WALSALL
SUPPORTERS’ TRUST
Minutes of Annual General
Meeting held at the Saddlers Club 29th Jan 2003
Meeting Commences 7.30pm
Apologies -: None received
Chair -: Richard Hall,
V.Chair -: S.Shaw, Secretary-: P.Sturgess,
Treasurer-:D.Roe
Trustees -:Ray Rowley, A.Winnall
11 Members attended
Due to the membership
attendance not being quorate the start of the meeting was delayed until 7.50pm
At 7.50 pm the meeting was
declared closed as not being quorate and reopened at 7.55 pm
Accepted
as a true and correct record
2. Matters Arising
Bob
Barnard questioned the chair about the Trust becoming an Industrial and Provident
Society. RH explained that he was
seeking more advice from Supporters Direct and that we had not proceeded as yet
due to the expense.
3. Secretary’s Report
The
secretary expressed his thanks to all who had attended, and gave an update on
the Trust’s present position.
Membership
stood at 237 and this was favourable compared to Trusts of clubs of a similar size,
It also reflects the relative feel-good factor associated with the club.
Three
recruitment drives had been carried out this year and he thanked all those who
had helped out at these.
Negotiations
were under way in an effort to purchase more shares it was understood a
possible further 180 shares may be available, the Secretary thank Ray Rowley
for his continued search for shareholders.
The
Trust still has a slot on the local radio station The Bridge, when it is
broadcasting, which is approximately 3 times per year for about 4-6 weeks. He
thanked Bob Thomas for his continued support in giving this opportunity to the
Trust.
The
Secretary outlined that dialogue with the club has proven difficult, basically
because the club refuse to recognise the Trust, even though other clubs have
enthusiastically embraced the chance to build on relationship with their fans
through their respective Trust’s e.g. Watford & QPR.
They
continue to quote the liaison committee as the focus for fans to have contact
with the club, however turn out is very low (mainly Trust or ISSA members who attend
alongside the unelected body from the Saddlers Club who say very little). He
personally doubted the benefit of this particular forum but the Trust will
continue to attend as it is the only access to dialogue that is currently
available.
The
Trust is considering forming a Travel Club for away matches, however it would
be required to have consistent numbers to make it work. Short-term it may need
to be restricted to a minibus or a coach for the “bigger” games i.e. F.A. Cup
Games. Trust members were asked to contact the Trust if they would be
interested.
Finally
he thanked all the Board members for their support during the last year.
4.
Treasurers Report
D.Roe
issued the accounts for the last 12 months and stated that the Trust had a
positive trading position of £146.00
Income
for the year was £1075.00
Expenditure £929.00
The
Chair thanked D.Roe for his contribution during the year and requested that the
accounts be accepted,
Proposer -: B. Barnard
Seconder-: R.Rowley Carried
unanimously
5.
Election of Officers
The
Chair informed the meeting that S.Shaw ( V.Chair ) had announced he was
standing down.
R.Hall
proposed that R.Rowley be the next V.Chair
P.Sturgess
Seconded the proposal Carried
unanimously
This
left the election of a replacement for R.Rowley’s Trustee position.
P.Giess
was proposed by D.Roe
Seconded by D.Clark carried
unanimously
6.
Appointment of Auditors
Bob
Barnard expressed an opinion that the cost of auditing the accounts seemed
expensive for what it is. It was accepted that the present auditors do a good
job but a member of the Trust had approached them and may be able to do them at
less cost.
It
was agreed to approach the individual with a view to considering the possible
change of auditors for next year.
D.Roe
proposed that they be appointed for the next year
P.Giess
seconded Carried
unanimously
7.
Any Other Business
Fund
Raising: R.Hall outlined the real need to improve our fundraising. The
Sportsmans’ evenings had not been as successful has we would have hoped
financially but had been great entertainment. Other options would need to be
looked at. R.Hall stressed the need to share the workload of the Trust and that
if we could get up a regular travel club we could have a steady income stream.
Shares
60 shares were about to be paid for and a further 175 may be available from a
number of sources.
R
Hall then went on to outline information from Supporters Direct with regards to
issues with other Trusts/Clubs. The key concern was that some clubs had sold
their ground and leased it back, putting the future of these clubs at risk. He
stressed that there was no indication that the future of WFC as at risk, but it
highlighted the fact that none of the fans know about the ownership of the
Club, the Land and the influence of the J W Bonser Pension fund. This was
something that the Trust would be investigating.
There
was a discussion with regards to the Trust carrying out a survey to try to
establish why some of the fans are staying away from matches and then to
approach the club with some positive proposals to improve this issue (probably
the biggest problem the Club faces). It was agreed to look further into the
feasibility of such a survey.
It
was also agreed that the Trust had been too quiet and needed more publicity,
i.e. more press coverage.
The
Trust via R Hall then thanked Bob Thomas the Sports Presenter of The Bridge radio
station for their support through the year.
We
had received no response from letters sent to both P.Waterman and C.Lee
respectively and the Trust was still investigating how best to link up with
other WFC supporter groups.
The meeting closed at 9.15 pm.