THE POSH SUPPORTERS LIMITED
MINUTES OF THIRD ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING HELD AT 7.30PM ON MONDAY, 5 SEPTEMBER 2005 AT EBENEEZER'S SOCIAL CLUB, PETERBOROUGH
PRESENT: Peter Lloyd (PL), Barry Bennett (BB), Dave Colbert (DC), John Henson (JH), Keith Jennings (KJ), Paul Little (GPFL), Paul Mitchell (PM), Gill Williams (GW), Peter Williams (PW), plus 38 members and non-members.
APOLOGIES: Richard Bellamy (RB), Trevor Hanks, June Smith, Nigel Cowling, Paul Evers, Ray Cole, Jane James.
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 6 September 2004
The minutes in respect of the meeting were accepted as a true record and taken as read.
Chairman's report
PL welcomed everyone to the meeting, especially Kit Carson, who had travelled to speak about the happy memories he had of his time at Posh.
In the past year the Trust had been committed to increasing its profile in the local community. It had joined Cambridgeshire Chamber of Commerce, thereby making contact with many local businesses and entrepreneurs, and Peterborough Council for Voluntary Service, in support of the Trust's aims to further sport in the community. The Trust had also attended a number of events during the summer: Yaxley Festival of Football, at which it had sponsored the under 7 competition, two fetes and the Peterborough Beer Festival.
The Trust was in correspondence and conversation with other trusts - in fact, in the last week the club had played against two clubs, Stockport and Rushden, that had recently been taken over by their supporters' trust. It was in correspondence with the City Council about the covenant, seeking clarification of the legal position concerning the future of football at London Road.
In short, it had been a year of diligence, profile and maintaining a strong presence. The Trust had difficulty with the club, but still wanted to clarify the position regarding discounts for Trust members. The Trust always had to be seen as serious, able and trustworthy.
PL thanked all those who had supported the Trust, especially Walter Moore (Gold Bond), Ray Taylor (website), Tom Robinson (printing), Tony Millen (audit), Carl Oakes, Colin Harrison, Charters, Cllr Nick Sandford, Gold Bond agents, Mick Robinson, all those who participated in the Gold Bond lottery and many others.
The next plan was to hold meetings with fans at towns and villages outside the city. Venues had already been scheduled for Stamford, Deeping St James and Whittlesey.
In the next twelve months the Trust Board would be concentrating its efforts on devising a comprehensive plan to enable it to run the club if the opportunity arose.
This would be achieved by holding a "strategy day" for the Board, at which detailed plans would be devised for
Treasurer's report
In the absence of RB, PW presented the audited accounts for the financial year ended 30 June 2005. As income was £19,605 and expenditure £5,897, the surplus was £13,708. In stating that the total value of assets on 30 June was £29,161, he added that this figure was now £31,059. It was essential for the Trust to have a healthy bank balance, because it might at any time need to seek help and advice from lawyers, accountants, insolvency experts, personnel consultants etc.
PW explained why the "investment" in PUFC shares had been reduced from £2,000 in 2004 to nothing in 2005. The Trust was simply being prudent; in view of the club's high level of debt, the chances were that the shares had no value. He added that the word "investment" was something of a misnomer. The money had been raised by the Trust specifically for the refurbishment of the floodlights and had obtained 1,000 shares in return for the donation.
There were no questions and the accounts were adopted.
Appointment of auditor
By unanimous vote Anthony Millen was re-appointed as the auditor of the Trust.
Secretary's report
Shares
PW advised that the Trust still had 1,390 shares in PUFC. One further share had been donated to the Trust, but the club had, after 18 months, still not forwarded the certificate to the Trust.
Membership
A successful recruitment drive at the Peterborough Beer Festival had attracted 32 new members. This brought the total to 358 adults (of whom 62 were 5-year members and ten life members). The total number of junior members was 159.
Contacts
PW expanded upon PL's comments about other trusts. He pointed out that there was regular contact with trusts at Lincoln, Notts County, Chesterfield, Stockport and Brentford, all of which either owned or controlled their clubs. They were a source of expertise and knowledge about the ins and outs of taking control of football clubs. PW also mentioned the East Midlands trust conference in July, attended by three directors, and the Supporters Direct National Conference on 30 September, to be attended by six Board members.
Communications
Since the club had fallen out with the Trust, the primary means of communication was the newsletter, which usually had a print run of 2,500. One of the principal reasons for attending the beer festival had been the desire to distribute newsletters to a completely different public.
Board changes
PW added a footnote to PL's reference to changes, stating that BB had rejoined the Board in March 2005.
Rule changes
There had been none during the 2004/05 year.
Election of new Board
As there were no nominations for candidates, Dave Colbert and John Henson were re-elected unopposed, while Barry Bennett, Paul Little and Peter Lloyd (who had been co-opted on to the Board) were elected unopposed.
Any other business
None.
Question and answer session
Referring to the Trust's discussions and correspondence with the City Council, Mick Robinson (MR) suggested that the Freedom of Information Act should be of help. PL agreed, but pointed out that it did not necessarily speed up the process. When MR asked about the confusion as to which parts of London Road fell within the scope of the covenant, PL thought that it might be necessary to seek professional advice from property lawyers.
PL was asked by a member what were the worst and best scenarios that he could envisage in relation to the club. PL thought that the worst scenario would be the confusion caused by lack of knowledge of the club's true financial position. At other clubs a financial crunch had suddenly happened and debts had to be written off, with a dividend to creditors of, say, 20p in the pound. The best would be to see the owners of the club - whoever they might be - caring about the people that mattered, namely the fans.
PL asked members for ideas as to what the Trust should be doing. The Board was open to suggestions. One member asked whether heavier promotion of the Trust's aims would antagonise the club. PL thought that the club portrayed the Trust as a bad thing because it asked questions. But he felt that the cheap shots made earlier in the year by Mr Fry against the Trust had stopped.
Kit Carson
The former Academy Director of Peterborough United delighted the audience with an enthralling talk on his happy memories at London Road.
Quiz
The evening ended with a quiz set by Mick Robinson.
Home | Trust Members Discounts | On-Line Shopping | Support The Trust | Smile Tickets | Gold Bond | About The Trust | Minutes of AGM | Newsletters | Links | Programmes
material © The Posh Supporters Trust
design © 