MCS: It’s wise to keep records up to date
You have probably heard of the MCS system. This stands for Membership Communication System and is the WI’s confidential national database.
It lists information about the National Federation, all the Federations around England and Wales, individual WIs and members.
It shows members’ roles and contact information.
It is used for the distribution of WI Life, communication from National and from Cumbria-Westmorland Federation. The system can only be accessed on a ‘need to know’ basis by restricted people at various levels of the organisation.
There should be an MCS Rep in every WI but the Federation will assist your WI if you don’t have one. Celia Cleobury at Cumbria-Westmorland Federation is able to help on this matter and can be contacted by email at admin@cwfwi.org
It is important that the information on the system is kept up to date for several reasons:
*A new member will only start getting their WI Life if they are entered on the system, so it is good to get them on there as soon as they join.
*If a member changes her email address, she won’t be able to access MyWI until MCS has been updated, as the one shown on the system is the one she uses to log on.
*If she moves house, her WI Life may not reach her.
*If the officers listed are out of date, the WI may not receive important information.
After your Annual Meeting, in November or April, you will need to update your committee positions on MCS.
You’ll find that the easiest way to keep the system up to date for your WI is to make the changes as soon as you are notified of them, which only takes a few seconds and means the system should always be correct.
The Federation recommends that the system is checked for updates on a regular basis. The link to the MCS system can be found in the green area at the bottom of every page of the NFWI website: https://www.thewi.org.uk/ The MCS User Guide is available to download from the MCS home page