WELCOME TO
Healing old wounds?
ATTENDING the Harrogate show a few weeks ago, I was encouraged by the news that our two membership associations are finally holding talks on a possible merger. If they manage to pull it off then I believe we have an exciting and solid future ahead of us. More recently I read Geoff Webb’s reply in the IOG magazine to Richard Norton’s (HG at Bolton Wanderers FC) open letter. In his response he states, ‘It is also common knowledge that those that represent Pitchcare do not appear to be outwardly receptive to the IOG’. Geoff ’s statement is factually correct, but it is a situation that is not of Pitchcare’s making. Let me recap on the dealings we have had with the IOG since we began. Pitchcare first met with the IOG at Milton Keynes before our launch in 2001, and showed Mr Pat Gossett and Mr Alex Miller what we were intending to set up. We invited the IOG to be involved. We felt that there was apathy in the industry, and the slow movement of the organisation could be transformed rapidly by using the internet. The IOG asked us for a proposal, and we offered 10% of the business in return for a cash
injection of
the PC team DAVE SALTMAN
Managing Director. More balls in the air than most circus jugglers - and they are usually his! Just bought a gas guzzling 4x4 and now complains about how much petrol it uses. Was rumoured to have spent a whole evening in his Harrogate hotel room!
JOHN RICHARDS
Operations Director. Kept everyone in check (including his wife) at Harrogate in his usual cool, calm and collected manner. No mean feat when you read the following! Even remained calm when hearing those immortal words “I’m going shopping Dear”.
LAURENCE (WRITING) GALE
Editor. Pitchcare’s ideas monster. Why come up with one a day when twenty will do! One day he’ll hit on a cracker and we’ll never hear the end of it. Come to think of it we never hear the end of the bad ones either. Anyone up for a Saltex X Factor? (yeah we know)
PETER BRITTON
Sales & Production. The magazine guru (Buddah more like). Overweight, overburdened and under pressure to produce this bi- monthly tome. Has enjoyed seeing some of the other ‘revamped’ industry publications. An invoice for creative ideas will be in the post!
ELLIE TAIT
PR and Marketing Executive. Picked up a mysterious tummy bug in North Yorkshire but, once she had sobered up -s
sorry, felt better -
she was back to her happy, smiling ‘old’ self. Reached a personal milestone recently. I can’t tell you what that is though as some people don’t enjoy reaching 30!
ALASTAIR BATTRICK
Web Monkey. Remains steadfast in his belief that travelling the information super highway is not for mere mortals. In truth, many of the PC staff have sped off down IT cul-d
de-
sacs leaving Al to sort out the ensuing carnage. His smile is generally through gritted teeth!
£100,000 to help us get going. We were informed subsequently that the IOG Board had decided not to enter into any agreement with Pitchcare. Fair enough, we had no aspirations or
high expectations that, in our infancy, anyone would commit to an innovative project such as this. However, we continued down our own avenue, taking out loans, building an ever increasing membership and providing a service that benefitted Groundsmen and Greenkeepers (personally I see little difference between the two in modern times. Groundsmanship has encompassed fine turf to as high a degree as any golf maintenance).
Shropshire branch. There I was proposed and elected to the branch and regional committees. A week later I received a letter from the branch secretary telling me that my election had been rescinded by Head Office because I wasn’t a member of the Shropshire branch, but Staffordshire instead, and the rules didn’t allow a non- branch member to be elected! As far as I am aware the Staffordshire branch has never functioned. At around the same time, I was also
In 2003 we met again with the IOG, when a number of items were discussed and, again at their request, proposals were put forward. These proposals formed an advertising/marketing deal worth £3,000 per month. Shares were no longer available. The proposed deal offered a mini IOG website on the Pitchcare home page, news, calendar dates and email newsletters promoting education courses, events and shows all year round. At their next board meeting the IOG discarded the proposals, lock stock and barrel. They didn’t even offer a counter proposal. People, whose opinions I
attended the AGM of the
IOG
removed as a winter sports trainer for the FA/IOG without notice, and removed from judging the Groundsman of the Year Awards. For good measure the IOG also took
Pitchcare to tribunal over a domain name that we owned
www.groundsman-
magazine.co.uk. A name of two generic words that described our business perfectly.
So, it is our feeling that, at no stage, have the IOG wanted any real involvement in Pitchcare. In fact, within past IOG Board of Directors minutes,
Pitchcare.com was noted as a direct threat to the organisation.
respected, suggested to me that the best way to move forward was to work within so, in 2004, I
I am all for healing old wounds and working together for the future of this industry, as Geoff also stated in his response, but we've been whipped that many times that some of the scars are deep and still weeping. To move forward I believe everything has to be out in the open, so I hope my comments are taken in the spirit in which they are intended.
I have met Geoff on a couple of occasions since his appointment, and he has suggested a meeting, to which I’ve always said ‘whenever you’re ready’. I am just waiting for the call.
DAVE SALTMAN Managing Director
DAN (1) HUGHES
Sales Manager. PC’s very own Arkwright. Sadly not ‘open all hours’ as he sticks to a strict 9-5
5 regime.
Don’t tell him this but, he is actually doing a pretty good job of increasing the number of products available in the Shop. F F F Fetch the cloth G G G Granville!
DAN (2) PARKES
Office Assistant - Started out as Al’s helper but has recently been purloined to assist Dan 1 in the shop. Apart from the delivery bike Dan 2 bears a striking resemblance to GG Granville, not least that, if he is asked to do anything - like make coffee - it is followed by a deep sigh!
CHRIS JOHNSON
Training Coordinator. Made a fleeting guest appearance at Harrogate and immediately added a degree of sophistication and elegance to the otherwise ramshackled collection of PC staff at the Internet Cafe
SHARON TAYLOR
Company Accountant. Likes to get in the office early so that she is not distracted by the general banter that flies around the office after 9.00am. Gets frustrated with members of the team who don’t share the same attention to detail as she does. I’m sorry Sharon, it won’t happen again!
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