Page 20 - A4 Journal 2018 R16

The Company

The worst event ever!

This is a headline I used to grab your attention because “Membership Committee” probably wouldn’t have.
But your membership committee is different to most other membership committees!

Yes, we are here to increase the numbers of the Worshipful Company of Constructors, but we want to do
this by providing more of what you want so you attend more events, and bring more of friends and col-
leagues along who then also want to join. We have one of the most active memberships in the Livery and
as a result have grown to 300 strong; we want to build upon that success and to do so effectively we need
your feedback and support.

Some of you may recall we recently carried out a membership survey, the results of which were really interesting.
Top choices for events - Formal Dinners; Lunches; Tours and other social events; Scholarships and presentations.

What would encourage you to attend more events? - Hold events at different times of the year; Reduced cost and Different
types of events.

Following the survey we are working on a number of initiatives to help encourage more members to attend more events, but
we still need your input. Which events would you like more of, and what are we missing? The well-attended events are clear
winners - and we will hold more of them - but your individual input, your ideas and your comments (both good and bad) are
what we need. Let us know what it is you like and dislike, and why you attended or didn’t attend events. What other events
elsewhere have you attended that you thought you would like to do again, and that the Constructors could organise for you.
After all, if you liked it and it was well attended, it is likely to be popular again, so please get in touch
(Michael.rigden@breakthroughuk.com) and let us know.

We are working on a number of new initiatives, one of these being the New Members Support Team:
It can be daunting when you join a new organisation, and socialising with others and attending events is probably the best way
of getting to know people. In addition, we have established a support network for new members. Initially this has been rolled
out to support new members at the formal dinners, and introduce them to current members as well as new members, and
walk them through the various nuances of Livery Dinners. The first one took place at the Sir Christopher Wren Banquet and
was very well received. We will continue with this initiative and would encourage other new members to get in touch if they
would like to partake (paulsingh@pscsltd.uk.com) .

Among our other ideas - we are also keen to get younger members involved in the Livery and we are currently looking at es-
tablishing a younger members subcommittee to look at how we can increase younger member participation at events. If you
would like to get involved, or have some ideas for this new initiative, please get in touch (john@rowsellconsulting.co.uk).
Thank you for taking the time to read this article and if you have any ideas or suggestions please do get in touch with the chair
of the committee Michael Rigden on 07866 805 723, or email him at michael.rigden@breakthroughuk.com.

Our Military Affiliates

The Worshipful Company of Constructors greatly values its affiliations with various units of the armed forces and we
always try to include something from each of them in our Annual Journal. However, this year it has proved difficult to do
this within the deadlines for publication. We hope to be able to remedy this in our subsequent Newsletters, but so that our
affiliations are not forgotten in this centenary year of the end of the First World War, here is a short summary of what is
happening with each of them, gleaned from publicly sourced documents and the internet.

5001 Squadron RAF is currently represented on the multi-national task force that is deployed in Oman on Operation Saif
Saria 3, where they are responsible for the maintenance of ground equipment for the Voyager aircraft , specialist loading
and unloading equipment, power generation equipment for the Army’s field hospital and supporting the Chefs of No 3
Mobile Catering Squadron.

HMS Lancaster has been undergoing a scheduled major refit at HMNB Plymouth in readiness for her continuing deployment
(as a result of the base ports move) to HMNB Portsmouth. The base ports move is expected to be completed in 2023. We
hope to have more news from HMS Lancaster as soon as they have been recommissioned into service.
101 Regiment has been the subject of a major organisational change, which saw many of their responsibilities transferred
back to the Regular Army, and thus a major reorganisation of their reserve capability.

Page 20 | The Journal of the Worshipful Company of Constructors | Autumn 2018