thanks for the clarification on matters Mod PPP
interestingly, the matters you raised were, some months ago, indicative of just how poor TVOC's management abilities were; it took some very serious 'slagging-off' on here (and several other places) for TVOC to eventually pull their head out of the sand and realise that there were very valid concerns being voiced. for far too long, TVOC simply hoped that these comments would simply go away, rather than reading them as a genuinely constructive critique.
as i said before, failing to see one's own shortcomings is a fundamental failure of effective management.
Tim McLelland - contrary to what you may believe, i whole-heartedly agree with all that you have said with respect to offers of help being snubbed etc. i myself have encountered exactly the same since October 2007, to some astonishing extent; unanswered emails, non-returned 'phone calls, rudeness, threats of legal action etc etc - all because those 'guilty' few at Brunty had this holier-than-thou attitude. i am only too aware that my name was on a blacklist up there - third-parties would report back to me what reactions were received at the very mention of my name!
it was not that my ideas weren't any good, but that they weren't
their ideas. they seemed to completely lack the ability to think laterally, and failed to see how their own projected figures for financial support and Club membership were totally unrealistic.
despite the difficulties i experienced, i persevered with things - especially after getting some advice directly from one of the Trustees - "if you can't work with them, either go over or around them!"
i did!
so, what has made my opinion of TVOC change so markedly? the change of management!!! the main blockage to progress has gone, those other few that were able to 'hide' before are now unprotected and can be held to account.
certainly Dr. P is still the big cheese, but the operational structure and those beneath him who actually do stuff have changed greatly; i now receive very prompt replies to emails, ideas are appreciated and discussed, and a couple of my own 'projects' which were previously impossible to even get TVOC to listen to are gradually becoming a reality. one publicity scheme i originally put to TVOC on December 14th 2007 but only within the last three weeks has anything actually been done about it - over a year!
so, in short, pre October last year (ish) all negative comments were 100% valid. it's only been a few weeks and i personally have seen a considerable change in attitude, as have many others. yes, it
should have happened long ago, but it didn't - what is important is that it is happening now!
it was never realistic to sack the entire management and ship in a dream-team overnight, but with some key changes in personnel, attitude, focus and policy, TVOC is a very different beast than it was - thank god!
it just needs a little time - something which is preciously short, but it's not impossible.
sm