New Executive Secretary must be a Chartered Geologist (2)
Sir, I chaired the Governance Committee in 1996 that constituted the five Vice-Presidents and myself. Our report to Council recognised the important role of the Executive Secretary in representing the Society and furthering its aims for the science and profession of geology at a high level both in the UK and internationally. The Executive Secretary provides an important continuity within the Society's governance as the Bye-laws dictate that Presidents, Honorary Officers and Council Members may only serve for a limited time. For these reasons the Governance Committee recommended that the Executive Secretary should be a professionally experienced Chartered Geologist.
Reading the recently published recruitment advertisement in the April issue of this magazine, it would seem that, 18 years later, this important aspect of the role of the Executive Secretary may have been overlooked and this requirement has not been included in the Bye-laws during the various reviews that have occurred during recent times.
I hope that this aspect will not be overlooked by the committee charged with making the appointment and am reassured by the comments made by the President in response to the letter from Dick Selley.
Rick Brassington