Minutes of the Bairns Trust Meeting
Monday 17th April 2006 (AGM)
at the Falkirk Stadium

 

Present: S Jackson, W Sommerville, W Anderson, B Guthrie, P Jack, F Caldwell, M McIntyre, J Gardiner, S Monfries, S Williamson, J Williamson, M Fraser, G Forster, J Dick, S Adam, K Adam, S Wilson, D Robertson, M Allan, A Ferrie, Dr. Sinclair, A Thomson, P Reid, M Paterson, A Vernall, H Johnston, A MacFarlane.

Apologies:
D Canavan, S Bird, W Toft, J Toft,J McFadden.

Welcome
Steven Jackson welcomed everyone to the meeting and outlined the problem with the AGM documentation.  With the number of applicants for the committee falling short of the required number no election would be necessary so the Scrutineer put himself forward for a place on the committee which could have thrown doubts on his impartiality. Supporters Direct had been contacted for advice and concluded that the breach of the rules was technical as nobody had been disenfranchised by it and unless there were objections from the floor the AGM could go ahead as planned.
No such objections were forthcoming and with a quorum being present the AGM went ahead as per the agenda.

Copies were circulated of the Minutes of Previous AGM

Adoption of the minutes was proposed by B Guthrie and seconded by S Williamson.

Matters Arising
Were covered as agenda topics.

Chairperson’s Report

Steven Jackson’s biggest frustration over his year as Chairman had been the inability to arrange a meeting with the manager and players to try to get them to join the Trust.  The Little Kerse tragedy and subsequent moving of training facilities to Stirling had hampered such a move, and the latest attempt to meet the team in January was prevented by the increased activities of the transfer window taking up the manager’s time.
The Falkirk Board of Directors and a few JV and FFC non-playing staff , several of whom are members of the trust, continued to be supportive of BairnsTrust and appreciated a presentation at a Board Meeting by the Chairman outlining our future aims. With our two supporters’ representative and access to the Managing Director via Saturday morning meetings, our communication with FFC is far superior to that of many other trusts.
We have also been in communication with other clubs, most notably Motherwell over issues of pricing for the September fixture.  The recent “Maggie's Day” prices of £8 and £2 may well have been a result of our previous objections.
We have communicated with Glasgow Rangers over the half time flag parade at a fixture at Ibrox and other sectarian issues with the Scottish Parliament, and we also wrote to congratulate Heart of Midlothian for their sensible policy at the Boxing Day Tynecastle fixture.
We have also forged links with other Trusts including Dundee FC’s offer of the use of Social Club facilities for BairnsTrust members at the Dundee United game and also being involved with an ArabTrust collection for Heather Hird, the 15yo Dundee United supporter who was paralysed in a road accident on the way home from the Kilmarnock v Dundee United fixture on Boxing Day.
Steven outlined how he had met the Match Commander to discuss concerns over away fans in areas reserved for Falkirk supporters, and that BairnsTrust will continue to be involved in discussions between the club and the police on such matters. A couple of season ticket numbers have been reported to the Club when away fans were found to be occupying them.
Our 4 Supporter's Liaison Officers at away fixtures has proved successful and will continue.
Steven regretted that we weren’t in a financial position to increase the trust’s shareholding this year, but were continuing to facilitate share ownership to Falkirk supporters via the ShareSave Scheme.
BairnsTrust had sponsored Craig Ireland’s shirt this season and when received it will be framed free of charge by BairnsTrust member, Stuart Knox, and used at a future date as an auction item to raise funds for the trust.
We are committed to financing the Tom Jamieson Memorial Trophy 5 a side Tourney involving pupils from Carrongrange School again this year, including a goodie bag for all participants. The event was well appreciated in its inaugural year of 2005.
BairnsTrust will also be involved with the Craig Gowans Memorial Fund, and will help to carry out the wishes of his family when final decisions are made.
A Former Players Association administered by BairnsTrust is in the embryonic stage and we hope to have this up and running for the start of the new season. There has been lots of interest from former players who have heard about it so far.
Andy Lawrie will have been with the club for 10 years this July and BairnsTrust is also involved in arranging events for his Testimonial. A dinner has been arranged for November 5th in the Park Hotel Falkirk and plans are under discussion for a Fans Night; perhaps a night in Gala Rugby Club (his home area), an u-18 disco and a match against opposition such as Sunderland, Leeds or Newcastle.
The Social Nights organised by the Social Committee have also been well received and valuable sources of income.  Steven thanked Brian Guthrie and his team and also Jimmy Black of Drew Norloch Ltd for his fantastic support and generosity towards the Trust.
Kirstie Adam was thanked for her continued work on the website and matchday distribution of the headsets for blind supporters. The 4 headphones and transmitter have been well received by our blind supporters for matchday commentary and are sought early and eagerly on matchdays.
Fergus Caldwell and Bill Anderson were thanked for their work as Supporters’ Reps over the last year for keeping us informed, as were the committee members who had served over the last year.  A new committee would be formed after the AGM was closed and there were still places available for anyone who wished to be co-opted.

Secretary’s Report

As the Chairman had reported, we have been in communication with other SPL clubs and Trusts which is all part of the improvement in communication which we felt was required.
Membership (excluding Junior Bairns members) was around 245, about 100 more than 2004-05, but a number of members from that year hadn’t renewed, so we are doing not too badly for a non-crisis situation. We still need to clarify what BairnsTrust entails and try to advertise this better to the Falkirk support and, hopefully, attract more members as a result.
We now have three corporate members and those who indicated their willingness are represented on the BairnsTrust website www.bairnstrust.com but we still have to sort out how their membership differs from that of ordinary members. 
The Secretary had attended a meeting with George Craig to discuss the formation of the Former Players’ Association. This will be an independent group administered by BairnsTrust members and the Club is looking at the possibility of arranging a room for meeting together pre-match and supplying a number of seats on matchdays.  It is hoped that former players taking advantage of this would look in on the hospitality guests to enhance their matchday experience and perhaps be available to be introduced to the crowd at half-time, help with half-time draws etc.  A sub-committee has been formed and will meet soon to get the FPA launched in time for the start of next season. This scheme has the potential to be much larger than first anticipated, but the Trust is nevertheless relishing the chance to get involved, subject to volunteers and finances.
In reply to a question about increased expenses from the floor, it was pointed out that the extra 100 members over last year, the introductory letter and membership card, and the three contact letters about the AGM were factors. We used 2nd Class post where possible and also tried to pass out these communications at monthly meetings; at home matches via the BairnsTrust table, and away matches via supporters’ buses. Every effort is made to keep secretarial expenses to a minimum. It was agreed to look at whether electronic contact alone via email might be acceptable to some members in the future. This was raised when analysing the year end accounts in the Treasurer's Report, but was specific to secretarial costs.

Treasurer’s Report

Fergus Caldwell, in his last act before standing down as joint Treasurer, reported on the Annual Accounts that the balance sheet figures were a bit distorted as we had sold many videos/DVDs in the previous financial year, but had only met the bills in the current one. A question from the floor about deferred expenditure to deal with the video/DVD situation will be passed on to the auditors, but for the period under review the Auditor deemed it not necessary.
We also had the Tee-shirt/Polo shirt members’ incentive as an additional cost over previous years, although the membership had increased.
The Balance Sheet for the year ended 30 September 2005 highlighted the cash in hand was £3000 but creditors (mainly ShareSave) were due £6400, but we hope to be able to manage this by cash flow, remembering we’ll have income from the Quiz Night and social events, but there will be outlay required for the Tom Jamieson tournament and Craig Gowans Memorial. We are currently on course to meet this shortfall by May 06.
With each Trust member since inception having £1 of their initial subscription allocated as Share Capital in the Trust there are 442 "shareholders", with 209 new members in the period to 30/09/05 that spanned two recruitment spells.
At present the Trust holds 41,393 shares and many of the members hold shares in their own right, via the ShareSave scheme.
The auditors charge very little and a motion to re-appoint them was proposed by S Wilson and seconded by J Williamson.
K Adam pointed out that she had resigned as Secretary in June 2004 and shouldn’t appear in the financial statement. On subsequent investigation, it was spotted that she still appeared as an active Committee Member in the Annual Accounts at 30/09/04 in error. A resignation date of 18/04/05 in this year's financial statements will ensure removal for next period.
A question from the floor about emailing members regarding notifications such as AGM to reduce costs was discussed. Although theoretically a good idea only half our membership has intimated a valid email address. However our constitution states that formal notices must be made by either letter or an advertisement in a local newspaper.

Peter Jack reported that the last month has seen the recruitment of 1 new adult member and £275 ShareSave income. A £10 donation raised the contingency fund to £262. This would give the Trust the opportunity to purchase, on behalf of our members, the minimum 400 shares in FFC at the 61p rate before it expires in May. £20 had been raised by selling a rare programme on EBay and a net £22 had been raised by selling Spot the Team Cards.  £140 had been raised from the first cabaret night. The second cabaret night and the 60’s night both had money to come in but each of them had made a profit for the Trust.
£108 had been paid out as Secretary’s expenses, mainly from AGM communications.
£4380 had been in the bank at the start of the month and that was now £4850.
The Treasurer had enquired about the Falkirk top raffled by the Motherwell Trust and found they had raised £480 for the Maggie's Day Fund and he visited the Killie Trust table and found that they have a similar membership and same adult and junior categories and subscription rates as we do. When combined with no fans reps on their board, highlights how far BairnsTrust have come compared with other established SPL clubs.
A letter had been prepared for sending out to ShareSavers in April, and the Treasurer confirmed he’d contacted all our corporate members about logos/links on our website and the final status is as appears on the website now.
The FSA return has to be completed and sent in by the end of the April and he reminded us that £5800 would be required for ShareSave shares over the next 3 months.
Electronic Newsletter #11 had been sent out in the past month.
The winning team on the Spot the Team card sold on the night was St Mirren, won by Walter Sommerville.
The Treasurer then moved on to discuss some of the highlights from 01/10/05 to present that will form the basis of this year's annual accounts:
The vast majority of members had joined in the period from July – September, although a total of 15 Adult, 3 Concessions and 1 Corporate Member had joined since then.
£1177 raised via standing orders towards the Sharesave scheme.
DVDs/Videos/T-Shirts/Ties still generating over £160.
Spot the Team Cards netted £82.
Main highlight was the 7 various Social Nights, all profitable, making £1800+.
Stationery and expenses costs £417.
Just over £3k profit made from 01/10/05 to present.
S Wilson proposed the motion to approve the Annual Accounts and J Williamson seconded this.

Board Members Report

Bill Anderson, who is standing down as a Supporters’ Rep at the end of this season, outlined how supportive the Falkirk FC Board of Directors had been, and also the terrible trouble other trusts had in getting supporters’ reps on their boards.
The issue of Season Ticket prices for 2006-07 would be coming up soon and BairnsTrust would be involved in the discussions.
Suggestions were being sought for ways of creating a better atmosphere at home games (apart from the obvious of winning games and building two more stands). 
Numerous suggestions were made and will be taken back to the Falkirk board for consideration.

Social Committee Report

The Social Convenor outlined how we had changed our income stream from merchandising to social events but regretted the missed opportunity to produce a DVD of the first season at TFS which the club had undertaken to produce alone, but which had not yet appeared. (Please refer to last year's BairnsTrust AGM minutes.) He outlined the various social events BairnsTrust had been involved in e.g. The Christmas Dance; Social Nights in the Castings Club; the Amarillo Nights and soon (Thursday April 6th) the Football Quiz Night with first prize of £100. Apart from the prize, which would come from entry fees, total costs would be £27 and with a raffle and auction it was hoped to swell the Trust’s funds on the night. The ShireTrust have been invited and have since intimated they will be sending at least one quiz team. Also confirmed to appear in a Roman Bar team is Kevin McAllister and the club had been approached to supply some current players "for hire" as team members on the night!
Another Social Night was planned for 26th May – featuring Face-to-Face and one or two acts from “Rising Stars.” 
The Amarillo Nights had now been arranged monthly until the end of the year and Brian paid tribute to Jimmy Black of Drew Norloch with whom the Trust is working in partnership, for guaranteeing us an income stream at very little risk to ourselves.  The Amarillo Nights consist of a meal in the Amarillo followed by top acts in the Brockville Lounge for £25 per person.
Friday April 14th features Irish singer Stacey Stewart and ventriloquist Harry Kidd.
Friday May 5th features stand-up comedian/musician Frank Robb and Geordie lass Brenda Collins.
Two unique Christmas Specials are also being organised, provisionally for either 08 or 15/12/06, when after your meal you will be able to choose your entertainment from the six acts performing across three different venues. A share of the ticket profit and the proceeds from the interval raffle come to BairnsTrust.
Brian also thanked those members of the Social Committee who helped with BairnsAid events and reiterated that there was no financial outlay to BairnsTrust involved in these events.
The possibility of youth/children’s Christmas parties, with FFC packs and children's entertainers, is being investigated and following the success at the 1st Amarillo Cabaret Night, Colin McLeod, a paranormalist motivator has offered his services to the team, with the only proviso that he can video tape for use towards his University studies.

Election of Supporters’ Representative

Steven Jackson again thanked Bill Anderson for his good work on behalf of the Trust over the last 2 years. As there was only one nomination for the post, the meeting ratified Steven Jackson for the post assuming he meets the criteria for being a Director of Falkirk Football Club and the Secretary will write a letter to the Club to this effect.
Bill Anderson thanked Steven Jackson for his year of effective Chairmanship of the Trust and wished him all the best for the future as a Supporter/Director.

Election of BairnsTrust Committee

As previously intimated by letter to members Fergus Caldwell, Martin Fraser, Bill Anderson, Murray McIntyre, Jack Gardiner, Brian Guthrie, Steven Jackson and Stewart Wilson had all been nominated. As numbers of nominees was less than the number of vacancies all were declared members of the committee.
In addition Peter Jack, Walter Sommerville and Sandy Monfries were all co-opted to the committee on the night. There are still vacancies on the Committee for anyone else interested in helping with BairnsTrust activities.  Come along to our meetings at TFS on the third Monday of the month or contact us via the website www.bairnstrust.com.

Amendments

Bill Anderson took the chair while Steven Jackson explained the two amendments he had put forward, from the floor. Discussion followed before votes were taken. 
On the proposal to allow under 16s free membership of BairnsTrust but no free promotional gifts but the chance to purchase any at cost price the result (including proxy votes) was For 45 Against 0.
On the proposal to limit Supporters’ Directors to one two year spell with a break of two years before being allowed to stand again for a second term the result was For 26 (12 card votes and 14 proxies) Against 21 (19 card votes and 2 proxies).
Both proposals were duly accepted and subsequently adopted.
Thanks were giving to A MacFarlane and S Williamson for acting as neutral Tellers.

AOCB
There was a proposal that adult membership for 2006-07 should remain fixed at £10 and that Concessions (Over 65s) remain fixed at £5.  [Under 16 now free as above in Amendment section].  Stewart Wilson proposed acceptance and Steven Jackson seconded it.

Next Meeting
The next meeting of BairnsTrust will be the AGM at 7.30pm on Monday 17th April 2006 (Easter Monday) at the Falkirk Community Stadium. Everyone is welcome and can participate in discussion, but only members are allowed to vote on any issue.

Addendum
At a short Committee Meeting following the closure of the AGM the following Office Bearers were selected after being proposed and seconded by a variety of those present:
Chairman – Bill Anderson
Vice Chairman – Steven Jackson
Secretary – Walter Sommerville
Treasurer – Peter Jack
Social Convener – Brian Guthrie
Membership Secretary–Sandy Monfries.

Over a dozen action points followed and were discussed amongst the new Committee.