Minutes of the Bairns Trust Meeting
Monday 15th May 2006 at the Falkirk Stadium

Present: W Anderson, S Jackson, W Sommerville, B Guthrie, P Jack, J Gardiner, M McIntyre, M Paterson, S Monfries, M Fraser, J Dick, S Wilson, S Williamson, G Neary & J Black.

Apologies:
F Caldwell, D Robertson & D Hill.

Welcome
Bill Anderson welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced guest speaker Jimmy Black.

Guest Speaker
Jimmy Black entertained the meeting with an informative, entertaining and often humorous talk about his life in the catering trade, including how he had become a part of Drew Norloch Ltd and how the company had become involved with Falkirk Football Club. He outlined his hopes for the future of the Club and dining facilities and ended with a question and answer session.

Minutes of Previous Meeting
Adoption of the minutes of the April meeting was proposed by W Anderson and seconded P Jack.

Matters Arising
The Tom Jamieson Memorial event is now pencilled in for the first week in June. This is subject to confirmation from the Club’s Tom Elliott.
Following attendance at the Club’s unveiling of the new strips for next season at the Inchyra by two Trust Committee Members, BairnsTrust has requested to be considered for sponsorship of either the first choice Goalkeeper jersey, or Milne or Cregg.

Secretary’s Report
Various Emails had been received and had been dealt with or passed on as appropriate.
Information had been sent for inclusion on the website, but technical problems being experienced by the webmaster meant that it had to be circulated as part of an electronic email instead. It is anticipated that it could take 6 weeks for the technical situation to be remedied.
A reply had been received from Martin Mcleary, Safety Officer/Facilities Manager of DAFC in reply to our complaints that:
1.Falkirk supporters were charged £19/£12 (compared to previous October visit when charges were £18/£10) and
2.Dunfermline supporters in the Norrie McCathie stand were charged £16/£8 for the same game. 
3.It was also pointed out that it costs more for a disabled person and carer to get into EEP than it does at Ibrox or Parkhead and that there is no provision for carers to sit beside those in their care, all of which will be covered in the letter.
The letter from Mr McLeary was read to the meeting. In answer to point 1 above he denies any increase and insists that Falkirk supporters were charged £19/£12 in October also.
With regard to cheaper pricing for home fans he states that this is because of a membership scheme run by DAFC and that non-members pay the same as visiting supporters.  He also suggests that we should approach Falkirk FC to suggest they set up a similar scheme.
On the point about disabled supporters and their carers he insists that wheelchair supporters be charged at the concessionary rate with no charge for the carer. He also notes the point that seats for carers are not adjacent enough to the wheelchairs and informs us that DAFC are trying to resolve this for next season by getting permission for carers to stand behind their charges.
The general feeling of the meeting was that the reply was deficient in several important areas and that another letter should be sent for further clarification with the SPL being copied into the correspondence.
The Secretary had obtained a copy of the current SPL rules (as at January 2006) as a Word document following a request to the SPL through their official website. It was felt that this should not be widely circulated at this stage until other Trust members had requested a copy directly from the SPL.

Treasurer’s Report
2 former members had renewed membership as part of the conditions of their ShareSave holding.
£242 ShareSave standing order income had been banked so far this month. 
2 members had tried to claim more shares than originally contracted for and this was vetoed by the club.  2 of the ShareSave letters had not been received – the Chairman’s letter eventually arrived at his home very late after it had been to Wales!
3 ShareSavers had been found to be uncontactable so far, but needed to be reached before the end of the month. A plea has appeared in BairnsTrust Electronic Newsletter #16 and a posting on the OneF messageboard to no avail. The Club is now aware of these persons and if a claim is subsequently received at 61p/share it will be viewed leniently.
£21 in Contingency Fund donations were received from former sharesavers who had overpaid and did not wish to claim the surplus.
£1830 was required for the first batch of shares and another £1000+ for the second batch. There was also the possibility of some £300 being required for refunds where ShareSavers had overpaid.
A DVD (£10) and more than usual T-shirts had been sold at the final game of the season for £11, due to selling at a discounted price and £15 income came from a Spot-the-Team card.
£14 in postage costs were incurred in contacting the Sharesave overpayers.
The bill for advertising Face-II-Face was £150 well over that budgeted for.
The Trust had now received £75 from Jimmy Black as Drew Norloch Ltd’s agreed share of previous advertising costs for the 60’s night and Jimmy had also presented the Trust with the two FFC sponsored shirts promised at an earlier meeting for which BairnsTrust thanks his generosity.
Electronic newsletters #14, #15 and #16 had been sent out covering, among other things, the Dee4Life invitation and tonight’s meeting.
4 Trust Committee members would be attending the Supporters Direct conference in Edinburgh, at their own expense, paying £5 each including lunch. Bookings had been made by the Treasurer and accepted already by Supporters Direct.
M Paterson wins tonight’s Spot-the-Team card prize of £8.

Social Committee Report
On Friday 26th May another BairnsTrust Social Night would be held in the Castings Club, featuring Face-II-Face (band) and some of the talent who had appeared in “Rising Stars” including local girl Sheryl Wilson. 80 or 90 tickets have been distributed so far.
The Amarillo nights are undertaking a face-lift and up to 120 can now attend these.  The Adam Quest night would cost £15 per head including buffet.
Potential membership gifts are being priced and sourced and information will be provided to enable us to make a decision on this in the near future.
Also being investigated is the possibility of a big Rock show being held at the end of next season, perhaps over 3 days, with one of these days being organised in aid of BairnsTrust.
The convenor also mentioned the following BairnsAid events:
The NU2 Tribute in the Park Hotel on Sunday 25th June, tickets £15 with old stubs still valid and
The Blues Brothers Tribute Show on Saturday 19th August in Falkirk Town Hall, tickets £18.  Tickets are available from BairnsAid representatives or the Ticket Office at the Steeple.

Saturday Meetings
As a result of BairnsTrust’s submission to the Club the date for the Early Bird deal was extended and the concession increase was cut to £25.
Situations to be raised with the Club include the lack of personnel available to deal with Season Ticket renewals in the first few days where it seemed to be an ad hoc situation at the Reception Desk in the foyer.
Also why no car park renewals were in with season ticket pack and 4 weeks to pay for ticket, but delay in letter effectively meant only 2 weeks.
Strips and the fans’ charter were also raised. It is understood that the Club has entered into a very good deal but it does mean that 2 strips will be replaced every year until the contract ends. The third strip this year is a purely commercial decision. Steven Jackson will raise the previously suggested discount/voucher system to reward fans buying different strips at the next board meeting. Noted that 85% of merchandising income comes via replica strip sales.

Board Members Report
This was Steven Jackson’s first board meeting and his initial response is that things are done very professionally and the Board is taking the Club in the right direction.
There had been a presentation about training facilities looking at the situation in the longer term.
The DVD sent to all Season Ticket holders was an excellent insight into the Club and was produced relatively cheaply.
The Manager had given the directors an update on the released players and the reasons behind this and he also outlined some of the players being considered for the squad (which by necessity has to remain confidential). If all signing targets were successfully recruited the Manager would still be within his playing budget and have something in reserve for January. Finishing 10th had given us a welcome little bit extra income.
The Club’s business strategy would be outlined to shareholders in the first instance, but the budgets for various departments are now well controlled.

AOB
A new cabinet for BairnsTrust has been sourced.

Former Players Association – a meeting would be arranged with George Craig in early June to finalise details before sending invitations to former players to join a list of contact details having now been received. A brief FPA Committee meeting was held after the Trust’s monthly meeting.

Andy Lawrie – a meeting of his Testimonial Committee will take place next week to discuss the situation following his release from the playing staff. The meal arranged for November 5th will still go ahead, as it is a firm commitment.

Brookes Mileson – no further reply had been received to the Social Convenor’s letter, but with Gretna’s participation in the Scottish Cup Final, this was understandable.

Christmas Dance – there would be a meeting with a representative from the Council to pursue some form of discount following the electrical failures. Although all BairnsTrust acts satisfy equipment safety regulations, seems the Caretaker at Grangemouth Town Hall disputes.

Junior Bairns – rumours have been circulating that the JB may be disbanded. If there is any truth in these rumours could BairnsTrust step in to help keep them going? To be investigated.

A Committee Meeting would be arranged in advance of the June meeting.  Date and time to be arranged.

Next Meeting
The next meeting of BairnsTrust will be at 7.00pm on Monday 19th June at the Falkirk Community Stadium.  (Please note the earlier start time to allow us to get upstairs and see part of the televised World Cup match in the comfort of Amarillo).
Everyone is welcome and can participate in discussion, but only members are allowed to vote on any issue.