Members of the IHBC will be able to vote by proxy this year as the 2014 AGM sets the basis for our governance to become ‘digitally compliant’ under new arrangements and constitutional amendments recently approved by the IHBC Council, so if you cannot attend our AGM in Edinburgh you can vote to support the updated Articles of Association and nominations using our new Proxy form.
IHBC President Trefor Thorpe, who has been leading the review of our constitutional processes, said: ‘We are offering a new proxy voting system to ensure that all full members have the opportunity to have their voice heard and their opinions counted, whether or not they attend that epicentre of our governance system, the Annual General Meeting (AGM).’
‘It would be fantastic, of course, if as many members as possible were able to attend the AGM but in order for us to be properly democratic we have to ensure that our decisions there are based on the majority view of as many of our members as possible. Our recent survey highlighted just how important the AGM is to our members’ sense of participation in the IHBC so it’s hugely appropriate that we should be making these structural and constitutional changes now.’
‘We are also recommending amendments to our existing constitution to enable online voting for contested executive posts. Those changes won’t come in until we have changed our Articles of Association but, in the meantime, we have agreed an online voting system that we can call on when needed.’
‘The currently proposed changes put forward for approval at the AGM were necessary to meet our immediate needs and potential challenges but they are a precursor to and underpin the more fundamental overhaul of our constitution and, amongst other things and as appropriate, our governance structure, that we can expect in 2015.’
IHBC’s past Chair Jo Evans, who helped oversee the early plans for these changes, said: ‘I’m delighted that we’re now able to offer our members constitutional arrangements that are fully compliant with the kind of democratic election processes that we expect today. These have taken time to co-ordinate, but it does mean that we are ready now to accommodate any structural changes in the future.’
Download IHBC President Trefor Thorpe’s introduction to the Council’s recommended revisions to the IHBC‘s Articles of Association HERE
Download your Proxy Form HERE
Details on election processes are carried in each of our member e-letters, which are posted HERE. At present there are no contested posts.
AGM papers will be arriving in the coming weeks!
