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Minutes of the inaugural meeting for the election of Officers and approval of the constitution

Date: Thursday 25th April 2002
Venue: Main Clubhouse, Worthing Football Club, Woodside Road

Present: Richard Terry (RT) Barry Lloyd (BL) Paul Allison (PA) Steve Barrett (SB) Peter Shaughnessy (PS) Michael Way (MW) Helen Bowater (HB) Roger Johnson (RJ) Peter McGinn (PM) Emma Storey (ES) Steve Storey (SS) Approx 50 additional members of WFCSA

1 Introduction

1.1 Richard Terry introduced the meeting with a speech detailing the roots of the organisation, and what he hoped would be the aims.

1.2 Barry Lloyd (WFC First Team Manager) outlined his previous involvement with Supporters Associations, including his time at Yeovil Town.

1.3 RT suggested that the agenda be changed, so the election of Officers preceded the discussion on the constitution. All agreed.

2 Election of Officers (see also below: 8 Update since Meeting)

2.1 RT outlined that any potential candidates would need to declare their intention to stand, and this would be followed by a nomination/seconded process, and in the event of more than one candidate or any opposition, there would be a ballot.

2.2 Paul Allison declared his intention to stand for position of Chairman. PA was nominated by Elly Simpson and seconded by Steve Barrett. PA was unanimously elected Chairman.

2.3 RT vacated the chair and passed the responsibility to PA for the remainder of the meeting.

2.4 PA expressed his thanks to RT for the hard work in getting the association off the ground. PA also thanked Ian Fowler, George Ingram, Alastair McKail, Steve Wyatt, James Barrett, Helen Bowater, Elly Simpson and Gordon for their work in getting the association off the ground and signing up members, and Morty Hollis (WFC President) and BL for their support for the Association from the outset.

2.5 PA proposed that the Officer positions of Membership Secretary and Secretary are combined into a single position, allowing for the creation of a new Officer position of Social Convenor. This was unanimously agreed.

2.6 Steve Barrett declared his intention to stand for the position of Vice Chairman. SB was nominated by Pete McGinn and seconded by Keith Kennett. SB was unanimously elected Vice-Chairman.

2.7 Peter Shaughnessy declared his intention to stand for the position of Secretary / Membership Secretary. PS was nominated by George Ingram and seconded by Steve Storey. PS was unanimously elected Secretary / Membership Secretary.

2.8 Michael Way declared his intention to stand for the position of Treasurer. PA explained that MW has been in position of Acting Treasurer since the launch of the Association in March 2002. MW was nominated by Vic Moss and seconded by Alastair McKail. MW was unanimously elected Treasurer.

2.9 Helen Bowater declared her intention to stand for the position of Social Convenor. HB was nominated by Elly Simpson and seconded by Andy Mannsbridge. PA explained that HB was his partner, and if anyone in attendance was concerned that this may lead to a conflict of interest, this was an opportunity to air any objections. There were no objections from the floor. HB was unanimously elected Social Convenor.

3 Constitution

3.1 PA advised that the new Committee should be given the opportunity to review the constitution over the summer, however explained that a copy of a ratified constitution would need to be placed with the Association's Bankers in order to facilitate the opening of an account. PA asked that the membership approve the constitution in its current state pending a review.

3.2 A question over the wording of Worthing Football Club in item 1a of the constitution was raised from the floor. RT advised that this should read "Worthing Football Club Limited" and was omitted due to a typing error. PA proposed that this wording was amended at 1a - all agreed. The name of the association shall remain unchanged.

3.3 Note: Wording of constitution also amended at 7d and 7f in light of 2.5 above.

4 Election of Committee

4.1 PA invited nominations from the floor for the position of Committee Members. PA explained that these positions would be for initially unspecified roles, assisting the Officers and helping with the decision-making process and to help generate and implement ideas for fundraising and promoting the Association.

4.2 Roger Johnson declared his intention to stand for the position of Committee Member. RJ was nominated by Pete McGinn and seconded by Alastair McKail. RJ was unanimously elected a member of the Association's Committee.

4.3 Peter McGinn declared his intention to stand for the position of Committee Member. PM was nominated by Andy Mannsbridge and seconded by Jools Chaffer. PM was unanimously elected a member of the Association's Committee.

4.4 Emma Storey declared her intention to stand for the position of Committee Member. ES was nominated by Steve Storey and seconded by Roger Johnson. ES was unanimously elected a member of the Association's Committee.

4.5 Steve Storey declared his intention to stand for the position of Committee Member. SS was nominated by Emma Storey and seconded by Roger Carter. SS was unanimously elected a member of the Association's Committee.

5 Financial Report

5.1 MW outlined the financial status of the Association as below

Income £ Subscriptions (121 members @ £2.00) 242.00 Donations 18.00 Total 260.00 Expenditure Stationery, postage etc 68.53 Cash in hand 191.47 Total 260.00

5.2 MW explained that £191.47 of the Association's funds were currently banked by himself pending the opening of a dedicated account for the Association. The account will be opened as per the constitution, with PA and MW as joint signatories.

6 Future Projects / Fundraising

6.1 PA advised that he has had several ideas ahead if this meeting, including · Quiz nights and other social events · Supporters Association merchandise, e.g. t-shirts, metal badges · The possibility of using the old tea bar on the north side of the ground

6.2 PA explained that above were purely formative ideas, and a meeting of the newly elected Committee would have to take place before any events or ideas for fundraising could be planned.

6.3 PA advised that he would be available immediately after the meeting to receive any ideas from the floor that could be taken forward into the first committee meeting.

6.4 PA also advised that the club had agreed to open the Rebels Tavern on Friday 26th April. This is to enable the supporters to meet up and socialise and it is hoped to extend this on a regular basis next season. Although the opening of the bar does not directly benefit the Supporters Association, PA backed this idea as a chance for supporters to become acquainted with each other.

7 Any Other Business

7.1 PA advised that it was hoped to hold the first Committee Meeting in early June, and an AGM to ratify the new Constitution would be held in the pre-season, in July or August 2002.

8 Update since meeting:

Immediately following the meeting, the five new officers convened to discuss the way forward. It was unanimously agreed that PS and HB would swap roles, as PS's suggestions were more akin to the role of Social Convenor, and HB's computer skills and experience of taking minutes would be more suited to the position of secretary.