The Council shall consist of twenty members of the Society.
Four members of the Council shall retire each year, but shall be eligible for immediate re-election at the Annual General Meeting without further nomination.
The Fell Pony Society is a Company Limited by Guarantee, and a Charity. Prospective candidates and current members are referred to the following relevant legal requirements:
A Council member is a Company Director
A Council member is a Charity Trustee
Council wrote this list some years ago under the kindly guidance of Mary
Longsdon:
* Be dedicated to the Fell pony breed and the Society that looks after it.
* Attend FPS meetings: there are 6 Council meetings per year, held in
Cumbria on a Tuesday afternoon with the option of joining via Zoom online
* conference; plus the AGM held in April, in Cumbria.
* Accept that matters discussed in Council must be kept confidential.
* Listen to Society members’ comments and feed them back to Council.
* Look for ways to turn problems into positive suggestions for action.
* Try to get things right, for the ponies. [We all want to get it right
but we have to accept that we can’t always be right!]
* Be active in promoting the ponies in as many ways as possible.
* Be prepared to do things. Everyone brings individual skills, so a
Council members doesn’t need to be “all things to all ponies” but be
willing to do * whatever they can to help the Society’s activities to
support the breed.
* Speak up when there’s something important to say.
* Honour the traditions of the Fell pony breed, but without being stuffy
about it; apply them in a modern context.
* Have a flexible attitude inside a thick skin and above all, a sense of
humour.
It is important that the Fell Pony Society Council has sufficient members
to attend meetings and run the Society.
Any member of the Society may stand for election if they have been a full
adult member for five or more years. While most current Council members
are breeders, this is not a requirement.
Nominations for the Council are made in writing.
Election to the Council shall be by a poll. You will also find details on Election to the Council under Section 8.6 of the Articles of Association, which are on the web site (Menu item: Regulations).
Ask for a nomination form from the FPS Office. Nomination forms may change from year to year so please check with the FPS office before completing an old version of the form which may be rejected. Please apply in good time because the office is normally closed over the Christmas and New Year period.
Complete the form. It should also be signed by two current FPS members. Proposer and seconder should check that their candidate is eligible as a charity Trustee and company Director, using the links below.
Make sure that the form arrives to the Office on or before 1 January.
Prepare a short account about yourself, breed prefix (if applicable), biographical details and experience, and your reasons for standing for Council. Choose a head-and-shoulders photograph of yourself. Send the statement and photograph to the FPS Secretary.
Your name, breed prefix (if applicable), statement and photograph will be printed in the Spring Magazine preceding the Annual General Meeting.
Ballot papers for the Council election are sent out with the Spring Magazine to Society Members who are eligible to vote.
Completed ballot papers have to be returned to the independent scrutineer appointed by the Council, not less than 10 days before the date of the AGM (Note: this is also a reminder to ALL MEMBERS, to vote. It's surprising how many members don't use this privilege which influences the running of the Society.)
The scrutineer checks that each vote is valid, counts the votes and reports to the Secretary.
The result of the ballot is announced at the Annual General Meeting and reported in the Autumn Magazine.
It was agreed some years ago that vote numbers would not be made public, but candidates may have sight of the the scrutineer’s report and results at the end of the Annual General Meeting if they so wish.
The web site list of elected Council members is updated in the week following the Annual General Meeting.
You will receive a copy of the previous Council meeting minutes (March) and the Agenda for the next (May), plus any relevant paperwork.
You attend the next Council meeting, in May - the first of many within your term of office. You will be reminded that Council meetings are confidential.
The Secretary will ask you to sign documents as a Director and Charity Trustee, and will then update the necessary lists with Companies House and the Charity Commission.
Good luck.
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