Chris Lee shares his experiences of being a trustee as part of our series of Trustees profiles.
I became involved in Scouting at the age of 8 as a youth member and have been involved ever since as a youth member, Adult Leader and Trustee.
My professional career was varied. I am a qualified mechanical, electronic and software engineer and in my professional career I have experience of heath Health and Safety and Quality management as well as project and sales budget management within Agricultural Engineering and Industrial Software Systems Engineering.
My professional and Scouting qualifications gained me membership to the “Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development”
During my past three-year term as a Trustee, I have been privileged to hold the Deputy Chair role for ScoutsCymru and have been heavily involved in the progression and implementation of the Governance Review and New Approach projects to ensure continuity, inclusivity and forward vision within Scouting in Wales is maintained and further developed.
I believe that our youth membership should be involved in the decision making within our organisation and encourage all Trustees to be part of this processes.
Being a trustee is not just about attending Board meetings or even about doing lots and lots of project work. It is about using one’s skills and experience to make sure the governance of the charity’s work is correct and that collective decisions are properly thought through. It is also about meeting with the membership and learning their thoughts and views on Scouting in Wales.
It is about having the overall view and making sure that the necessary checks and balances are in place rather than rolling ones sleeves up and getting too heavily involved with the implementation of the project process. That is the role of the Task and Finish groups (which one could also be separately part of).
It varies but on average over the year about 8-10 hours/week
I would definitely recommend being a Trustee and being able to use ones abilities, experience and skills to assist the charities Board to make the best possible collective decisions in the running of its business.
