The Australian Deer Association Board met on Thursday March 12
The Board meets regularly to consider financial management, risks, strategic planning and policy.
The Board pack for the March meeting ran to 144 pages which is typical of the level of detail that board members are expected to be across.
At the March meeting the board:
Appointed Sean Kilkenny and Mark VanDenBoogart to fill casual vacancies which have been created by the re-assignment of Scott Freeman and the resignation of Danielle Auldist.
We thank both Danielle and Scott for their contributions in their board roles.
We’re delighted with Scott’s formal appointment as the ADA Coordinator for Tasmania. This organises our resources to enhance the support for Scott and his fantastic, ongoing contribution on behalf of hunting and game management in Tasmania. Scott’s appointment reflects the importance that ADA places on deer, hunting and game management in Tasmania.
The Board also appointed Martin Thann to act in the Chairman’s position whilst David Voss embarks on a three-month overseas vacation.
Both Sean and Mark have worked with the Board as assistants for the past ten months and are well set to hit the ground running.
Sean will move into the critical role of Treasurer for which he is well qualified; holding a BA in Business with Majors in Finance and Business Law and a Minor in Economics.
Sean has already been instrumental in the drafting of new governance and financial policies and procedures and has been working closely with Martin Thann and ADA’s bookkeepers ahead of the beginning of a new ADA Financial year on April 1.
Mark will take on oversight of the Member Engagement portfolio.
Mark holds a Bachelor’s degree in Behavioural Science and a Graduate Diploma of Customer Service Management.
Martin is well known to many in ADA from his long history in the Hunter Valley Branch, as NSW State President and, more recently, as Treasurer.
His wealth of experience will serve the Association well in David’s absence. Martin will also move into a Board role which will see him focus on the direct engagement between the branches and their Board.
These changes demonstrate that we have talented, motivated people in every part of the Association, and the ability for people to adapt and take on different roles. This is a credit to ADA, its branches and members.
Assessed financial performance and adopted new procedures and policies.
A key responsibility of the board is to ensure the ongoing financial viability of the association and the allocation of finite resources.
At last week’s meeting the Board reviewed ADA’s financial environment and adopted new policies on GST reporting and collection; and the operation of the Geoff Moore Fund.
The Board also approved for adoption new procedures for the Finance Sub Committee.
The Treasurer will communicate the new policies to branches over the coming weeks.
The new policies will also be made available for all members in the new “Members only” section of the ADA website.
Adopted new policies for the running of board business.
A part of the move to a new Constitution is that a lot of the more prescriptive guidelines for how we operate exist in policy and procedures, rather than in the Constitution.
New policies were accepted on Board Attendance, Confidentiality and Conflict of Interest.
These policies will also be made available for all members in the members only section of the ADA website.
As with all policies suggestions for improvement are always welcomed.
Branches have the opportunity to scrutinise and accept or amend these policies at the Annual General Meeting.
Policies will be reviewed regularly to ensure they remain fit-for-purpose.
Reported on initiatives.
It was pleasing to hear the reports on the progress being made with the Deer Management and the Advocacy SIGs (Special Interest Groups). There’s more work to do before these initiatives launch, and we thank all the hard-working volunteers who are contributing to these exciting programs of work. These are comprehensive and complex initiatives.
At the core of much of what was considered by the Board are people, and we continue to reflect on the key insights from our Future Leaders initiative in the key issues before the Board. We’ll continue to do this, along with reviews of our performance as an Association against the objectives set out in our Strategic Plan.
We received reports on the local scene in both Tasmania and in the Northern Territory, and it demonstrates the massive, diverse landscape we operate across.
Assessed key risks for the Association.
Along with insurance, personnel and deer management risks, a key topic was the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).
What is clear is that Coronavirus is causing and will continue to cause significant disruption in the Australian community in the medium term.
The health and safety of our Members and of the broader community is our top priority.
The latest advice is that the risk to the general Australian population from COVID-19 is low, with the majority of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Australia in returned travellers.
As such, ADA activities should continue as normal. This may well change as local conditions change.
As a standard practice, we recommend that people that are unwell with a cough or fever or other respiratory symptoms, should not attend ADA events meetings, events or gatherings. This is particularly so for people who have recently travelled from overseas.
Health authorities recommend everyone practice good hygiene. Good hygiene measures include:
Detailed advice has been emailed to all members. It’s recommended members monitor the local health agencies, and World Health Organisation (‘WHO’) for the latest advice.
This is a rapidly evolving situation and any change to recommendations will happen quickly. People will need to monitor this closely.
An update on the legal action against ADA.
Your Association continues to defend the legal action against the Association over a disciplinary matter. As this is ongoing we are prevented from going into many details and are limited in what we can say until it is resolved. What branches do need to know is:
The ADA is the defendant in this matter. We have not instigated this and have sought at every opportunity to resolve the dispute amicably and in good faith.
This has had a financial impact on the Association in this financial year, as well as taking resources (people and money) away from the core job of the Association. The financial impact will be reported in our Financial Statements.
The Board is committed to continuing to act in the best interests of all members and the Association as a whole. Our values and our commitment to supporting our volunteers are non-negotiable.
Member survey.
The board reviewed the preliminary results of the members survey. The volume and nature of the feedback is encouraging and gives us some good guidance on where we can improve. Our sincere thanks for the insights provided, and for taking the time to be active in having a say about your Association.
The survey considers the views of current members, former members and people who have never been members of our association.
Once the survey is finalised a report will go out to members.
In the coming weeks we will be announcing details for the 2020 Annual General Meeting and for other engagement opportunities.
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