In presenting my second Annual Report to the Illawarra Cattle Society of Australia I believe that our breed has made good progress during the past year.

The year began with an impressive display of Illawarras as the feature breed at the Adelaide Show. This was combined with activities and tours hosted and organized by the South Australian branch, our Annual Meeting and the Board of Directors meeting. At the time of writing this report I have just returned from another outstanding show of Illawarras in Adelaide. Shows in Brisbane, Sydney and International Dairy Week have been strong and competitive both in our breed classes and in the Interbreed classes. From our young people to the more senior members, people enjoy the showing of Illawarras.

The Illawarra Cattle Society has eight branches which are mostly active apart from the WA branch. There are a number of Cattle/Calf Clubs that are active and are supported by the Branches. We need to link these branches and clubs together so that their programs, meetings, shows, field days and social events are widely known be it through our website or our newsletter. For this to work, sending the meeting minutes, annual reports from Presidents, Secretaries, Treasurers and reports from the leaders of the clubs to the Federal office would be necessary.

Our Society is involved in a number of publications and conducts several competitions amongst its members. Lloyd Peters has been largely responsible for the publication of the Herd Book/ Year Book with registration information supplied by the Kiama Office. Two newsletters are produced each year and the Society is involved in supplying editorial for the Crazy Cow Magazine. Our branches and members must become more involved in the supply of news, results and editorial.

Federal Council meets annually in the period from September to November alternating between Kiama and being hosted by one of our branches. It may be necessary for the running of the society for the Federal Council to meet during the year or alternatively, Management Committee could meet in the March to May period. It would be an advantage if our branches were able to hold meetings after our Annual meeting and before a half yearly meeting of Federal Council or Management. I believe this would allow better communication between Federal Council and our branches.

Following last years AGM of the Society, the Senior Vice President Geoff Williams resigned and members mourned the loss of our Federal Treasurer Gordon Downes. Gordon, who passed away following a brief illness was a highly respected citizen and much loved brother, husband and father. His life time devotion to the Illawarra Cattle Society and the farming community of Jamberro will not be forgotten.

The Society's asset at 33 Bong Bong street Kiama is currently in good repair and condition with minor repairs carried out to the exterior of the building. Directors will be given a more comprehensive update on the change of names on the Certificate of Title for the property at the Directors meeting. There isnalso an issue with the boundry fence on the eastern side of the building which Directors will need to be aware of.

There are a number of important issues concerning the running and operation of the society that will need to be discussed by the Directors. Recommendations from our solicitor regarding the Memorandum and Articles of Association will need to be debated and formalized . Continuing with the role of trustees is another area that the directors will need to consider.

Information and results received at the Kiama office from the All Breeds Classification scheme has been far from ideal. They tell us that 1,038 heifers @ 3.37% VG and 210 cows @5.24% Excellent since the commencement of the scheme. I hope to have more information by our meeting.

I appreciate the effort that members on our various committees have given during the year often travelling long distances to attend and contribute to the running of the Society. Also to Anne Ryan and Janelle Johnson I appreciate their work in the secretarial, financial and registration recording of our Society. I look forward to seeing as many members as possible at the Illawarra Spring Fair at the Berry Showground 20" October 2011.