Our appeal has been a great success in attracting a number of very capable and enthusiastic members to get involved in various ways in the work of the committee, including for the Trustee vacancy of Marketing Officer and to support the current Treasurer and Secretary in their roles, and to support our new Chair.  So, thank you to all who have responded!

However, we do not yet have a candidate for the crucial vacancy of Chair!

So, please do ask yourselves again - WHO could be our next Chair?  Could it be you, or could you suggest another member who could suitable and willing?

Please don't be deterred by any assumptions about what the role will entail.  There are many of us now ready and willing to support the new Chair in various ways, and we are very much open to tailoring the role to the capacity and strengths of the candidate.

Please do respond by the extended deadline of Sunday 21 September, or as soon as possible, if you may be able to help in any way.

Please read on for further details, thank you!

Martin Gilbraith, 29 August

Interim Chair <[email protected]>

Could YOU be our next Chair, or could you suggest another member (or 'not-yet' member) who could be?  Are you interested to get more involved in the club in any other way, whether as a Trustee or in some other role?

In his last Comments from the Chair, Jim Cornwell reminded us that he would be stepping down from that role at our Annual Outdoor Gathering in Lancaster. So he did, and so did Ned Voelcker from his role as Marketing Officer. Thanks again to both of them for their leadership and service to the club over these recent years! Thank you also to all those who made our AOG last weekend such an enjoyable and memorable experience.

In April I agreed to take on a new role as interim Vice-Chair to support Jim in the recruitment and induction of his successor, and to help to fill other current and upcoming vacancies.  That has been very successful in that we were able in June to welcome David Ledsham and Ben McQuillan to the committee as Groups Liaison officer and National Events officer, and Anne Coombes as Group Co-ordinator in Cornwall, and in July to appoint Robert Minikin to the committee to succeed Robert Davies shortly as Secretary and David Willis to succeed Chris Ng as Membership Secretary in the coming weeks.

However, we have not yet been able to appoint a new Chair, or Marketing officer.  So I am now serving as interim Chair, while I continue in my committee role as Website & IT Manager - and hosting our Online socials, and GOG Goes to Sitges in October, and (if I have any time left!) my own business as a professional facilitator, trainer & consultant.  That is where you come in...

Please take a look at our Governance and Committee page for details, and to complete the expression of interest form there, or please contact me at <[email protected]> with any questions or to suggest who else I should approach.

We are all much more likely to consider volunteering in any role if were are asked personally to do so, so I am asking you now to consider it yourself!  Please also ask personally anyone else that you think might be suitable and interested, or let me know to do so.

Going on GOC events gives people a lot of enjoyment and has resulted in enduring friendships or partnerships, so a lot of members want to give something back.  Others understand that the surest way to enjoy the club more, and build more enduring friendships, is to get more involved.  We welcome contributions from all club members, regardless of their time in GOC or their background, and we are keen to support interested members to develop their skills as needed.

It is an exciting time to get more involved.  We are preparing to meet as a committee on October 4 & 5, with other club volunteers. We will meet in the venue of our 2026 Annual Outdoor Gathering, at Warwick University, to form as a new team with new leadership and plan how we can all deliver the club's strategy together over the coming year:

"to make GOC a diverse and inclusive club that is friendly and welcoming, vibrant and dynamic – where everyone in the LGBTQI+ community can be themselves and feel at home while making friends and enjoying outdoors and social activities together".

With your help, I hope that we will be able to appoint a fellow member in time to join us for that October meeting as our new Chair, and perhaps even a new Marketing officer or others as well.  In case we can't, we will also be seeking external candidates for the Chair role over the coming weeks, who might like to join the club in order to take up that opportunity.  That will enable us all to start a new year together, and me to return my full attention to the GOC website & IT, and to the day job.

Please do respond by the extended deadline of Sunday 21 September, or earlier if possible, if you may be able to help in any way. Thank you!

Martin Gilbraith, 31 July

Interim Chair <[email protected]>