A 'systems failure' at the AIDS Foundation, which saw a significant number of members narrowly miss being disenfranchised at the upcoming Trust Board Annual General Meeting, was just caught in time, according to the NZAF. More than forty people whose memberships had expired in September/October or would expire by the 30 November, received urgent emails or personal phone calls from staff on 24 October advising of the need to urgently renew their membership to ensure voting eligibility. Eligibility to vote at the 24 November AGM is dependent on being an active member as of 26 October. NZAF Executive Director and Trust Board Secretary Rachael Le Mesurier acknowledges that some members will have been disenfranchised by the error, but believes the number to be very small. "We have made every effort to contact all lapsed members before the cut-off date of 26 October to provide them with an opportunity to renew," she says. "We are aware that the late reminder for some means that a few we couldn’t reach will have lapsed memberships." Le Mesurier says the Foundation is very keen to hear from anyone that this may affect. The Foundation acknowledges that the snafu was a significant and unprofessional lapse. "This has caused us a great concern and we acted as quickly as we could to rectify the problem when it was discovered. We received 40 membership renewals as a result of our urgent action. We appreciate the upset this has caused for the members who have been affected, for which we apologise unreservedly." Larry Jenkins, the staff member who coordinated membership matters until his departure from the Foundation on Wednesday and who is standing for election to the Board, says he is unsure why there even had to be a cut-off date for membership renewals. Le Mesurier says it is to ensure the election process could not be "unduly influenced by new membership applications after the candidates were announced." "The memberships all fall due at different times," says Jenkins, "and that was one of the things it was very difficult to keep up with." He acknowledges that it was one of his jobs that he found difficult to achieve on time, a situation he blames on workload pressure. "Also, I shared the running of the membership with another staff member and it’s difficult when one or other of you forgets." He says the NZAF has no really clear mechanism for membership renewal "and that needs to be looked at." The NZAF has 158 current members which includes 47 NZAF staff who are not eligible to vote in elections. A membership drive undertaken as part of the 2005 Gala Dinner saw numbers rise to 191 from a low point of 56, including staff, in 2004.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Friday, 2nd November 2007 - 11:50am