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"The aim of the BTS is to promote and encourage the
responsible husbandry, research, captive breeding, conservation and
general knowledge of Theraphosids, scorpions and associated fauna"
I thought I would begin this series of posts with a mission statement.
The BTS was formed in 1984 by the late Ann Webb and her husband Frank. Along with Andrew Smith, they pioneered the early days of the hobby and led the way for the generations of tarantula keepers yet to come. In those early days the hobby was in its infancy and, perturbed that there was little or even no information available, Ann set about writing her now much respected book, “The Proper Care of Tarantulas”. Sadly, after many years of loyal and dedicated service to the club and the hobby Ann and Frank passed away and the mantle fell to Angela and myself. There has been much talk recently on other forums as to the raison d’être of the BTS and, indeed, if there is still a place for the club in today’s ever-changing internet world.
Before I begin my series of posts, I would point out what seems to be one simple underlying misunderstanding. A recent thread asked “What right does the BTS have to speak for the hobby?” My answer to this question is simple...none. The BTS has never claimed to speak for “the hobby”. In my 20 years with the club and my thirty-five years in the hobby neither I nor any other BTS Committee member has ever made such a claim. We speak for our members and our members speak through us. It is a fact that we have, over our 26 year history, been asked for our opinions and advice on issues that affect the hobby and indeed we have given them, but the underlying premise on which we are built is that we exist for our members and the club is funded by its subscribing members which, incidentally, includes all Committee members. It is often forgotten that this is our hobby too and I admit that such negative criticism often makes me question why I should carry on. Irrespective of any developments, I shall continue keeping tarantulas.
“Who exactly runs the British Tarantula Society “
The British Tarantula Society is run by a committee that currently consists of the following people:-
Andrew Smith: Chairman
Paul Carpenter: Treasurer and Vice Chairman
Angela Hale: Secretary
Richard Gallon: Editor (shared)
Peter Kirk: Editor (shared)
Mark Pennell: Webmaster
Martin Nicholas: Merchandise
Ray Hale: Exhibition Organiser and BTS Reference Library Co-ordinator
Connie Kirk: General Committee member
Dr. Stuart Longhorn: General Committee member
Kim Pennell: Lectures Organiser
Eddy Hijmensen: European Co-ordinator
Michael Jacobi: North American Co-ordinator
It is indeed true that many of the committee have been involved with the BTS for many years and personally I believe that this is why the BTS has survived for so long when so many other societies have fallen by the wayside. We are accused of “elitism” and running an “old boys’ network” that sit on its collective backsides patting each other on the back. That hurts. The BTS Committee, having been together for so long are, quite simply, great friends. During my time in the hobby we have made many great friends (not all BTS members). We receive many telephone calls, often up to five a day, from concerned keepers asking for advice. Never have we once refused to help them. We don’t ask if they are BTS members. We don’t care. We have never refused a call or say that we are busy even if we are in the middle of dinner or watching a TV programme. What is important is that if they have a problem with a spider then it should be the responsibility of us all to help if we are able.
Of course there is the criticism that the BTS Committee is not elected annually or indeed it is virtually impossible to become a BTS Committee member. On the first count, guilty as charged your honour! Why is this? In the early days of the club (pre-1990) the committee was six-strong.
It was decided that we would ask for Committee members from the membership when we required them or when an existing member left. We found it incredibly difficult to recruit to the Committee. No one seemed to wish to take on the responsibility and so we remained static with the Committee members who were willing to continue in the posts. That’s not to say that we didn’t have a turnover of Committee. Great name such as Mark Kent, John and Kath Hancock, Mark Allison and Carl Portman have sat around the table (I have a full list if anyone would like to see it). But each and every one of the myriad of Committee that have passed through our doors have left for a variety of reasons, often external work-related. None of them, I would add, acrimoniously and they all remain firm friends of the society. I am sure that many of you belong to other clubs and if you sit on a committee you will know how difficult it is to find volunteers who are willing to become involved.
Running any club is a thankless task. There are those that do and those that tell you where you are going wrong. The sad truth is that if we didn’t continue within the posts then the club would probably fold and Angela I after spending 20 years will not allow that to happen. That’s not to say that we don’t welcome new Committee members. This talk of Masonic-style meetings held in darkened rooms filled with pipe smoke is rubbish (well the pipe smoke up 2005 was probably true). We are not a Masonic society and welcome any applications to join the BTS Committee. In my time in service we have never turned an application down as long as the criteria for membership are met. We have been doing this for a long time and so we know what the club needs. There is no rolling up of trouser legs and the bearing of breast (unless you want to of course). I remember when I joined the Committee in 1992, I thought it was some sort of secret society and in fact I admit to being most disappointed when I was welcomed by a very nice bunch of people who offered me tea and biscuits (the cost of the tea and biscuits are met by the Committee and we collect £1.00 from each committee member BEFORE they get tea and I’m not kidding). We ask of you the following:-
1. You attend four meetings a year held at Bracknell in Berkshire (this was calculated to be the geographic centre that was equidistant for us all).
2. You must be willing to make yourself available for phone calls from members.
3. You must be willing to attend other shows and trade on behalf of the BTS
4. You attend the BTS Exhibition weekend and assist in the setting up and packing away of the event.
5. You attend the BTS Lecture weekend.
6. You have experience in keeping tarantulas and can demonstrate such.
7. You have organisational skills such as administration, computing, logistical or be able to assist with the general running of the club.
8. You must be willing to self-fund all of the above. (please continue on th next post)
My rant has overspilled on to another post.sorry. Please see next post
responsible husbandry, research, captive breeding, conservation and
general knowledge of Theraphosids, scorpions and associated fauna"
I thought I would begin this series of posts with a mission statement.
The BTS was formed in 1984 by the late Ann Webb and her husband Frank. Along with Andrew Smith, they pioneered the early days of the hobby and led the way for the generations of tarantula keepers yet to come. In those early days the hobby was in its infancy and, perturbed that there was little or even no information available, Ann set about writing her now much respected book, “The Proper Care of Tarantulas”. Sadly, after many years of loyal and dedicated service to the club and the hobby Ann and Frank passed away and the mantle fell to Angela and myself. There has been much talk recently on other forums as to the raison d’être of the BTS and, indeed, if there is still a place for the club in today’s ever-changing internet world.
Before I begin my series of posts, I would point out what seems to be one simple underlying misunderstanding. A recent thread asked “What right does the BTS have to speak for the hobby?” My answer to this question is simple...none. The BTS has never claimed to speak for “the hobby”. In my 20 years with the club and my thirty-five years in the hobby neither I nor any other BTS Committee member has ever made such a claim. We speak for our members and our members speak through us. It is a fact that we have, over our 26 year history, been asked for our opinions and advice on issues that affect the hobby and indeed we have given them, but the underlying premise on which we are built is that we exist for our members and the club is funded by its subscribing members which, incidentally, includes all Committee members. It is often forgotten that this is our hobby too and I admit that such negative criticism often makes me question why I should carry on. Irrespective of any developments, I shall continue keeping tarantulas.
“Who exactly runs the British Tarantula Society “
The British Tarantula Society is run by a committee that currently consists of the following people:-
Andrew Smith: Chairman
Paul Carpenter: Treasurer and Vice Chairman
Angela Hale: Secretary
Richard Gallon: Editor (shared)
Peter Kirk: Editor (shared)
Mark Pennell: Webmaster
Martin Nicholas: Merchandise
Ray Hale: Exhibition Organiser and BTS Reference Library Co-ordinator
Connie Kirk: General Committee member
Dr. Stuart Longhorn: General Committee member
Kim Pennell: Lectures Organiser
Eddy Hijmensen: European Co-ordinator
Michael Jacobi: North American Co-ordinator
It is indeed true that many of the committee have been involved with the BTS for many years and personally I believe that this is why the BTS has survived for so long when so many other societies have fallen by the wayside. We are accused of “elitism” and running an “old boys’ network” that sit on its collective backsides patting each other on the back. That hurts. The BTS Committee, having been together for so long are, quite simply, great friends. During my time in the hobby we have made many great friends (not all BTS members). We receive many telephone calls, often up to five a day, from concerned keepers asking for advice. Never have we once refused to help them. We don’t ask if they are BTS members. We don’t care. We have never refused a call or say that we are busy even if we are in the middle of dinner or watching a TV programme. What is important is that if they have a problem with a spider then it should be the responsibility of us all to help if we are able.
Of course there is the criticism that the BTS Committee is not elected annually or indeed it is virtually impossible to become a BTS Committee member. On the first count, guilty as charged your honour! Why is this? In the early days of the club (pre-1990) the committee was six-strong.
It was decided that we would ask for Committee members from the membership when we required them or when an existing member left. We found it incredibly difficult to recruit to the Committee. No one seemed to wish to take on the responsibility and so we remained static with the Committee members who were willing to continue in the posts. That’s not to say that we didn’t have a turnover of Committee. Great name such as Mark Kent, John and Kath Hancock, Mark Allison and Carl Portman have sat around the table (I have a full list if anyone would like to see it). But each and every one of the myriad of Committee that have passed through our doors have left for a variety of reasons, often external work-related. None of them, I would add, acrimoniously and they all remain firm friends of the society. I am sure that many of you belong to other clubs and if you sit on a committee you will know how difficult it is to find volunteers who are willing to become involved.
Running any club is a thankless task. There are those that do and those that tell you where you are going wrong. The sad truth is that if we didn’t continue within the posts then the club would probably fold and Angela I after spending 20 years will not allow that to happen. That’s not to say that we don’t welcome new Committee members. This talk of Masonic-style meetings held in darkened rooms filled with pipe smoke is rubbish (well the pipe smoke up 2005 was probably true). We are not a Masonic society and welcome any applications to join the BTS Committee. In my time in service we have never turned an application down as long as the criteria for membership are met. We have been doing this for a long time and so we know what the club needs. There is no rolling up of trouser legs and the bearing of breast (unless you want to of course). I remember when I joined the Committee in 1992, I thought it was some sort of secret society and in fact I admit to being most disappointed when I was welcomed by a very nice bunch of people who offered me tea and biscuits (the cost of the tea and biscuits are met by the Committee and we collect £1.00 from each committee member BEFORE they get tea and I’m not kidding). We ask of you the following:-
1. You attend four meetings a year held at Bracknell in Berkshire (this was calculated to be the geographic centre that was equidistant for us all).
2. You must be willing to make yourself available for phone calls from members.
3. You must be willing to attend other shows and trade on behalf of the BTS
4. You attend the BTS Exhibition weekend and assist in the setting up and packing away of the event.
5. You attend the BTS Lecture weekend.
6. You have experience in keeping tarantulas and can demonstrate such.
7. You have organisational skills such as administration, computing, logistical or be able to assist with the general running of the club.
8. You must be willing to self-fund all of the above. (please continue on th next post)
My rant has overspilled on to another post.sorry. Please see next post
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