Tuesday, 18 April 2023 14:10

Up close and personal: My first in-person Annual General Meeting

Written by Naomi Gilchrist

AGM25March smaller

When I was studying for my degree in translation, several teachers pointed out the benefits of joining a professional organization, and SENSE was one of the organizations whose name came up. I was eager to discover more about SENSE, so I registered to join the 2020 Jubilee Conference as a guest. Because of the pandemic, this event was moved online. I enjoyed everything that was on offer during the conference and I learnt a lot, so I decided to go ahead and become a member.

In the following years I attended many more online SENSE events, including the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in 2021 and 2022. The AGM of 25 March 2023 was the first in-person AGM in quite some time and it was also the first large in-person event for me. I had previously spoken to some SENSE members during various Zoom meetings and workshops, so I was excited to meet everyone face to face.

The ‘meet’ of the matter

Luckily, I had been to the meeting venue at Park Plaza before, so I did not have any trouble finding the place. The doors opened at 12:00, which gave members the opportunity to meet, catch up, and discover new books in a mini book-swap before the meeting started at 13:00 sharp.

During the meeting, we discussed the minutes of the previous AGM and the reports from the Executive Committee (EC) and Team Leaders. We also looked at SENSE’s new organizational structure and voted for the election and re-election of several members. After discussing the points that came up during the ‘Any Other Business’ portion of the meeting, we took some time to thank the retiring EC members and all other volunteers for their valuable contributions.

Despite the full agenda, we managed to end the meeting right on time. The minutes of the meeting will be shared with SENSE members at a later stage.

Wrapping up the day

After the meeting concluded, many of us stayed and joined a singing workshop. There was singing (now, I don’t think the teacher was extremely impressed with the vocal prowess of most of us, but I thought we sounded pretty good!) and there was even some dancing. I think we all enjoyed being able to move around a bit after having sat down all afternoon.

Some of us then went on to have some drinks at the hotel bar and a very nice meal at an Indian restaurant. All in all, I felt it was a productive and fun day. 

Blog post by: Naomi Gilchrist

LinkedIn: naomi-gilchrist-translator
Twitter: NaoGil

Read 1266 times Last modified on Tuesday, 18 April 2023 15:57

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