Who needs trip organisers?

It was the Christchurch Tramping Club AGM. All the important seats on the 16 person committee were filled - Patron, President, Vice Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, Captain, Quartermaster, Editor, etc, etc, and even the half a dozen odds-and-ends positions. However there were two people missing - the trip organisers.

Hmmm.....

Aren't the trips organisers the first thing a tramping club needs? I'd always thought that so long as there was someone organising trips, a club could get by with virtually all of the other seats empty.

Maybe the club's getting things the wrong way round.

Last year, the CTC got through three people in the weekend trip organiser role. As one of them, I've got a pretty good idea why no-one would take it on this year.

I was the club's Trip Convenor from 1993-1995. It was a much bigger job then than it is now, but I found it so interesting I didn't mind the workload. It became one of the most satisfying, and fun, things I've tried my hand at. It was a good personal growth experience too. And the number of people on club trips doubled over that period.

No room for job satisfaction now
When I became involved again as Trip Organiser in 2004 I was disappointed to find quite a different committee culture and chairing style from how things worked in the early nineties.

I found it impossible to get through the changes I knew would improve the quality and enjoyment of club trips.

Sadly, the committee was dominated by people who didn't realise the club's constitution was set up to allow a high degree of independance to people elected into various key roles. Instead a few believed they had a right to obstruct or veto anything they didn't like that someone else was doing.

So who would want to take on the role of trip organiser? Anyone who's able to do it can just organise their own trips, and avoid the grief.