The constitution of WORCESTERSHIRE RECORDERS (WR) is repeated below for your information. This was ratified at the last Annual Meeting 22^{nd March 2003. To comply with this we must undertake several tasks at the Annual Meeting 20th March 2003.}

First the Committee proposes that the constitution is altered to increase the maximum size of the committee:

1. In future “The committee shall consist of no fewer than six and no more than 16 members”. The reason for this increase from 12 members is to include representatives who have become very active in recording hitherto neglected taxa, notably bryophytes and lichens, or who are involved with other recording schemes eg dragonflies, mammals and lepidoptera.

2. Nominations for Committee members may now be made by post to the Chairman (G H Trevis) not later than 14 days before the Annual Meeting 20th March 2003. Present members of the Committee are willing to continue and this requires confirmation at the Annual Meeting. . They are John Day, Gary Farmer, Harry Green, John Meiklejohn, John Partridge, Bert Reid, Patrick Taylor, and Geoff Trevis together with the following who have been co-opted during 2003: Mike Averill, Tessa Carrick, Neil Gregory, Ann Hill, Shaun Micklewright, Joy Ricketts. (NB Simon Wood, Manager of WBRC attends as a non-voting member of the Committee)

3. The Annual Meeting shall elect three persons from the Worcestershire Recorders Committee to sit on the Worcestershire Biological Centre Board. The current persons are Bert Reid, Harry Green and John Partridge and they are willing to continue. (NB Geoff Trevis is a member of the WBRC Board currently nominated by the Council of Worcestershire Wildlife Trust. Other nominated Board members are Chris Bray (Worcestershire County Council) and David Heaver (English Nature. Simon Wood attends as Manager of WBRC).

Worcestershire Recorders is a group whose objective is to encourage the collection, collation and publication of biological records and their storage at the Worcestershire Biological Records Centre. Members will be those people subscribing the newsletter, the Worcestershire Record. Members of Worcestershire Recorders will form the constituency to nominate and elect three members of the Worcestershire Biological Records Centre Management Board. The group will be managed by a committee, Worcestershire Recorders’ Committee, that will organise ballots for the Board nominees and for committee members and will manage the group’s finances. The committee will also arrange the annual recorders’ meeting and will organise field meetings and organise or commission educational activities and workshops and any other activities deemed to assist in achieving its objectives.

Objectives and Activities:

Any individual subscribing member of Worcestershire Recorders may stand for election to the committee.
The committee shall consist of no fewer than six and no more than 12 members.

The committee shall elect its own chairman and such other officers as it deems necessary to manage its affairs.

A request for nominations to be made by post will be issued with the autumn edition of the Worcestershire Record.
The list of nominations will be published with the agenda and papers for the annual meeting, not later than 14 days prior to the meeting.
In the event of more nominations being received than there are vacancies on the committee, a secret ballot will be held at the annual meeting. Members unable to attend the meeting will be able to notify their preferred nominees to the chairman who will cast their votes by proxy.

Updates on significant developments will appear in the Worcestershire Record.
An annual report will be prepared for the annual meeting at which the chairman will be available to take questions and comments from members.
A schedule of committee meetings will be published in the Worcestershire Record so that members of Worcestershire Recorders can attend if they wish. Non-elected members will be encouraged to participate in discussions and to contribute ideas for enhancing the work of the group but will not be eligible to vote.

Election of three nominated members Worcestershire Recorders to the WBRC Board will also take place at the annual meeting under the same rules as those governing election of the committee. The Board nominees should be members of the Recorders’ Committee so that they fully understand recorders’ views and can ensure these are correctly transmitted to the Board for consideration.

G.H. Trevis
Chairman of Worcestershire Recorders’ Committee
9th February 2003. Ratified by Annual Meeting 22nd March 2003.

Non-elected members of Worcestershire Recorders may attend Committee meetings to participate in discussions and to contribute ideas for enhancing the work of the group but will not be eligible to vote.

Meetings schedule for 2004 are as follows:

Meetings commence at 7.30 pm and are held in the Library at Worcestershire Wildlife Trust HQ.

If you wish to attend please contact the Chairman beforehand

The 2004 meeting will be held on Saturday 20th March at Crowle Village Hall (same venue as last year) from 10 am to 4pm.

Guest speaker with be Matt Shardlow, Conservation Director of Buglife - the Invertebrate Conservation Trust, on the Practical Applications of Invertebrate Recording. This Trust is fairly new and is pioneering invertebrate conservation in Europe. With luck a leaflet about the Trust will be enclosed with this Worcestershire Record.

Other speakers will probably include

There will also be an update on progress in developing the WBRC by Simon Wood (Manager)

If you would like to bring a demonstration, specimens, or a poster display please do so. Let Harry Green know beforehand so that we can be sure space is available.

The full programme, booking forms etc, will be circulated in February 2004

Dates fixed for three meetings are:

1. Saturday 29th May probable venue at the S end of the Malvern Hills
2. Saturday 3rd July Possibly Wassell Wood and Habberley Valley dependent on permission
3. Saturday 7th August Part of the Sapey Brook near Clifton-on-Teme dependent on permission.

A booking form will be circulated in February 2004 with more details and those who book will receive details of access etc.