The Committee says ..

Many of you will no doubt know by now that our Chairperson Cath Smith has moved on to what are euphemistically termed ‘pastures new’. In Cath’s case, the pastures are in Cleveland Ohio, to which she and her partner moved at the end of 2005. This has naturally been a great loss to the Committee and to SHINE in general.

Cath’s reign as Chair was characterised by her energetic and enthusiastic approach to addressing the issues which followed on from the consultation exercise of 2003. Much progress has been made in many areas, and Cath has been instrumental in moving the organisation forward over the last two years. We wish her well in the USA, and are assured that she is still in touch with colleagues and friends – she has even been continuing to work on some of the longer-term projects in which SHINE is engaged since she arrived in the States – now there’s dedication for you!  The Committee and the membership of SHINE will want to join me in thanking her for all the time and effort she has put in to her work with the Committee.

Cath’s resignation from the Committee meant that we needed to appoint an interim chair (if you’ll pardon the pun). I fell asleep in the Committee meeting at this point and awoke to find I had been voted in as acting unofficial locum convener pro tem  on the understanding that I would relinquish these responsibilities and hand them over to someone more able at the 2006 Annual General Meeting. This, therefore, leads nicely into a request for all members to consider whether they might like to join in the work of the Committee by volunteering at the AGM. Joining a Committee is often seen as an onerous or demanding prospect, and SHINE recognises that. As a consequence we are working hard to develop measures which ensure the sustainability of the work of SHINE. We are doing this by establishing clearly what the roles and responsibilities of Committee members are so that members know what is expected of Committee members in advance of volunteering.

SHINE can only move forward if people are prepared to offer their time, their experience and their imagination to the governance of the organisation, and we ask that members who are thinking about volunteering approach one or more members of the Committee who will be delighted to tell you of the vibrant meetings, the thrilling lunches and the illuminating conversations that all Committee members have shared over the last year. And if that’s not incentive enough, think of the positive effects that service might have on your continuing professional development!

I hope to see many of you at the AGM, and wish you all the best for 2006.

Andy Jackson
Temporary Chairperson