Inviting the Chairman to an event

To invite the Chairman to an event please email Chairman@sholland.gov.uk

Invitations

The Chairman, or the Vice-Chairman, will attend most events within the District, time permitting.

The Chairman welcomes invitations to attend events in the District. The Chairman likes to be well briefed about any function to be attended, therefore it is best that you provide as much information as possible.

Guidance for events

Before you invite the Chairman to an event or function, make sure you read the guidelines.

We deal with invitations for the Chairman in the order we receive them. As the Chairman accepts engagements some months in advance, it is best to plan well ahead.

The Event

On the day of your event, the Chairman will arrive at the time stated in your invitation (this should be a few minutes before the event starts). It is helpful if you can reserve a parking space for the Chairman.

Before you submit your invitation, you should give some thought to what you want to achieve by having the Chairman at your event and what you want the Chairman to do. This may include making a presentation, receiving a cheque, reading a lesson, making a speech or drawing a raffle etc.

Arrival

You must arrange for a responsible person to meet the Chairman and their escort immediately they arrive. When they arrive, the responsible person should:

·         escort them to their places

·         make the appropriate introductions to other guests

You must make sure that somebody in your organisation looks after the Chairman and escort throughout the visit.

Precedence

Within the District, the Chairman has precedence, subject to Her Majesty's Royal prerogative.

This means that when attending functions in the District, the Chairman is the most important guest, except when Members of the Royal Family or the Lord Lieutenant are present.

There is one exception to this rule. If the event is taking place within a County Council establishment, the Chairman of the County Council takes precedence over the Chairman of the District Council.

When the Vice-Chairman of the Council is deputising for the Chairman, the same precedence rule applies.

Speeches

If the Chairman is required to make a speech or reply to a toast, it would be greatly appreciated if as much information as possible could be submitted in advance of the event, such as information about the body organising the event and any words of welcome and thanks which should be included.

The Vice-Chairman

You must follow the same guidance when the Vice-chairman attends an event on behalf of the Chairman.

Contact

You should contact us if you have any questions about the procedures or protocols you need to follow.