August 2005

Dear Branch Secretary,

In the recent weeks I have been informed of a number of areas where the membership of the organisation feels that the Executive Committee of the Flydressers’ Guild is not promoting the Guild in the way it possibly could do. A number of matters have been mentioned in letters and conversations. I feel that it is time to address some of these issues.

The Executive Committee of the Fly Dressers’ Guild is an elected body, nominated and empowered at the Annual General Meeting of the organisation annually, and open to all members of the Guild.

The Executive Committee of the Flydressers’ Guild is charged with managing the Guild on behalf of its members in the best manner it can achieve

The Executive must be aware of the needs and aspirations of all of its members.

The Executive must use the funds available in the most efficient manner and must not be seen to squander the membership fees.

The Executive is charged with promoting the name of the Guild and to adhering to its constitution and objectives.

Whilst the Executive must take note of any comment from any branch official it has to consider the whole membership in its activities. Over one third of the membership of the Guild does not belong to a branch, for reasons known to themselves. The branch network is a vital strand in the operation of the Guild; it recruits more new members than any other medium.

Some years ago a survey was taken of the membership as to what they wanted from the organisation, and what the Guild stood for in their eyes; what they valued and what they did not. Since then a number of initiatives have been undertaken:

The web site is now fully operational .

Payments can be made by credit card .

Payments can be made via the web site for membership and equipment .

A series of regional meetings were set up to discuss with branches matters which were pertinent to the areas .

A national poster campaign was undertaken to advertise the Guild in every day ticket trout fishery in the UK .

Adverts have been placed in leading angling magazines .

National Speakers list updated on a biennial basis

Discounts have been negotiated with a number of retail organisations .

Special membership offers have been available at shows and exhibitions .

An alliance with Veniards has resulted in a special recruitment offer to new members.

There is more tha t can be done and indeed should be done, but the Executive has limited resources in both financial terms and available time. Some detail of the expenditure of the Guild is enclosed with this letter. It should be born in mind that the Executive Committee is exactly the same as your branch committee; we are all in full time employment and give our time to the Guild in our spare time. A number of the Executive do spend considerable periods of time on behalf of the Guild. The question I put to you is whether this time is well spent on your behalf or could it be better utilised.

As you can see from the costs incurred the Flydresser expends the majority of our resources. It has long been assumed that this magazine is the most tangible evidence of your membership. In the past year the Executive has reduced the cost of printing the magazine by up to 40% in a full year. This will release funds to be used in other areas.

I understand that in some instances communications have been sent to members of the Executive and no reply has been forthcoming. I apologise for this lapse. Each member of the committee is charged with certain responsibilities. The Editor is solely in charge of the content of the Flydresser, the Membership secretary is responsible for maintaining the membership database, the Equipment officer for distributing our merchandise, the Web Master for maintaining the web site and the General Secretary for distributing information. At the moment I am filling in as treasurer so that if you have any query over our finances please contact me.

At every AGM the same statement is made,”If there is any way the Executive can be of greater service to the membership then please let us know”. This is applicable now as at any time. If you do not inform us as to what you require us to do then we will assume that what we are doing is with your approval. It may be an opportune time to repeat the regional meetings held some four years ago. If you think they would be of value, let me know. We are in a situation of falling membership along with every other organisation in the angling fraternity. As we principally teach people to tie flies we need a constant influx of new members to replace the ones who leave having learned how to tie flies. With our combined efforts I am sure that this national reversal can be achieved, but it will take all of our efforts to see this happen.

I remain yours,

Alan Middleton

Chairman Flydressers Guild