Post by honeypot on Jan 18, 2019 0:37:47 GMT
I have been a BHS member for over 40 years, when I was younger I was more involved, as I have got older the kids have left home, not anywhere as much.
I kept paying my subs, even though because I no longer ride and have other insurance, the money is going to help all the important things they do, welfare, access, road safety and I thought they were doing good stuff. So I was surprised to hear on social media, that people were cross about changes they wanted to make to the constitution, and other issues.
So being nosy I looked in to it, found things that I thought were not right and asked questions about what was going at the BHS, didn't get a reply so decided to go to the meeting which I thought was a EGM , but wasn't but that's another story.
I found a room full of people, some had come from Scotland, one had got up a 4.00 in the morning to fly in from Ireland, it was on the 5th January, and I would suspect that most had to make a fair amount of arrangements to attend, the majority, who were not employees or on the Trust Board, were not happy.
We were not supposed to speak, we were there to listen and not ask questions, but people did. Why was welfare and access under funded? Why do bridleways officers have to pay for training to do the societies work, its a charitable aim? Why is the IT budget getting bigger, it spent over a £1m last year, and the system still doesn't work? Why are people going to Employment Tribunals and signing Settlement agreements if its such a great place to work, and why are volunteers being abused and under valued so the resign?
I think the thing I heard later , that made me want to cry, was an older volunteer being made feel small by a paid employee, after many years service.
If you read todays H&H you would think that they were a bunch of trouble making has beens, these past Trust Board members, preventing change. No they are not, they are people who are concerned that the BHS is no longer focusing on it core aims, and that logos and branding over rule all other things.
I was there and its been so spun, with disingenuous double speak.
Since the meeting, I was shocked at how it was run, I have become more concerned. Yep they did spend about 20k on a puppet and does take three trained people to operate it, teaching aid not, gimmick yes.
Evening more worrying members, who donated have had their money spent of things that do not support the charitable aims, unless its, 'top ten tenuous', with nothing in the budget about where the money has come from.So if you have heard a rumour about the BHS, the chances are I have found its true, I have done the research. If you want to find out more and look at some of the documents, or you know something about your area, have a look on,
www.facebook.com/groups/membersBHS/