14th September 2014

Meeting Attendees:

Chairman- Evan Murray / Graham Giddings
Secretary- Colin Ronald / Andy Lowe
Vice President- Mark Rudd / Helen Seed

REQUIRED ACTIONS SHOWN IN BLUEBOLD BLACK TYPE SHOWS COMPLETE

Minutes / Actions:

Item 1 / Introduction by Chairman
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The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting. He apologised for not being as involved with Committee matters between meetings as normal but he has been busy. He also wanted to remind everyone that Committee Meeting dates are booked long in advance and can be changed if they do not suit everyone.He went on to state that those present were not attending this Committee meeting for themselves or for their club but for the good of the fancy.
Item 2 / Apologies
Apologies were received from Graham Bates, Gary Eaton, Richard Henderson and John Thomson.
Item 3 / Draft Minutes of Meeting Held on 22nd June
The Chairman asked the Secretary if he could issue the minutes to the Committee earlier. The Secretary apologised, he too had been busy.
Helen Seed proposed and Graham Giddings seconded that these minutes were an accurate record of this meeting. Carried.
Item 4 / Matters Arising
The Chairman mentioned that articles published in FPW still need to be offered to other publications such as Avicultura Europe and BHW to spread the word. He asked if this can be put on the minutes as an action for Graham Bates in his absence.
The Secretary handed out copies of the C&R as requested by Graham Giddings at the last meeting.
Actions / Articles offered to Avicultura Europe, BHW etc / 2014 / Graham Bates
Item 5 / Decisions Made by Committee Between Meetings
As in previous years, £100 prize money to be supplied for NPA Champion of Champions.
The Secretary said the current title of “decisions made by Chairman and Secretary between meetings” should be changed to “decisions made by Committee between meetings”. Agreed.
Actions / £100 prize money for Champion of Champions / Jan 2015 / Secretary
Item 6 / Ring Secretary/Treasurers Report
The Secretary stated that compared to last year most items were up which is a positive sign: Membership is 702 (684), new members 140 (119), rings sold 31560 (30850), £232.35 generated from transfers. Most pleasing for the Secretary was the £3214.40 kindly given as donations towards the new NPA magazine by 257 NPA members.
The only item which is down slightly is the number of Junior members which currently stands at 53. This is due to a few of the previous Junior members becoming senior members.
Item 7 / NPA Management
  1. Lifetime Achievement Award Design
The Chairman said he would speak to Jim Mullan about the progress of this at the East of England Show.
  1. Applicants for Management Committee
Graham Giddings and Andy Lowe announced to the Committee that they would not be seeking re-election onto the Committee at the end of this year. The Chairman gave a few words thanking them for their valued service to the NPA Committee. Gary Eaton wished to stand again and there were two further applicants, Richard Greenwood and Paul Littlewood. Gary, Richard and Paul will all be welcomed onto the Committee in February as there are not enough potential candidates to warrant a ballot.
  1. EE Update
Mark Rudd gave an update on EE matters in relation to British Breed Standards. He is concerned that many of the drawings supplied by J L Frindell do not represent the British breeds in question. He said that the Standard text can be translated into many different languages with varying amounts of success but the image does not change and is a critical part of the Standard. The Secretary mentioned that he believed it was the Modena Club’s intention to commission their own Standard drawing and maybe other clubs could take this approach? The drawing would need to be 3D and in colour. The Secretary went on to say that in discussion with the EE they informed him that they are not looking to change any British Breed Standards (unless there is an animal welfare issue) they just require versions that are easy to translate (simple language) in the correct format for use by their other member countries.
  1. Advertising Rates for FPW for 2015
Helen Seed handed out a pricing proposal for 2015 adverts in FPW. She said the pricing structure was to encourage smaller sized ads which would leave more space for content. A few amendments were agreed: Helen Seed said that breeder’s cards and club register ads will be £10 for 4 and must be per calendar year only. The Secretary said that the third of a page bar should be 70mm high to save space. The Chairman said that the front cover bar should be reserved for advertising magazine article content and nothing else. The Secretary said that the quarter-page ad should be increased in price to match the price of the third of a page bar (to encourage greater use of the bar which is easier to format). All changes carried. Helen kindly offered to put a flyer together advertising the new rates for inclusion in the December issue.
Actions / Speak to Jim Mullan about Lifetime Award Design.
FPW Advertising rates flyer. / Chairman
Helen Seed / October 2014
Dec ‘14 Issue
Item 8 / Shows
  1. NPA Appointed Judges/Section Judges
The Chairman explained to everyone present that the Committee (collectively) can add judges to breed lists if required. He went on to say that the Committee should be careful when exercising this power and should always respectfully inform the Breed Club concerned. Non-standard judges can affect entries. He went on to say that Championship Show Secretaries have a really tough job and the Committee needs to give some thought on how we can help them with regard to finding appropriate judges for Championship Shows in time for the 2015/16 show season.
  1. Agricultural Show Certs Design
The Chairman said he would speak to Jim Mullan about the progress of this at the East of England Show.
  1. Pigeon Ring Sizes
This item was carried over to the February meeting. Mark Rudd has a list of corrections. The Chairman asked Mark to highlight any potentially contentious changes and bring them along to the February meeting.
  1. Agricultural Show List
Mark Rudd put forward the idea of canvasing support for the NPA and FPW by contacting those Agricultural Shows which are not currently affiliated to the NPA. The Committee thought this was a good idea and the Secretary was asked to put a letter together for sending to non-affiliated show secretaries.
  1. NPA Show Representatives
These were allocated to all Championship Shows. John Ross to post on website.
  1. Criteria for NPA Show Reps Reports
Helen Seed and Mark Rudd distributed a proposed form for completion by the NPA Secretary and NPA Show Rep at each Championship Show (produced with the help of member John Elsdon). Mark said the form was designed to offer advice and support to Championship Shows so they can continuously improve. Their use must be constructive. A lengthy discussion ensued including quarantine areas, AHVLA requirements/licences, contingencies and the availability of food and water for pigeons at shows. Amendments were made to the form. Once completed the forms are to be brought to a Committee meeting for discussion. The Secretary proposed and Graham Giddings seconded the idea. Carried.
  1. Breed Sections at Championship Shows
This is designed to help the “two breeds in a section” judge allocation rule. British Breed Clubs should decide which section their breed should be entered into. The Secretary and Mark Rudd have two different section approaches. The Chairman asked them to bring them along to the February meeting so one can be chosen ready for the 2015/16 show season.
Solution for breed judges allocation issue.
Speak to Jim Mullan about Lifetime Award Design.
Ring size changes.
Letter to non-affiliated Agricultural shows.
Allocated Show reps posted on Website.
Completion of rep Report Forms.
Pigeon Sections. / Committee
Chairman
Mark Rudd
Secretary
John Ross
Secretary/Reps
Secretary/Mark Rudd / Feb 2015
Oct 2014
Feb 2015
2014
Oct 2014
Show Season
Feb 2015
Item 9 / Awards
a)NPA Junior Fancier was awarded to Matthew Wetherall (nominated by Gladys Graham and David Richardson- Newcastle Columbarian Society) for his willingness and effort shown every year at the Club Shows.
The Secretary was asked to contact NPA member Phil Hughes who may have the Junior Fancier Trophy. Mark Rudd asked for the trophy to be engraved with any missing names to bring it up to date once recovered. The Chairman asked Helen Seed if she could think of something the Committee could offer for Junior Fancier Award winners to keep as a memento.
b)Master Breeders.The successful applicants were Julian Emerson (Scandaroons) and John Gregg (African Owls). Both candidates offered a very impressive list of achievements and are very worthy Master Breeders.
c)Lifetime Award. This new award was given to Donald Maudling (nominated by Mark Rudd) for his years of dedication helping with the Egremont Championship Show, which has been constant even through some very difficult times.
Actions / NPA Junior Trophy recovery/engraving.
Junior Fancier memento. / Secretary
Helen Seed / October 2014
2014
Item 8 / Advertising
a)Face Book
Helen Seed offered an update on activity on the NPA Face Book pages. The NPA has 502 followers, the age demographic featuring highest amongst the followers is 25-34 which is interesting.
Helen asked if Fancy Pigeon World subscription could be made available on the NPA website (pay via PayPal)
b)New NPA Promotional Leaflets
This item was deferred as Graham Bates was not present. The Secretary stated that he was running very low on current Promo Leaflets.
Actions / Fancy Pigeon World available on website (PayPal). / Secretary / October 2014
Item 9 / Any Other Business
More and more lost birds are being reported which are ownerless, either because they are un-rung, the “owner” no longer keeps pigeons (or in some cases has sadly passed away), or contact numbers for “owners” are not current. Member Jim Mullan asked (through Helen Seed) if there was a need for “area reps” who could collect birds when the registered owner is not able. The Chairman said that this idea would not work for various reasons.
The Chairman went on to say: now that the Secretaries were back in full time employment there was a requirement for “back up” contacts in case a member of the public needs assistance with a lost pigeon in an emergency. Graham Giddings pointed out that the RPRA process for lost birds can take up to 7days from reporting, the NPA currently responds quicker than this. Nevertheless it was thought to be a good idea and both the Chairman and Graham Giddings offered themselves as back-up. Carried.
The Secretary said that because there was a lot going on with FPW he had decided to defer the Patronage idea until 2016. The Chairman said we can still go ahead with idea for 2015 and suggested an article in the December issue of FPW asking for Patronages. Carried.
There was a discussion about introducing Junior Rings. The Secretary explained why this would not work in the UK.
Mark Rudd said he was concerned about the USA NPA changing standards for British Breeds. Unfortunately the USA is not a member of the EE and has their own rules regarding standards.
Mark Rudd said he was disappointed that the NPA life members were not being asked to contribute towards the FPW. The Secretary pointed out that a couple of the current life-members choose to pay for membership.
Andy Lowe asked if all remaining back issues of FPW can be taken to Blackpool to sell to the public. Agreed.
Andy Lowe informed the Committee that the Blackpool Show will be relocating to a different part of the country after the next show.
The Chairman thanked everyone present for their contribution in what was a very productive meeting.
There being no other business, the meeting closed at 14.30 with thanks offered to the Chair.
Actions / Set up back up contacts for lost pigeons
Patronage article / Secretary
Secretary / 2014
Dec 14 Issue

Next Meeting-February 2015

Minutes produced byThe Secretary

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