Volunteer profile: Area Chair
Phil Marson
Inner London Area
As Chair of the Area, my basic
responsibility is to chair the six Area Committee meetings and
the Area AGM.
The remainder of the role is much more
loosely defined, and I've not been doing it for long. It needs
to include encouraging other members of the committee in their
tasks, thinking about and carrying out succession planning for
the committee, and working out ways to help the seven Groups
that make up the Area to be more effective in achieving their
aims.
As most people find with volunteer posts, I'm trying to construct the role to fit the time I've got and the team I'm working in.
The biggest challenge I've got is, in a very limited amount of time, to work out how to find and communicate good-practice between Groups across the Area.
The aspect of the role I'm finding most enjoyable is working with, and learning from, a committed and experienced team of varied people. We started the Metropolitan Walkers (the 20s and 30s Group for Inner London) without any experienced RA volunteers, with support from the Area and Central Office. Within the Area, there is an enormous wealth of experience and contacts to continue to draw on.
Length of time volunteering in this role: 6 months
Average time commitment: 2 - 3 hours per week