Trust announces its 5th AGM

The 5th Annual General Meeting of the Trust (Notts County Supporters Limited) will be held on Thursday 18th October 2007 at 7.30 p.m. at Meadow Lane. A formal notice is below, containing, among other things, advice about the submission of motions for the meeting.

Notice is hereby given that the 5th Annual General Meeting of Notts County Supporters Ltd will be held at the County Suite, Notts County FC, Meadow Lane, Nottingham, at 7:30 pm on Thursday 18th October 2007 to transact the following business:-

1. To receive and approve the Minutes of the 2006 Annual General Meeting.

2. To receive and consider the Accounts, Balance Sheet, Auditors’ Report and the Report of the Society Board.

3. To elect the Board Members of the Society Board in place of those retiring (please see attached Note 1).

4. To re-appoint Smith Cooper (formerly Blythens) as auditors at a fee to be agreed by the Society Board.

5. To consider any Motions submitted by the Society Board or by members. See Note 2.

By order of the Society Board

John Collin, Secretary
23rd August 2007


Note 1

In accordance with Society Rule 64, the elected members of the Society Board who have served for two years retire at the AGM. Retiring or resigned members may seek nomination for re-election to the Board. The total maximum Board membership is 18. 5 elected positions are now to be filled. This will bring the number of elected members to 14 and provide vacancies for any co-options under the Rules.

The following members have served two years and thus retire:

John Collin, Eric Kerry, Keri Usherwood.

The following members elected last year will continue for one further year until the next AGM:

John Armstrong-Holmes, Peter Dennis, David Hindley, Nigel King, Gareth Marklew, Glenn Rolley, Stuart Rolley, Cheryl Thompson, Trevor Woolley.


Note 2

Motions must include the name, address and membership number of one proposer and three seconders. A telephone number and/or email address for the proposer is also required in case the Secretary needs to contact them.

The proposer and seconders must be full, paid up members of the Trust at the time of the submission. Motions must also be submitted with supporting documentation. This should include some information as to why the motion is being proposed and why it should be supported by members. Documentation could also include diagrams, plans, maps, spreadsheets. Anything that is relevant to the motion that will help members decide how to vote.

The Trust Secretary will decide if the motion is in order, their decision is final.
The proposer of the motion must be present at the AGM to formally propose the motion. If there is a debate on the motion the proposer will have a final right of reply before the vote is taken.

Motions should be submitted in writing to; The Secretary, Notts County Supporters Trust, Notts County FC, Meadow Lane, Nottingham, NG2 3HJ.

In order to ensure that they are valid and to allow time for assistance to proposers, Motions must be received by 5 p.m. on 20th September 2007.

Proxies

In accordance with Society rules 51, 52, 53 and 54, members who cannot attend the meeting in person may appoint a proxy to vote at the meeting on their behalf.

Further full details and forms of proxy will be sent out before the AGM together with details of any motions submitted and nominations for election to the Board.

Trust has a new home

We are pleased to announce that the Trust now has a permanent office at Meadow Lane. The new office is situated between the Ticket Office and the Football in the Community offices on Meadow Lane.

The match day presence at the ground is a vital part of the communication between the Trust Board and its members. It is hoped that the new dedicated Trust office will help improve that link.

The office will be open every match day for membership renewals, payments and queries. Also Trust Board members will be present to any answer questions and to listen to any other comments, suggestions or problems members may have.

News from other Trusts: Northampton raises the stakes

A statement from the Northampton Town Supporters Trust

NTFC Supporters Ltd have made a payment to Northampton Town FC of £7500 which has secured a further 2410 Shares from the Club. These Shares are held on behalf of our Members.
The payment was made possible as a result of funds raised from Club 250, Trust Travel and recent Car Boot Sales. NTFC Supporters Ltd would like to thank everyone who has contributed to and helped raise these funds. Since it's formation in 1992 as Northampton Town Supporters Trust, payments to Northampton Town FC have been made to secure Shares as this not only helps strengthen the voice of our Elected Supporters Representative, Anthony Collett, on the Board of Northampton Town FC but means that our Members continue to hold a tangible stake in the Club we all support.

The latest payment will be used to support of the Youth Team and also cover part of the cost of the new Fixture Board.

For more information, go to https://owa2k.ntu.ac.uk/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.ntfctrust.co.uk

Supporters Direct News

Supporters Direct singled out in European White Paper on Sport- European Governing Bodies call for ‘Firmer Conclusions’ in EU Sport White Paper

SD has been singled out for inclusion in the launch and documentation of EU White Paper on Sport. The main EU White Paper which is a shortened summary of the working documents makes reference to the governing bodies becoming more representative of all their stakeholder groups including supporters, which again was a direct result of SD’s intervention and lobbying. SD has also been singled out in the main working document for the European Commission setting out its implementation, background and context.

This is another significant step forward for the organisation to be recognised as a progressive force and a recommended means to encourage a greater degree of social dialogue between supporters and their clubs across Europe.

Meanwhile, UEFA and the worldwide governing bodies for ice hockey, basketball, handball, rugby and volleyball issued a joint statement calling for ‘firmer conclusions’ from the EU White Paper to aid sport’s future development.

In a joint statement, though the bodies welcomed the paper, they described the final version as ‘(unfortunately) a missed opportunity’

The statement went on to say; "As sports governing bodies, we are all committed to the protection of fair and open competition, to the promotion of player education and training, to the maintenance of competitive balance, and to the need to protect the integrity of our respective sports. These are all key features of the European sports model and we would like to see the European Commission work along side us to defend and nurture this model of sport - not just for the future development of sport but for the benefit of society as a whole.”

The bodies have committed to further involvement in the consultation process of the Paper, saying; ‘Looking forward however, we will continue to cooperate with the EU Member States, the European Parliament and the Commission, with particular attention to the appropriate inclusion of sport in the Reform Treaty."