Air Marshal Philip Sturley, our President pretty well sums up the Association, when he says that speaking to members he is continually struck by the unique camaraderie for which the RAF Association has become well known over the last 65 years. How very true for our vastly improving organisation, when only a few years since we looked down and out financially, and staring at a very poor future indeed.

Whilst we still do need to improve our image, particularly in view of the numbers of members we are losing each year, due mainly through the ageing process it is believed, and not only that, but the need to be more up front, and more businesslike in all we do. Membership and Fundraising are fundamental to the future of the Association, and recently there was a substantial change in the management structure at our Leicester Headquarters, when two new Directors were employed to attempt to bring about massive changes to the way we do our business. If we believe what the two new Directors are saying then new directions will be taken in both departments. The future will be interesting, and we should all be part of the changes about to come on stream. 

Dwell for a moment on our Membership figures; In December 2006, the Association had a membership of 78,980, with 504 Branches. In December 2007 the membership had decreased to 75,766 and 496 Branches. As our Chairman of Central Council advised us at the 2008 Conference, the fall in membership needs to be stemmed, but the rate of loss is in decline. In 2006 the percentage decline was 6.44%, whilst in 2007 the decline was 4.06%. If each member can recruit just one member, we have increased our membership massively. There is the challenge to everyone.

Comradeship and Welfare support are the cornerstones upon which the Association is founded. At the heart of our Welfare provision is the work carried out by the excellent team of Honorary Welfare Officers who give their time voluntarily to help members of the RAF family in need of Welfare support. Over 25,000 hospital and home visits took place in 2007, up by 2,000 in 2006, with over 3,000 people provided with respite breaks. Sussexdown, in Storrington was transferred in 2007 to Care South, a not-for-profit organisation, which has retained the RAF/RAFA atmosphere and ethos, priority being given to ex-RAF people for all vacancies at the home. 

The Wings Appeal is the Association's primary annual fundraising appeal. As with most charities, fundraising is a twelve month long activity, but the primary focus for the Wings Appeal is the first two weeks in September, running up to the Battle of Britain Day. Recently however it has become clear that there was a need to revitalise the 'brand' to increase income, so new initiatives were introduced. The introduction of 'Brew for a Few' is just one of those initiatives, which was so successful it is to be continued. Many RAF Stations took part, including our own local units of Linton on Ouse and Fylingdales. The Wings figures were increased in 2007 over 2006 by some £41,000, but we still fell short of the target of £2 million. Restructuring of the Wings Appeal section at CHQ is presently taking place.

Recently, in fact January 2007, an invitation by the RAF to prepare a bid to manage the RAF Families Federation was made, and the bid was successful in June 2007, when the Association were awarded the contract by the RAF. The Chairman of the Federation, Group Captain Dawn McCafferty, was appointed in September 2007, and a team of five were appointed during October, and in November 2007, the offices of the RAF Families Federation, based at RAF Wittering, were formally opened by the Air Member for Personnel, Air Marshal Stephen Dalton. The team is now up and running and embarking on a programme of visits to all RAF Units, as well as planned meeting with, amongst others: Government Ministers, the MOD, Defence Estates.
Issues of concern so far established with serving personnel and their families include: Personnel - posting policy and allowances. Housing, and Families - issues with service overseas. 2008 will see a strategy being developed which will include: Involvement and influence at the highest levels of the MOD and RAF, as well as representing issues to these bodies. Developing awareness of the Families Federation, and Communicating success back to the RAF family as a whole.

Communications has for some time been a major issue throughout the Association, but massive changes are being made in many quarters of the Association. We continue to build relationships with local and national press and media and also the specialised press. In 2007 there was a conscious effort to train Branch officials and members in dealing with local press and media to promote their Branch and Branch activities. Media Liaison has seen articles about the Association placed in both specialist publications and general newspapers and magazines. Welfare promotion has been highlighted not only to existing members but to the RAF and the general public.
Issues of 'Connect', the RAFALO's newsletter were published in 2007, with an increase in interest by RAFA Branches in the publication, and the distribution of the Newsletter filtered through to all RAFA Branches.
An E Newsletter was first published in November 2007, and will continue in 2008 and beyond. It is timed to appear midway between each issue of the Air Mail.
The RAFA Web Site received a comprehensive 'facelift' during the latter part of 2007, creating a more informative and user-friendly site for our audience.
And finally in respect of Communications, the RAF Comrade Contact Website was launched in February 2007. The purpose of the site is to allow serving and former members of the RAF and their families to search for and contact former colleagues.

We need to ensure that the Association is fit for purpose in the challenging years to come. It is therefore vital that the Association cements links with today's servicemen and women, and to do this it must be relevant to the Service today. It is imperative that we encourage all serving and former members of the RAF into membership - thus ensuring that the RAF Association is a vibrant organisation, involving all parts of the RAF family.