Three Dances 2006
Website
Included with thi s issue is Three Dances 2006. Thi s is th e first implementatio n o f th e Soci et y's new publi shing strategy, whi ch was agreed at th e sa me time as th e decis ion to repl ace th e subscripti on copy with thi s members' magazine.
Work has been progressing behind the scenes with th e Website Project Working Group. The first pri ority is t o refre sh and updat e th e d es ign, in lin e with the updat ed logo and 'house style', and to make th e site better orga ni sed and easier t o navi gate - progress should be visible by th e end of th e yea r.
The database again! Members' details First o f all , th ank yo u to all th e bran ches wh o checked throu gh the database extract s th at we re sent out in June thi s yea r, and sent in detail s of amendments and ad diti o ns. Th ese have all bee n included , and . hopefull y, thi s editi on of Sco ttish Country Dancer will reach even more members direct th an th e last one. For th e t ime being, pl ease co ntinue to send notifi cat ion of any changes in Headquarters. member det ail s t o However, a furth er developm ent is now being pl anned whi ch we hope will make t he process a lot easier fo r everyone. Th at is a faci lity for branches to update th eir ow n members' dat a o nlin e via th e website. Th e technical aspect s and cost s are still being investi gat ed, but we hope to be abl e to tell yo u more ve ry soon. Th e 'default opti on' fo r us is to se nd a copy of th e magazin e to every member, but we do now have th e facility to arran ge for only one person in a multi-member househo ld to receive th e magazine please just let Headquarters know if yo u wa nt to do thi s.
Multiple membership Once aga in , in checking and preparing t he data for distributi on o f thi s issue. it has become cl ea r th at we still have some anomalies where peopl e are members o f mo re th an one bra nch, and appea r on more th an one branch listin g. Pl ease remembe r t hat although yo u ca n join as many branches as yo u like. yo ur 'prim ary' branch - th e one through whi ch you pay your Society subscripti on fee - is the onl y one that should list yo u as a member fo r th e purposes o f th e Societ y database . Bra nch secretari es pl ease take note!
Staff Thi s last yea r has not been th e eas iest o f tim es for Headquarters st aff. Between peopl e leaving and long-term sickness. Hea dquart ers has not bee n at full st rength most of th e yea r - and at tim es, well below! However. we hope that th e next six month s will see th e offi ce full y staffed aga in
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House style An upd at ed RSCDS logo has bee n approved by th e Management Boa rd and work is now under way to redesign all o f th e Societ y's stati onery, etc. On ce th at has been done, it is plann ed to make th e logo availabl e to all bran ches on CD, with guidelines as to how it should be used. More inform ati on on page 19.
RSCDS Tartan Th e Society now has its very own o fficiall y regi stered tartan. It was des igned by David Normand -Harri s. in co njuncti on with designers at House of Edgar. More informati on in th e next issue. In th e mea ntime, we have kilt-wei ght tartan availabl e for sa le (£ 26 per metre). and very handsome lambswool sca rves (£ 15 each) . We pl an t o order a suppl y o f lightweight tartan mat eri al , and are working with a suppli er to provide th e tartan in silk.
Annual Conference Weekend and AGM 2006 We look forward to we lcoming man y o f yo u to Aberdeen from 3- 5 November 2006. Th e outline o f th e weekend is simil ar t o last yea r. but with one or two significant changes To get the weekend off on the ri ght note, we begin with a welco ming drink and the Ball on Friday night, with th e Lotnian Sco ttish Country Dance Band providin g th e mu sic. On Saturd ay morning, th e two di scuss ion groups that have run in recent yea rs - Th e Floor is Yours. for members, and th e Branen Forum . fo r b ra nches - have bee n co mbin ed to fo rm th e 'Members' Forum'. Bri sto l Branch, wh ose suggesti on thi s was at last yea r's discussion group , are arranging t he session. It will co mprise di scuss ion in smaller groups, com ing t ogeth er t o share ideas and vi ews in th e final part of th e gath erin g. Oth er opti ons on Saturday mornin g are a class, to be led by Helen Ru ssell with Peter Shand acco mpanying, or a local bu s tour. Th e ACM itse lf will be held on Saturda y aftern oon, after whi ch everyone ca n relax
with Frank Th o mson's band at th e Saturday dan ce . Th ere will aga in be events on Sunday mornin g; a meeting of all Management Board and Committee members, a meeting o f Yo uth Coordinators, a meeting of Intern ati o nal Branch members, and a wo rkshop 'Formations with a Twist' led by Malco lm Brown, with Mo Rutherford providing t he music.
AGM Elections It is regrettabl e th at in Issue 2 o f Scottisl1 Country Dancer we did not ment io n nominations for election to management pos iti ons. It is unfortunately too late now fo r anyo ne wh o is interest ed in t he process fo r thi s year, but it is perh aps worthwhile outlining th e t imesca les for future years. • Nomin ati on form s, and inform ati on about th e vaca nci es for electi on , are usually made avail abl e in mid-Apri l. Copi es are sent t o all branch secretari es. and th e form ca n be downl oa ded from th e website. • Compl et ed fo rm s (with a proposer. seconder, and ten additional members' signatures) and candidat e pro fil es mu st be return ed t o Hea dquarters 8 weeks before th e ACM - usuall y th e first week in September. • Voting papers and ca ndidate pro fil es are sent to Bran ch Secretari es around th e last week of September. An y member of th e Soci ety aged 18 or over is eligibl e to stand fo r electi on. Contact El speth Gray at Hea dquarters if yo u would like any furth er informati on.
Trustees' Report and Financial Statements Copi es o f th e Tru st ees' Repo rt and Financi al Statements togeth er wit h t he auditor's report are sent to all Branch Treas urers and Branch Delegate s in October of each yea r, pri or to th e Annu al Ge neral Meetin g. Th e repo rt and sta t ements are th en proposed fo r adopti on at th e ACM . Members who wish to consult a copy should co ntact th eir Branch Treas urer or Branch Delegate. Headqu arters members should co ntact th e Soci et y directl y. Th e repo rt and fin ancial statements will be post ed on th e Soci et y website, www.rscds.org, within two weeks o f th eir approval.
