Now that we are coming towards the end of the OB Season, we thought it would be an appropriate time to bring everybody up to date regarding the current state of the North Staffs Federation.
Soon after we took on our various roles within the Federation it became very clear to us that there was a considerable amount of work to be done in a number of areas and that that work would entail spending rather a lot of the Federation’s funds.
So, we had to take the unpopular decision to increase the birdage charges to cover the anticipated costs. Either that or use the monies already available in the Fed’s Bank account. Believe it or believe it not the subs income does not even pay for the administration costs, which, of course, they should do if any business is to run successfully, and running a Federation is just that – a business.
We also recognised that further expenditure could be expected if the current state of rising prices for items such as diesel etc should continue and therefore it would be unwise to reduce our financial assets, hence the decision to increase our own birdage costs.
Realising that this would not be popular amongst the membership, we also promised to review these extra costs as soon as practical, once our actions had started to rectify the unfortunate situation, we originally found ourselves in. The time has now come to carry out that promise and review the financial position of the Federation.
By far the most expensive item to be put right was that of the transporter. The garage where it went to carry out repairs were told to replace injectors that controlled the flow of the fuel to the engine as these were believed by the then officials to be faulty. This work was carried out but the garage informed us that there was nothing wrong with the original injectors so they took the new ones out and refitted the original injectors – at no extra cost to us, I may add.
We then asked the garage to carry out a thorough examination of the state of the engine etc, and advise us whether or not it was viable to carry out the necessary repairs to make the vehicle roadworthy again or whether we scrap the transporter and search for a new second hand one. The answer came back that our vehicle could be repaired and that financially that was the better option. So, we gave the go ahead and the repairs were successfully carried out. That has now rectified the problems with the engine and the vehicle has been virtually rebuilt which means, with regular professional servicing, it will give the Federation many more years of faithful and reliable service.
We also stressed in our early days the need for good communication to keep the membership informed. So, we created a new website and we are delighted to say that, you the membership, have begun to use it to obtain the information that is vital to keep everyone aware of what is going on. Much better than relying on Chinese whispers and rumours that in most cases are started by individuals who have nothing better to do and are intent on causing trouble.
So, as you can now appreciate, we have had to spend rather a lot of money correcting errors that could have been dealt with earlier, if only the officials at the time had realised the seriousness of the state of various parts of the Federation.
The situation we found ourselves in has largely been put right by you the membership by your support in terms of birds sent to our races and the cooperation of everyone in helping wherever you can.
The financial situation is now under control once again and all outstanding bills have been paid. We now have to address the actual administration costs of running the Federation and we will be making several recommendations for money saving measures that need to be put into place before next season commences.
It therefore follows that we feel it would be unwise to change our birdage charges for the YB season and hope that you all will understand and keep the birdage numbers high. That should then make it possible for us to keep our promise to reduce costs for the 2025 Season.
Thank you for everything you have done to keep the Federation on the right track and enabling us to keep our promises.
Here’s to a great young bird season and a successful future to our great North Staffs Federation.
Brian & Jill
North Staffordshire Federation News 