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Date: Thursday 1st May 2003
Venue: Rebels Tavern, Worthing Football Club, Woodside Road, Worthing

Present: Paul Allison (PA) – Chair Steve Barrett (SB)
Helen Bowater (HB) – Minutes Mike Way (MW)
Roger Johnson (RJ) Pauline Dunn (PD)
Tim Dibben (TD) Belinda Jones (BJ)
Steve Storey (SS) Emma Storey (ES)
20 WFCSA members

Apologies: Pete McGinn (PM) John Spalding
William Martin Verity Spalding

1 Introduction

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

1.2 PA advised that, following the alterations to the Constitution made in the previous AGM, the date had been moved forward to the end of the season rather than the start of the next, to give any new committee the chance to work on new ideas. That is why this would appear to be the second AGM of the season.

2 Election of Officers and Committee Members

2.1 PA advised that, as per the Constitution, all current Officers and Committee Members have resigned en bloc and must be re-elected.

2.2 PA advised that, after careful consideration, a few of the existing committee have resigned and will not be standing for re-election.

2.3 PA advised that Pete McGinn will not be standing for re-election, and thanked him for his great contribution to WFCSA this season, not the least of which was the idea behind the free drink and mince pie at Christmas.

2.4 PA advised that Pauline Dunn will not be standing for re-election, and thanked her for her contribution to WFCSA this season, including the organisation and implementation of the recent Easter Egg hunt for the children on Easter Monday.

2.5 PA advised that he will also not be standing for re-election, due to travel and work commitments. He advised this was not a decision he had taken lightly, he had enjoyed being part of WFCSA and that it had been a privilege to represent WFCSA over the year. He also stated that SB will be standing for Chairman and SS for Vice-Chairman, and that in an effort to maintain continuity for WFCSA, he fully supports both nominations and requests the support of the membership in this matter. PA also advised that, over the course of last season, RJ had handed the role of social convenor over to TD, who will be standing for this position this year, and thanked RJ for his contribution to the role.

2.6 PA invited nominations for the position of Chairman. SB was nominated by PA and seconded by Roy Fowler. SB was unanimously elected Chairman.

2.7 PA invited nominations for the position of Vice-Chairman. SS was nominated by Ian Fowler and seconded by PD. SS was unanimously elected Vice-Chairman.

2.8 PA invited nominations for the position of Secretary/Membership Secretary. HB was nominated by SS and seconded by Peter Betteridge. HB was unanimously elected Secretary/Membership Secretary.

2.9 PA invited nominations for the position of Social Convenor. TD was nominated by Roger Johnson and seconded by Andy Mansbridge. TD was unanimously elected Social Convenor.

2.10 PA invited nominations for the position of Treasurer. MW was nominated by Morty Hollis and seconded by Tim Dibben. MW was unanimously elected Treasurer.

2.11 PA invited nominations for the position of Committee Members. BJ was nominated by PD and seconded by Elly Simpson. RJ was nominated by MW and seconded by BJ. ES was nominated by TD and seconded by Jamie Yates. All were unanimously elected Committee Members.

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

2.13 PA advised this concludes the re-election of Committee and if anyone else feels they wish to be part of the Committee at a later date, to inform one of the Committee.

3 Constitutional Issues

3.1 PA advised there were no proposed changes to the Constitution. No issues or objections were raised.

4 2003-2004 Membership Fees

4.1 PA advised that it is proposed to keep the membership fees for next season at £5 for Adults, and £2 for Juniors. No objections were raised, motion unanimously carried.

5 Chairman’s Update

5.1 PA began by thanking all members for their support over the season. He advised that the biggest news was that WFCSA have made a donation to the Football Club of £1000 towards the cost of the new pitch. This is to help with the percentage of money that must be raised in order for the club to receive the necessary grants for the rest of the cost. This has been reported recently in the local and national press and local media.

5.2 PA advised that the success story of the season has been the tea hut, having quickly become an institution, and helping the Snack Shack to concentrate on the more profitable area of hot food. He expressed special thanks to the WFCSA Committee for staffing the hut all season, not only for WFC first team matches but also for Youth Team matches and Brighton Reserve matches. PA reiterated that all offers of help are appreciated, and if anyone is interested in helping to inform one of the Committee.

5.2 PA advised that the merchandise has had a mixed response but has on the whole been successful. In addition to badges, t-shirts and keyrings there are also now teddy-bears in the teahut.

5.3 PA expressed his thanks to those who have supported our social events over the year, and advised that there has been an upward trend for attendance at events. An initial quiz night in October was sparsely attended, and on the strength of this the proposed Christmas Party was cancelled. The second quiz night in March was more successful, and other recent events include a Skittles evening and an Easter Egg hunt.

5.4 PA informed all present that the official club presentation night for the players will be held in the Main Bar on Friday 16th May 2003. All are welcome to attend.

5.5 PA advised that the WFCSA website (which is for information updates only) is in need of an update, which will be done over the close season.

5.6 PA advised that the bi-monthly WFCSA Supporters Player was won by Paul Kennett (Aug/Sept), Ben Carrington (Oct/Nov), Matthew May (Dec/Jan), Mark Knee (March). Votes for this have been sold at 50p, which has helped towards the cost of the trophies, a bottle of wine for the winning player, and a bottle of wine for the winning vote, (the winner of which also had the chance to present the trophy to the player on the pitch). PA advised that votes for the player for April/May are on sale from ES after the AGM has finished.

5.7 PA advised that the proposed 100 club was delayed at the request of the Football Club, due to a proposed scheme of their own.

5.8 PA reported that the other main issue (which has attracted bad publicity in certain quarters) is the support of the Youth Team, which WFCSA pledged to do at the last AGM. The Sussex County Registration Fees of the Youth Team were paid for by WFCSA, and the Youth Team Committee donated a case of Lucozade to the tea hut to raise funds for WFCSA. In January, WFCSA were asked to take a stand against the WFC board, by writing to the Sports and Social Club (who own the Woodside Road ground) to question the decision to allow Brighton and Withdean to use the pitch, causing the Youth Team to be overlooked on several occasions. The Committee took the decision not to write the requested letter, as this was not seen to be in the interests of our members who are first team supporters first and foremost. Since then this has caused negative feelings and publicity in some sections, and PA stressed that WFCSA is independent of the club (and of the youth team) and we will always aim to act in the interests of our members first.

5.9 PA advised that, over the course of the season, we have given WFCSA pennants to all the clubs we have visited as a gesture of goodwill and to promote Worthing FC. This has been gratefully received by all clubs.

5.10 PA summed up by advising that it although it has been a difficult first year at times, not helped by the lack of matches at the turn of the year, it has been a success, due to the hard work of the Committee and the support of the members. He thanked everyone for their support and handed over to the new chairman for an update for next season.

5.11 SB expressed a vote of thanks to PA for his hard work over the season, and stated that he is keen to keep the social side of things going over the close season.

5.12 SB also advised the Football Club will again be holding DIY days this summer, where fans have the opportunity to spend a day at the ground helping out with various jobs that need doing. There were 2 days last year which were both successful and fun. He encouraged members to try to put in an appearance.

6 Financial Report

6.1 MW advised that Roger Carter, who had agreed to audit the WFCSA accounts, checked these on 31 March 2003, and was happy with the progress so far. It was suggested that the official audit be moved to the 31 May each year, to coincide with the natural year end of a Football Club. After this date, the accounts will be available for inspection for anyone wishing to have a look.

6.2 MW gave an outline of the income and expenditure of WFCSA over the season, and no questions were raised.

7 Any Other Business

7.1 PA drew the raffle prize for all members in attendance at the meeting. Prizes were as follows:· 1st Prize of Choice from the Club Shop won by 168 Belinda Jones· 2nd Prize of Bottle of Wine won by 164 R Slater· 3rd Prize of WFCSA T-shirt won by 180 Paul Jones· 4th Prize of WFCSA T-shirt won by 169 Pauline Dunn

7.2 No business raised from the floor.

7.3 Morty Hollis, on behalf of the Football Club, expressed his thanks to WFCSA for the donation to the pitch, it was very gratefully received.

7.4 PA brought the meeting to a close, and expressed his thanks to Morty Hollis, Barry Lloyd, Keith Rowley and John Locke for attending the meeting.