Market Drayton Golf Club 1906 Limited
We, the undersigned, commit to honour the Armed Forces Covenant and support the Armed Forces Community. We recognise the value Serving Personnel, both Regular and Reservists, Veterans and military families contribute to our business and our country.
The Armed Forces Covenant
An enduring covenant between the people of the United Kingdom, Her Majesty’s Government and all those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces of the Crown and their families
The first duty of Government is the defence of the realm. Our Armed Forces fulfil that responsibility on behalf of the Government, sacrificing some civilian freedoms, facing danger and, sometimes, suffering serious injury or death as a result of their duty. Families also play a vital role in supporting the operational effectiveness of our Armed Forces. In return, the whole nation has a moral obligation to the members of the Naval Service, the Army and the Royal Air Force, together with their families. They deserve our respect and support, and fair treatment.
Those who serve in the Armed Forces, whether Regular or Reserve, those who have served in the past, and their families, should face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services. Special consideration is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given most such as the injured and the bereaved.
This obligation involves the whole of society: it includes voluntary and charitable bodies, private organisations, and the actions of individuals in supporting the Armed Forces. Recognising those who have performed military duty unites the country and demonstrates the value of their contribution. This has no greater expression than in upholding this Covenant.
Section 1: Principles of the Armed Forces Corporate Covenant
1.1 We Market Drayton Golf Club 1906 Limited will endeavour in our business dealings to uphold the key principles of the Armed Forces Covenant, which are:
- no member of the Armed Forces Community should face disadvantage in the provision of public and commercial services compared to any other citizen;
- and in some circumstances that special treatment may be appropriate especially for the injured or bereaved.
Section 2: Demonstrating our commitment
2.1 Market Drayton Golf Club 1906 Limited recognises the value serving personnel, reservists, veterans and military families bring to our business. We will seek to uphold the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant, by pledging to the following:
- Armed Forces Friendly
- UK Service Veterans And Leavers
- UK Service Spouses And Partners
- UK Reservists
- UK Cadets
- Armed Forces Day
- Reserve Forces Day
- Discounts
- Armed Forces Charities
- Additional Leave For Reservists
We also pledge the following:
- Promoting the Armed Forces: We will work directly with key representatives of our local Service organisations to optimise opportunities to mutually benefit from partnership activity. We will create literature and social media that is complementary to our shared aims. We will proactively engage with our Service partners to ensure that we understand their needs and expectations in order that we create beneficial networks.
- Service Leavers – Our membership has rich and varied experiences in business and in practical resettlement. We will Link with CTP (Career Transition Programme) in order that our experiences might be practically exploited, by sharing knowledge and lessons learned.
- Veterans: We currently have three Service veterans in active roles on the Executive Board - Chair, Director House and Bar and Director of Business Strategy. We will actively look to maintain strong veteran representation on the Board of Directors.
- Service Spouses & Partners: We will ensure that all of our emerging employment opportunities are shared directly with the appropriate Service leads to guarantee that spouses and partners are aware of all new recruitment and employment roles.
- Cadet Organisations: Our significant veteran membership is deeply committed to the ethos of the Armed Forces and is conscious of the need to support the next generation of Service personnel. The Executive commits to support activities that promote Cadet activity.
- National Events: We will actively promote Armed Forces Day in June each year through our competitions and using our social media reach. Each November, we will deploy a senior member of our club to formally pay our respects at the Remembrance Sunday parade in Market Drayton.
- Armed Forces Charities: We will host a dedicated, 2 day golf competition in November each year with proceeds donated to the Poppy Appeal. Our membership has strong links to the local RBL where we will ensure that our charitable efforts do not conflict and actively co-exist.
- Commercial Support: Our membership programme will include specific discounts and payment schemes that recognise the required flexibility Service personnel need. The scheme will be unique to the serving community. We will offer our clubhouse facilities at a discounted rate for events off-base. Any events arranged by the Service community will attract the lowest visitor fee payable.
2.2 We will publicise these commitments through our literature and/or on our website, setting out how we will seek to honour them and inviting feedback from the Service community and our customers on how we are doing.