Minutes of the shrewsTRUST Annual General Meeting

Shrewsbury Town FC Supporters Society Limited

Registered Society number: 29984R

Trading as shrewsTRUST

Minutes of the shrewsTRUST Annual General Meeting

 held on

Wednesday 29th July 2009

at the

 Inn on the Green, Bank Farm Road, Radbrook, Shrewsbury, SY3 6DU

1. The meeting was declared open at 7.40.pm by chairman Roger Groves. The following were in attendance:

Board Members:

Name                               Position                            Attending (delete as required)

Roger Groves                    Chair                                Yes / No

Ian Jones                          Vice Chair                         Yes / No

Colin Storey                      Treasurer                         Yes / No

Ade Plimmer                      Media Manager                  Yes / No

Nick O’Leary                      Membership Secretary        Yes / No

Mike Davis                                                               Yes / No

Gary Bright                                                              Yes / No                          

Lou Phillips                        Secretary                         Yes / No

Members:

Hannah Phillips……………………………………..………Membership No 119…..…….....

Pat Whittingham……………….……………………………Membership No 36….………..

Alan James…………….……………………………………Membership No 184.…………..

Martin James (expired member).…………...………………Membership No………………..

Copies of the Agenda and Resolution forms were distributed to everyone.

Note: Are there any additional resolutions had been received. – YES/NO

Details:

…………………………………………………………………………………………………        

2. Apologies

      It was noted that apologies had been received from the following:

Gary Bright, Sheila Downs, Chris Winter, Gwyn Evans, Geoff Proffitt

Chairman’s report – The following report on the trust activities for the last financial year was read by Chairman, Roger Groves.

As the current chairman of ShrewsTRUST it is my duty and pleasure this evening, to report on our activities over the past financial year and the challenges which lie ahead.

In my statement last year I likened our performance to that of a school report and said, ‘we could do better’ well, the same could be said again this year, although I do believe we have now made some significant improvement in areas where we have previously struggled. In particular, changes in our structure and more recently our approach have enabled us to see an up turn in our achievements and results.

The lower activity levels of the trust this year are born out by the state of our balance sheet, but what we have done as a board on behalf of its members, we have done with a prudent mind, a professional approach, and with the right attitude; we just have not done enough of it.

In terms of income we have seen a significant fall from the previous year where we had the benefit of the Heroes and Legends money. We did however see an increase in membership, albeit not significantly enough to meet our expectations. I said last year that the linchpin of ShrewsTRUST is its members and the challenge of increasing our membership still remains. In a recent survey of Supporters Trusts the biggest single factor for someone leaving a trust was lack of achievement. We must ask ourselves as a board do comments like, ‘Lack of activity of the trust - it has been all but invisible in the last year’ and ‘I didn’t get a renewal form’ apply to our trust.

The same survey tells us where our opportunities lie, with examples of why fans join trusts: ‘I wanted more supporter representation at my club’  ‘I was worried about the way the club was being run’ ‘I wanted the club to be more accountable and transparent’ and ‘I wanted to see the club more engaged with the community’

These were the top reasons why fans joined a Supporters trust and I think I have probably heard all of them levied towards Shrewsbury Town Football Club by its fans.  Finally and most importantly of all, the biggest single key objective fans wanted from a trust was overwhelmingly to be, ‘a voice of the fans’. We need to look no further for the basis of our business plan.

Where we did achieve success as a trust was in terms of personnel, we saw the arrival of 2 new main board members and a new secretary, who collectively have played a big part in helping us make changes to how the trust performs and is received in the community. We now have stability within the structure of the board, people with the right skills doing what they do best.

It is my view that the trust is now in a stronger position than it was a year ago and already some of the activities and decisions we have recently made will ensure we report further growth next year.

In closing I would like you to remember that all trusts are different in so many ways, with probably one main exception, and that is its board and volunteers. A major factor of the strength of a Trust is the work of its board members along with the efforts of many volunteers and members who contribute throughout the year. Your time, your efforts and your commitment have underpinned the aims and aspirations of ShrewsTRUST on behalf of its members.

I believe we are in a much stronger position now, than we have ever been before, which personally gives me great heart and a confidence that the trust will be seen as an extremely professional and thriving organisation, which can only bode well for the future.

I would like to thank everyone who has worked so hard to get us to where we are now, this is just the beginning.

Roger Groves

Chairman

3. Treasurers report – period 1st Feb 2008 – 31st Jan 2009    

The following is report on the trusts finances was read by Treasurer Colin Storey.

The accounts reflect a year of little activity for the Trust with no major social and /or fundraising events taking place. The major source of funds were membership renewals including those members who took on the 3 year option when the Trust was first set up, The recruitment of new members remains disappointing but recognising that members fees are our only recurring source of income special consideration has been given to this resulting in a subsequent reduction in the annual subscription and introduction of membership drives.

Expenditures have been relatively small although Postage / Printing / Stationary expenditure reflects the repayment of expenditure by Board Members over a period of time. Conference / Meeting expenses were substantially reduced with fewer attendees mainly because of location rather than lack of interest. The Trust took advantage of its FA “recognised body” status to purchase discounted tickets for the England Ladies international and made these available to members and a children’s organisation.

The balance held at bank is in excess of £**** and as Board policy part of this and future surpluses are earmarked for our “rainy day” fund should the unthinkable ever happen. While recognising that it is also necessary to retain a healthy balance for day to day expenditure we also need to make these funds “work” for us in attracting and retaining regular income sources (e.g. increased exposure, corporate sponsorship, raising profile) so that we can represent better both members and fans as well as potential STFC share purchase(s) as and when the opportunities arise.

Colin Storey (Treasurer Elect)

4. Resolutions – see appendix 1 for details

I can report that I have received…NO .further resolutions/no further resolutions (delete as appropriate) in the post and so we remain with the Four that you have detailed in front of you

Resolution No.1 - To approve the financial accounts for the period 1st February 2008 – 31st January 2009

First Resolution

In respect of approving the financial accounts of ShrewsTRUST

This applies to the period 1st February 2008 until 31^st January 2009

A copy of the annual accounts was made available to all present.

The resolution to accept the accounts presented as accurate was proposed by Nick O’Leary and seconded by Martin James

The resolution was passed / not passed.

Resolution No.2 – To grant authority to re-appoint Richard Harper as the trust’s Independent Examiner until the next AGM.

Second Resolution

In respect of re-appointing Richard Harper as the trusts Independent Examiner until the next AGM

This applies to the period up until 31st January 2010.

Those in attendance were informed of the following information for consideration.

A resolution was passed at our AGM in 2007 to allow for the provision of an Independent Examination in place of a full audit. The board can report that the re-appointment of Mr Richard Harper complies fully with the current rules and constitution of the trust.  

The members of the society agree that the Accounts for the financial year ending on 31st January 2009 and for which reports will be laid before the following AGM do not require a full audit provided that:

·         The total income for that year does not exceed the threshold laid down by Supporters Direct for audit exemption (currently £25,000)

·         An Independent Examination of those accounts is carried out in place of the full Audit and in line with the best practice of Supporters Direct as set out in the Guidance Notes.

·         A report from the Independent Examiner is included within the Accounts and circulated to members.

·         The Independent Examination does not carry the same weight as a full Audit.

·         The Board shall agree the appointment of the examiner and shall agree the terms of that appointment in writing.

·         Supporters Direct will use the report of an Independent Examiner when considering your Trust’s eligibility for membership as against criteria in its membership policy.

The resolution to re-appoint Richard Harper as our Independent Examiner was proposed by Ade Plimmer and seconded by Ian Jones

The resolution was passed / not passed.

Resolution No.3 – To appoint Lou Phillips as Secretary of the trust until the next AGM.

Third Resolution

In respect of appointing Lou Philips as Secretary of the trust until the next AGM

Following the last AGM the current board appointed Lou temporarily to the role of secretary following the departure of Sarah Donlan. Lou has served the trust exceptionally well during the last year and has provided the current board with support and advice on a regular basis. The current board feel Lou has now gained the relevant experience required and therefore wish to make the appointment permanent until the next AGM.

The resolution to appoint Lou Philips as secretary of the trust until the next AGM was proposed by Ian Jones and seconded by Mike Davis

The resolution was passed / not passed.

Resolution No.4 - To grant authority for the appointed secretary of the trust to have their current permanent place of residence as the trusts registered address.

Fourth Resolution

In respect of the trust’s appointed secretary to have their place of residence as the registered address of ShrewsTRUST .

It is a requirement of the current trust rules that the trust’s registered address is changed to the current permanent place of residence of the secretary, namely 94 Mary Webb Road, Meole Brace, Shrewsbury, SY3 9NU.

It is also a requirement to inform the Secretary to the Registrar of Friendly Societies as prescribed by Treasury Regulations within 14 days of any change.

The resolution to change the registered address of the trust to 94 Mary Webb Road, Meole Brace, Shrewsbury SY3 9NU was proposed by Mike Davis and seconded by Ade Plimmer

The resolution was passed / not passed

5. Open discussion on ‘ShrewsTRUST – where do we go from here……

A frank and open discussion followed, it was mentioned the trust lacked exposure and few people were really aware of it’s existence or what the trust did, this was taken on board by board members present and it was explained that things were now moving forward at a greater pace, that the membership had more than doubled since the year end 31^st January 2009, and that the trust had increased it’s activity with various events including the nostalgia night, but that the work would not stop there and much more was planned and being put into action.

Martin James offered his help

Trust buses would be advertised with leaflets in each pub.

It was agreed we would approach the club to have a representative at trust meetings.

6. Any Other Business

Nominations received

For 12 vacancies were from

Roger Groves

Ade Plimmer

Ian Jones

Nick O’Leary

Mike Davis

Colin Storey

Hannah

7. Close

The chairman thanked everyone for attending and reminded everyone that our monthly meetings were open to all members.

The meeting was declared closed at ………9.50……..pm

ShrewsTRUST, PO Box 4642, Shrewsbury, SY3 6WX