The committee and our constitution
The Northumberland Bat Group constitution states:
7. Executive Committee
7.1. The executive committee shall comprise of at least a Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer, Secretary and Records Officer. Equipment Officer, Members Secretary, Social Secretary, Website Manager, are also posts currently needed by NBG and all are elected by one vote per member at the AGM.
7.2. Nominations for the posts should be made to the secretary not less than 2 weeks before the AGM supported by a proposer and a seconder (who are current members of NBG and who have been members for 12 months or more). Voting result shall be determined by a majority show of hands.
7.3. In addition the executive committee may co-opt additional members as non-voting members of the committee, usually the Trainers. Sub committees will be led by a member of the executive committee and will have a minimum of three members. The sub-committee will report to the executive committee.
7.4. A quorum for a committee meeting shall be five members. The nominations in writing are to be in at least fourteen days before the AGM.
7.5. Committee meetings will be called with at least 30 days’ notice, where possible.
The Committee 2025
The table below shows all of the committee positions and who is the current occupant of that position. If you are interested in taking up a position at the Next AGM, then please let the secretary know, 15 days prior to the AGM. You can use the CONTACT-US form to do this if you don’t have and email address for the current Secretary.
| Position | Current Officer | Position description |
|---|---|---|
| Chairperson | Patrick Murphy | The Chair calls the committee meetings, generally every few months. The Chair has an oversight on what goes on in the group and as a result produces the annual Chairperson report at the AGM. |
| Vice Chairperson | Mark Osborne | The Vice Chair supports the Chairperson and may have to chair meetings when required. |
| Treasurer | Siobhan Bailey | This is an important position as it involves keeping a handle on the group's finances, be this incoming moneys from data handling and grants, or moneys going out to buy equipment, donations or mileage for bat care. The treasurer provides a report of the groups financial details at the AGM, but also for each interim committee meeting. |
| Secretary including social secretary | Amy Beckford | The secretary takes the minutes at each committee meeting and the AGM, then issues them out to the committee and membership if required. The secretary sends out emails with group and BCT information; as well as dealing with email queries which come in through the website. And new for 2026 organises social events too. 🙂 |
| Records Officer | Ian Thomas | The Records Officer role now involves a lot of data collation, keeping the data base up to date and providing updates to ERIC NE. The records officer also can do data analysis for the group, so bat walks and other surveys can be targeted to areas where limited data is currently available. |
| Membership (emails) | Nic Faulks | The website has a contact us form on it, we get about four emails a week asking questions about bats and planning. So for now, the membership role is about working with our members. Everything else has now been automated! |
| Website Manager | Alex Mays | The website needs constant updating, not just the events page, but the blog too. The Website Manager is the person that does this. |
| Kit Officer | Tina Wiffen | As a group we have a set of hand held detectors and some static bat detectors, as well as a couple of harp traps. All of the kit needs to be kept in working condition and accounted for. |
| Trainer | Tina Wiffen and Sam Talbot | A trainer is someone who is dedicated to bat conservation and has been certified by the Bat Conservation Trust to train bat group members to undertake Volunteer Bat Roost Visitor (VBRV) visits, and also bat care. There isn't a limit on the number of trainers in a group, hopefully we can add another name to this list soon! |
| General Member | Declan Ghee, Mandy Rackham, Ros Dodd, Adam Raitr, Madeline Money and Daren Archer | We always welcome general members, people who can attend meetings and generally help out with projects and events. |