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As lunchtime has passed, may I point out the relevant note:
“Comments: 11 pages, submitted to Acta Prima Aprilia”
Oddly I didn’t see much journalistic creativity today.I couldn’t get into London due to train engineering. Wondered what was the feeling/vote at SGM?
(Happy to accept whatever result after the full discussion as that’s how the association works.)Linking a couple of replies from Nick and David:
I don’t know when/how the Hon Mem came about but it was clearly thought a noteworthy achievement to have started it.
Many older members haven’t managed 50 continuous years and I there is clearly a ‘churn’ as members drop out.
Whether the Hon Mem is free or not, I think it reflects gratitude from the BAA for those who have renewed continuously for most of a lifetime.The issue of administration is up to the BAA and I’m not sure that the ‘expense’ of tracking names, addresses etc is relevant?
That admin goes with any membership system for which 90% are paying something anyway? (And the previous 50 years of subs from the Hon Mems.)Looking at the latest Report of the Council 2023 Oct 25 (J. Br. Astron. Assoc. 133, 5, 2023 p. 307) the Hon Mems have increased nearly 30% in 2 years to 250 and as a percentage of the total membership from 7% to 10%.
Noting these would be in the Senior (65+) category, the free Hon memberships would result in ‘lost’ subscriptions at this rate of between £6k (digital) and £11k (printed) on a total subscription income of £89k (ibid p. 327).
Perhaps the Trustees and Council are missing the additional revenue of between 7% and 13%? (Likely to be more in future when the Senior & Ordinary subs align.) And looking to the future are anticipating larger increases in numbers and percentages of ‘lost’ subscriptions.
I think this would be a fuller background to the proposed change. There seems to be some feeling of very long-term membership being valued on this small subset of members.
My only comparison is the RAS which eliminated its free subs for age 65+ Fellows (if they had at paid least 15 years) and now charge a student rate, though their full rate is more comparable to the proposed BAA Benefactor amount.
[On a separate point, in terms of the investments at £1.5m (ibid p. 326) I’m surprised the yield is an income of just £230. Whereas cash of a much smaller holding of £47k gives an interest of £189.]
Those looked liked planes at night! I also saw a (pretty/standard) star trail photo described as the meteor shower.
With increasing life expectancy (a good thing) it’s likely that the numbers of ‘honoraries’ have increased significantly compared with earlier generations, though the continuity hurdle will catch many retired (as in pensionable age) members out. It would be useful to know how many current honorary members there are and what percentage of the total membership. Thanks to David for engaging on this and other matters on the forum.
I am some way off the ‘bus pass’ membership though it is a small future incentive when I have looked at options for my membership.
I’m not a member of a local society but many BAA members are. What strategies do they use for increasing younger/active participation?
The joining page doesn’t list 26 categories and I’m surprised there are so many. I propose maybe three payment rates even if many categories.
Why not let the ‘benefactor’ membership bed in for a year or so before making even more changes?Useful background David. I would imagine that if the sub rises too much then members will just not renew, nor will new members be attracted, without any conversation occurring upwards to Council.
There is a PDF linked from the homepage banner which gave reasons.
https://britastro.org/2023/by-laws-jan2024
I too think it important for members to approve the subscription level.
Will the amendment vote be point by point or to approve changes en bloc?I also wondered how bright these meteors would be. From the historic shower/storm the conditions might favour numerous & bright events. Radio data will be interesting .. or nil!
MNRAS gives discoverers as Pacinotho and Toussaint in Florence https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/22/9/314/966048
Comet Swift-Tuttle is designated 1862 III https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Swift%E2%80%93TuttleCOAA in Algarve, Portugal have advertised for many years, though I haven’t been (yet).
http://coaa.co.uk/There is also a previous forum post (also containing earlier reference) to the background in a TV programme
https://britastro.org/forums/topic/roy-panther-heir-hunters-catch-up-tvThe vacancies for the Officer posts have always seemed to be this way in my 30 years a member. Many societies have a VP (or two) with one ‘on the way up’ getting their feet under the table, destined to be P, and one immediate past P ‘on the way down’ able to help as needed. These may be ex officio but the individuals will have arranged the spare time and commitments accordingly. There is an advantage to having some continuity with the T role I think.
It is a sign of an active society that the candidate numbers for Council are greater than the number of positions available. So if an election is required for part of the board there will be no extra expense for the non-contested positions. Indeed there may be a legal requirement to show that there is a non-zero approval from the membership for each position.
I don’t feel that Buggins’ Turn is a healthy situation and, indeed, any member should feel able to stand for election to provide their input and views. However, and controversially, I feel that decades’ stints may deprive an organisation of fresh blood and new ideas. As far as I can see, each observing section is fairly active and some rotation in duties could be encouraged? (Though these aren’t elected positions anyway.)
Well done to Flamsteed AS and NMM in offering this prestigious and appropriate venue. How lucky that the BAA Comet Section secured the seats here!
Weather held out despite the forecast showers and humidity. Excellent range of topics and speakers with 30mins an ideal length. Bonus planetarium show!
I overheard several chats wondering if Greenwich could host again. It was lucky to avoid rail/TFL strikes which would otherwise have given travel issues.
Many thank to all the background organisation for a very enjoyable day. Look forward to clear, dark skies for comets, giant asteroids and meteor showers 🙂I think this originates from Mousehole after Tom Bawcock’s heroic solo fishing trip to feed the whole village.
I’ve now had some clear evenings in the past fortnight. I suspect tonight’s is my final view from Ramsgate. Will forward observations to Nick James.
