My last Mandate ( part 5)

On March 12^th 2016 the assembly of members lasted less than an hour. Considering how dramatic the meeting of the Management Board was last time, I expected the same atmosphere, but nothing like that happened.

On the first day of fishing season, April 1^st, I didn't catch any fish, and furthermore all the fishermen were complaining about the bad catch. I felt embarrassed, as I expected a better season since we had put rainbow trout from our new fish farm into the rivers. The following days fishermen were still not satisfied. Comments on our online forum were numerous and everyone thought the fault was in our new fish farm. I found those comments silly, but many of our members were in really bad mood. The chairman of the Supervisory Board was threatening to request an extraordinary assembly where the bad catch should be discussed.

I often went to the new fish farm and one day I talked to one of the workers there. When we discussed the bad catch I told him I found it strange not to have caught any fish myself, as I had done it in previous years. Then he said: “Mr President, do you know that the master of The Fishing Club put only half the amount of fish, comparing the years before, into the rivers!”

I became very angry, as I had been asking the master all the time if we had enough rainbow trout to put into the rivers before the fishing season. He claimed that there were enough fish. So what was going on? I knew that the manager of Faronika (also the master of The Fishing Club) was constantly having financial problems. After all we hadn’t even paid the rainbow trout bought from Mrs Mirella in Italy last autumn. If only he had told me there were not enough fish, I would find a way to tackle the matter.

I checked how many rainbow trout we needed, as those we had were too small for putting into the rivers. I estimated we should buy two tons. I decided to convene a meeting of the Management Board. The meeting was quite dramatic, though we finally voted two important conclusions:

1.    We immediately buy 2 tons of rainbow trout for putting into the rivers.

2.    The manager of Faronika d. o. o. can’t be the master of fishing family at the same time.

Some members of the Management Board had warned me before that it wasn’t proper that one person had those two functions. The master of The Fishing Club is the one who buys the fish whereas the manager of Faronika is the one who sells them which really does not go together. I was well aware of that, though I asked the members to wait until a new president of The Fishing Club was elected. I had enough problems and I wanted some peace till the end of my mandate. But when that conflict turned up at the beginning of the fishing season, I knew we should act immediately.

We urgently needed money for buying fish. The banks were out of the question, so my colleague from student’s time in Ljubljana borrowed me some money. We immediately paid the debts to Mrs Mirella and bought another two tons of rainbow trout, which we put into the rivers. In the following months the rainbow trout from Faronika grew up enough.

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At the end of May 2016 we had to re-elect the general manager of Faronika d.o.o. The company Faronika d.o.o. was established in 2011 and then the Management Board of The Fishing Club Tolmin appointed Dušan Jesenšek as a general manager for five years. Until the fish farm was built, everything went smoothly, and the workers from the The Fishing Club were only transferred into the new company. Soon after July 1^st 2015 when the fish farm was built, problems began turning up. It was clear to me that we should start selling fish as soon as possible if we wanted to start paying off the credits and interest for our investment. I had that feeling that Dušan doesn’t understand what tasks are most important for a general manager of the company. I know that one can be intelligent, but it is not easy to become a good general manager at the age of over fifty. There are numerous things to be considered: motivating the employees, organizing working process, increasing the selling, paying attention to liquidity, and so on.

I thought Dušan would stay the general manager of Faronika, and a new master of The Fishing Club would be appointed. We had six meetings, and many members were critical about the present general manager. Some of them proposed a call, but I warned them about the liquidity problems. If Faronika got a new general manager, the salaries would be too high. When Dušan had been appointed the general manager we promised, in an individual contract, that he would remain working in Faronika, when someone else would be a general manager.

There were ten people at the meeting, and most of them with no knowledge of what is important when appointing a general manager of a company. Fortunately, Oskar Rosič suggested appointing the Board of Directors (BD) for Faronika d. o. o. and a few people who know how to run the business of companies should be in it. We all agreed with his suggestion. The Management Board would be appointed after the appointed general manager of Faronika d.o.o.

Meanwhile Dušan and I drove to Friuli to buy rainbow trout and we had a lot of time to talk. He asked me if we would appoint him as general manager again. I told him I didn’t know how the Management Board would decide. I also told him how he should have worked as a general manager of Faronika and I thought he understood me.

Before appointing the general manager we demanded a written programme for Faronika for the following five years. I don’t know how Andrej Costantini was suggested to prepare the programme. So at the first meeting I found it strange when he told us he wasn’t going to be e candidate, since nobody suggested him. It’s true though, he helped a lot in Faronika with the sale and fish processing. I told Dušan a few times that he should pay him for the time working there, but he didn’t. So he only got what he earned for a working time in The Fishing Club.

Dušan called me before the last meeting where we were to appoint a general manager. He wanted to meet with Andrej and me in the pub Baron. It surprised me when Dušan began talking. He suggested Andrej as a new general manager of Faronika saying that he would like to remain the master of The Fishing Club. They were both ready to reduce the salary which seemed to be the problem. Furthermore Dušan was ready to help Andrej any time.

I was a bit shocked. I thought we would re-elect Dušan, and Andrej would help selling and processing on condition he got paid for his work. I had already found a new candidate for the master of The Fishing Club. That was Boštjan Jakopič, who used to be the master of Nova Gorica Fishing Club. I had already invited him to the meeting of the Management Board so that he could introduce himself, and all the members agreed with my suggestion.

I did not like that turnaround. Of course Andrej was a good worker and helped me a lot. But I couldn’t see him in the role of a general manager. If the new general manager is not determined enough and if the previous one stays in the company, troubles are predictable. But they both insisted on their suggestion. Finally I agreed to present the situation to the Management Board but there were too many members against Dušan as the master of The Fishing Club, and all that influenced the atmosphere in Faronika. That was the reason I wanted to prevent further misunderstandings.

Despite my efforts I failed and Dušan threatened to resign if he didn’t stay the master of The Fishing Club. Till then I thought he found the company important, but then I realized he wanted to manage fishing in our rivers. He is no doubt a great expert in managing fish, but on the other hand he is too big an individualist to motivate fishermen. I also felt he didn’t want a competitor. I often suggested we should find somebody to replace him, but he always found an excuse that it was not necessary.

Eventually I let it be his way. Thinking back, I realize that was a big mistake. Probably he wouldn’t resign, but I was afraid things would go wrong if he did. After all, we only just began our business in the new fish farm.

At the final meeting concerning re-election I presented his suggestion to the members of the Management Board. The meeting was short, since all the members but one agreed to appoint Dušan.

When I wanted to congratulate Dušan, he became angry saying, that he would send a note to all the members of the Management Board that he would resign. I asked him not to complicate matters further. I really didn’t feel good like having numerous meetings concerning the problem of a general manager of Faronika d.o.o. I had troubles to convince him to wait till a new competent   Board of Directors would be appointed.

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On 27^th May 2016, at our last meeting when we appointed Dušan Jesenšek the general manager of Faronika d. o. o., we agreed that every member should consider the candidates for the Board of Directors of our company. We agreed that the president of the BD should always be the president of The Fishing Club at the same time.  This is important due to coordinating the management of the fish farm and fishing family. Besides we should appoint a member from   Bovec, Kobarid, and Tolmin, as our Fishing Club manages all the rivers in the region. It is important, however, that members are well acquainted with the business of the company.

The meeting for appointing The Board of Directors was on 16^th June. Till then I found three extra members. Milan Berlot, a member of the Management Board, also suggested his candidates, but I didn’t take them into consideration. I was sure my suggestion was good, though I was aware that some members of the Management Board had a different opinion. I was already near the end of my mandate, so if the Management Board appointed other members for BD, I would resign.

At the beginning of our meeting I presented my suggestion, and soon the problems turned up. Three members of the Management Board and the Chairman of the Supervisory Board complained that I was like a dictator. They said that more candidates should be suggested and then elected democratically. I was fed up listening to their intrigue and when I got to the word I said: “As you know, I am one of the candidates for a member of the BD, so it is not appropriate for me to participate in the debate. Each of you can suggest extra candidates, but then you should finally agree who would be the members of the BD. I want my deputy Andrej Costantini to continue the meeting. When you finish your work I want someone to call me.”

I left the meeting and went to the pub Baron. I ordered a whiskey, lit a cigar and enjoyed the sunny day. I spent about an hour and a half talking to my acquaintances. Then Andrej called me and I returned to the meeting. The Management Board appointed the candidates I had suggested for the Board of Directors. Three people were against my suggestion; Milan Berlot and two members from Kobarid.

More than a month passed before we had the first meeting of the Board of Directors. It was on 21^st July when Dušan resigned as the general manager of Faronika d. o. o., and Andrej Costantini was appointed. 

On 1^st August 2016, Andrej became the new general manager, and in a few days he went on holiday. I didn’t like that, though I didn’t mention it to anyone.

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In the middle of July there was a meeting of the Management Board containing ten topics on the agenda. The last meetings, especially those after my stroke, had become more and more exciting. I let all the members know that I wouldn’t candidate as the president of Tolmin Fishing Club for another mandate and since then the atmosphere was tense. The 5^th topic became a trigger for misunderstanding.

An international team for the Fish-Trail project should have been appointed. Dušan Jesenšek acquired the project which would be financed 75% by UE, and 25% by the five partners from Great Britain, Ireland, Denmark, Portugal and Slovenia. The secretary, who should speak English fluently and know how to manage such projects, would do the most work. I thought Dušan would be perfect for the job, but he told me he didn’t have enough time, so he suggested his son Gašper. I was aware that the members of the Management Board wouldn’t be easy to convince, since nepotism and money matters are a very sensitive topic in our environment. I knew Gašper would be appropriate for the job, and didn’t see any other options.

So when we discussed that topic, it became really nasty. The chairman of the Supervisory Board blamed Dušan of abusing his position in the Fishing Club for providing a job for his son. At that point I got really angry myself, and I said that was a terrible insult. I knew Gašper was the only one capable to manage that project, nevertheless I told the chairman to do it if he felt capable of doing it himself. The debate followed. Many members criticized Dušan, but no one suggested who should take over the task. Finally I managed to convince the members to trust Gašper to manage the project.

Since the meeting was so tumultuous, I had been considering it for some of the following days, and I felt really bad. I couldn’t believe Dušan didn’t see the things like I did. “When I am not the president of the Fishing Club anymore, there will be no one to back him up”, I thought. I had been telling him that the Fishing Club was a community of hundreds of equal members and if you are their leader, you should have good rapport with most of them. Otherwise they can turn against you. Therefore I always asked him to join me at the meetings with fishermen. If he did, he could present his valuable work in the Fishing Club. Somehow he never took my advice into consideration. I had always backed him up, because he is an expert in his field, but he should also learn how to cooperate with people of the same interests.

When the members of our Fishing Club were coming to my office I used to ask them if they knew anyone who spoke English well and was able to manage international projects. So one of them mentioned Blaž Močnik as a possible candidate. He is a correspondent for the daily newspaper Delo, besides he is a good fisherman and also a guide for foreign fishermen. I soon estimated he could be a good Fish-Trail project manager. As a candidate for a new president of the Fishing Club was always on my mind, I thought he could be the right one, too.

First I talked to Dušan. When I suggested that we could appoint Blaž for the project manager instead of Gašper, he agreed. So both of them, Dušan and Gašper, would avoid getting too many opponents. If Blaž managed the Fish-Trail project well, we could suggest him as a candidate for the president of the Fishing Club. We thoroughly talked that topic over, and he agreed. After that I explained everything to Gašper and he also seemed to understand my points.

Later I invited Blaž to a job interview. When I explained everything, he agreed to manage the Fish-Trail project. I sent the same suggestion to all the members of the Management Board via e-mail, and they all agreed. I think they were rather satisfied with it. Then I went to Dušan and let him know about the changes. I was shocked to realize that he was angry even though it all seemed to have been settled before. At that point there was no way to change anything and when I was leaving, I felt that he was very angry at me.

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The Festival of the Marble Trout was the first Fish-Trail activity. Foreign partners were invited to attend the event, which was planned for last four days at the end of September.  The consultation on the new Fisheries and Breeding Plan for all the members of Tolmin Fishing Club was one of the major activities. In July I have already acquired lecturers from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries Institute, and the University of Ljubljana where they had prepared the plans for some years. Andrej Costantini was responsible for the whole festival though.

A week before the festival I came to the office and realized that it was just then that Andrej was trying to book seats for all the participants in a restaurant. I got really angry. Andrej and his colleagues tried to calm me down reassuring me that they would manage to do everything in time. Nevertheless that is not the way to tackle such important things. Everything should have been done a month in advance! The lunch was planned for the second day of the festival and luckily it was raining all the time, so only 30 members came. If not so, there would be not enough room at camp Siber, because they had had some seats booked earlier by some other people. We experienced even a bigger fiasco when only four members of our Fishing Club, together with Dušan, our secretary and me, came to the consultation!

Nevertheless, the festival turned out successfully, especially the last two days, when our foreign partners joined us. The weather was beautiful, our guests could go fishing and they enjoyed our company.

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Soon problems turned up among the employees in Faronika. I was afraid that would happen since Andrej is not determined enough and he doesn’t act when necessary. I wanted to help him, so I invited him to my home to discuss his business moves. I didn’t want his employees to know that, because in that case his reputation would be compromised. I tried to explain what the important general manager’s decisions are and how they should be realized quickly. I have numerous books on managing at home, and I borrowed him one I find the best, which is “In Search of Excellence” by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman. I bought that book in the early 80-ies and it helped me a lot at my work as a general manager. I underlined the most important facts in the book and borrowed it to Andrej. I hoped that would help him.

After a few months I realized it was no use trying to change him, it would be best to change the director of Faronika sooner or later.  I got to know that the general manager of Faronika was afraid of Dušan, the master of the Fishing Club, so he didn’t even start doing the business plan. When I learned he didn’t even prepare the work contract for Dušan, I got really angry. I called him and explained that penalties may be imposed on the company and himself, if he doesn’t comply with legal obligations. He agreed and apologized that it was Dušan who didn’t agree with him. I warned him that he was obliged to make the work contract, or else Dušan should leave.

I knew a new general manager should be appointed. It wasn’t easy though, as the salary was not high, and the company underwent constant financial problems. Towards the end of the year I suggested the Management Board to take a 20.000 € loan for Faronika. I was considering Urška Bizjak as a new general manager , since she had been the accountant in Tolmin Fishing Club for 15 years and in Faronika since the beginning. I called her and told her that I see her as a future GM of Faronika. I noticed she liked the idea, but she asked for some time to consider my offer. After a week she refused it. She said that she didn’t know anything about the fish and that worried her. I admitted that it may present a difficulty, but there were other more important issues and every clever GM could soon learn what was necessary for the technological process of the company. Furthermore the master of fishing managment was a real expert and she could count on him. Well, she didn’t accept the offer.

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At the end of October we attended the Assembly of the Federation of Fishing Clubs of Primorska, the president of which was Andrej Costantini. I often warned him that the Assembly should have been realized till May. Jože Kravanja, the president of the Supervisory Board of the Assembly of the Federation of Fishing Clubs of Primorska insisted on that even more. I had an inkling that something would go wrong, and so it did. The leaderships of Fishing Clubs of Primorska, Tolmin and Koper Fishing Clubs excluded, had had meetings beforehand. At the General Assembly they carried out a rebellion. But the fact is that it was illegal. The candidates for the new leadership should have been presented to all the members 15 days in advance. The new leadership was illegal but it was partly Andrej’s fault, as he hadn’t realized the assembly in time. We didn’t even think of causing problems.

The following working day I became furious. The members of the new leadership came to Tolmin and they wanted Andrej to submit all the documents of the Assembly of the Federation of Fishing Clubs of Primorska in order to take them to Postojna to the headquarters of new leadership. Andrej was frightened and I didn’t like it at all. I prevented Andrej to do what they wanted, because the documents were obliged to be submitted only after the new leadership had been registered at the administrative unit. Our Management Board decided that the new leadership was not legally elected. So a new Assembly had to be called and that happened just before the New Year. At the Assembly of our Fishing Club in March 2017, we left the Assembly of the Federation of Fishing Clubs of Primorska.

My Last Mandate (part 4)

In June 2015 I began writing my book; really fast in spite the problems due to my damages brain. In spite of all the hard crisis we managed to save our new fish farm and on 30^th June it was finished, physically and bureaucracy wise. We also managed to buy fish and the fishing season was saved. My book was finished at the beginning of August and I am really grateful to Danica Taljat (my nephew’s wife) who offered to proofread it free of charge. We cooperated really well, so the book was ready for printing in Gaya d. o. o. at the end of August. My youngest son Luka designed the book cover. I had to keep reminding him of his promise and finally he found the inspiration and did it well. In the morning of September 18^th the books were delivered to Tolmin Fishing Club, which was on the day of opening ceremony of the new fish farm.

Of course the book was not the only thing on my mind. On 6^th June I started negotiating for a new credit in NKBM and the Land Bank of Slovenia. Faronika should return the money to my daughter Tina soon, and we had to buy the necessary fish farm equipment. The next day the manager of the Land Bank of Slovenia came. First I showed him the new fish farm, and then I told him why we needed the credit. I also mentioned the possibility of cooperation in future.  We agreed for a 150.000 eur credit for five years and deferral of the principal for two years. The interests would be 1% lower than those with previous credits.

Thinking of those procedures today I find them funny. When I invited Mr Slokar from the Land Bank of Slovenia (DSB), Dušan Jesenšek, the manager of Faronika d. o. o., didn’t join us. In fact it was his task to manage business affairs before and after the investment. Well, we know why I had to manage them. It would be normal that Tolmin Fishing Club and I as its president should do the investment. But we had to establish a new company and appoint a new manager in order to get the money for the investment. In fact all the other things went on as previously.

However, I was sure that as we had finished the investment effectively and since then the manager  Dušan Jesenšek would be able to manage it normally. Very soon, at the beginning of August, a new problem appeared. The manager of the Land Bank of Slovenia from Nova Gorica called me and told me they couldn’t approve the credit since all our assets were mortgaged. I claimed it wasn’t possible. We had built a new fish farm worth 2,5 million eur and there should have been some mistake. The general manager did not give up. I felt very uncomfortable, like many times before. Then I remembered that we all gave it a mortgage, including the plot where we had built Faronika,  when we got the investment loan from the Austrian bank.

I spent another night sleepless. I was considering different solutions, but no one was to my liking. I was afraid we couldn’t get a credit and I couldn’t return the money to my daughter. Furthermore it would be hard working in the new fish farm without a forklift and other equipment. Early in the morning I went to the office to thoroughly check all contracts on investment loans, and I found it was true what the bank manager claimed. When negotiating a new credit with the Land Bank of Slovenia, the manager suggested they would take over a loan from the Austrian bank, if they agreed. So I checked that contract and if we were to do that, a compensation of 22.000 eur should be paid.

So I soon phoned the Austrian bank. They didn’t agree with my proposal, but they offered an additional credit instead, since the situation normalized in their bank. We soon signed an agreement for 120.000 eur loan and could return the money to my daughter and buy some equipment on time.

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On 18th September 2015 we had the opening of our new fish farm. In the morning my books “From the Marble Trout to Faronika” were delivered. At 5 p.m. the opening ceremony of the new fish farm was on. A few days before our plan was like this: I, the president of Tolmin fishing family, would be the first speaker, Dušan Jesenšek, the manager of Faronika d. o. o., would be the second, but the major speaker would be Mr Dejan Židan, the minister of agriculture. I changed the order of speakers, placing the manager of Faronika to the first place, me following. I need to say why I did that. People in Ministry of Agriculture always feared that there would be a problem in Brussels if there was even a hint that the Fishing Club had anything to do with the investment. Therefore we had to establish a new company and be careful not to mention the role of the Fishing Club. So I assumed it would be only natural that the manager of the new company had the first speech. 

About 100 people were invited to the opening ceremony, most of them who were of great support at our project. After the speeches we had a cultural programme, besides the weather was wonderful.  I feel like mentioning that the minister of agriculture in Check republic, who was visiting Slovenia at the time being, was present at our ceremony, too. After the ceremony we were all supposed to go to restaurant Labrca where degustation of our fish and more was prepared. My books were there ready for the invitees. We also prepared symbolic presents for the important invitees, like the minister of agriculture. Unfortunately he left soon after the ceremony, because he had the meeting with the members of his party in Tolmin. Mr Židan helped us a lot with our project and that’s why I asked him to give a speech. It was very disappointing for me and the rest of us when he left so soon and didn’t join us in the evening. Nevertheless our pleasant socializing lasted till late night and I had a lot of work signing my books for the invitees. Dušan didn’t come near me for the whole evening and I noticed he was avoiding me. It was month later when he came to my office asking me for the book. Of course I was happy to give him one with a written dedication.

The next day, on Saturday, we had our new fish farm open for public. In the afternoon there was the Marble Trout Festival and the 60^th anniversary of Primorska Association of Fishing Clubs. When I arrived to Faronika in the morning, I couldn’t believe my eyes; there were numerous people and I had troubles finding a parking place in front of the former hotel Centroslavija. I estimated there were about 500 hundred people and that meant a good promotion for Tolmin fishing family and our company Faronika d. o. o. Everyone was served a drink and snacks made of our fish.

I won’t say a lot of what was going on in the afternoon, since such happenings resemble each other. Many people were awarded medals and diplomas. In short, I was sure my task was accomplished at that point.

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Almost a year passed since I had a stroke and I could work as the president of Tolmin fishing family quite normally though I had problems talking and writing. I was particularly disturbed because I couldn’t always say the words I wanted at the meetings. I also found it hard to communicate with strangers, though I could speak many foreign languages before my illness. So I was thinking of finishing my career in Tolmin Fishing Club. I ran for the last turn only to build the farm, and now, when it's over and I'm no longer a 100% president, it would be best to resign.

During my sick leave Andrej Costantini replaced me. Soon after returning from hospital I asked my wife to call into the fishing family office. She told the accountant to transfer my salary to Andrej every month. Even when I was ready to go back to work I proposed Andrej to help me with some jobs and we would get half a salary each. At that time I got to know him better. He was hardworking but not determined enough in some matters. We often talked, so one day I said to him; “I can’t work as the president of the Fishing Club so well as before, and I accomplished a major project, so now I am ready to resign.  I would recommend you at assembly of members to finish my mandate!”

I have no idea why he didn’t agree with my proposal. I often tried to persuade him, but his response was always the same. He thought I should finish it myself. When I realized he wouldn’t change his mind, I stopped asking him and didn’t mention any of our talks to anybody. Thinking of the near future, I realized I had another task. When we started the investment we were at the loss of money, so our members lent their money. We managed to gather over 60.000 € this way.  I was aware that we were to return that money to our members; 20.000 eur in 2016 and about 45.000 eur in 2017. That was the main reason why I remained the president of the fishing family; I wanted the task to be fulfilled correctly.

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I often went to the new fish farm, sometimes even early in the mornings at weekends. The graylings were still dying though the temperature of water was lower. In November Dušan brought 60.000 young marble trout, about 6 cm long. The fact that Faronika didn’t sell any fish to other buyers disturbed me. We had to pay interest on loans, and the highest cost were the salaries and fish food. I repeatedly warned the manager that it was high time to start marketing and selling. I was very careful with the money myself. Every month I called the meeting with the manager and the accountant in order to check cash flow for three months in advance for both, the Fishing Club and Faronika. We never came to illiquidity because I could react in time.

Towards the end of the year Andrej helped me prepare the statistics for the previous fishing season. He was also preparing new contracts for selling fishing permits for the next season. He also helped in Faronika and thanks to him a small shop was open on 9^th December 2015. I posted the news with some photos on Facebook, and soon Roman Dolinšek, the president of Supervisory Board of Tolmin fishing family, commented: “I’m afraid we won’t have enough fish to put into our rivers!”

I thought he was just joking, so I replied we would buy them in the fish farm. Later I realized that what he wrote was meant seriously.

At Christmas my daughter’s family and my youngest son came home. When we lived in Dar es Salaam we used to buy big fish from Indian Ocean and they were delicious. So at that event we agreed to buy a big fish from Faronika. I went to the fish farm and chose a 3 kg heavy fish from Rižana. Tribal flock of these fish are the Adriatic river trout according to mitohondrian DNK. We get eggs from them for Koper Fishing Club. They are really beautiful, rather wider than longer. On my way home I stopped at the local shop Kmetijska zadruga in Tolmin and showed the fish to the office workers. They we thrilled about it, and when it became jumping it was really funny!

On Christmas day my wife prepared the fish in the oven, like she used to do in Africa. I had to cut off its head and tail, if I wanted to put it diagonally on to a baking dish. Our lunch was delicious and we became nostalgic thinking of our days in Africa.

We agreed to prepare a meal from some fish, rainbow trout, from Faronika one of the following days. Since I knew Pele was on duty on Sunday, I went to the fish farm early in the morning to buy some rainbow trout. When I arrived, Dušan was there and I found it strange to find him there on Sunday. He didn’t even greet me, he just ran off to his office. I noticed that Pele didn’t look fine either. He opened one of the pools for me and what I saw was horrible. On the surface of water the raibow trouts were lying dead.

I understood why Pele was so miserable. On the same Sunday, 5th December 2005, they called me from the fish farm in Zalog, where one ton of graylings died and Pele was on duty there as well. It was time of heavy raining and at the entrance of fish farm there were many tree branches and leaves, so consequently there was not enough water flow through the fish farm. The fish didn’t get enough oxygen.  Isolated marble trouts and breeding graylings were rarer in the pools so they remained alive. The one and two year old grayling were very dense in the three swimming pools, so they lacked oxygen and died. At that time, the Steering Committee made a survey and considered that Pele did not arrive on time and so he was punished. I am sorry for that decision even nowadays!

It seemed impossible that something like that could happen in the new fish farm. It must have been the fault of the builders; they must have left something in the swimming pool pipeline. The water had already been cleaned before it came from the fish farm in Zalog which is 1100 meters away. In the reservoir in Faronika the water is once again purified before it flows through the pipeline into 14 pools. So what happened?

Dušan called all the workers and they began taking fish from the pools and cleaned them. At the same time he called other fish farms in Slovenia, asking if they would sell fresh rainbow trout at a reduced price. I was present for some hours and estimated that about 200 kg fish had died. In fact the number was even higher, it was 450 kg. The water was just leaking from the pipeline to the pool, although it was fully turned on. When the fish were taken from the pool the water suddenly broke out. We noticed parts of a big marble trout in the pool! So that was the reason of the clogged pipeline! That marble trout came from a tribal flock in Zalog. It had to jump in front of the net into the long pipeline, and when it came into the reservoir in Faronika, it had to jump over the net once more and from the chambers into the pipeline for that pool. In the pool there is a curved pipeline where it must have stopped. After some hours the water pressure tore it and so it could come to the pool in pieces. It’s incredible!

Just before lunch I brought home some of those fish and I didn’t tell anyone what had happened for a long time. I was afraid that there might be another serious accident. I hoped it wouldn’t, because I am usually an optimist. Anyway, the year was over and I thought that the main problems were over.

                                                     ***

At the beginning of each year a business report for assembly of members had to be done. The last fishing season was not too good because we sold too little fishing permits. Of course that depended on the weather and the water status, which is normal in our branch. We had a loss of 14,400 eur in our Fishing Club, while we had a 19,200 eur profit the year before. I didn’t like those facts, as I was aware that we were constantly on the verge of liquidity. Last February we had no problem paying off the credit to our members so in the past year I wanted to prepare a deposit of at least € 40,000, but I failed. Nevertheless we somehow managed to return all members' loans worth € 45,000. Soon after that I wrote a kind thank you letter to all our member creditors mentioning that I was counting on them if we would need their help any time in the future. I told my secretary that it was urgent to send those letters as soon as possible. I was afraid that liquidity would be difficult to be obtained until mid-May, when money from tourist fishing permits starts coming.

Our secretary is very good with the clients, but unfortunately she is not efficient completing the tasks on time. For 17 years I kept warning her about the minutes, letters, etc., but I was not able to influence on her. Like many times before the thank you letters were not sent on time, so I had to tell her she needn’t have bordered, as it was too late anyway. A letter like that is sensible to be send soon after repayment of obligations, or never.

Mr Costantini and I often talked about the problem of selling fish from Faronika. What we sold in our small shop was too little. In January he mentioned it would be wise to start selling fresh fish in the local shop of the agriculture cooperative of Tolmin. Let me mention at this point that he knows all the sales procedures. As I found his proposal very wise, I soon phoned the manager of The Agriculture Cooperative. He invited me to come to his office to discuss the matter. We both agreed the idea was good; the only drawback was that he had to get a certificate in their Executive Committee, which would last a few days. I told him that Mr Costantini would come to arrange all the procedures concerning the sale.

I was pleased we would finally sell our fish in local shops, so I went to the manager of Faronika to tell him the good news. I thought he would be happy to accept a little help from Andrej and me, but when I told him the news, he angrily replied: “Well, I am the manager, so why should Mr Costantini help me!”

Well, I soon realized he was bothered by a manager's syndrome, so I said:” God help, of course you are the manager; we only want to help you. Finally it will be your decision about the contract and the price; I just think Costantini knows all the selling procedures better than you. Call the manager of The Agriculture Cooperative and discuss the major matters with him.”

He remained silent for some time, and then he asked: “Have you paid that fish from Rižana on Christmas?”

“Of course I have, you know that I pay all fish I take in Faronika. I paid it to Robi. First he insisted I’d take it free, as I am the president of The Fishing Club, but I insisted and paid for it according to the price list. Well, I suggested paying twice as much as rainbow trout costs. And so we agreed it was a fair deal.”

 Dušan replied immediately: »That fish was more expensive. You should have paid the price of the marble trout, which is 35 € a kilo!”

“Good god!” I found it silly to continue talking to him. It didn’t even come to his mind that I was his boss and that his remarks were inappropriate.

Later I phoned both, the manager of The Agriculture Cooperative and Costantini, to tell them how to deal with Dušan to prevent misunderstandings. Let me remark, that there is still no contract between Faronika and Kmetijska zadruga at that point.

On 2^nd February 2016 first fish from Faronika were sold in the local shops of The Agriculture Cooperative Tolmin.

                                                         ***

When the reports for the assembly of members were ready, I sent them and the invitations for the meeting to the members of the Management Board and the Chairman of the Supervisory Board. The meeting was a great disappointment for me. After overcoming all the challenges and finishing the fish farm successfully, I had to listen to critics of hum much money we had spent and how the fishing season was bad. I wanted to convince the members that we needed time to see the results (the marble trout and grayling should be growing for two years, whereas we would be able to put these fish into rivers), but it was all in vain.

The plan of putting rainbow trout into rivers proved to be problematic. The plan was prepared by Dušan, the master of our Fishing Club, and approved by the Management Committee under my leadership. In the coming fishing season, 13,300 kg of rainbow trout was to be put into rivers, which was 700 kg less than allowed by the Ministries of Agriculture and Environment. It was my fault not to be too careful. I knew Dušan tended to plan less rainbow trout than it was allowed but he planned more sprouts  of marble trout and grayling. On the other hand I wanted more fish to be put into rivers, so the fishing would be better than the previous year. I was looking forward of putting rainbow trout from our new fish farm into rivers during the whole season. If I demanded to rise the putting of rainbow trout into rivers, the problem would not appear at all.

Some members and the Chairman of the Supervisory Board were furious that we hadn’t planned the maximum possible number of rainbow trout to be put into rivers. It was in vain trying to reassure them that we could soon change the plan. Our misunderstanding was the topic of conversations among the members for long time. In February of that year we had had three meetings and I can’t remember when exactly I got my nerves off and I left in the middle of the session. While leaving I angrily remarked: “I don’t have to stand that nonsense anymore!”

Having arrived home I sat in the garage, lit my cigar, poured some cognac and thought: “I can’t stand that anymore, I’m going to resign. I am 73 and I can’t listen to such stupid discussions.”

Since I was 28, when I first became a manager, I have always had similar functions. When I was to resign, I always cold headedly thought about it, revising arguments for and against, and I was never as upset as that day. Some days later, when I calmed down, I decided not to resign.

My Last Mandate (3rd part)

The fish farm had been finished and on 21st May we took it over from the building constructors.

I became euphoric. The writing of my book was getting better, so I felt I would succeed.

Of course I wasn't aware what was about to happen in June 2015. So from my previous euphoric state I fell into a terrible crisis. I was concerned how that would influence my brain.

In June 20015 we first moved the fish (graylings 1+ and 2+) from the small fish farm by the Tolminka river into spacious pools, where there was more than enough water. We were enthusiastic about it.

On the same day we had the meeting of assembly of members. First we had a look at the beautiful new building, and then we had the formal part of our meeting. There were different topics on the agenda, among which also appointment to steering committee for the opening of the new fish farm.

When we came to the last topic, questions and initiatives, I proposed to soon start a new investment. At first the whole project consisted of 20 pools, but we only managed to build 14 of them due to lack of money. At that point we had almost everything; the building site and permission to build. What we needed was just money. In my opinion that wouldn’t be a big investment, presumably between 500 to 600 thousand EUR. Furthermore in 2016 the Ministry of Agriculture would call for applications from fishing funds EU and we could get 50 % of money needed. I explained to the members that by bigger capacity Faronika could produce higher surplus, so consequently we could pay of the credit more easily. The market of fish we raised was not a problem either. Furthermore, by 2018 the fishing clubs would have to buy rainbow trout only from certified fish farms, and that would be our advantage. The quantity of water in the six new pools would be equal as that in the fourteen built ones, and not many more workers would be needed to raise twice as many fish. So the investment would be wise.

The problem was that I was the only one who thought my idea was exciting. It did not come to my mind that anyone would disagree. All the members expressed a doubt, and they wanted to wait before enlarging the infrastructure. I couldn’t but ask if they were not aware that such good conditions wouldn’t last for long. No one supported my idea. Finally the manager of Faronika just said: “The problem is that we must buy some terrain from ARSO to round off our plot.”

God help him! He’s the manager and has no idea of improving the company. “We’ll see what happens,” I thought to myself. And then it struck me: “This is the first time of my mandate, that I’ve been defeated. I have to think how to hand over my function. It looks like things will go down!”

In February we checked, together with Andrej and Dušan, how the building was going on and I soon estimated that we would have financial problems again. The investment consisted of two parts: the fish farm and food processing. The agency of agricultural market constantly expected our reports on both the projects separately.  It was obvious that we could spend less money on the food processing project, but more on the fish farm. So the price for the fish farm was to be paid by Faronika d. o. o., whereas what we could save at the food processing project should be returned to Brussels. So we lost 100.000 eur provided from EU. Neither Faronika d. o. o. nor the Fishing club of Tolmin had the money we needed, which was 130.000 €. If we wanted to get funds from the EU fish fund, we were to finish both the investments by June 2015.

I can’t remember whether it was me or Dušan who called the Bank. Dušan, Andrej and I went to the bank in Celovec. The bank clerk had estimated that our project was progressing well, and promised to approve an additional credit. We calculated there would be no other complications until the project was finished. At the end of May 2015 the Bank association informed us that the additional credit for Faronika d. o. o. was approved. So I was certain we could pay all the bills and finish the investment on time that is till June 30th 2015 and send the confirmation about the finished works to the Agency of Agricultural Market.

What remained were only the pleasant jobs. I was writing the book very intensively and I was optimistic about finishing it. I invited the entrepreneur from Ljubljana that I was in contact with during the building of Faronika and he always assured me he would financially help us if needed. While planning and building the fish farm it was always on my mind that the bills should be paid on time if we wanted to acquire the EU fishing fund. On June 4^th the mentioned acquaintance came together with his friend and I proudly showed them our beautiful new fish farm. We agreed that we could cooperate in future if we decided to expand and improve our project. I thanked him for his moral support during my past projects.

Next day Mrs. Mirella, the owner of some Italian fish farms came. We had been buying rainbow trout for the Fishing Club of Tolmin from her before. Dušan and I invited Mirella to show her our new fish farm and to make a purchase agreement. Faronika was practically built and when the Veterinary Inspectorate approved it, we could import the rainbow trout from Italy. If we want to breed fish for putting into rivers, we could only buy them from EU certified fish farms. That was important for us because we ourselves wanted to get the EU certificate, so we couldn’t get fish from any Slovene fish farm.

At the beginning of June 5^th, 2015, we put rainbow fish into the rivers of Tolmin Fishing Club. It was also planned that we would do the same in the middle of June, and then we would use fish from our new fish farm. We also planned that dr. Crivelli would do field research on Sunday 22^nd June, like he had done for 22 years before. Tolmin Fishing Club had to organize ten of our fishermen under the leadership of Dušan.

On Monday, June 8^th, I invited Stane, our former president of Tolmin fishing family. He was the one who organized the building of the small fish farm in Zalog and thus enabled us to continue working on Faronika.  I showed him the new fish farm and he was enthusiastic about it, and so was I. We were about to go to the nearest pub to have a drink and a chat, when Dušan appeared and called me. He told me boldly that the bank association had just informed him that we wouldn’t get the promised credit of 130.000 eur, and that we should get money elsewhere.

My first thought was that another stoke would hit me. I told Dušan we would consider that later together with Andrej. When I joined Stane, I didn’t mention the bad news. I did my best to sound cheerful and we were talking about all our projects. But in my brain I felt confused.

I couldn’t imagine a new crisis just before finishing the project. I immediately called the bank clerk in Klagenfurt and wanted to know what went wrong. I insisted he gave me the manager’s telephone number. He told me that wouldn’t help, because all decisions on credits should be approved by the supervisor in Vienna. So I insisted on getting the supervisor’s phone number, which annoyed the clerk. Consequently he hung up.

I called Andrej and Dušan and told them to check all the bills to be paid before June 30^th. On Wednesday, 10^th June, we had a meeting and together we estimated that we needed at least 60.000 €. At that moment we didn’t need 130.000 eur, because we got a bridging loan of 140.000 eur from a bank for the EU fund. The food processing project cost 100.000 eur less, and that couldn’t be used for another project, but returned to EU.  Till November 2015 we would have to return the whole bridging loan, so we would need 130.000 € then.

We could not rely on the bank, so what to do? I didn’t like the idea of calling the entrepreneur whom I had already shown the new fishing farm. So I got emotionally ready to call him. I explained him what had happened and asked him for a 60.000 eur loan, as he had always assured me to help if needed. I also promised to return the money in a few months. I explained him we were short of time and kindly asked him to answer as quickly as possible (at least till Sunday, 14^th June) if he could help us. He promised me he would do that, I knew I would have a hard time waiting for his reply, so I postponed the writing of my book.

On 10^th June the Veterinary Inspectorate submitted a positive decision for the food processing project. The next day they submitted a positive decision for the fish farm as well. We could hardly wait to buy rainbow trout from Italy in order to put them into rivers from our new fishing farm. The last rainbow trout which were bought in Slovenia were put into the rivers at the beginning of June. In our financial plan we wrote we would buy the rainbow fish from different fish farms in Slovenia till June 2015, and since then we would buy them from Faronika d. o. o.

The entrepreneur didn’t call me neither on Sunday nor Monday. But on Monday, Mr. Podbršček, from Slovenian Environment Agency in Nova Gorica came with the news, that we have to get a water permit from  Slovenian Environment Agency in Ljubljana which was necessary to get the building permit. During the building construction we had made some changes. According to the plan we would use fuel oil for heating the building. Since we met with the supervisors, the architects and the contractors every Tuesday, we estimated that the heat pump would be more rational for heating. The price of heating would be ¾ lower in the latter case. I knew that would raise the price of investment for some thousand euros, but nevertheless Dušan and I confirmed the changing of heating system. That was before I had the stroke. We thought it could not influence the water permit. We asked Mr. Podbršček  from Slovene Environment Agency in Nova Gorica to join us at the meeting and discuss the matter with us.

After  my stroke I had troubles making telephone calls, thus I often asked Dušan if Mr. Podbršček came. He told me, that he had called many times, but didn’t arrive yet. Finally, just before the fish farm should be finished, he came. It was on 15^th June and only 15 days were left to do all what was necessary.  After having looked around the fish farm, we had a sort of meeting where we discussed the heat pump. Mr. Podbršček told us that we needed water permit and the changing of building permit.
I suddenly felt confused in my head again asking myself if I was going to have a stroke once again. Only seven months had passed since my stroke and at that period I was constantly under shocks. I was sure the project wasn’t going to be concluded successfully. I was wondering there was no chance to finish our project by 30^th June. And our Fishing Club would lose 1.400.000 € from the EU fund, and we wouldn’t be able to return about 2.000.000 € loan to the bank. Faronika and the Fishing Club were under the mortgage and we were about to lose everything, including the fish farm in Zalog. And how many years we would have to pay off our credit, so all the money from our fishing permits would be spent for that. All those thoughts were on my troubled mind and I couldn’t say anything for quite a time.

I don’t know what was on Andrej’s and Dušan’s mind then, but when I was finally able to talk, I wasn’t neither angry, nor furious, but absolutely resigned: “This is the end of our fish farm.”

Mr. Podbršček probably felt we were all desperate, so he started telling us that everything could be done. He promised to prepare the water permit soon, we only had to contact our architect in Nova Gorica and request a change of project. At the same time we had to get the agreement of changing the building permit at the Administrative Unit of Tolmin Municipality. Gradually our hope returned and we set off to do our tasks. We hoped we would succeed in spite of all the troubles.

My acquaintance from Ljubljana didn’t call me neither on Tuesday, nor on Wednesday, so I was trying to call him, but I couldn’t come through. Finally I got his secretary who told me he was on a business journey abroad. On Wednesday evening I got his mail: “Hi, Lucijan, I am sorry for writing so late. Unfortunately I must tell you there is no good news about my loan … we’re in the middle of … purchase of shares … which would require all our available funds.  I have no doubt you’re going to find a solution – maybe you can rely on your members of the Fishing Club?”

“Well, I understand that a big entrepreneur might be at the loss of funds for a moment, but why is he suggesting relying on our members? Is he fooling me around? How am I to do it in 12 days? The procedure for this is rather complicated and time consuming, not to mention that none of the members, including me, is able to credit the project so fast”.

Andrej, Dušan and I checked how much money we need. We found out that we needed 40.000 eur to pay all the bills. I was so desperate that I thought of borrowing money from my children. “The oldest has got three children and needs money for himself. The youngest works in Switzerland, but he had been there only for two years. I would call him if I didn’t find other solution. First I would ask my daughter. In 1996 she settled in New Zealand with her boyfriend. They both got work there. Then they transferred to Australia and later to England. Now they are both in Switzerland and I might get a loan from her”.

I decided to call her and tell her about our problems concerning Faronika. She couldn’t answer me straight away. She told me that she didn’t have enough money in Switzerland, and promised to check out in Australia, where some of the bonding of her money was about to be released. The next day she called me back and told me that she could help. I told her that I needed 40.000 eur for four months. Then Faronika would have the new fishing farm worth 2,5 million € and would be able to get a new credit. At that time I could return her money back. So her money would be transferred to Switzerland and she could lend us the needed sum. I was sure we would get the money on time.

On Monday 22^nd I organized the meeting of the organizational committee for the opening of the new fish farm. We agreed that the opening ceremony would be on 18^th September in the afternoon. The manager of Faronika would be the first to have a word. The president of Tolmin Fishing Club would follow. The head speaker would be the minister of agriculture, and in case he wouldn’t be able to come, we would ask the major of Tolmin municipality to give a speech. I told the members that both of the last mentioned people helped a lot with the project when something went wrong with the bureaucracy.  They had no objection to my decision. On 19^th September the Festival of the Marble Trout was planned. In the morning we would organize the open to public happening, and in the afternoon we would invite all the members of Tolmin fishing family. The program would start with the fishing family president’s speech, which would be followed by cultural program, awarding decorations, medals, and cups. We would have a picnic afterwards.

At the beginning of June the weather was hot. On 2^nd June we were happy to have moved graylings (born in 2013 and 2014) from the small fishing farm in Zalog to the new one. They had little space there. We hoped that the pools in the new fishing farm would be filled with water in May, but the contractors were slow and we had to “push” them a bit. Well, at last the graylings had three big pools, what was really luxurious compering to previous ones.

Our joy did not last long. Every morning we noticed plenty of dead graylings in the pools. We hoped that was just a temporary crisis, but it went on. I kept asking Dušan what he thought about that. He estimated that the fish underwent certain stress when being transferred from smaller to larger space, and also the water temperature was a bit different. In Zalog it was 14 degrees centigrade, whereas in Faronika it was 15, almost 16 degrees. Those might have been the reasons, or was it something else? Who knows? It was hard to watch the dead graylings.

Before I go on I must admit that it is better to write a few years after the things were happening. You somehow calm down and can think more rationally than at the time when you were in action. Of course it is necessary to have notes which remind you of those days.

Besides all described things so far, in June 2015 a new crisis was near. At the beginning of June we put rainbow trout, bought in Slovenia, into rivers. From the beginning of the season till then we put 4,5 tons of rainbow trout into rivers. We planned to buy new ones in Italy and transport them into the new fish farm. On 11^th June we got veterinary license for Faronika from the Veterinary Inspectorate. Dušan and I agreed to order the rainbow trout at Mrs. Mirella’s fish farm in Italy.

It was by the end of June that fishermen and fishing permit sellers started calling me and urging us to put fish into rivers due to bad catch. I was assuring them it was only the matter of short time when we would get rainbow trout. At the same time Dušan told me that the rainbow trout were ordered soon after we had agreed but the supplier had problems with their Veterinary Inspectorate, since our fish farm wasn’t registered on the EU list yet. 

On 15^th June field research started under the supervision of Dr. Crivelli. We still hadn’t got the fish, so Dušan and I started calling the suppliers in Slovenia; with no success though. After 20^th June it started raining heavily and till 23^rd June 258 mm rain had fallen. Most of the rainbow trout were taken away by the flood. After that we had great problem fishing.
 
At the beginning of June I was rather optimistic thinking we would have no problems finishing the fish farm on time. And then problems began to accumulate; first the approved money was lost, then we feared we wouldn’t get the change of building permit on time, and at the end we couldn’t get fish for putting into rivers! I became extremely irritable, which is not usual for me. We were uncertain about obtaining 1,3 million €, and on the top of that there were pressures from fishermen and fishing permit sellers. I couldn’t control my feelings so I was rather rude with people, who wanted something from me, including Roman (the president of Supervisory Board): “You insist on getting those fish, do you have any idea what is going on! The fish are a minor problem, we are about to stay without the new fish farm!” Roman was at the loss for words for a moment, and then he replied: “I am sorry I don’t know what your problems are, but without rainbow trout the fishing is really bad.”

When I calmed down, I realized that I was really impossible. I should have told him what was going on without bursting out. So I tried to explain him calmly, but I am not sure he understood.

On Monday 29^th June my daughter transferred her money on our account, so we paid all the bills. On the same day we got the change of building permit in the Administrative Unit of Tolmin, so we could report the completion of investment to the Agency for Agricultural Markets. On one hand I was very happy to have successfully finished the fish farm, but on the other hand I was concerned about the fishing season.

In the beginning of June my attitude towards Dušan was getting worse. One day I called him to my office, Andrej was present as well. If I felt well, I would talk to Dušan on our own. But I noticed that after my stroke I became choleric. It wasn’t nice of me, but I couldn’t help myself behaving like I did. I demanded from Dušan to solve the problem of purchasing fish in Italy. Of course, he was nervous about the situation himself and our tempers grew worse. I didn’t even hear him telling me that he was doing his best, and the fault was on the supplier’s side due to bureaucracy. I insisted that he should solve the problem no matter what he had to do. He despaired saying: “I am exhausted; I haven’t had a holiday for three years!”

I was thrown out of the track: “Never mention something like that again! You are the manager, so organize the company and take a holiday whenever you want. If you are not able to organize others, then work on your own. I don’t want to hear a word about it!”

He left and I am sure he was angry at me. It was well aware that our relationship was damaged for ever. Anyway, he soon solved the problem calling the Veterinary Inspectorate, where they checked our documents and found out they forgot to register our fish farm on EU web page. So the matter was solved instantly and Dušan informed me that we would get rainbow trout on 16^th June. For the same day I convened a meeting of the Management Board. I wanted the members of Management Board to see the rainbow trout in our new fish farm. After the meeting we went to the fish farm and the members of MB could see the fish destined to be put into our rivers.