Two Chairs and a sofa

Velda Osborne stepped down this autumn after four years as BSA Chair. She discusses the role with her predecessor Rachel Everard (1999-2005), starting with how they each became involved in BSA.

Former Chairs of BSA: Velda Osborne (left) and Rachel Everard Download/listen to an mp3 of the full discussion (34 minutes, 11.7MB).

Rachel: I can't remember how I first heard of BSA. It was thanks to BSA though that I found out about City Lit in terms of getting some speech therapy. After that, I made the decision to train as a speech and language therapist, so I completely changed careers. But more importantly, BSA gave me a community where I felt at home and at ease and could be myself. I remember feeling really relaxed whenever going to any BSA event. So BSA has been really instrumental in changing my life for the better.

Velda: I first became aware of BSA in the late 70s, from a speech therapist at City Lit. I joined and for quite a long time it was just a background thing in my life. As I was gradually becoming a bit more confident in myself I thought I would have a go at standing as a trustee, and got elected at the second attempt. When you (Rachel) gave us good advance warning that you were going to step down as Chair, I remember my first reaction was "Oh, I wonder who'll be Chair now". It possibly took about a day for the news to sink in, and I started to think, "Well what's to stop me standing? Is there anything I think is so frightening that I wouldn't dare stand, or do I think it might actually be quite exciting?" And that train of thought led me to decide, "Yes, let's have a go." Also, I was encouraged by remembering that, in trustee meetings you chaired, the atmosphere was very friendly. So I didn't have any fear of failure because I thought, well if somebody else gets elected instead, so be it.

Learning the ropes

Velda: I was concerned what it would feel like to chair a meeting. At work I had been involved in meetings, but the thought of being at the head of that table was a little bit daunting. Also I wanted to follow in your footsteps and appear to be natural, and was a bit concerned I might come over as too bossy and controlling. However after the first couple of meetings I discovered I actively enjoyed chairing meetings, which surprised me greatly. I learnt, unfortunately rather late in life, that the potential for change is in all of us: the way it is now doesn't have to be the way it's always going to be. So it was fun, but also tiring of course. The most difficult things were keeping to the timetable, and reminding myself of the need to sum up after sometimes very long discussions.

Rachel: I didn't find either of those easy either. I remember having long meetings and thinking how could I have done that better. Also there are rightly a lot of people involved in the meetings, and being able to hear different people's points of view and summarise is a skill.

Velda: I would say to anyone wondering about getting involved in this way with BSA, or with another charity, that the skills you learn in that relaxed environment are very transferable to many work situations, so it is an excellent experience.

"The skills you learn in that relaxed environment are very transferable to many work situations."

Rachel: Yes, I think especially for people who stammer, that opportunity to be part of quite a formal meeting, but also in a very safe supportive environment where it doesn't matter if you stammer, is really important as a confidence booster. I definitely found that in my own case. The skills I learnt during my chairmanship were definitely skills I found useful in other aspects of my life.

Velda: I was also concerned about having to write the Chair's letters for Speaking Out. But I found they just wrote themselves really. It's another lovely thing about involvement with BSA that there's always something happening, something a little bit different, so I would thoroughly enjoy writing those when it came to it.

What are you most proud of?

Velda: What I'm most proud of having achieved as Chair are not glamorous things really, but more to do with the underlying structure of BSA - hoping to make it stronger and more resilient. Of course the changes would be discussed with and agreed by the trustees before we went ahead. One change was to limit voting for the incoming Chair to existing (as opposed to incoming) trustees, who therefore have experience of working with the person(s) concerned. Voting is done by email, hence not dependent on attendance at a particular meeting, and the result is announced at the AGM. Another change is the three year term of office for the Chair. Previously there was nothing to preclude the Chair seesawing from one person to another. The Vice Chair is still elected each year, but again it's done via email prior to the AGM.

The other change I made - which has not been popular in all quarters but I had a lot of reasons for making it and the other trustees were in agreement - was, instead of each year electing all three new trustees from the membership, doing a skills audit of the trustees you have and seeing if there are particular areas which aren?t represented. It's then possible to effectively recruit the third trustee, either from the membership or by using the National Council for Voluntary Organisations. There are a lot of very talented people out there who want to be trustees of charities, so I thought it would help to strengthen BSA by broadening our base a bit. We still have very firmly in position the requirement that the majority of trustees must be people who stammer.

Rachel: Looking back on my term as Chair, what I feel most proud of - it sounds a bit dull - is being a safe pair of hands. There had been a lot of changes before I became Chair, and we were in financial straits. I saw myself very much as a stabilising influence, helping BSA to weather the financial storms and come out the other end stronger and working more cohesively. I felt I'd achieved that, and at that stage I thought it was time to pass on the reins to someone else.

Has it affected other parts of your life?

Rachel: I felt being Chair gave me more confidence in all sorts of ways, such as managing meetings. I was quite often called upon to be spokesperson, and did quite a bit of live radio and television, which was always very scary but which I quite enjoyed. I felt I learned a huge amount from that. Also skills that I never had before like recruiting new staff. I also felt being Chair of the BSA really increased my professional standing as a speech and language therapist. So again I'm very grateful to the BSA for that.

"I was able to really start talking to my colleagues at work about the BSA, because I felt so proud of what we were doing."

Velda: I was very proud to be elected as a trustee and even more so as Chair. One of the key things that being Chair did for me was that I was able to really start talking to my colleagues at work about the BSA, because I felt so proud of what we were doing. They would ask me what the link was, and I would say well I do sometimes stammer. Some of them may have heard me doing so on the phone but not labelled it as a stammer. Historically I would always have been pretty quiet in the work situation, only speaking up when I absolutely had to.

So again I found that being Chair gave me a lot more self-confidence. I was far more likely to express my own views when I wanted to. The most marked effect was probably on my social life where previously I would generally have avoided expressing views, particularly if I thought they were at all controversial - because that would be likely to make me stammer, and heaven knows I didn't want to show anybody that I stammered! On the other hand, when I can talk with pride about the BSA and being proud to be involved with people who stammer, that makes all the difference. Also, now I'm no longer Chair I am looking for other voluntary activities, because it's given me the confidence that I can go into other areas and get involved.

Rachel: I think that's an important message for people reading this to take away: that becoming a member of the BSA can help you to feel proud of being part of a community of people who stammer, and this new-found confidence can help you in other areas of your life. I'm often asked about my views on talking about stammering when applying for a job or at interviews etc. I really believe it can be very useful to 'self-advertise', and I think that being a member of BSA can help you do that more easily. It's showing people yes I stammer and I'm part of this very influential organisation, and I'm managing my stammering as effectively as I can. I think that?s a very positive message to give to prospective employers.

You can download/listen to an mp3 of the full discussion (34 minutes, 11.7MB).

From the Winter 2009 edition of Speaking Out, page 12