AGM 10 November 2010 Full report

A PDF copy of the Minutes (shown below) can be downloaded here

Minutes of Annual General Meeting, 18 November 2010
New Windmill Ground, Leamington Spa

Attendees for the Trust Steering Committee
Jim Miller (Chair)
Peter Davis
Pauline Fletcher
JJ Saunders
Nick Rogers
Peter Bowen
Paul Sandison
Nick Hallworth (Minutes)

Apologies:
John Goodfellow
Chris Baker
Lee Matthews
Jason Clough
David Hallworth
Richard Bowyer

Overall attendance:

Members 33, non-members 3.

1. Welcome and introductions

Jim Miller welcomed the attendees to the AGM and read the list of apologies.JM spoke about the history of the supporters bodies at Leamington FC, starting with the Friends of Leamington FC who were essential to the club. This moved onto the Leamington FC Supporters Club which did a great deal of fundraising. Without their support, the club wouldn’t be where it is today. Jim continued to express that, as the football club evolved, a number of fans looked at the situation and decided that a better, more professional organisation was the direction to take. The formation of a Supporters’ Trust was the way forwards. Jim introduced each member of the Steering Committee present, and each person spoke a few words about their background and involvement with Leamington FC.
2. Presentations
2.1 Video presentation: A short video presentation showed slides of how the Trust came to where it is today, from formation, through early projects, to the present day.

2.2 Brakes Trust presentation: Peter Davis gave a short presentation which talked about how, as a teenager in Leamington, he felt powerless when his club was taken away from him. This happened a second time more recently as a fan of Wimbledon. As a result of the latter, he became a founding member of the Dons Trust and hence is a part owner of AFC Wimbledon. Peter explained that supporters’ trusts were often associated with bailing out clubs that were ailing or involved in power struggles, but at Harbury Lane the aim was to further strengthen ties with the successful football club and secure its future. “Here at Leamington we are unique, we have a well run club and we start off in the good times. We are successful on the pitch, have no debts, we are not struggling to pay electricity bills but we need to attract and engage more supporters and for them to become part of the club. “One of our aims is to secure a significant shareholding in the club, so that the community that is Leamington has ownership, an influence, a voice that can be heard and views that are considered as important. “Everyone associated with Leamington FC should have that sense of ownership, so the club does not fall into the hands of outsiders, who only have power and profit in mind.”
“I know that Wimbledon cannot be taken away again. I want to ensure, through the Brakes Trust, that I can say the same thing about Leamington,” he added.

2.3 Community Involvement presentation: Roy Sandison gave a short presentation which focused on the opportunities which the Trust has to engage with the community: The Brakes Trust is currently creating links with community groups and gaining expertise in securing possible grants and funds that Leamington Football Club as a Limited company are unable to do. The Trust has become a member of Warwickshire Community and Voluntary Action (WCAVA) which supports voluntary and community action in Leamington, Whitnash, Warwick, Kenilworth, and the surrounding areas. There are 450 such groups in the area, which we now have a line of communication with by being part of WCAVA.
The next steps for the Trust on the community front will be:
– To meet with Guy Rippon, Leamington FC board member responsible for Community Development. We will discuss ways of working together.
– The Trust has already had meetings with WCAVA and further meetings will be planned to discuss potential funding opportunities.
– We will publish articles in the WCAVA newsletter to raise the profile of the Trust.
– We are looking at ways of linking up with local sporting and youth groups after already having been in touch with several groups seeking assistance.
– We feel that after the positive feedback from the summer launch event from community groups that up to three themed community days could be planned during the year to bring the wider community to the football club.
– We plan to organise a ‘Discounters Day’ at the club for the local business community that have showed their commitment to Brakes supporters by offering generous discounts.
4. Business and media links presentation:

Peter Bowen gave a short presentation as follows: The Trust is keen to get closer to local businesses and industry with a view to entering into partnerships which will benefit the club, other sporting bodies, charities and the community at large. Obviously, we are hoping to attract funding and sponsorship but more importantly we want to be involved with different, more interesting and exciting projects that club cannot undertake. We are fortunate in the skills and expertise we have in the Trust: we can supply project management, provide hands-on practical help to organizations, give advice on computers and web-site development, design and artwork, desk top printing, marketing and a hundred and one other jobs. And this is where you can come in. If you know of any worthwhile causes where we can help, let us know. If you are a tradesman and have skills, let us know. If you have a special knowledge or expertise, let us know. If you are willing to be a volunteer, let us know. We don’t promise to help every with every job but we will consider every request on its merits. The local Press will be interested in projects where there is some human interest, a good story, anything that is original and strikingly different. We want more happy news in times of recession, tales of people going out of their way to help others, amazing feats by individuals to raise money, youngsters caring for the sick, handicapped and elderly. I am sure you know the sort of thing. Over the year, The Trust will get a reputation for helping out in the community and as a result we will build on our contacts with the media. In time our work in this area will be recognized and you, Leamington supporters, noted as caring, responsible citizens.

5. Q&A on the presentations
Following the presentations, the steering committee took open questions from the floor:
David Clough: Are you aiming to become a charitable Trust?
Steering Committee: No, we are an Industrial and Provident Society (IPS), very similar to a Co-operative.
Dominic Bowen: Does the Trust intend to run a coach service to away games?
Peter Davis: This is something which may be looked-into, but at the moment No. However it could be a longer-term issue. Also, the announcement of the bus service for home games took away the immediate need to look into a minibus.
Paul Sandison: Look at the number of supporters at the Salisbury game – a lot of people still prefer to travel in cars. To persuade them away from their cars we need cheap coaches, and coaches aren’t cheap.
PD: Some travel may be discussed, but further down the line.
PS: Also, we are researching travel clubs and how they work. But this is probably something for next season now.
Sue Glover: Talk to Reading. In order to travel on their transport you need to be a member. If you speak to them, they may be able to offer some advice.
Jim Miller thanked the attendees for their comments and questions.
3. Treasurer’s Report
3.1 Presentation and Votes
Nick Rogers, acting Treasurer, presented the Treasurer’s Report, a copy of which is available separately.
Nick Rogers recommended to the meeting that the Society uses Lloyds TSB for banking services. The meeting agreed unanimously. As an Industrial and Provident Society and in accordance with the rules of the Trust, it is necessary to appoint an independent auditor. Several local firms were contacted, and the practice which offered the best deal (their services for no payment) was Murphy Salisbury. The meeting voted unanimously to appoint Murphy Salisbury as the official auditor of the Brakes Trust.

3.2 Open Q&A
Questions for the acting Treasurer were invited from the floor.
John Glendenning: With reference to the Paypal account used for online transactions, does the Trust receive any special rates on fees?
Nick Rogers: Not at the moment due to difficulties in setting up the Trust’s bank account. Hence the Paypal account being used is a personal one at present.

4. Election of Society Board
4.1 Overview of election process
Nick Hallworth, acting Secretary for the Steering Committee, gave an overview of the election process as follows:
The protocols for the Society Board election process are laid out in the Rules of the Brakes Trust. These rules were agreed at the time of the Trusts formation and are available to read on the Trust website www.brakestrust.com
In the rules it states the maximum and minimum number of board members which the society must have. The minimum number is 5 and the maximum number is 9. This is comprised of elected board members and co-opted board members. There must be at least 1 co-opted member, but the maximum number of co-opted members must be less than half of the number of elected members. The election process is by nature democratic and open. The election was run by myself as the acting secretary of the steering group, and also as someone who is not standing for election onto the Society board. The role of secretary in the Trust is a non-board position, and the secretary is appointed by the Board. If the number of people standing for election is more than the number of positions then the election is a contested election and the membership is balloted. Under this scenario, an independent Returning Officer is appointed to count the votes. My Gerry Burford from the Yeltz Trust at Halesowen generously volunteered his time to do this role, should it be necessary. When the AGM notice was sent out in October, we asked for applications from members to stand for election. The total number of applications received was six, therefore the election was not contested and there was no need to ballot the membership.

4.2 Announcement of Election Results
The following people were elected to the Brakes Trust Board:
Peter Bowen
Peter Davis
Jim Miller
Nick Rogers
Paul Sandison
Roy Sandison

The election process does not place these board members into specific roles on the board – that is decided between themselves at their next Board meeting, which will be 24 November. Following the meeting there will be an announcement through the usual channels about who is going into which role. The board will also discuss who to co-opt onto the board, who to appoint as Secretary, any special appointments as required, and which working groups will be set up.
Nick Hallworth concluded by wishing the new board all the best for the future.
4.3 Open Q&A
Questions and comments were taken from the floor.
Simon Saunders: I’d like to offer thanks to all of the members of the Steering Committee who set the Trust up and worked hard to get it where it is today.

5. AOB / Open Q&A
The open Q&A session was started by Peter Bowen who said “As we have Mr Jim Scott here, Chariman of Leamington Football Club, I’d like to know what his thoughts are on the presentations and meeting he has seen this evening”.
Jim Scott: “A dynamic supporters’ body helps the club and helps everybody. We have to work within the community and be delivering for that community as we move forwards. Let’s hope it works well”.
Comment from Nigel Hodgkins which followed-on from the earlier discussion about away day coaches: “The coaches are run for the fans to use, and we don’t want to be running coaches at a loss. We would like to see more Trust members use the coaches that the club put on”.
Paul Sandison: “There was a comment about people going down privately which related to last weekend’s trip to Salisbury in the minibus”.
Sue Glover: There are quite a few people from outside the area who have to go down by car due to the timings (when the official coaches set off).
JM: The way forward could be for coaches to be run in conjunction with the Trust.
NR: We need to work with the club to ensure that the coaches are a success. But the cost is the cost.
PB: This issue demonstrates one of the reasons why the Trust was set up. There is an issue and the Trust will be able to pull people together in order to make a successful outcome.

Meeting Ended 9:00 pm