BMC president Lynn Robinson provides a run-down of what she’s been getting up to in the past couple of months.

Lots has been happening since my last report in August.

In September, the first National Council (NC) meeting since the AGM was held. This had an upbeat and positive feel to it despite the volume of work ahead of us. I’m not going to go into much detail here, but I would encourage you to go along to your local area meetings for an in-depth update from your representatives:

• NC started with a presentation by BMC Officer Jane Thompson who gave a well-received overview of the GDPR legislation in relation to the BMC and its work. After that a packed agenda began with a detailed updated on the work of the Organisational Development Group (ODG):  in summary the ODG’s work has been divided into eight work streams, four which are largely operational and Board led, which Dave Turnbull, CEO has oversight of, and four which are largely policy related and National Council / member led, which I have oversight of. The work of this Group continues at a rapid pace, and we are now have a Project Manager, Dave Stanley, in post. Separate updates on ODG progress are on the BMC website,
• NC were briefed on the recruitment for the Chair of the Board of Directors, which has been ongoing over the past few months, and it is hoped that an announcement will be made shortly in relation to this.
• A responsibility matrix defining the roles of the Chair, President and Chief Executive was presented to NC. This is not meant to be a definitive list and it was accepted that some flexibility is needed given that it is not yet known who will be appointed as chair.
• Representatives of the ten BMC areas gave updates of the work to NC in their respective areas, which highlighted the breadth of work undertaken across England and Wales.
• BMC Partner organisations reported on their areas of responsibility.

As well as being involved in National Council, Board, Organisational Development Group and BMC Office work, I have also continued to get ‘out and about’, including:

• Attending the September Cymru North Wales area meeting.
• Spending time at Plas y Brenin hearing about their developments and plans for the future.
• Having an inside peek into the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue headquarters, and over several cups of tea, hearing about all the wonderful work that this organisation does.
• Attending the September Peak area meeting; my ‘home area’ meeting.
• Heading south for the Cymru South Wales area meeting and Gower Climbing Festival, (organised and run entirely by volunteers). I had a great time at the festival, and even got roped into giving the guest talk: about my recent trip to Yosemite and climbing El Capitan.
• Spending a wonderful day at The Mountain Heritage Trust at Blencathra, attending its Board meeting, talking to the Board members and learning more about the work of the Trust.
• Attending the Alpkit Big Shake Out, recruiting new members to the BMC and chatting to old members.
• Attending and speaking at this year’s Women’s Climbing Symposium. The line-up of speakers was very impressive, including Anna Stohr, Beth Rodden, Caroline Ciavaldini and Nina Williams. I also got to talk on behalf of the BMC. I was particularly inspired meeting and talking to Abbie and Hannah, from the GB Paraclimbing Team who had both recently won gold medals in the World Cup.
• Spending an informative afternoon at the Stanage Forum AGM. For me, hearing about all the volunteer efforts was heartening, especially the BMC influence on the collaborative work to protect nesting Ring Ouzels.
• Attending and speaking at the Women in Adventure Sport conference hosted by Glenmore Lodge. It was really great to meet British women and hear about their achievements in other adventure sports.
• Meeting with Mike Watson, President of Mountaineering Scotland (MS) for an introduction meeting and to discuss how the BMC and MS can continue to work together.
• Attending the Clubs Committee meeting. This gave me an interesting insight into its work, the hard work of the clubs, and the formal links that make their structural involvement with the BMC so valuable.

What I have learnt more of over the past few months, is the richness and depth of the work of the BMC and its volunteers. I have a much improved grasp of the huge amount of time spent by thousands, dedicating their time freely for the good of the organisation, its linked clubs and partners – it’s all very impressive. I continue to be grateful for the enthusiasm and dedication of the BMC office staff and it’s nice to meet some new additions to the team.

I’m really looking forward to Kendal Mountain Festival. If you’re attending, I’m free to discuss the BMC and if nothing else please do come and say hello to me. I’ll often be at the BMC stand at the Basecamp.

Many thanks again to everyone for their warm welcome as I’ve travelled around the country.

With best wishes,

Lynn Robinson, BMC president

Get in touch via email. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @bmc_lynn

We want to say a big thanks to every BMC member who continues to support us through the Coronavirus crisis.

From weekly Facebook Lives and GB Climbing home training videos, to our access team working to re-open the crags and fight for your mountain access, we couldn’t do it without you.

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https://www.thebmc.co.uk/join-the-bmc-for-1-month-U27-membership

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