Letter from the HAI Chairperson, Anne James (9/6/13)
Dear Member,
This message is for all members, and is about the general situation we are in and not directly about the 5 motions for the EGM. I hope it will bring some clarity and some perspective.
The HAI Board
Is this a group of perfect people? No, of course not, and we make mistakes. Do we make errors of judgement? Yes, and possibly the date chosen for the EGM was one. I will explain the reasoning behind the date later.
Does the Board get everything done that it would like? No, it doesn’t, but in the New Year we were working, apparently very productively, with constructive new Board members, and great enthusiasm for the future. The advertisement for an administrative assistant was a move to take some of the pressure of routine tasks away. The assistant will be named shortly, and will be a boon.
Board members are all volunteers, who have given time and energy freely, believing in the advancement of Humanism and raising awareness of it nationally as a most important and key part of the HAI’s existence. Raising awareness is high on the Memorandum of Association of the organisation. Without a doubt one of the best ways of raising the public profile of Humanism is through Humanist marriage ceremonies. Not that all the people who attend a ceremony will join the HAI, but they will have seen the composure, competence and attitude of celebrants, which reflects so wonderfully on the organisation and world view and demonstrates how life without religion can be respectful, joyful and meaningful.
The call for an EGM and breach of privacy
The Board sent a letter to all members, giving information which we believed was balanced and reflected various views on the Civil Registration Amendment Act. We didn’t suggest that the vote asked for in that letter was an official ballot - we simply wished to give information and to see the level of support. The result of that unofficial vote was overwhelmingly supportive of continuing the process of being added to the list of solemnisers. 91% of over 250 respondents gave their support to the Board by the deadline and a further 15 responses came in later, all positive.
Soon after this letter there was unauthorised use of members’ email addresses on two occasions. The first occasion was, for many members, an unpleasant intrusion into their email boxes. This email from the HAI Director of Membership and other non-Board members was seen as aggressive in tone and several members complained about that tone and content. The sending of it was indeed in breach of your rights of privacy.
There are rules that allow for anyone to see a membership list of names and addresses on application to the appropriate address, and for a small fee to be able to have a copy. Any other details, such as emails, are held in trust by the organisation.
The second occasion was regarding the call for an EGM. I had written to Andrew Devine-Rattigan who was the named person calling for the EGM, to say the Board would take on the job of contacting members, but an email to all was again sent. Again, in breach of company legislation.
Cooption of Board members
One of the points being made on various forms of media is that the Board refused to co-opt two people, Aaron Keohane and Peter Ferguson to the Board at a Board meeting on 30th March. Due to the uncertain situation regarding an EGM, and the fact that Aaron and Peter had been part of sending the first unauthorised email, it was decided to defer a decision on this co-option request, not refuse it.
The date of the EGM
The Board is the organ in the HAI which has responsibility for setting dates and arranging meetings. At a special meeting of the Board held to discuss the EGM on the 21st of May it was agreed to hold the EGM on Sunday the 30th June. However, over the following days it was decided that date was unsuitable for a number of reasons including: it is the start of the holiday season; it would have clashed with the Humanists West monthly meeting, also the HAI Honorary President was unavailable. Later again it was pointed out that it would have clashed with an Atheist Ireland event. I would like to be very clear this event is not why the 30th of June was first selected. Other dates were considered starting with the 7th July, but that would have clashed with a speaker coming from the UK to the Cork Humanist group. It seemed unwise to go any further into the holiday period and there was the requirement to give 21 days’ notice. We were running out of options. I have been quoted as saying, at a meeting with Michael Nugent and Andrew Devine-Rattigan to talk to them about the planning for the EGM, that we wanted it over as soon as possible. This debate is causing internal friction our opponents can only dream of, along with a lot of stress and concern for those who wish for the HAI to go forward in a positive way. So, yes, I certainly wished it over so we can move on with other work.
The list of printed out emails supporting the call for an EGM was received on 16th May. No preferred dates or days were suggested to the Board at that time. Board member Kevin Sheehan was at the special Board meeting on the 21st of May at which the initial date of 30th June was agreed and was sent draft minutes of that meeting the following day confirming that date., We heard nothing from Andrew Devine-Rattigan on the matter of a date until Board member Nicolas Johnson and I met with him and Michael Nugent on 30th May by which time we were committed to going ahead with the earlier date of the 26th of June if the notice was to be sent out in time.
All that said, we accept that the date chosen in the end is not ideal, but it was most certainly not intended to exclude anyone or stop debate or disrespect those living outside Dublin. We do apologise for any frustration and difficulty this may cause, whether people have signed a petition or just feel excluded by it. We are aware of the numbers this may affect, but it would also have been frustrating for people who would have been away on holidays or would not choose to have given up a Sunday in July for such a meeting. The current situation is that the notice has been sent out, and as the on-line petition started by Aaron Keohane states, the EGM date cannot be changed at this stage. It can be postponed on that date, but it would seem counter-productive to meet on the 26thsimply to agree to change the date. Some people who need to travel have already told us they will make arrangements to be there on Wednesday 26th.
If the day/date was not the best option we can only apologise again. Working under pressure is not good and less than perfect decisions may well be made. We do still encourage all members who can to attend. The marriage legislation is so important to the HAI as an organisation, not just to couples wishing to have a Humanist wedding, not just to celebrants, but to reflect the Humanist view to the wider world. The stability of the HAI is also hugely important for everything we wish to achieve.
Thank you,
Ann James, Chairperson
This message is for all members, and is about the general situation we are in and not directly about the 5 motions for the EGM. I hope it will bring some clarity and some perspective.
The HAI Board
Is this a group of perfect people? No, of course not, and we make mistakes. Do we make errors of judgement? Yes, and possibly the date chosen for the EGM was one. I will explain the reasoning behind the date later.
Does the Board get everything done that it would like? No, it doesn’t, but in the New Year we were working, apparently very productively, with constructive new Board members, and great enthusiasm for the future. The advertisement for an administrative assistant was a move to take some of the pressure of routine tasks away. The assistant will be named shortly, and will be a boon.
Board members are all volunteers, who have given time and energy freely, believing in the advancement of Humanism and raising awareness of it nationally as a most important and key part of the HAI’s existence. Raising awareness is high on the Memorandum of Association of the organisation. Without a doubt one of the best ways of raising the public profile of Humanism is through Humanist marriage ceremonies. Not that all the people who attend a ceremony will join the HAI, but they will have seen the composure, competence and attitude of celebrants, which reflects so wonderfully on the organisation and world view and demonstrates how life without religion can be respectful, joyful and meaningful.
The call for an EGM and breach of privacy
The Board sent a letter to all members, giving information which we believed was balanced and reflected various views on the Civil Registration Amendment Act. We didn’t suggest that the vote asked for in that letter was an official ballot - we simply wished to give information and to see the level of support. The result of that unofficial vote was overwhelmingly supportive of continuing the process of being added to the list of solemnisers. 91% of over 250 respondents gave their support to the Board by the deadline and a further 15 responses came in later, all positive.
Soon after this letter there was unauthorised use of members’ email addresses on two occasions. The first occasion was, for many members, an unpleasant intrusion into their email boxes. This email from the HAI Director of Membership and other non-Board members was seen as aggressive in tone and several members complained about that tone and content. The sending of it was indeed in breach of your rights of privacy.
There are rules that allow for anyone to see a membership list of names and addresses on application to the appropriate address, and for a small fee to be able to have a copy. Any other details, such as emails, are held in trust by the organisation.
The second occasion was regarding the call for an EGM. I had written to Andrew Devine-Rattigan who was the named person calling for the EGM, to say the Board would take on the job of contacting members, but an email to all was again sent. Again, in breach of company legislation.
Cooption of Board members
One of the points being made on various forms of media is that the Board refused to co-opt two people, Aaron Keohane and Peter Ferguson to the Board at a Board meeting on 30th March. Due to the uncertain situation regarding an EGM, and the fact that Aaron and Peter had been part of sending the first unauthorised email, it was decided to defer a decision on this co-option request, not refuse it.
The date of the EGM
The Board is the organ in the HAI which has responsibility for setting dates and arranging meetings. At a special meeting of the Board held to discuss the EGM on the 21st of May it was agreed to hold the EGM on Sunday the 30th June. However, over the following days it was decided that date was unsuitable for a number of reasons including: it is the start of the holiday season; it would have clashed with the Humanists West monthly meeting, also the HAI Honorary President was unavailable. Later again it was pointed out that it would have clashed with an Atheist Ireland event. I would like to be very clear this event is not why the 30th of June was first selected. Other dates were considered starting with the 7th July, but that would have clashed with a speaker coming from the UK to the Cork Humanist group. It seemed unwise to go any further into the holiday period and there was the requirement to give 21 days’ notice. We were running out of options. I have been quoted as saying, at a meeting with Michael Nugent and Andrew Devine-Rattigan to talk to them about the planning for the EGM, that we wanted it over as soon as possible. This debate is causing internal friction our opponents can only dream of, along with a lot of stress and concern for those who wish for the HAI to go forward in a positive way. So, yes, I certainly wished it over so we can move on with other work.
The list of printed out emails supporting the call for an EGM was received on 16th May. No preferred dates or days were suggested to the Board at that time. Board member Kevin Sheehan was at the special Board meeting on the 21st of May at which the initial date of 30th June was agreed and was sent draft minutes of that meeting the following day confirming that date., We heard nothing from Andrew Devine-Rattigan on the matter of a date until Board member Nicolas Johnson and I met with him and Michael Nugent on 30th May by which time we were committed to going ahead with the earlier date of the 26th of June if the notice was to be sent out in time.
All that said, we accept that the date chosen in the end is not ideal, but it was most certainly not intended to exclude anyone or stop debate or disrespect those living outside Dublin. We do apologise for any frustration and difficulty this may cause, whether people have signed a petition or just feel excluded by it. We are aware of the numbers this may affect, but it would also have been frustrating for people who would have been away on holidays or would not choose to have given up a Sunday in July for such a meeting. The current situation is that the notice has been sent out, and as the on-line petition started by Aaron Keohane states, the EGM date cannot be changed at this stage. It can be postponed on that date, but it would seem counter-productive to meet on the 26thsimply to agree to change the date. Some people who need to travel have already told us they will make arrangements to be there on Wednesday 26th.
If the day/date was not the best option we can only apologise again. Working under pressure is not good and less than perfect decisions may well be made. We do still encourage all members who can to attend. The marriage legislation is so important to the HAI as an organisation, not just to couples wishing to have a Humanist wedding, not just to celebrants, but to reflect the Humanist view to the wider world. The stability of the HAI is also hugely important for everything we wish to achieve.
Thank you,
Ann James, Chairperson