Members will have seen the Chairman’s précis of the recent “way ahead“ conference that was delivered with the last Newsletter. One outcome of this seminar was to seek the views of as many members as possible on a number of subjects relating to the future direction and management of the Association. Communication with the membership and focus of effort for the senior Committee Officers were identified as key areas for improvement.
Your Committee have therefore formed a small working group to design and circulate a survey to go out to all members. The results of the survey will be published and will be used by the Committee to plan the future priorities and strategic direction of the Association.
In preparation for the survey, members are reminded of the main events and achievements of the past few years and some of the challenges facing us in the near future.
Achievements and events
* The 50th anniversary reception at St James’s Palace attended by HRH Prince Andrew
* The 50th anniversary dinner at the FAA museum
* The thanksgiving service at the FAA Memorial Church, St Barts attended by HRH Prince Andrew
* The FN 100 Garden Party at Buckingham Palace
* Fundraising, design, and managing the construction of the FAA memorial on the Embankment
* Fundraising, design, and managing the construction of the FAA memorial at the NMA
* The dedication service of the memorial and subsequent additional enhancement works
* Helped to form the Fly Navy Federation providing funding for the first FNF conference
* Continuing financial & management support for the Gliding Scholarship
* Financial support for the Navy Campaign and the Phoenix Think Tank
* Made an evidence based SDSR submission to the House of Commons Defence Select Committee
* Continuing financial support for the Sea Cadet Corps
* Over £20K in grants for the Fly Navy Heritage Trust
* New website with the latest FAA news plus Facebook and Twitter membership
* Introduced full colour to the Fly Navy News Sheet
Challenges
* To improve communication with the membership and remain abreast of technology changes, including
better use of email and vitalisation of the web site
* To improve focus of the senior management
* Consider the reintroduction/appointment of a Membership Secretary with specific responsibility for contact with those currently serving
* The potential membership pool becomes smaller as the FAA reduces in size with a potential decline in
membership and subscription income
* The need to retain sufficient reserves to supplement that loss of income
* To continue to serve the changing needs of a changing membership
* To develop our networking with other FAA and RN associations
* To remain true to the objectives set by our founders