THE SECRETARY

Thanks to the committee for appointing me to the position; I will endeavour to carry out my duties to the best of my abilities. I have been a club secretary of my own club for 26 years, but I'm still learning the role. So should there be a problem, please tell me - I don't bite.... Hard.... Honest! I do like everything out in the open and above board and I'm sure that until I am completely familiar with the workings of the club, I will need guidance and support from those who know.

I am, therefore, very much looking forward to working alongside the committee and members alike, in moving the club forwards into another successful year for our breed. According to recent results published in the "Fur and Feather" the polish was the second highest fancy breed, only topped by the angora. So with a concerted effort, let's try to reverse that result by the end of the year. Congratulations to Fortune Stud who finished second in the exhibitors table, with 16 Open show wins. Many fanciers, especially our southern members although not exclusively, would prefer not to reflect upon 2016, as it saw the emergence of the horrific RVHD2 virus. This swept through many a rabbitry, pet and exhibitor alike, decimating whole studs in days. With the virus so virulent it caused the cancellation of many shows across the country. The long awaited vaccine eventually reached our shores in May, giving some relief to members. But the threat still remains and even though the number of reported cases has slowed, it is important not to become complacent. Vaccine is the only protection against losing stock.

Of course, it is at this point that I sadly remember a stalwart of the club who lost his stud during this dreadful outbreak, Tony Cannell. Tony's record within the breed speaks for itself, so it was a shock when he sadly passed away a matter of weeks after losing his rabbits. Many fanciers have Cannell blood in their lines, as he was so helpful to members in supplying stock. He will, without doubt, be sorely missed. I know that Micky Byrne has donated a new trophy for the Bradford Show, in honour of Tony; our thanks to him.

I was very pleased to see new blood coming into the club last year. We welcome Lindsay Cameron and Charlie, Sarah Hughes, Darren Henstridge, Melissa North and Donna Wildwood. All of these have made an impact on the showing front, with many successes at local shows. It was also a fabulous result for Lindsay at the stock show in St. Neots this year, taking top honours with her black youngster. Well done to all of you, and I hope that you will continue to enjoy Polish for many years to come. The juniors within the club have also continued to fly the polish flag high. Charlie Gregory has registered his first polish champion in 2016, and continues to win COM shows and Junior classes all over the place! Lee Daley has also maintained his love of the breed, winning the junior section at the Adult Stock Show in December. Down south, Morgan Ruby-Hicks has also been showing successfully. It is reassuring to know that these will be members and leaders of the club, for the future.

Publicity is all important in bringing in new members and selling the club to the fancy and as such, Nicky Hicks has taken over as publicity rep. She has continued to keep the FnF column up to date, as well as pushing the polish club into the 21st century with the inclusion of a Facebook page. Well done and thank you to Nicky for the effort she has put into these. Any news, views and results are always welcome, so please do not be shy - send them in so that the rest of the club may enjoy them as well. I was also pleased to see a number of polish champions being registered this year. Congratulations to those of you who have obtained this award for your stock, this year. I have managed to register an otter and an agouti, but that white champion still alludes me! You will see Lauren has included the updated information about how to register a champion further on in the book. Thank you to Dave for organising the certificates for these.

My sincere thanks is also given to Lauren for pulling the year book together. Having written year books and catalogue programmes for various clubs, I know how difficult a task it is to produce a publication in such a short space of time. This year's may not have the amount of articles it should have, but that is down to lack of them being written! So please bear this in mind for the next book; we need content from you the members to make it interesting and informative. I'm sure everyone has a story to tell, knowledge to part with, useful exhibition tips, or something insightful from the history archives. It doesn't take long to whip an article together, so please give it some thought. Moving forwards to this year, Sue booked most of the stock shows before I took office, the dates of which are included in this year book and will be advertised in FnF. Please make every effort to support these as one or two stock shows last year, saw very disappointing entries. Perhaps we need to look at new rosettes and glassware or trophies to entice exhibitors to the shows? Ideas are always more than welcome and I'm always available for a chat. It only remains for me to wish you all a successful breeding and exhibition year.

All the best,

Donna.