AGM Report - 09/01/16

[willie reynolds]

National Notes

Saturday 9th January saw the committee gather for their comm9ttee meeting and the AGM in Sunny Shropshire. Given the recent spate of poor weather it would not have come as a surprise if some of the members had resorted to canoes to get to the venue. Our outgoing chairperson, Mick McGrevy, had the meeting up and running at the allotted time and the business of the 2016 AGM of The National Flying Club was underway in the usual brisk manner. A few of the committee were unable to attend for a variety of reasons including the dapper Pete Wells who was unable to travel due to a recent medical procedure – we all wish you a speedy recovery Pete and look forward to seeing you at the April meeting. Eamon ‘Cock crow’ Kelly was also unable to attend as he had stepped in at the last minute to nurse Pete and would only have been fretful if he had to leave his patient, good man Eamon on a selfless act.
The committee was informed of the recent death of a Mr Sid Davis, a former president and life vice president of the club, we would like to pass on our condolences to his family.

First point of business was the election of the various positions within the committee, and this saw Mr John Edwards step down as president after 4 years in the hot seat. He has spent the time putting his skills to good use and has been a positive, unflappable presence at the top table. He will remain involved and will undoubtedly continue to offer his wisdom and experience in the transport arena to the club. The committee would like to pass on their thanks and gratitude but appreciate that John now needs time to answer all the correspondence from his burgeoning female fan base and to stay on top of his website. John has handed over the reins to our outgoing Chair Mick McGrevy who will no doubt put his quiet charm and soft spoken ways to good use . We have also acquired a new life vice president in the shape of Ray Scriven - a tireless worker for the club and the man who runs a tight ship at Alveley marking station, welcome to the wall of Fame Ray, we will have to arrange for Chris Sutton to take your photo.

The section delegates have also had a new addition in the form of Mr Paul Hill from Plymouth who will be the new Section D delegate on the committee. Welcome aboard Paul. The other section delegates remain the same, but we are still in the position of having no delegates for Section A ,B and H - so if you think it’s something that might interest you then get in contact with a committee man and come along to the meeting in April – it’s never dull. On a similar note Richard King who wears a few hats within the club and currently represents Section G is keen for a couple of young bloods to step up and represent the section on the committee, so if you fit that description then get in touch with Richard.
Propositions.

There were three propositions put forward to the members for voting on. The members voted In favour of one of these – proposition 2 that proposed to change verification protocol after the third day - they now need to do this within 12 hours rather than the 60 minutes that still applies over the first two days. This was carried 128/39.
The remaining two propositions were defeated 39/130 against and 21/146 against.

Auction website
As many members will be aware each year we hold an auction of birds from section and open winners from the previous season, and this is an opportunity to purchase top quality blood lines to enhance your own performances. Members will also be aware that we have had problems in the past with the auction site on our own website. To overcome this and to improve the service we provide to members we now have a new a website that has been designed and implemented by our newest committee member and young bird national winner Mr Paul Hill. This site aims to provide members with the opportunity to both buy and sell birds and pigeon related products as well as a swap shop/items wanted section. To buy or sell on the website you need to go to www.nfcauctions.co.uk and register, as this will allow you bid and buy. We would like to see members using the various different areas of the website, and we will be having our annual auction up and running very soon. So please go and register now and have a browse around, and if there are any comments or suggestions then please let us know.
Marking Stations.

For the 2016 season we have a change of venue and location for what was Bishops Stortford marking station. This will now be located in Bassingbourne, near Royston. We will confirm the address and i/c contact details at a later date. We are still currently without an i/c for Chichester so if you feel you could take on the task then please contact us. At this point in time all other marking stations and i/c’s remain unchanged for the 2016 season.
There was some initial interest in getting a satellite marking station in and around the Bromley area, and I know Phil Curtis is picking this up to see if we can get it off the ground.If you can help out in any way with this then please contact him.
Section boundaries.

The topic of section size and boundary is always a contentious one, and pigeon fanciers being s they are we cannot please them all. However, as a management committee we would be failing in our duties if we did not take a lead in moving the club forward. With this in mind there was lengthy discussion about the existing sections and whether they meet the needs of the membership in their current shape and size. This is my fourth year on the committee and the topic has been having in the elephant in the room, and I personally feel it is something that has to be tackled head on, with personal interests and gripes left at the door. The old argument of maintaining the status quo has now worn thin and members are voting with their feet and birds. From talking to members through my role as press officer it is clear that within our current boundaries we have untapped resources in the form of members who do not participate on a regular basis – and I am not referring to the wind chasers who will only send when the odds are more stacked in their favour. With this in mind, the treasurer, Paul Naum, has had a look at reworking some of the existing section boundaries and proposed the creation of three new sections. The first of these is a distinct Welsh Section with the boundary being the English Welsh Border. The remaining two sections will be sandwiched in between the English/Scottish border to the north and the northern county borders of North Yorks and Lancashire, with the East /West boundary being the Cumbrian County boundary. This will give 2 new sections to be competed in by existing and hopefully new members. If you have any views or concerns about these changes please feel free to contact Paul on 01984634658.

We do not want members in other sections to feel that they have been passed over, the committee have you in mind. To this end it was agreed that a review of all our sections in needed urgently but this is a big undertaking and it was felt that the final decision should involve input from the members. How this will be approached is not yet finalised but will be discussed at the April meeting and the process put in to motion. I would propose that a group of committee members and non –committee members devises a new set of sections based on concerns and feedback from the general body of the club, but the logistics of this would need to be worked out. If you have any ideas about how we could go about this then please let me know. We are not naïve enough to think that we are making things fair for everyone, I would settle for making things fairer to be honest, nor are we trying to alienate members and this is why your input will be needed, we need to get this right. I will keep you informed of the decisions and progress.
Tarbes

Last year it was voted on by the committee to alter the race programme and have Tarbes as the last race on the old bird race programme. This particular decision has produced quite a bit of discussion both amongst committee members and the general membership. It was discussed at the October meeting and the committee voted 8/5 to keep to this arrangement for another year with a review again in October. Amongst the concerns raised were the shorter days and also the drop in birdage and income for the club. As I have said previously this single topic has generated more response from members to me than any other topic, and this was reflected again by continued correspondence voicing concern about the lateness of the Blue Riband race in the race programme. To this end, and to try and gauge a truer picture of members views it was decided to include a tick box on the section A sheet for the Tarbes entry form that will allow you to indictate your preferred slot in the programme for Tarbes. The thinking behind this is that it allows people who compete from Tarbes to have a say, so it’s up to you now to let us know – so when completing your entry form don’t forget to tick the box.
Right folks, I think that is all from me for now. Hopefully this will be in print over the Blackpool weekend. I am going this year for the first time in 10 years, so hopefully I will see you around or on the NFC stand. Take care if you are going and buy wisely and sober.

As always , I am on weebu@hotmail.com or 01926 817796.
Drew Callan
PO NFC.