National Bulletin
Minutes Of Committee Meeting Held Wednesday 24th October 2001
Members Present:
The recent meeting of the NATIONAL FLYING CLUB committee saw the following members
present at the Gainsborough House Hotel, Bewdley Road, Kidderminster, on Wednesday 24th
October 2001.
W G Harris, A Hayward, J Deville, G W Titmuss, R Barrington, N Henley, P Kendal, C
Merrills,C Davies, J Roberts, D Shipley, S Dangerfield, B Cunniff, G Cooper, R
Christopher, E Froggatt. Also present was the accountant Mr Brian Logan, the Press Officer
Mr L Parkinson.
Apologies:
Mr J R Sutton, Mr K Hine.
The President introduced Mr B Logan the accountant to the committee.
The President opened the RPRA 168 meeting prior to the committee meeting to discuss
the objection from Mr Jack Pickup regarding the boundaries for the young bird race. The
president proceeded to read out a letter from Mr J Pickup which stated his case and also
an apology for not being able to attend. The committee discussed the case in detail and
took everything into account and found in favour of Mr Pickup. At this point the 168
meeting was closed.
The President then opened a committee meeting with the first item on the agenda being
the Accounts. Mr Logan was present on behalf of the accountant’s and he gave a report
on those accounts and the position that the National FC were in. Due to problems early in
the season the original accountants of Jennings Johnson were no longer with the club and
were replaced by Ainleys for the year 2001. The accounts look very healthy and there were
only a couple of points raised with a full and adequate explanation given. The accountants
and committee did bring up various ideas that will save the club money on future accounts
therefore everyone is more than happy. An item that Stan Dangerfield pointed out on the
balance sheet was the excellent pay out in the San Sebastian race, the best the club has
had for their longest race. After last years poor returns with the accounts the committee
now feel that the club has turned the corner and the future looks bright. There was an
issue raised in the meeting as to whether or not the National Flying Club should follow
the line of the Continentals and allow each member to have an account with the club. This
would work by letting winning members leave money in the club to use for future races,
this would help members to a certain extent. This may put members in a position where they
can send more pigeons and pool them, such an idea may also benefit the club with entries.
I must stress that this is only an idea and one that would be entirely up to the
individual and would not be a compulsory decision by the committee. The Bacs system could
also be used to pay members prize and pool money and would save the club quite a
considerable amount on bank Cheque charges that are very high at the present moment.
An issue that has caused a few comments around the country was the suspensions that
have arisen through non payment of subscriptions to the club. This was all done in
accordance with RPRA rules but no doubt there is the odd one that has slipped through the
net, this is inevitable with the number of members that the National FC has. The problem
has arisen through changes with the computer but it is unlikely to happen again now that
the system is fully functional.
A lengthy discussion took place regarding legal matters with the club with are cases
that I believe should not be put to print until they are resolved. Legal matters are
always sensitive and the less they are discussed openly the better for everyone concerned
and should be left to the solicitors and only final settlements published.
In my last notes there was a follow up letter from Russell Bradford about new computer
systems to watch the liberation’s via the Internet. This has been an ongoing item but
the problem would be the costs involved. The committee are to requests costs on this point
but to put this on a camera system to the Internet may prove to costly. However the issue
is not yet closed and the people concerned will make enquiries. A good point was brought
up and will be taken up by the Secretary, the club are to advertise space on the clubs
web-site, this space will be available to members. This will hopefully create further
income as well as offering a world-wide site that has sufficient hits to make such a
venture worthwhile.
The marking stations are to remain the same for the 2002 season but as always will be
reviewed at the end of each year. A major point regarding the race programme is the
continued clashing with other major clubs. The big concern on this point is that when the
Alliance of Specialist Clubs was formed this was not supposed to happen. One of the
original ideas was that the club’s avoided clashing but that is not happening which
puts into question, “Why not when the whole idea was to work together”. The
National publish their dates well ahead and therefore other organisations know what is
going on well in advance but choose to do nothing about it. Something needs to happen in
the future if the Alliance is going to have any standing in pigeon racing.
The 2001 prize presentation is going well with 270 tickets already sold and the main
Hotel being the Palace Hotel Torquay on the 8th December 2001. However there
are a few dinner tickets available and a good hotel next nearby. Looking further ahead the
2002 presentation is to be held in Blackpool at the Hilton Hotel with the following year
2003 seeing a trip to the Hilton at Warwick.
Transportation of the clubs pigeons was again under discussion and for at least the
next 12months the committee are not looking to purchase their own transport but are to
keep an open mind as to the feasibility of such a venture. For those who are interested
the club are to re-stock with the club ties, that have proven to be fairly successful over
the years. A vote of thanks was given to the Press Officer by Mr Titmuss stating that the
Club have received their best spell of publicity. A sad note was that ex secretary and ex
President Mr Reg Jarvis was seriously ill, the committee wish him well on behalf of the
members. A proposition that I was pleased to see put forward and accepted was that the
committee meeting prior to the Annual General Meeting will now be held at 1pm and last no
later than 5mins before the AGM commences. This is a good idea because the club should see
this as a weekend for the ladies who put up with a great deal during the season and are
therefore entitled to a bit of free time on the weekend of the presentation. It was also
proposed and seconded that a referendum be put on the bottom of the voting booklet with
regards to the idea of having a North Sea Crossing race. Committee members have their own
ideas on this one and as the secretary pointed out it would be an even race to all parts
of the Country. This is based on the fact that the race point mentioned is Central to the
UK. Whether or not this will eventually be a viable proposition is another matter, we
shall have to wait and see what the interest is. The meeting was closed at 5.05pm.
Les.J.Parkinson. Elimar, 11 Rushton Drive, Middlewich, Cheshire, CW10
ONJ. Tel/Fax: 01606 836036. ljohnp@elimarpigeons.fsnet.co.uk
web-site www.elimarpigeons.fsnet.co.uk
