Call for new Committee Members
So, we now have a date for the AGM of Wednesday March 13th at 8pm. This is a time and day of the week which was chosen in the hope of getting more people to attend the AGM and so try to get as much consensus as possible of the proposals which will be put to a vote and the election of new committee members. The current committee would like to take this opportunity to call on everyone with an interest in the future of our sport to take the passion of love which they have for airsoft and stand up to and be counted.
First things first, in order to attend the AGM you MUST be a current IAA member which means being fully paid up and registered by 5pm on Friday 8th March. If you sign up very close to that time you most likely will not have received your membership card by the time of the AGM, but so long as your membership application has been processed and a membership number assigned, you will be eligible to attend the AGM, vote on proposals there and vote for and run in the election of committee members. As you all know, the past couple of years have seen some serious problems befall the IAA membership system but as you should all also know (if you have been paying attention) those problems have all now been solved so there is no excuse not to sign up for yours.
The next thing you need to do is get your thinking hats on and start nominating people for executive committee members. And if you want to get involved with the committee it’s time to start letting people know that you are ready to run for election.
The association needs a Chairman, a Vice-Chairman, a Secretary, a Treasurer and a Public Relations Officer. Obviously each of these posts require people with a real interest and passion for airsoft who are committed to ensuring the future of the sport here in Ireland. While the work of the association is far from being a full-time job, it does require a real commitment of time and effort and anyone going for the positions really needs to understand this from the outset. The business of the IAA is ongoing with something cropping up at least a couple of times a week and the business is rarely fun or terribly enjoyable, and nine time out of ten you will not be getting any credit for it. You also need to consider the skills that will be required of each committee member be that a bit of political savvy, confidence in speaking with anyone from members of the public to representatives of the authorities. The treasurer and PRO roles in particular need people with backgrounds and experience in financial dealings and media relations respectively. Yes, these are voluntary roles, but the Irish airsoft community deserves to be getting the best chance possible and that can only be achieved by people with the right levels of professionalism, commitment and knowledge to actually do the jobs which need to be done.
So, after all that, if you still think that you want to work on the committee the time to start letting people know if right now. Get yourself to the forums at http://irishairsoft.ie/ or send us an email at [email protected]. In the weeks running up to the AGM what we need to see is some discussion of the potential committee members who will guide the IAA through 2013 and also of the proposals which you the members want to see voted on at the AGM.
Plenty of people like to have their say about the IAA and the work that it does, whether that be online or in the safe zone. Everyone has an opinion, but when it comes to the crunch time, not many people are willing to put their money where their mouth is and actually get something done. It’s time to buck that trend and get everyone involved. If you aren’t on the committee you might have other skills that may be needed in non-executive roles. If you aren’t involved at that level you can get involved in more grass-roots promotion and support of the association and airsoft by bringing new players into the fold and encouraging older players to put aside any old notions that they might have and finally start to muck in and help out.
Airsoft in Ireland and gone through a lot but it is still here and that is thanks to the work of a special few who never give up on working for the sport. They work tirelessly for the promotion of charity events, large scale themed and milsim events, initiatives to promote fair play, safety and the sport in general as well as constantly acting as spokespeople for airsoft. It’s time for us all to start getting involved in whichever capacity we can. If you’re reading this it’s because you love airsoft and you understand that it can only exist thanks to the work of dedicated players. Now is the time to stand up and be counted as one of those players.
We look forward to hearing from you all and seeing as many as possible at the AGM in March.
Thanks
The IAA Committee
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