Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust Annual General Meeting 2012

MINUTES
Wednesday 27th February 2013
7pm

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THST Board:
Darren Howlett (Chairman) 
Howard Sherman (Treasurer) 
Daniel Wynne 
Derek Ridgers
Bernie Kingsley

Formal apologies: 
Tracey Mottram
Graham Wilkinson
Lauren Crader
John Howlett
Mark Wood

1) Darren Howlett (DH) opened the meeting by detailing the Ordinary Business usually covered in the THST AGM:

• To receive nominations for election to the Trust
• To confirm unopposed candidates or, if necessary, to hold an election
• To re-appoint the auditors of the Trust

The Greene Partnership LLP of New Barnet, Herts, was re-appointed as
Trust Auditors

2) DH explained the reasons for the 2012 AGM not following the sructure outlined above:

• THST, in spite of best intentions, has lost the ability to utilise its contacts database
• Nominations were required in order to trigger elections
• Three of the existing Trust Board members: Daniel Wynne (DW), Bernie Kingsley (BK) and Derek Ridgers (DR) had served the maximum length of time permitted on the Board under current Trust rules (12 years each) and were, hence, required to stand down by the end of February 2013
• Subsequently, DH and Howard Sherman (HS) were, effectively, the only remaining THST Board members moving forward
• Working on the historic assumption that the THST Board should comprise 10 to 11 people, 8 to 9 members would have needed to stand for election, which has never happened in the Trust’s 11 previous AGMs
• Given the history of Trust elections, it was highly unlikely that 9 people would have come forward and been denied the opportunity to stand for election by changing the format of the standard AGM this time. An element of realism was required as to where the Trust is at currently

3) HS (Treasurer) distributed hard copies of the Financial Statements for the year ending 31 August 2012

• The THST has a current balance of £11,500
• Expenditure over the past year was attributed to the THST website build, a donation to the Fabrice Muamba appeal and a donation to the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation in the wake of the Tottenham riots. Auditors' costs and meeting expenses completed the expenditure for this period
• DW formally recognised the work undertaken by HS in finalising the accounts

4) DH acknowledged that to proceed with the AGM had been a controversial decision, as it digressed from the normal format of such meetings outlined in point 1. However, had changes not been made, DH would have had the same address as last year

• Under 25i of the current THST Ltd Rules, the “Society Board may make temporary amendments to the Rules to ensure the effective running of the Society”
• DH wanted to press ahead with the AGM after the publicity on the THST message board and via the @THSTOfficial Twitter account in order to move forward
• It was again stressed that after the AGM, only HS and DH would remain on the THST Board as things stood

5) DH confirmed that the following meetings had been held throughout 2012:

• Two THST Board meetings
• Two meetings with THFC
• Bernie Kingsley (BK) explained that two opportunities for members to meet with the Board had been offered towards the end of 2012. The first, on a match day, had been cancelled when it became apparent no members would attend; the second took place but only one non-Board member attended, with some others who had been vocal about needing members’ meetings on the message board withdrawing at the last minute
• DH explained that email had diminished the need for face to face Board meetings on many occasions and that a smaller Board of five people had made it easier to agree via email
• DH confirmed that the THST has a cordial relationship with THFC and recognised THST is entitled to three meetings per annum with the club

6) DH clarified THFC’s view of the Supporters’ Trust and its function/ benefits:

• The need for a constant dialogue between the Trust and THFC and recognition that, at times, we will agree to disagree
• Provide a sounding board for ideas
• Making the club aware of any initiatives / moves that are controversial or unpopular amongst the fan base

 

7) DH apologised for the current state of the Trust in terms of its membership database and confirmed he had written to all of the 36 offline members in early 2012 requesting phone and email information. He had received no replies. DH acknowledged that re-opening membership and building a new website would be priorities moving forward

8) Looking ahead, DH acknowledged a new impetus was needed in order to revitalise the Trust:

• Darren Alexander (DA) had approached the current Board with ideas to help the Trust
• After a face-to-face meeting with the current Board, DA and his group were asked to submit a proposal, which was duly provided
• Following an exchange of several emails, the Board felt that this proposal was valuable and agreed it was worth taking forward
• DH stated that as a Board, they supported DA’s group’s proposal

9) DH then invited DA to take the floor to explain his group’s proposal to those assembled

• DA opened up by saying he had initially looked at what the Trust was lacking and that was the ability to communicate with their members
• He outlined that communication with members via email, website, social media would be vital moving forward
• DA then talked through the proposal (provided as an accompanying document)
• DA acknowledged the theory that Supporters’ Trusts were generally more active when teams were under-performing on the football pitch but recognised that there were campaigns we should be lending our weight to now, specifically Safe Standing and the FSF’s Twenty's Plenty campaign
• DA also outlined campaigning within the Tottenham community as being of importance to his group. Five of the six people involved in this proposal had formed the ‘WeAreN17’ action group and thus felt they had a legacy within N17. Working with Haringey Council and with the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation would form part of their plans
• DA highlighted the benefit that new people, new ideas and new enthusiasm could have on the Trust
• DA discussed how the suggested changes would be implemented, detailed in the proposal
• Rewriting the Trust Rules in accordance with the latest version available would be a priority to expedite processes and make the Society more responsive and reactive
• The concept of ‘free membership’ was discussed, with BK explaining the old TISA format
• Revenue would be raised via social events/quizzes/Q&As/raffles etc
• DA highlighted that the Trust’s biggest selling point is that it’s democratic. It’s not a closed shop. There are generations under his, people who started supporting the club because of Ginola and people who are starting to support the club now because of Bale. These people can be inspired to get involved. Anyone can join and work their way up to becoming Chairman
• DA then finished by completing the talk through of the proposal

10) Daniel Wynne (DW) vocalised his support for the proposal saying it is a starting point to restructure the Trust and to reach out to a new audience as well as engaging better with its existing one 

11) DH explained the crux of the proposal in terms of how it affected the structure of the THST organisation:

• Four members of DA’s group would be invited to join the remaining two Trust Board members on the THST Board
• Beneath the Board would be a Working Party / Steering Group, which would be open to any member of the Trust, including outgoing members of the Trust Board and the two remaining members of DA’s group

 

12) DW explained that the aim of the restructuring was to get the Trust back on its feet to a position whereby elections could be held within 12-18 months

13) DW added that existing Trust Funds would be isolated to protect the public nature of these funds, with the exception of agreed costs for a new website, marketing collateral etc. DW also recognised these funds were raised through THST memberships and a donation from TISA 

14) DA clarified that the four people proposed to join the Trust Board from his group were:

• Himself (Darren Alexander)
• Ellie Kershaw
• Katrina Law
• Tracey Mottram

15) The two people from his group who he proposed joined the Working Party / Steering Group were:

• Scott Hammerton
• Graham Wilkinson

16) DH then recommended taking a vote on the proposal to invite four members of DA’s group onto the Trust Board in order to ratify the decision that evening

• Lauren Crader wanted her objections to the 2012 AGM process formally minuted.

17) The vote was unanimous and the Trust Board henceforth consists of:

• Darren Howlett – Joint Chairman
• Darren Alexander – Joint Chairman
• Howard Sherman – Treasurer
• Ellie Kershaw – Board Member
• Katrina Law – Board Member
• Tracey Mottram – Board Member

18) Thanks were extended to the outgoing members of the Trust Board:

• Daniel Wynne
• Bernie Kingsley
• Derek Ridgers

The AGM concluded at 8.46pm