Membership of more than one team

[Bob Hatcher]

It is entirely up to each team to set their own Membership criterion.



However the Trustees were asked whether individuals could join more than one team. we have discussed it amongst the five of us and offer the following guidance.





It is the view of the trustees that membership of any 4x4 Response team which is itself a member of the National Network has certain transferrable benefits (and responsibilities).



We would anticipate that all teams would have a policy of offering mutual aid and general co-operation to any other team both across border and also more widely across the country should the need arise. Remembering that the insurance is under a national policy and applies no matter where a member operates. We would also expect a team to call for mutual aid whenever appropriate i.e. call the nearest units regardless of team borders.



We would hope that this “mutual aid” would also extend to training; social; publicity events or any other event which a member may wish to attend or where a team may like to show that the organisation is national such as 4x4 shows, emergency services shows and the like.



From time to time a member may find himself spending a prolonged period in another team's area perhaps due to work commitments etc. at such times a “temporary transfer” may be in order, at other times a more permanent transfer may be in order with the mutual agreement of both teams



Therefore the trustees cannot currently envisage a reason why a member should join more than one team.



This ensures that the member does not pay two lots of membership, and that the national network has an accurate count of members and in the event of a major incident (flooding on a national scale, pandemic flu etc.) can therefore give a true representation of the resources that we can offer.



It is recognised that from time to time members may feel that they are gaining an unfair advantage from not being a member of a neighbouring team. In such cases it may be appropriate to offer a donation towards the host team's funds. This however would be considered a discretionary donation and should not be expected or a value set.