Following wide publicity to the Members of the RPS, an Extraordinary General Meeting was held on 29 May 2020, attended by 81 Members - a record number thanks to the use of videoconferencing technology.
This is a short summary of the background and outcome of the meeting.
Background
Following the resignation of the President in November 2019, in accordance with the By-Laws of the RPS the then President Elect, Dr Alan Hodgson took up the office of President and will remain in this position until the AGM of 2021.
This left a vacancy for the post of President Elect, and consequently President in 2021.
Council wished to appoint an existing elected Trustee, Simon Hill FRPS to take up the position of President Elect as soon as possible. Having taken legal advice Council decided it would be appropriate for RPS Members to approve the appointment through an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM).
Due to the constraints of the Coronavirus outbreak, this EGM was held online by videoconference to facilitate attendance by RPS Members irrespective of location or travel restriction.
Prior to the meeting, RPS Members were canvassed for their views on the legitimacy of the meeting and Council's proposal to appoint Simon Hill FRPS as President Elect. The results of the survey are detailed in the minutes below.
The EGM
The meeting was Chaired by RPS President, Dr Alan Hodgson ASIS HonFRPS.
81 members joined the online EGM. After reviewing the results of the member survey, questions, and discussion, the meeting voted to confirm acceptance of the EGM process and Council's proposal to appoint Simon Hill FRPS as President Elect and for him to take up the post of President after the AGM in 2021.
At the end of the meeting, Simon Hill FRPS delivered a statement which is included at the end of the minutes, linked below.
Please click here to read the minutes.
Overall feedback was that the online meeting approach was extremely positive and that the RPS should continue to make use of the facility. Several Members reported that they felt much more engaged as a result of this approach.
(Please click here to review the procedures for the conduct of the EGM process which were approved by Council.)