Minutes of Part A of the Supporters Trust Meeting held at St James’ Centre on Monday, April 16, 2007 at 6.30pm.

Present: Denise Watts (Chair), Martin Lawrence, Rob Doige, Pete Martin, Damien Mills, Adrian Hitchcox, Fran Jenkins, Helen Bigwood, Neil Le Milliere, David Treharne, Chris Phillips and Ian Jubb.

Officers: Nigel Banks (Treasurer).

No non-BoS Trust members attended.

A/07/32 Welcome and apologies for absence:
Apologies for absence had been received from Tony Boston (Secretary), Trevor Manley and Tony Badcock.

A/07/33 Minutes of the previous meeting March 17th 2007:
Following review of the previous minutes from the Board of Society meeting March 17th 2007, these were signed without amendment as a true and fair record of the Meeting. it was agreed to approve these minutes with no alteration.

A/07/34 Matters Arising from these minutes:
a) Re A/07/30e), it was agreed that all reports on fundraising should in future come through the Commercial Sub Committee given the lack of a responsible trustee to take this remit forward. Given the nature of fundraising as a commercial entity, it was agreed that this should be adopted as a remit of the Trust Commercial Board.
It was subsequently reported that the chairs for hospitality were borrowed in the end by the Football Club. Chris Phillips asked whether it would be worth taking a decision with respect to purchasing the seats. It was then agreed that the chairman would find out the position regarding the seats from Frances Farley. David Treharne agreed that it would be beneficial to receive “chapter & verse” from the club with respect to this item of expenditure. Nigel Banks suggested the application of Red or Dead? monies to fund this item of expenditure.
b) Re A/07/28a), Neil Le Milliere reported that the approval of AGM minutes can only be put into the public domain after ratification at the next AGM.
With respect to some of the rule changes, Neil Le Milliere reported that he believed that the Secretary had not received all the records.
Neil Le Milliere reported that he would be circulating the latest version of the Framework Document and would take trustees views on this Neil Le Milliere explained that all Red or Dead? letters would be going out next week.

A/07/35 Chairmans Business:
a) Many issues had previously been addressed in the Joint Boards Meeting, but in the absence of Paul Morrish (Commercial Director) some issues need to be clarified. It was agreed that Martin Lawrence and Pete Martin would take these to the next Club Commercial Board Meeting.
b) It was reported that the issue of Red or Dead? and the Wish List will be on the next Club Board agenda. The chairman also reported that the Touchpad cash tills (appearing on the Wish List) were being funded by the North Devon Grecians.
c) The Chairman praised the new reporting structure and also reiterated the importance of making the fan base aware of the Trust. It was agreed that the Chairman “circulating” before a game was very beneficial to recruiting new members.
d) The issue of Trust badges for Trustees was also raised. David Treharne agreed to contact a known supplier regarding obtaining some new badges.

A/07/36 Secretary’s Business:
In the absence of the Secretary, there was nothing to report.

A/07/37 Financial Update:
a) The Treasurer, Nigel Banks, reported that in a year on year comparison to last year, the Trust has seen a comparative reduction of Trust subscriptions. This could be down to a number of reasons, including the perceived success of the Football Club. It was however reported that the principal decline was being seen from annually subscribing members. It was subsequently agreed that this should be addressed.
b) Damien Mills stated that the Trust was responsible for the input of over £700,000 into the Football Club, and that the Express & Echo could be persuaded to run a series of stories relating to the importance of Trust membership. However, the timing of this is important as much of the focus immediately after the Southport match would be centred around the Playoffs should we be there!
c) Authorisation of cheques to Tony Boston (Secretary) for his quarterly secretary’s fees and PAYE contributions. It was unanimously agreed by the BOS to sanction this expenditure.
d) The issue of Grecian Goal Plus was discussed and it was unanimously agreed to earmark all funds raised from this fundraiser to go towards sewage/drainage at the Car & Fiddle training ground.
e) With respect to Trust membership and the capture of annual subscribers, Martin Lawrence reported to the BoS that he and a group of Trust Members had been working on getting the Trust database online. The system being investigated would potentially allow all Trust members to access their personal details, and make necessary amendments accordingly. This would not only ensure that our records were as up-to-date as possible, but would also alert members as to when subscriptions were due. It was proposed by Martin Lawrence to implement this system upon completion. This was seconded by Pete Martin and unanimously agreed in principle by the BoS.
f) The subject of FootyPitch was also raised by Nigel Banks, and it was reported that he was waiting to hear from Martin Ellicott & Trevor Gilbery with respect to their desire to take over FootyPitch (under the previously agreed terms with WebSelect). In light of this, it was agreed to carry this item forward to the next BoS meeting.
g) Nigel Banks also raised the issue of ECFC Supporters’ Trust Car Stickers. These were previously very popular and it was suggested that these be re-inroduced. This was proposed by Neil Le Milliere and seconded by David Treharne and unanimously agreed. David Treharne agreed to take this forward. In addition, Damien Mills agreed to contact an associate of his, should David Treharne not be able to action this.

A/07/38 Reports From Sub Boards:
a) Finance:
(i) Share Issue. David Treharne reported that he had been in correspondence with solicitor Ed Probert and that a legal precedent had been identified for shares in an expense account being taken up by majority shareholders. It was subsequently suggested that this avenue for increasing the Trust shareholding in the Football Club could be taken forward at the cessation of the Lewis and Russell trial.
Chris Phillips reported that he had been investigating the shareholding in the Football Club, and that he had gone through Companies House to obtain a list of registered shareholders in the Football Club. It was reported that there were approximately 6000 suspense shares to be accessed.
David Treharne reiterated that nothing can be actioned until the conclusion of the Lewis and Russell trial.
(ii) Finance Sub-Committee makeup. Chris Phillips reported to the BoS that David Richardson would be joining the next Finance Sub-Committee meeting and that he would report back to the BoS at the next meeting. Ian Jubb stated that Mr Richardson is a regular volunteer at the Football Club and would make a valuable addition to this Sub-Committee.
b) Operations:
(i) Damien Mills reported that, following discussion with Tony Badcock (chair of the Operations Sub-Committee), given the nature and crossover that exists between operations and community matters, that these should be amalgamated into the one Sub-Committee.
It was agreed by Damien Mills that he would speak to Tony Badcock further and would agree new Terms of Reference for this amalgamated Sub-Committee and that these could then be ratified at the next BoS meeting.
(iii) The issue of appointing a new Secretary was also raised by the Chairman. It was agreed to speak with Tony Boston and to advertise this position as soon as possible so that an appointment could potentially be made at the AGM.
c) Football:
Rob Doige, Chairman of the Football Sub-Committee had nothing to report.
d)Commercial:
(i) Following previous discussions, it was agreed in principle to incorporate fundraising into the remit of the Commercial Sub-Committee. It was suggested the Adrian Hitchcox joins the Commercial Board in a fundraising capacity. Given the change in the remit of this Sub-Committee, Martin Lawrence agreed to come back to the BoS with revised Terms of Reference for later approval by the BoS.
(ii) Terms of Reference for the position of Press Officer (previously circulated) were unanimously agreed and ratified by the BOS.
e) Community:
(i) Kick It Out!: Fran Jenkin reported that the Kick it Out 5-a-side Tournament in the summer has been agreed and will hopefully be taking place on May 27th (10:00 to 18:00) and that the whole Board of Society were welcome and encouraged to attend and contribute to the event in whatever way we could.
(ii) It was also reported to the BoS that Fran Jenkin was to meet with representatives of the David James Foundation. It was suggested that Fran mentioned the Supporters Trust and passed on our interests to the Foundation to try to develop links with this Charity. This was proposed by David Treharne and seconded by Ian Jubb and unanimously agreed.

A/07/39 Any Other Business:
a) Re the Nina Wills Trophy for Trust Member of the Year. Following the Trust receiving nominations for 2 individuals to be considered for this award (Adrian Sproston and Ian Jubb), it was agreed that this vote should be concluded on the night of the meeting. At this point, Ian Jubb left the meeting and the vote was taken with Ian Jubb winning the vote by 5 votes to 2 with 4 abstentions. It was then agreed to present the trophy to Ian Jubb on the pitch at the Southport match.
b) Chris Phillips presented new Terms of Reference and his strategic aims linkage diagram to the BoS that took into account linkages and how some strategic aims fall under the remit of certain Sub-Committees. Following discussions by the BoS, Chris Phillips agreed to amend the diagram further and come back to the BoS. It was also suggested that there should be a reporting structure for the Chairs of each Sub-Committee to measure strategic aims achievement.
c) An e-mail from Paul Wynne regarding the Wish List was dealt with at the Joint Boards Meeting.
d) A paper was submitted by Martin Lawrence to the BoS regarding the utilisation of a Data Management e-solution called ClubRunner. He suggested that this should be considered as a fallback should the Trust not be able to action an online system for Trust members to access their personal details. Given that subsequent to this report being written, a second system is being tested, it was agreed to hold back on voting this through, until such time that a fuller appraisal of other options can be brought to the BoS.
e) Another paper was submitted by Martin Lawrence to the BoS regarding a membership strategy. Owing to issues coming to light regarding VAT, taxation and incentivisation of Trust membership, it was agreed not to pursue this further at the present time.
f) Another paper was submitted by Martin Lawrence to the BoS regarding the issue of converting the Football Club to a Community Interest Company (CiC). Following the identification of some grammatical errors, Martin Lawrence agreed to rewrite the Terms of Reference and resubmit this to the BoS.
g) David Treharne reported to the BoS that he had taken receipt of the trophies for the Trust Sponsored Young Player of the Year award. It was reported that all other supporter group-sponsored trophies were also ready for presentation at the Southport match.
h) Dates for the next Club Board meetings were given by the Chairman as follows:
April 27
May 25
June 29
July 27
August 24.

As the Trust wished to have more representation on the Club Board and given the fact that the former Chief Executive of the Trust acted in as an official Trust observer on the Club Board, it was suggested by the Chairman that a Trustee attends one of each of the said meetings.
i) Following an e-mail to the Trust, it was identified by Nigel Banks that there was a problem with contact details displayed on the Trust PayPal pages (this also includes contact details for Martin Ellicott). Nigel Banks agreed that he would seek to change this as soon as possible.
j) Neil Le Milliere reported that following the identification of a potential new Chief Executive, this individual should meet with Mike Cooper, the previous Chief Executive. Neil Le Milliere also stated that there had been rumours regarding the potential for the Football Club to seek a new Chief Executive / Managing Director, and he reiterated his view that this should not be sanctioned.
k) Helen Bigwood raised an issue regarding catering arrangements at the Football Club. At present, the Red Army run a tuck shop underneath the Stagecoach Family Stand, and this was proving to be very successful. It was suggested that, given the Club’s decision to conduct their own catering, that the Red Army be allowed to continue with their venture in the Stagecoach Stand.
Martin Lawrence agreed to take this to the next Club commercial board meeting.

There being no other business, the meeting closed at.

ECFC SUPPORTERS TRUST - ANALYSIS OF RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS

APRIL 2007

Notes:-
Bank Balance at 30 April adjusted for outstanding cheques was £13,277.