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Date: Tuesday 13th August 2002
Venue: Rebels Tavern, Worthing Football Club, Woodside Road

Present: Paul Allison (PA) - Chair Steve Barrett (SB) Helen Bowater (HB) - Minutes Mike Way (MW) Steve Storey (SS) Emma Storey (ES) Belinda Jones (BJ) Pauline Dunn (PD) Pete McGinn (PM) Roger Johnson (RJ) 41 WFCSA Members

Absent: Peter Shaugnessy (PS)

1 Introduction

1.1 PA expressed his thanks to all members present for their support, and advised the meeting was comfortably more than quorate and may proceed.

1.2 PA advised that the meeting should be short and concise, and there will be time for socialising at the end of the meeting.

2 Election of Officers and Committee Members

2.1 PA advised that, as per the Constitution, all current Officers and Committee Members must retire and be re-elected. PA suggested that, since it is unlikely at this early stage of the Association that there will be any changes to the Officers or existing Committee Members, there should be a block nomination. No objections were raised.

2.2 PA advised that PS (retiring Social Convenor), has not been seen for some time, and in his absence he retires not to be re-elected.

2.3 The current Officers of the Committee were block nominated by Trevor Smart and seconded by George Ingram. All Officers were unanimously re-elected.

2.4 The current Members of the Committee were block nominated by Alastair McKail and seconded by Roger Carter. All Committee members were unanimously re-elected.

2.5 PA advised that with the retirement of PS, there is now a vacancy for the position of Social Convenor. RJ declared his intention to stand for the position. RJ was nominated by Andy Mansbridge and seconded by Roger Carter. PA welcomed RJ to the Committee.

2.6 PA explained that, since PD & BJ could not attend the inaugural meeting of WFCSA, they could not be elected onto the Committee. However, the Committee unofficially co-opted BJ & PD, who have since been making a valuable contribution. PD & BJ were nominated by Elly Simpson and seconded by Nick Courtnadge.

2.7 PA invited nominations from the floor for the position of any additional Committee Members. No intentions were declared.

2.8 PA advised this concludes the re-election of the Committee, and if anyone else feels they wish to be part of the Committee at a later date to inform one of the Committee. PA also advised that any member is free to attend Committee meetings, and that minutes are available for inspection in the matchday office and should be available to view on the Internet shortly.

3 Approval of New Constitution

3.1 PA advised the original Constitution has been altered to be a shorter more manageable document, thanks to SS who volunteered for the job in the first Committee meeting. It has been reduced to a 2-sided document and PA explained the main changes as below.

3.2 PA advised the first change was that Directors of the Football Club may now join the Association, however they may not serve on the Committee. No objections were raised.

3.3 PA explained that the Association will no longer be described as Independent, rather that it is run independently of the Football Club. No objections were raised.

3.4 The abbreviation WFCSA will now be the standard abbreviation of the Association. No objections were raised.

3.5 There has been an amendment to provide for a third signatory for the bank account, and that this means that 2 from 3 out of the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Treasurer must sign.

3.6 It was decided by Committee that all members would be issued with Membership cards.

3.7 The rule regarding the calling of an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) has been altered so that no less than 6 members must call it, as 12 may be too many given the number of members of the Association.

3.8 The Minutes of meetings will be published on the two WFCSA noticeboards (one on the side of the Matchday office and one in the Main Bar), and will be available for inspection in the Matchday office. They may be emailed to members on request. Paper copies may be made available but there will be a small administration charge for this.

3.9 The Constitution will be made available for inspection on the Internet, and PA expressed his thanks to Alastair McKail for displaying this on the Worthing FC site in the last few days.

3.10 The condition that anyone wishing to join the Committee must have been a member of the Association for 12 months has been removed. In addition any member may be co-opted onto a sub committee at any time.

3.11 PA explained that there was an omission in the Constitution with regard to 'audited accounts'. This was because the Association is rather small to warrant this, and also that all accounts are open to members for inspection at any time.

3.12 PM suggested that he Association should elect one or two members not on the Committee, to self-audit our accounts. These persons would then be able to report to the Committee or the AGM. Roger Carter declared his intention to stand for the position of Internal Auditor. RC was nominated by Pete McGinn and seconded by John Spalding. There were no other volunteers for the position. The motion was unanimously carried.

3.13 PA explained that the date of the AGM has been moved from the beginning of a new season to the end of the season. This is because this will give any new Committee time to be organised before the start of the new season.

3.14 John Spalding suggested that any further issues concerning the new constitution be left until next year, when the Association has settled down. No objections were raised.

3.15 PA proposed the new constitution and was seconded by Roger Carter. The motion was unanimously carried.

4 Chairman's Update

4.1 PA explained that so far, the catering side of things has been very successful, with the match day office selling hot drinks; cup a soup, pot noodle etc. The tea hut has also been open and was successful for the youth team friendly. The initial tea urn was kindly donated with thanks to Wiston Tea Rooms. WFCSA then had to purchase another, as it was clear that one urn would not always be enough.

4.2 PA expressed his thanks on behalf of the Association to Wiston Tea Rooms, firstly for all their help and support, and also for the running of the tea bar for the Brighton friendly. PA also expressed his thanks to all members for supporting the hut.

4.3 On the fundraising side, PA advised that WFCSA has sponsored the kit of Andy Beech. Pa explained that the kit launch night was a great success and all entry proceeds were given to WFCSA. PA expressed his thanks to the Football Club for arranging the night and benefiting WFCSA. PA advised we have an agreement with the Football Club not to promote raffles etc until after the end of the half time break. In view of this there will sometimes be blackout cards for club fundraising after the match or during the second half. PA urged members to support this where possible.

4.4 PA advised that there would be an award for the best player for each two month period during the season. Votes will be sold at 50p each, with a draw being made from the votes for a prize. The player will receive a trophy for the award.

4.5 PA advised there will be a quiz night in September/October, and that we hope to be able to invite a team from Horsham, Bognor and Lewes to promote local friendship/rivalry.

4.6 PA also advised that WFCSA hope to hold a Christmas party, possibly on December 28th, but watch this space for more information.

4.7 PA advised that we will be producing pennants for presenting to away clubs as a gesture of friendship, and to raise the profile of Worthing Football Club and WFCSA. There is an example of a similar pennant behind the rebels bar. The first few away grounds that have missed out will be presented with theirs later at Woodside or by post.

4.8 PA advised WFCSA were hoping to start a 100 club (or similar), possibly for £10 per month via standing order, and that 60% of the money will be used for prizes. PA advised this would require a commitment from members. A show of hands revealed little interest in this. R Slater suggested a show of hands at £5 per month, with the possibility of using post dated cheques as well as standing order to collect subs. This generated a lot more interest, and PA advised WFCSA should have more details available soon.

4.9 PA advised the new T-shirts for the season are now available, and are in the style of a concert tour shirt, with no mention of football but this makes other people think. The price will be £12 to non-members, and £10 to members. On sale at the AGM, or leave a £5 deposit to reserve your T-shirt.

4.10 PA advised there are metal badges available in both red and blue. The blue badge will be a limited edition of 50, so anyone wanting a blue version should purchase asap. Badges cost £2.50 to non-members, £2 to members. Different colours may follow later.

4.11 PA advised the final piece of merchandise currently on sale is keyring bottle-openers, which are unlikely to be re-ordered as people are unlikely to want more than one. They will be priced at £2 to non-members, £1.50 to members.

4.12 PA advised we have about 60 paid up members at this time, and cards were available on the way in to the AGM. If you don't have one please see HB after the meeting. After tonight cards will be available for collection at the Matchday office. The benefits of membership are that there will be discounted WFCSA merchandise, and generally you will receive something for your money.

4.13 PA also expressed that it is not just down to the Committee to raise money or come up with ideas to benefit WFCSA. Please forward any ideas to any of the Committee for discussion at meetings.

4.14 PA advised that with regard to the up and coming youth team, we are hoping to sponsor a kit for them, and WFCSA have been opening the tea bar to try and support the youth set up.

4.15 Finally, PA expressed his thanks to the existing Committee, and so far is pleased with the direction things are going in.

5 Financial Report

5.1 MW outlined he current financial status of the Association as below

INCOME £ Cash in hand at 25.04.2002 191.47 Subs etc to end of season ½ 9.00 Total 200.47

Subscriptions 26 @ £5 + 4 @ £2 138.00 Kit Launch 31.00 Brighton Game Tea Hut 100.00 Other Friendlies Tea Hut 167.19 Merchandise 93.00 Scratch Cards 23.00 Total 752.66

EXPENDITURE Supplies of Tea Hut 191.86 Cash in hand 560.80 Total 752.66

5.2 MW advised there has now been a bank account open in the name of WFCSA, with 3 signatories, being MW, PA & SB. 2 from the 3 will be required to sign.

5.3 MW explained that as the Association is very much in transit at the moment and there will soon be some significant costs to pay for, but the above figures are the position as at 31.07.02. WFCSA would not be embarrassed for any liabilities at present. MW invited any questions, none were asked.

5.4 MW explained that the merchandise for WFCSA has currently been paid for by a Committee member, and therefore will need to be repaid once there is more of the remuneration coming in.

6 Any Other Business

6.1 PA drew the prize raffle for all members in attendance at the meeting. Prizes were as follows:· 1st Prize of £20 Official WFC Club Shop Voucher· 2nd Prize of a box of chocolates· 3rd Prize of WFCSA Goody-bag

6.2 RJ advised that we want a sociable environment for WFCSA and the Football Club, so please forward any social event ideas to RJ or one of the other Committee members.

6.3 PA advised the tea hut has been busy, and any volunteers for staffing the tea hut would be greatly appreciated. Please see PA after the meeting or later on in the season. It is good fun and not too much hard work!

6.4 WFCSA has purchased a web name, purely for publishing minutes etc of any meetings, the Constitution, WFCSA programme entries, and any other information of interest to members. It will not interfere with the current Worthing Football Club official site, and will have a clear redirection button for anyone trying to get to the official site.