Extraordinary General Meeting

NOTICE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING OF THE SPIDER CLUB OF SOUTHERN AFRICA.

TO BE HELD AT THE IMBIZO CENTRE, WALTER SISULU NATIONAL BOTANICAL GARDEN, MALCOLM ROAD, POORTVIEW ON 7TH NOVEMBER 2015 AT 9:30 A.M.

After 40 years of existence has The Spider Club come to the end of its useful life or simply a parting of the ways? Do we stay as we are for the rest of our lives or do we change to virtual?

The current Committee is finding it increasingly difficult to fulfil their duties due to other commitments. Despite the efforts of a few, the membership of the club proper is steadily falling whilst membership of our Facebook page is expanding exponentially. A decision must be made about the road forward, however it is NOT the committee’s place to make the decision unilaterally hence this Extraordinary General Meeting. The questions below will act as an Agenda, so please read them carefully, think about them and if you are a paid up or honorary member please vote on the outcome. We will of course only implement changes after the end of our year, in other words after the end of June 2016 but we need to plan now. Do we stick with the present format or do we let the club as it is, die a natural death? Can the club just use Facebook and the Website as methods of discussion and communication? A decision MUST be taken.

DECISION: A notice will go out prior to the meeting so that distant members will be able to vote but the eventual decision will be taken at the meeting, providing we have a quorum.

Here are the questions we would like answers for:

COMMUNICATING WITH THE MEMBERS ON A DAY TO DAY BASIS

• What method would you prefer?
• E-mail SMS Facebook Other (specify)

THE QUARTERLY SPIDER CLUB NEWS:

• Do you receive our newsletter?
• Do you read it?
• Do you file it?
• Do you print it?
• Do you flag it for later and if so do you get back to it?

Please let us know if you are satisfied with the content and if not what would you like to see. Are you willing to submit articles, photographs and stories for our newsletter?

EVENTS:

• What do you like best in no particular order or would you rather do these things on your own?
• Field trips: Weekends
• Identification courses run by professionals
• Identification courses run by senior members of the club
• Identifying preserved specimens
• Photographing spiders and other small creatures
• Half days
• Whole days

If we carry on please be aware that I would like to stand down from the Committee and I think we ought to have a reshuffle of committee members anyway.

If we close down, there is the question of what to do with funds.

Arachnologically yours

Astri Leroy

For details please email us at info@spiderclub.co.za and for directions www.sanbi.org/gardens/walter-sisulu.

ALL WILL BE EXPLAINED BUT WE NEED TO MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE CLUB SO PLEASE, PLEASE ATTEND IF YOU CAN DEPENDING ON THE OUTCOME WE MAY COMPLETELY DO AWAY WITH A COMMITTEE, SO DON’T BE SCARED YOU WON’T BE ASKED TO WORK FOR THE CLUB.