council, nominated for appointment to the Board by the Areas Council.
(c) Co-opted Members (non-Executive Directors)
Up to 2 additional non-Executive Directors may be co-opted by the Board.
18.3 Board Sub-Committees
Some of the responsibilities of the BMFA Board have been delegated to Sub-Committees, each of which has its own terms of reference.
The procedures for having items discussed by these Sub-Committees are exactly the same as for Board meetings and, unless the matter is urgent, proposals are allocated to the next most appropriate meeting. Voting rights at these meetings are given to those specified in the terms of reference of the meeting as laid down in the Council Handbook. The Sub-Committees are:
(a) Areas Council
Areas Council is comprises one accredited representative from each of the thirteen BMFA geographic Areas plus the RAFMAA, which operates as an Area. Each representative is elected by their individual Areas, usually at the Area AGM,
Meetings take place regularly and are attended by all Area Delegates. The meeting is Chaired by the Members Director with the Outreach Director as Vice Chair.
Its main responsibilities are to deal with Club and Area related business and the Achievement Scheme.
The Achievement Scheme Review Committee is a sub-committee of Areas Council and it advises the Council on all matters concerned with the operation and regulation of the Achievement Scheme.
(b) Technical Council
Meetings take place two or three times per year and are attended by delegates from all the Technical Committees. The meeting is Chaired by the Technical Director with the Sporting Director as Vice Chair.
Its main responsibilities are all competition, record and safety matters.
(c) The Executive
Meetings of the Executive Directors take place as necessary but at least three times per year. They are attended by the Association’s Elected Officers and the Chief Executive and are Chaired by the Association’s Chairman.
Its main responsibility is the running of the Association’s business affairs.
18.4 Proposals to the Board, Areas Council or Technical Council
A great many of the ideas discussed by the Board and its subcommittees are generated by you, the members and clubs of BMFA, and any member can affect the Association’s policies.
This section sets out how you go about having your ideas put forward as proposals or discussion items to a BMFA Council. It is not a difficult process and anyone can have their say on how model flying is run in the UK.
Constitutionally, only Board Members may put forward proposals to the Board but there are several ways that you as a BMFA member or club can have your point of view put forward.
You can attend your local Area meeting and discuss your ideas there. If you make a good enough case the Area will make the proposal for you and it will be presented to Areas Council by the Area Delegate. It may then (if required) be referred to the Board. Area Committee contacts are available via the website.
If your ideas are more in line with the work of a Technical Committee, you can approach it directly and ask it to act for you. If the Technical Committee agrees then it will put the proposal forward to the Technical Council. It may then (if required) be referred to the Board. Technical Committee contacts are available via the website.
If these approaches fail, and you are still convinced that your point is valid, you can approach ANY Board member for help. They each have the power as individuals to put proposals forward to the Board and will do so if your ideas have merit. Contact details are available from the office.
Finally, if all else fails, a letter directly to the Chairman of the Association is another option.
You should be aware, though, that having what you think is a good idea might not be enough to have the idea placed before Board, the Areas Council or the Technical Council and agreed.
If you read this section carefully you will see that there is a natural filtering process in the system and you will have to convince a number of other people of the worth of your idea before it can progress.
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