Since joining Bridlington YFC in 2021, Jak Pinder has always held a role in his club – from Cluster Chair to supporting the club’s social media account. In his final year in membership age, he went for the top job as Chair to lead his 20 members.
I’m in the lucky position where there is a period of downtime at work where I can get some YFC work done, which is great and thankfully my boss is ok with this too.
The committee members also share the workload and responsibilities among us, ensuring that no one is overworked and that everyone can enjoy being a YFC member.
I’ve learnt a lot of public speaking skills in this role, which has pushed me out of my comfort zone to talk in front of large crowds of people, without getting nervous.
I used to stay quiet and out of the spotlight. I’m glad I can talk to larger groups now.
We mainly recruit through social media and word of mouth and at the start of every new YFC year we host a new members’ night to encourage people to join.
Communication. People ignored messages in group chats making it harder to work as an effective team.
To resolve the communication issue, I explained in person to everyone how much easier things are if we all respond to each other, even if it’s just a thumbs up emoji. Since then, the club has been communicating better, so organising events and meetings has become much easier on everyone.
All our members meet on a Tuesday night, with everyone getting along – any 'beef' and mucky boots are left at the door. I usually try to go around everyone to say hello and we then do the main meeting with thank yous and any business at the end.
The club has a designated programme officer to book meetings, but we get ideas from all our members and draw up a list of meetings that people want to do. The whole committee helps the programme officer if there is a lot to plan and book.
One of our best ideas has been one of our simplest meetings – beach rounders. Every year we host rounders on Bridlington beach for everyone involved with the club. It’s a nice, chilled out way to end the YFC year before the harvest.
Don’t over complicate things. Keep it simple. You’ll make more mistakes if you’re complicating things. Also have fun and don’t be afraid to make big decisions.
If you would like to be featured in our club officer check in, email media@nfyfc.org.uk. Find more information and guidance for club officers in the YFC Handbook.
