The role of the Regional Team
The majority of RSGB work is conducted by volunteers, coordinated by a recently refocused Volunteer Leadership Team (VLT).
The VLT comprises Regional Representatives elected by Members in their regions, Committee Chairs, Honorary Officers, senior HQ staff and the Board.
The 13 Regional Representatives (RRs) are elected by local members to represent those Members’ views in the Society.
They are supported by around 70 District Representatives (DRs) and, together as your Regional Team (RT), they form your
interface with the Society.
You can find out more about them and events in your region on our website at rsgb.org/regional-team.
Members of the RT are well-known for visiting clubs and attending rallies, but they have a much wider role.
They should always be your first point of contact as a key part of their role is to help you access the multitude of services that the RSGB provides, which are summarised in the RSGB Services Map.
Committee Chairs and Honorary Officers represent the Society by providing support and advice in their areas of expertise.
As well as helping you to access this specialist knowledge, the Regional Team can put you in touch with local amateurs for hands-on support and face-to-face advice that supports the work of the committees and Honorary Officers.
Improving the organisation by dovetailing together the local knowledge of the Regional Team with the specialist support of the other members of the VLT is a key strategy to improve the services provided by the RSGB.
To make this support more accessible we are developing an online directory—an electronic ‘Little Black Book’—of key contacts at local and wider specialist levels, with details about the help they can provide.
The specialist expertise available covers a very wide range of areas including eliminating interference, providing planning advice, training and education, contests, competitions and awards.
It will also include spectrum acquisition and management, national and international representation, predicting propagation conditions, licensing, publications and special interest groups, together with places and events such as the National Radio Centre (NRC) and the RSGB Convention.
Compiling the information for this directory is an early challenge for the VLT, which will demonstrate how working together we can provide better services to members than we can separately.
“Members of the RT … should always be your first point of contact as a key part of their role is to help you access the multitude of services that the RSGB provides”
When asked why they like amateur radio, many amateurs will say that mixing with and learning from other amateurs enhances their own enjoyment and understanding of amateur radio.
This sense of community is one of the key values in the RSGB’s strategy and the Regional Team is fundamental to ensuring that amateur radio communities grow and thrive.
The RT not only supports individuals but can also help clubs to maximise the wide range of benefits provided by the Society, from advice to specialist club talks/demonstrations or practical help such as Buildathon tools.
In addition, regular contact between members of the RT and clubs can encourage local clubs to work together to put on events, offer benefits to local radio amateurs and achieve goals that they do not have the resources or expertise to achieve individually.
The Regional Team will play a key role in the Society’s five-year strategic goal of having “an active and thriving amateur radio community”.
The RT is your local interface with the Society—get to know them, use their expertise and contacts, and work with them to help amateur radio flourish in your area.
Together we can achieve our strategic intent to “protect, promote and enhance the use, understanding and enjoyment of wireless communication.”
John Rogers, M0JAV
DRM133
Category: RSGB Strategy 2022
