Tracy Mayne

1. First of all, about you: what attracted you to becoming a chair/trustee?

I wanted to become a trustee for several reasons firstly to be able to give something back to the profession I have worked in for the past 18 years. I also wanted to learn more about charitable trusts, how they work and what impact can they really have on the target audience. Finally, I wanted to have the opportunity to meet and work alongside other like minded professionals.

2. Which organisation(s) do you represent?

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Trust (RCVS).

3. What particularly attracted you to this organisation?

The work of the RCVS Trust is centered around providing educational grants, large and small, to the veterinary profession, a profession which is evolving all the time.  I wanted to be a part of a trust that had its finger on the pulse of what the profession needed to continue to evolve.  It is nice to be a part of the direction the trust takes with what it provides to the profession in terms of grants.  Additionally it provides an extensive and ever expanding library and information service.  It is run by our small team of dedicated staff who work hard to keep the services we offer current and accessible to everyone that needs them.  The trust also has an adopt a book scheme, which was set up to help the trust store, maintain and restore very old veterinary texts, which would otherwise be lost to us as a profession.

4. Is there anything that would make you an even more effective trustee/chair?

I am a big believer in further education but as yet I’ve never had any trustee training.  I feel that this is something I would like to undertake in order to further my own knowledge and enable me to be of greater value to the board of trustees and thus the charity.

5. What’s the biggest challenge you have faced in your role?

I think the biggest challenge I faced was when I first became a trustee.  I knew very little about the responsibilities of being a trustee and had a very, very steep learning curve for a period of about six months and even then I am sure I only had the basics under my belt!  Keeping up to date with trustee responsibilities is an ongoing challenge. Clinical governance is ever changing and so is the veterinary profession, being an RCVS Trust trustee is a role that keeps you on your toes.

6. What do you consider the most satisfying aspect of your role?

Seeing the high calibre of grants that we award each year is something that, as a trustee, I can be very proud of.  Much of the work funded is ground breaking and I admire the individuals and colleges that apply, as they help to make our veterinary profession what it is today.

7. Do you think there is enough general recognition of the value of the trustee/chair role?

From other board members I feel there’s a great deal of recognition for the work that we all do.  However, from our profession at large I would say there is less recognition.  I would put this down to a lack of understanding of the role rather than people simply not valuing us.  Those that have used the trust’s services, in one form or another, always speak highly of it and that is recognition enough for me.

8. (If you have been a trustee/chair for some time) have you felt that the demands made on trustees/chairs have grown over time?

I have seen an increase in the need to broaden our documentation on clinical governance and all the general administration duties of the trust.  This is time consuming but fundamental to ensure we are meeting our aims and objectives as a charity.

9. What do you think is the ideal term of office that a trustee/chair should serve?

For us - a three year term, renewable once, seems to meet the needs of the trust very well. You need to stay long enough to learn the ropes, fulfil your ambitions for the role, fulfil the role for which you were appointed and then move on.  For those individuals with still more to offer, it makes sense to be able to keep them on for a second term. You don’t want to lose a particular skill set of an individual if that skill set is key to the current work of the trust.

10. What tip would you give to a new trustee?

Read the past three year’s minutes and accounts to help get you up to speed with the workings of the trust.

11. If you weren’t a trustee, what would you do with that time?

Work in my veterinary practice

12. What steps do you take to increase/retain your organisation’s membership?

We try and ensure that we get as much press coverage as possible, so that we not only maintain but also increase our visibility to both current and new members.

13. What question do you want to ask next week’s trustee?

Would you stay on for a second term if asked by your board?

For your opportunity to answer Tracy's question, please click on the link to the Forum.