Honorary president: Judith Butcher Honorary vice-president: David Crystal OBE

Guidelines for SfEP local group co-ordinators

1. Section 4 of the SfEP by-laws sets out the general regulations for SfEP local groups. You can access these by going to About the SfEP.
2. SfEP local groups are for SfEP associates and members only. You may invite people interested in joining the SfEP to attend one meeting, but they should only attend subsequent meetings if they join the Society.
3. Any setup costs – e.g. postage or other expenses – can be reclaimed up to a maximum of £50 per year. Please contact the SfEP finance director for an expenses claim form. Send completed forms, together with receipts/invoices for expenses incurred, to the finance director for approval.
4. Please use SFEPLocal@yahoogroups.com as a message board – to pass on tips, ask questions, look for ideas for meetings, seek guidance, look for speakers, etc. It's like SfEPLine but for local co-ordinators only. If you haven't signed up, please let the local groups co-ordinator know so that you can be added to the list.
5. Local group meetings don't have to be formal – sometimes just a chat over a drink in a pub or at someone's house can be just as productive.
6. Meetings must be self-funding. Make a small charge to cover costs of room hire, etc. Find speakers locally (among your members) if possible – if speakers are members of SfEP offer them only their expenses.
7. Please send brief reports of meetings to the Editing Matters editor so that they can be published in the magazine. Copy deadline is the 20th of alternate months (starting on 20 January – details of copy dates can be found here). If you have a burning desire to write a longer report for me, so that I can pass on any comments to the SfEP Council, please feel free!
8. Please send notices of meetings to Editing Matters as far in advance as possible. There is an eight-week lead time – e.g. 20 January for the March/April issue. Please also send an email to the SfEP webspinner so that the notice can be included on the local groups page. Reminders about meetings can go on SfEPLine nearer the actual date, but bear in mind that not all SfEP members and associates subscribe to SfEPLine.
9. Keep a record of people's contact details and of who comes to meetings.
10. Try to encourage people to take an active part by asking them to organize a meeting, sort out refreshments, arrange a venue, etc. If you have to collect money to pay for a venue, get someone to help with that. Co-ordinators don't have to do everything on their own.
11. Local groups should consider creating their own web pages, to be linked to the SfEP website. For an example, check out the Glasgow group page to see what they have done. Contact the SfEP internet director for more information.
12. If your group is interested in having one-day SfEP courses come to your area, contact the SfEP training director.

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