
Board Meeting
Tuesday 22nd April 2014
7.15pm – 10.30pm
Nabarro LLP, Lacon House, 84 Theobald’s Road, London WC1X 8RW
Darren Howlett, Chairman
Katrina Law, Secretary
Adam Bailey, Treasurer
Ellie Kershaw
Martin Cloake
Paul Head
Suraj Sharma
Minutes:
1. Finances: Audited Accounts/ FCA/ Reconvened AGM
- Audited accounts are now complete and had been £1 out from the draft version prepared for the AGM on 26th Feb
- It was agreed to consider options for auditors at the Q4 Board Meeting
- The process of registering the accounts with the FCA is underway. There is a question over whether the 2012 accounts were submitted, which AB will follow up and rectify, if necessary
- The Barclays bank account is now in order however EK needs to follow up with the complaint to the Banking Ombudsman once DH has provided details again
- Currently, Trust funds sit in two accounts at Barclays. It was agreed to leave the larger sum in a secondary account and to explore the possibility of moving a proportion into a Credit Union at a future date
- As the audited accounts weren’t ready in time for the AGM on 26th February, we are required to hold a second meeting to complete the AGM process
- A date of Wednesday 30th April has been agreed and members informed by email
- A quorum of 20 members is needed in order to present the accounts and complete the AGM process - It was agreed to encourage as many members as possible to come along next Wednesday to get this finished
- We are limited as to how to incentivise attendance as, under Trust Rules, we are unable to combine this meeting with any other business
- It was agreed to conclude the meeting as quickly as possible (15 – 30 mins) and then those wishing to join us for a drink would be very welcome, with the first round on us
- Considering the failure to pass the 2011 Rules Changes at the AGM owing to insufficient people voting, legal advice was taken on a clause in the 2006 Rules which caused concern
- The Board of THST considered Trust rule 58(e) where it was noted the rule was drafted very widely so that a person may not be a member of the Society Board where they "may on the basis of medical evidence be suffering from mental disorder". Taking into account changes brought in by the Equality Act, the Board agreed to take the view that the interpretation of the rule should be
where a director is considered to be either physically or mentally incapable of acting as a director of the Trust and remains so for at least 3 months on the basis of a written opinion provided by that persons registered medical practitioner
- KL raised clause 30 of the Trust's 2006 Rules regarding the Secretary being part of the Executive Board and it was acknowledged that KL has had to maintain a strong presence on the board, and the directors intend to amend this rule at the next opportunity. KL hence agreed to remain as Secretary until Q4 2014 when this will be discussed again
- To conclude the Finance section, AB circulated current bank statements and suggested reviewing the accounts at every other Board meeting moving forwards
2. Board responsibilities moving forward
- With 3 new Board members joining at the end of February and the sad loss of Darren Alexander at the start of March, agreeing areas of responsibility for the forthcoming year was essential
- In light of losing Darren, KL motioned that each key area be covered by a minimum of 2 Board members in future
- Roles and responsibilities were agreed as per the linked excel sheet.
Click here to view.
3. Board to Board meeting preparation
- The next meeting with the Board of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club is scheduled for 6pm on Tuesday 13th May at White Hart Lane
- A draft agenda for this session was discussed and refined, which will include a presentation of the findings of the Safe Standing Survey from earlier this year. THST will reveal the findings immediately after the meeting
- THST will release the full agenda in advance of the meeting and will invite member contributions on areas they consider important and relevant via the THST website and social media, also
4. Recruitment/ Membership
- SS has agreed to take ownership of this area as we look to kick start a membership drive
- Need to refine our proposition and articulate this far better than we are currently doing
- Need to explain how we use members money. AB to provide expenses breakdown
- Undertaken a comparison of other Trusts offerings
- Considering a Corporate proposition
- Considering a Supporters Club proposition
- SS met with KL, Alan Landeryou and Ehsen Shah on 17th April to discuss the current web and social media presence. Agreed to prioritise simplifying the sign up process online through cleaner navigation and the ability to take money either via a PayPal or WorldPay portal etc. without having to go via a ‘Donate’ button
- In touch with database specialists regarding extending the capabilities of our existing membership database
- A full website reskin is scheduled for Summer 2014
- All of the Board recognised that we need to bring in more money than we did last year and a membership push is now vital to maintain the good work from 2013/2014
- As a fundraiser for THST, two members – Gary Parker and Ryan Lewis – have volunteered to climb Mount Snowdon on 29th
June in an event organised by Wrexham Supporters Trust. THFC have also donated replica shirts for the climb
- THST will promote the event as much as is possible and urge all members to do likewise
- Details and Sponsorship details can be viewed here: /thst-updates/fundraiser-mount-snowdon-climb.aspx
- For future fundraising events, PH is speaking with professional contacts regarding the simplest way for us to make collecting for THST possible as a non profit organisation, as opposed to a charity
5. AOB
- There was an invitation from THFC to make suggestions for the Ledley King testimonial match to be passed onto the independent committee. Various suggestions including free scarves, free programmes, free draw for a sizeable prize, paid raffle, something interactive at half time etc. were submitted. DH to follow up with DMC.
The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust Board Meeting concluded at 10.30pm