We could really use a hand...

With our AGM drawing nearer, we thought it would be a good idea to publish a post about what it means to volunteer for the HELTA committee.

Consider this a “Everything you always wanted to know about the HELTA committee but were afraid to ask”!

Who’s on the committee?

The members of the committee volunteer to stand for election and are elected at the AGM (Annual General Meeting) every year.

The committee comprises the following roles:

• The Chair
• The Vice-Chair
• The Membership Secretary
• The Treasurer
• The Events Coordinator.

One committee member can have more than one role and some roles can be shared by several people, i.e. it would be possible (and perhaps advisable!) to have more than one Events Coordinator. Unfortunately, our efforts to clone Vincent have hitherto not been successful and so currently the HELTA committee has only one events coordinator.

What does the committee do?

The committee…

• plans and organises HELTA events. This includes attending conferences and scouting interesting speakers, proposing them to the committee, then approaching them and coordinating to put an event together.
• liaises with ELT publishers. Many of our speakers at HELTA are sponsored by the publishers they write for, and this is good for us because often that means they speak to us at HELTA at a reduced or sometimes no fee!
• manages HELTA members. This includes recruiting members, answering their questions about the membership benefits, managing their personal information, etc. Also, reaching out to members in the form of surveys and newsletters.
• find venues where HELTA events can be held and negotiates terms.
• updates the HELTA website. This includes posting on the blog, adding upcoming events, and keeping the information on the site up to date.
• manages the HELTA finances. This includes collecting membership fees, paying speakers and other event costs, doing the accounting, preparing our tax statement, etc.
• collaborates with our sister ELTAs and other teaching associations. We coordinate with other organisations to cross-promote our events (especially our online events), to make sure our events don’t clash and to learn best practices from each other.
• posting on social media so that we can promote our events and attract new members.
• … does a lot of things.

As you can see, there are many tasks that need to be taken care of and while we have a superb team at the moment, we could really use more help.

Please consider volunteering to stand for the HELTA committee and please note:

• You will be working as part of a team with some quite experienced members. So if you are worried that you don’t have the knowledge/skills necessary to handle any tasks by yourself… you wouldn’t have to!
• You can contribute in any capacity that is feasible for you. Sometimes you have a lot of time, sometimes you don’t. That’s normal, especially for a volunteer. We are happy for any help, even if you only have a few weeks here and there where you can chip in and then other times where you have no chance to join.
• This is a great opportunity to co-create a community that you love. Being on the committee means you get to chime in and decide on the events we have, the speakers we invite, the projects we pursue. It puts you in touch with lots of interesting people and looks good on any resume!

If you’re on the fence, just get in touch with any of us. We’d love some fresh blood! (Well, excuse me but it IS October!)

Hope to see you at the AGM!