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Barry Mills the new President of the NCA
Reported by Ghalib Al-Nasser, NCA Secretary
The
National Council for Aviculture held its Annual General Meeting on 31st March
at the Charnwood Arms Hotel in Coalville, Leicestershire, followed shortly afterwards by
the Management Committee meeting. The Chairman, Chris Smith, welcomed those who attended
and presented his written report, stating that he had written a letter of thanks to Dave
Whittaker, the previous secretary & treasurer. The visibility of the NCA had been
heightened by having the NCA stand at three county shows, the B.S. Woking event and two Stafford
events. The Chairman also expressed his pleasure at the return of the British Bird Council
to our fold and he is looking forward to working with them to increase awareness to help
fanciers understand and comply with legislative requirements. He highlighted the close
link with DEFRA through the NCA membership of SUN.
His priority for the next year will be to get more closely aligned with Cage Bird
Societies and to advertise the post of the CBS Liaison Officer.
The
Secretary/Treasurer, Ghalib Al-Nasser, in his report, highlighted his pleasure at the
return of the BBC
after one year’s absence, and the formation of COM-UK with the IOA. A successful team
of birds attended the World Show in Almeria,
Spain
achieving 5 gold, 1 silver & 3 bronze medals. Letters to 65 NCA Life Members were sent
out with the agenda and balance sheets as well as to all affiliated cage bird societies
but a few letters to Life Members had been returned due to either moving house or
deceased. If anyone knows of the whereabouts of Oliver Tynan (Banbury, Oxon), S. Smith (Spey
Bay,
Moray), C. Jackson (Chelmsford,
Essex)
& Miss A. Goldsmith (Barnsley,
Yorks)
please let the secretary know.
The
Secretary also informed members that the Public Liability Insurance package is still
popular with 78 clubs taking up the offer and 38 cage bird societies have affiliated.
Members
present unanimously approved the new Constitution to reduce the number of representatives
from the 4 parent bodies from 4 to 3. Rates of subscription remained the same at Ring
member £5, Cage Bird Societies £20, parent body with membership up to 500 £50, up to
1000 members £100 and over 1000 members £200.
Barry Mills, the new NCA President, with
Denis Glasby, the outgoing President
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The
Secretary informed the meeting that the following representatives from the parent bodies
will form the Management Committee and they are; British Bird Council ~ Robb Brown, Bob
Partridge, Craig & Julie Walker; Budgerigar Society ~ Ghalib & Janice Al-Nasser,
Gordon Grist, Alex Woan; Canary Council ~ David Allen, Brian Hogg, Gary Mann, Terry Salt;
Foreign Bird Federation ~ Peter Collins, Dave Paine, Dennis Webster. Barry Mills was
inaugurated as the new President and thanked all members for this honour. Following his
year as President, Denis Glasby was appointed Honorary Life President to join Brian
Hughes, Dennis Norton and Charles Woolley. Roger Carr was elected as President Elect. The
Management Committee held their meeting soon after the AGM
and confirmed Chris Smith as the Chairman (elected for 3 years in 2011) and Dennis Webster
as Vice Chairman & Minutes Secretary. Other officers elected were Ghalib Al-Nasser as
the Secretary and the new Treasurer, as well as Publicity Officer and Website Controller.
The new Awards Committee were elected as Robb Brown, Gordon Grist, Brian Hogg & Dave
Paine. The important position of CBS Liaison Officer is still vacant and anyone who is
interested in this post is asked to contact the secretary. Brian Hogg was approved as the
replacement to Andrew Triolo on COM-UK committee. |
The
NCA appeals to all cage bird societies, regardless of their affiliation, to send the
secretary their contact details so that he can formulate a data base of all cage bird
societies around the country.
The
Management Committee approved two new members to be added to the NCA Roll of Honour,
namely Jim Addison and Don Hunter, for outstanding services to the fancy and sadly two
members; Fred Rix & Raymond Sawyer, who passed away during the year, were added to the
NCA Hall of Fame. Both Crewe & District CBS and the Zebra Finch Society had sent
letters nominating members for the NCA Long Service Badges which were approved. They were
Jim Addison, Peter Cannan, John Davies, Peter Harrison, Herbert Lock MBE & Dave Paine
(Gold) and Graham Davis & Peter Hook (Bronze).
The
NCA will have a presence at the London Pet Fair on 12th/13th May
with a display of different birds in an aviary. The NCA will work closely with the BBC
to review the Wildlife and Countryside Act following DEFRA’s recent announcement. An NCA power point presentation will soon be
available to be used at evening meetings of cage bird clubs.
Clubs
wishing to affiliate to the NCA should visit our website (www.nca.uk.net)
or contact the Secretary Ghalib Al-Nasser at Evenstar, Pinkuah Lane, Pentlow, Sudbury CO10
7JW (Tel: 01787 282332 or email at info@nca.uk.net).
NCA
Awards
Reported by Ghalib Al-Nasser, NCA Secretary & Publicity Officer
NCA Chairman Chris Smith
presenting the new Presidential Chain of Office to the NCA President Denis Glasby
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At the last
Management Meeting of the National Council for Aviculture (NCA) the Chairman, Chris Smith,
presented the newly purchased Presidential Chain of Office to the President Denis Glasby.
The
Budgerigar Society nominated Roger Carr for the NCA Roll of Honour for his long services
to the Budgerigar Society spanning over 31 years which the NCA committee accepted
unanimously. The Budgerigar Society also put forward names of many fanciers for the NCA
Long Service Badges of gold (25 years), silver (20 years) and bronze (15 years). Realising
the benefits from these NCA awards the Zebra Finch Society as well as Buntingford CBS put
forward names of their members for such awards and all were accepted by the Management
Committee. In total there were 25 NCA Long Service badges awarded. Affiliated CBS should
enjoy these benefits and apply to the Secretary for the awards information for which can
be found on the NCA website www.nca.uk.net. |
It was also
decided to increase the Public Liability Insurance cover for 2012 due to increases in
premium costs. This insurance cover is very comprehensive and covers all affiliated
societies’ activities throughout the year including shows. The limit of the indemnity
is now £5,000,000 for any one claim to include all legal costs and damages. The cost of
the insurance to the affiliated societies, through the parent bodies, is £50 for the
year’s premium which includes 5% Insurance Premium Tax. For Cage Birds Societies the
affiliation fee is £20 and with the insurance cover totals £65 (affiliation +
insurance). Societies can download the Proforma from the NCA website.
The
Secretary Ghalib Al-Nasser has also taken over the duties of the Treasurer as from 1st
January and all communication including applications for insurance will now need to be
sent to his home address at Evenstar, Pinkuah Lane, Pentlow, Sudbury CO10 7JW (Tel: 01787
282332 or email at info@nca.uk.net). The NCA extends
their sincere thanks to Dave Whittaker for carrying out the duties of Secretary and then
Treasurer of the NCA over the past few years.
The NCA will
be putting forward a motion at the AGM to reduce the number of representatives of the four
parent organisation at each meeting from 4 to 3 each (rule 9.i).
The
management committee agreed that their priorities for 2012 should be:
Through the BBC we need to increase awareness of current legislation
affecting birdkeeping. Recommendations should be
checked by a legal expert, and should
cover exhibiting as well as general keeping/breeding.
Increase awareness of the NCA by CBS’s.
Education and conservation
Consider producing a booklet on Judges’ requirements and training
covering the whole fancy.
The date of
the next AGM is Saturday, 31st March, 2012 commencing 10.30am at the Charnwood Arms,
Coalville, Leicestershire LE67 1TB.
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