As you can appreciate there are a wide range of issues and matters discussed at Society Council meetings, many of which are either confidential or commercially sensitive. The following is an update of relevant matters and discussions arising from the August 2017 Council Meeting which can be shared on a public forum.
1. BRANCH CHAIR WORKSHOP – a workshop for Branch Chairs along with another branch representative will be held on Tuesday 24th October.
2. EARLY LAMBING INSPECTIONS – following the introduction of an early lambing date of 25th December 2017, it was agreed that all Council Members will carry out a minimum of one inspection in their Branch Area. One other member of their Branch Committee will accompany them. Members will be given a minimum of 2 days’ notice prior to an inspection.
3. SUBSCRIPTIONS & FEES – Council unanimously approved the following proposal:
To fund the Society activities for 2017/18 the first increase in membership fee since 2008 is proposed. These are:
Full Adult from £60.00 + VAT to £70.00 + VAT in UK
Full Adult from €71.40 + VAT to €77.00 + VAT in SOI
Associate Member from £25.00 + VAT to £30.00 + VAT in UK
Associate Member from €29.75 + VAT to €33.00+ VAT in SOI
There are no other increases for 2017/18.
4. GIFT AID – As the Society is a registered Charity, UK members who have not yet signed Gift Aid Forms will be encouraged to complete these.
5. ADVERTISING PROMOTION:
a. FACEBOOK LIVE BROADCASTING – this will be extended to other Society events in 2018.
b. MAINTAIN ONGOING ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN
c. FARMERS GUARDIAN STOCK-JUDGING COMPETITION – outperforming other similar competitions run by the FG including their Beef Stock-Judging and the Texel Competition from 2015.
d. SUMMER SUFFOLKS – a new publication, “Summer Suffolks”, will be circulated to all members with the Autumn Returns and will be available for distribution to other interested parties.
e. PRESS RELEASE OPPORTUNITIES including Ram Compare (Scheduled for November)
6. SOCIETY FEMALE SALE (Beeston Mart) – details will be finalised over the next few weeks and communicated to members.
7. NATIONAL FLOCK COMPETITION – following on from the success of the 2017 Competition, it was agreed that the 2018 National Flock Competition will be held in the late Spring early Summer next year.
8. SHOW JUDGING – it was agreed that Society Guidelines for Judging Shows would be produced and issued to all existing and new judges.
Robin McIlrath
Chief Executive & Breed Secretary
4th September 2017
