First and foremost, may I extend my thanks to all our members who have supported the RPRA and the BHW during a very difficult financial situation. When the balance sheet for the year ending in October 2023 was produced, it was reported that the consolidated accounts for the RPRA and BHW was underfunded to the eye watering amount of £230K. When our auditors reported that the RPRA could only continue at this level for a further 18 months, something clearly had to be done.

At the council meeting held on the 23rd February 2024, the balance sheet was discussed at length, and particularly the bottom line of the consolidated accounts. To address this situation, with the sole intention of preventing the RPRA descending any further from its current critical position, it was proposed and passed under Rule 142 that each member (excluding junior members) would pay £30 in 2024 and £5 to their regions. As most had already paid £17 of this, the remainder was collected in as a levy, of which over 90% of our membership have now paid.

I appreciate the immense amount of extra work our regional secretaries had to do, but now at the financial year end on the 31st October, I can happily report that the BHW and the RPRA are on a much sturdier foundation. Our Finance Manager Stuart Woodman has completed the books up to the end of September, and with savings made and efficiencies implemented, along with the cash injection of the levy, we are able to report a positive outcome of £140k to carry the RPRA through until the next injection of funds at the end of April 2025.

To address the situation more permanently the North East Region recently submitted some vital propositions. These were distributed to all regions to consider, which would allow their councillors to be mandated to vote on in the October meeting. These were successfully voted in and were adopted under Rule 142. This will ensure we do not repeat any past fragilities in the constitution, by allowing the CEO and Finance Manager to put together a draft budget for the following year’s subscription level, which will be on the agenda in October rather than February. We went to the meeting prepared, and the council went on to pass our suggestion for the 2025 subscription level of £35, which will be collected from the 1st November 2024. This figure has been carefully considered and we believe it will suffice to fund the RPRA for the next 12 months, whilst being mindful that the future is unknown. Our membership has fallen an average rate of around 7% over the last five years, most pigeon fanciers are of the baby boomer generation. We must face the fact that we cannot compete with old father time or the technological entertainment the following generations have available to them. Taking account of inflation and a reducing number of fanciers year on year, it is vital for the long-term stability of the RPRA that these rule changes which were adopted are ratified at the AGM next February.

The RPRA Council discussed the North East Region proposals at the Council Meeting on Friday 25th October and once accepted, made the following decisions under Rule 142.

1. Accept rule changes to use CEO and Finance Manager draft budget to set the following year’s subscriptions, to be voted on by elected officials in October. Prop NE Seconded IR. Passed, 14 For, 2 Abstentions.
2. Members subscription for 2025 to be £35, with £4 of that retained by the region. Prop NE Seconded IR, Passed, 15 For, 1 Abstention.
3. Club fees to regions in Rule 24 to be £15 for 2025. Prop D&SY Seconded NE. Passed, 10 For, 6 Against. There was an amendment for the fees to remain at £10. 6 For, 10 Against.
4. Group fees to RPRA Head Office in Rule 25 to be £10 + VAT for 2025. Prop EM Seconded D&SY. Passed, 15 For, 1 Against.
5. Junior (16 and under) subscription in Rule 27 (c) for 2025 to be £10. Prop NE seconded IR. Passed, 15 For, 1 Against.
6. Junior (16 and under) as of the 1st of November will pay fees as set by council in October. Passed, 16 For.
7. All members who have not paid the 2024 levy by the 1st November 2024 shall be considered a debtor. The member shall be informed and debited by the postal charges and shall be notified that unless a remittance is received, or the debt disputed within 21 days, he or she will be suspended by their local region. Prop W seconded LN. Passed, 15 For, 1 Against.

Restructures

Richard Chambers was seconded from his position as Development Officer to assist me in implementing the restructures which have taken place at the British Homing World, and following a lengthy HR process, he has now been moved to the post of Head Officer – the Development Officer role will not continue. Over the past 18 months we have moved over to the tabloid version to ensure best printing prices, implemented savings in our overheads, reviewed our staff processes and applied a pricing structure which has resulted in a substantial improvement to the bottom line. In 2023 the BHW made a loss on the balance sheet of £102k of retained profits, and now up to the end of September 2024 this has been reduced to just £41k, with £40k of that being the funding of two redundancies which is a massive turnaround in a year; there is yet more streamlining still to be done. Richard currently has eight members of staff, one full time, six part time and one freelance artworker. He and his team are to be congratulated, as most have had to adopt new technology for the BHW to survive. As we go forward, we will move towards a cloud-based system which will assist in a more flexible working practice, and as long as we keep a careful eye on our pricing structure to reflect any increasing overheads, the future of the BHW is secured.

At the head office, I have a team of dedicated staff around me. Including the CEO there are 12 members of full and part time staff, 5 in the Membership Support team, 3 in Racing Support, 2 in Accounts with one being the Finance Manager and our Office Manager. Over the past two years each person has also played their part to implement the same best practices and suggest further improvements. It has not been an easy process, and I am proud of the way they have conducted themselves when they have been confronted with the discontent of some members, which I must add, is often countered by grateful thanks and recognition. I will say it once again – they are not to blame, they care for the RPRA and are fully supportive. Please take a good look at the statistics below and you will see that they work hard to give the services our members expect and deserve. On top of those tasks listed they also organise the Blackpool Show, administrate the One Loft and prepare for two council meetings each year; it is a full-on workload for us all. Whenever I hear someone say we have too many staff, I am reminded of the Monty Python quote “What has the RPRA ever done for us?” – I hope you can see it now.

View the statistics:

We also have 13 Region Secretaries who are the unsung heroes of our sport. Each year they receive all the club membership forms and payments, make the necessary changes to the RPRA database and collect the subscription payments of all their regional members. They arrange and administrate their region meetings, and are the first port of call for any issues our members may have. I know how hard they work as I spent many years as region secretary myself, looking after 160 clubs and 1800 members. I wonder how we would cope if these dedicated people were not there. Imagine all the work of just under 14000 members coming to the head office, with most sending in their subs in just two months of the year. With all the movements between club membership to amend on the database, and more often than not a follow up phone call is required for clarification, we could not cope! We also need our regions to send their delegates mandated with the wishes of their members to council for the democratic process to take place. When I hear of a small minority making statements on social media to remove the regions to save thousands, or reduce the level of staff, or the BHW is too expensive etc I despair. We are on your side and everyone involved in running the RPRA are truly dedicated towards providing a quality service to the best of their ability. I thank you once again for your support and understanding.

Chris Sutton
CEO