UK Pyrotechnics Society Forums: Richard H - Viewing Profile - UK Pyrotechnics Society Forums

We're delighted to announce that the 2012 Annual General Meeting of the UK Pyrotechnics Society will take place on Saturday 5th May, as we return to a previous and most successful venue, The Marlborough School, Woodstock, Oxon.

We will be arranging a full day of guest speakers, talks and also practical demonstrations. We have two very special guest speakers lined up, they will be familiar to all of you and need little introduction. Dr. Sidney Alford and Roland Alford of Alford Technologies. You would be a fool to miss this year's AGM, so make sure you are there.

We are also very pleased to announce that Stephen Miller M.I.Exp.E. is to be appointed the next chairman of the UK Pyrotechnics Society. All other appointments remain, and together, we shall be outlining our plans for the future of the society, of which YOU, our members, will be playing a massive part.

Full details will be posted in due course, please make Saturday 5th May free in your diary.

As tradition commands, proceedings will close with a professional firework display and we envisage food and drinks afterwards at a nearby pub to provide a networking opportunity and a nice end to the day.

Good morning everyone - I trust you all had a safe, enjoyable, and successful bonfire season. Some of you were probably fortunate to enjoy setting off some fireworks in the garden - I and I imagine a good number of you were out and about entertaining thousands of people firing professional displays all week.

We had our most recent 'management meeting' / voice conference call last Wednesday - and there is one topic we feel that needs immediate attention: What is the current state of the UKPS and what should its point be?

I, and the other members of the board are agreed that we must continue to offer and actively encourage opportunities for training, personal / professional continuing development, and advise on routes into the industry for those seeking to follow an interest or even a career in the pyrotechnics industries. It cannot be denied that, we, as the UKPS have not achieved what perhaps many of you would like to see: A permanent, tangible facility for usage by the membership to conduct research and possibly exploit commercial opportunities. Recent discussions have not gone unnoticed by the UKPS, it we felt it important to make an announcement.

To go back to my point about 'What is the current state of the UKPS'. Our articles set out our purpose:

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You will all be familiar with the Amberley project - despite a good deal of effort, we haven't realised the plans, and there needs to be significant investment of funding through donations, sponsorship, and also man power. Without these, the project won't go ahead.

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We believe there is a good deal of interest in pyrotechnics - and increasing use of fireworks at major events shows this. We are frequently contacted by the media to provide commentary and over recent months our members have made several TV appearances.

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All pro-firework bodies, trade associations and such would encourage this - us included. The leaflets produced by UKPS have found their ways into several specialist retailers - and we spend time talking with the public at events.

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We continue to accept historical items, articles etc - although it is not clear how these will be safeguarded well into the future.

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I think we are making very good progress on this one. The work done by Wayne Robshaw and several of us, with much constructive input from Danny has not gone unnoticed by HSE - we still await outcomes of this process.

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We have made a good start on this through our input into the MSER ELR process with HSE and other bodies involved. I believe there is a lot more we could do and this needs further discussion with our membership.

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While the display side is well covered by the BPA, and retail by the BFA - anything we can do to spread positive messages and liaise with the trade, public etc can only be a good thing.

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We are well placed as an organisation to make representations in response to specific concerns. This must continue.

When you look at the UKPS, compared to the likes of the PGI in the US, we are a tiny organisation, representing a minority interest. Our greatest problems are a lack of funding, and a lack of man power. Without the time of our members, or money - we are limited in what we can do. All of our activities require both. From organising events, attending public displays (firework champions events), organising meetings, publicity materials - the list is endless. Without the input of literally a handful of people, the current UKPS would grind to a halt overnight.

Our articles state that, every two years, we shall hold an election to appoint the principal officers of the society. Since 2006, I have held the position of Chair. 2012 is an election year and this means we will be writing to each of our full members to provide them the opportunity to stand for election as a principal or executive officer (Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer.)

We need more people to actively contribute and engage in the running of the UKPS. With this in mind it is my feeling that a new Chairman should be appointed in 2012, and that person will take the UKPS forwards as an organisation, and through their leadership, and with support of myself and the board and memebership, we will start to achieve the things our membership want. I strongly believe that a new chair would be a welcome change - I have held the position since 2006 - and I think this is largely because no-one else wanted to stand in previous years. I have decided I will not be standing for election in 2012 but would be pleased to continue to be involved heavily with the UKPS in a non-executive capacity.

Essentially the board feels it is vital that we must encourage new blood - and it is our hope that the UKPS will develop as an organisation.

I and the other board members remain fully committed to our aims and objectives - we are determined to see the ELR process through. What happens next is down to you all - our members.

I thank you all for reading this rather lengthy post and look forward to supporting our society in the years to come - so over to you!

We will be formally contacting all members to outline the process of elections soon. I encourage all of you to get involved and the make the UKPS - it is your society - you all have an equal responsibility to make it a successful organisation. What you get out is what you put in.

I suggest we use this thread as a starting point for you all to give your own thoughts, opinions etc.

Evening all, I was rigging at Firework Champions 2011, Stanford Hall on Saturday, here are pictures of the four displays that I took. Enjoy browsing through them! I had a fair walk around the site to audience side and then found a good spot on the lawn of the house.

https://picasaweb.go...6/StarFireworks
https://picasaweb.go...irePyrotechnics
https://picasaweb.go...6/Spyrotechnics
https://picasaweb.go...MLEPyrotechnics

The report into the fire and explosion at Marlie Farm (Festival, Alpha Fireworks Ltd) was published today by East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service. It makes for interesting reading and goes into great detail about what happened.

http://www.esfrs.org...ngsReport.shtml

I just received this email from the HSE web community. I thought it would be worth duplicating here:

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