I cannot stress enough that we like to think of ourselves simply as a group of friends trying hard to help our members to enjoy their lives in this area of France to the full.
We have no allegiances or loyalty to any other organisation; it is our organisation, it can be run however our membership thinks is right and suitable to ourselves. The structure of the organisation enables each activity group to be largely self-managed and self-directed. Members of each group decide for themselves how they want their group to be run – purely for administrative purposes this must be within the overall guidelines
For those of you who have joined recently, I would like to remind you of our overall guiding objectives and principles,which are:
- To advance the cultural and educational interests of its members.
- To provide leisure and recreational activities in order to improve the conditions of life and social welfare of its members.
Within our groups we aim to be non-judgemental; we all respect the views and accept the differences of others, treat each other with respect and courtesy.
In order to achieve our aims, it is expected that everyone is an active participator. Contributions vary – you may have taken on the responsibility of being a group co-ordinator; you may host a meeting or event; you may give a lift to someone or you might provide the refreshments. However big or small your contribution is, we would like you to feel that you are contributing in some way to the success of our organisation.
We don’t want to set down endless rules and regulations; we do not feel that it is necessary to complicate what has proved to be a very successful venture. Your group co-ordinators have been furnished with guidelines which they are encouraged to follow to give some unification to our activities.
A simple structure has evolved which comprises the committee, the coordinators and the members. Prospective members can join via the website or contact a committee member if they are a first-time guest at an activity. Once this simple action is performed, our membership secretary will be able to ensure that they receive notification of times and venues of the events in which they wish to participate.