1. Election of Officers

Chairman/Secretary – Mike Alderson
Treasurer – Ian Yearsley
Membership/Website – Rory McNulty
Tickets- Mike Jennings
Travel – Dave Shenton
Publicity and Promotions – Julian Boodell

2. Objective of the Club

To encourage and co ordinate support for the football club in the South West region.
To help members be active in their support by facillitating travel and tickets.
To provide a platform for supporters to mix and socialise in the SW.

3. Membership

Membership of the club is to be relaunched. The committee agreed that membership of the club should provide the following benefits:-

 Organised Travel to all games. – Car share or Mini Bus subject to demand.
 Central Ticket Ordering Service – for both home and away games subject to availability.
 Organised Social Events.
 Newsletter and Communication.
 Opportunity to present player of the year trophy.

We will need to charge a membership fee in order that we can maintain a website and to cover ancillary expenses associated with the organisation and provision of the benefits. The committee agreed that the fee should be £10 for adults and £ 5 for Under 18’s. This will be re appraised at the beginning of each season.

Julian will investigate the potential to provide a badge and membership card to members, and whether a discount in the club shop can be given to members.

Rory will adapt the website so that new members can join on line and remit their subscription electronically. Initially this will require Rory to notify Ian when applications have been submitted and Ian will then send an e mail to all applicants giving our bank details and request that they pay through on line banking.

Once the website has been adapted Rory will advise all other members of the committee in order that they can join and test the system. We can then publicise the membership process.





4. Website

Rory will update the website. As well as changing the electronic application process detailed above he will put up a news page that will include recent and forthcoming events and also set up a face book link & page.


5. Tickets

Mike J will continue to communicate with all members ahead of all games to ascertain their requirement for tickets. He will order and pay for the required tickets and reclaim the cost when he distributes the tickets - generally on the day of the game.

Mike will also ask in each communication if travel is required with each ticket ordered, he will then provide details of the people needing travel to the travel officer.

Mike will need to know the season ticket, client reference and away card numbers of each member requiring him to order tickets so that this can be correctly logged by the football club, which may be of benefit to individual members when ticket demand exceeds supply and a priority system is implemented by the football club.

6. Travel

Dave will co ordinate and organise travel to all games, once he has received confirmation of the numbers needing travel from Mike J. Travel policy this season is to share costs on all trips (rather than the practice in previous years of taking it in turns) this will ensure fairness. The driver will determine the cost to passengers if the travel is by way of car share. If it is by Mini Bus or Coach, Dave will organise and advise of prices ahead of travel.

When we organise mini bus trips we will aim to make a small profit to cover the cost of any un-forseen extras or costs. If there is any profit at the end of the season it will be put towards a social event or subsidise a trip.

Dave will investigate the Southern Supporters club car pool system and report back to the next meeting.

7. Finance

Ian reported that we have £100 in the bank, but that £35 of this is owed to him re the player of the year trophy. Dave has £30 to pay into the bank (profit from the mini bus trips to Middlesbrough and Liverpool).

We also hold £100 collected from our members to contribute to the John Ritchie bust following a request to help from the Fans Forum chairman Terry Hughes. However despite several attempts to get hold of David Ritchie (John’s son – who was organising the appeal to raise funds) to ask for details of where to send the money, he has unfortunately not had the decency or good manners to come back to us. We have therefore decided that we will no longer be making a donation.

The members of the committee who made a donation are agreeable that their money can be reallocated to the SW Supporters Club general funds. Mike J will contact the other donors and ask if they would like a refund.

8. Promotions and Publicity

Julian will check that we are officially recognised by the football club. Julian will investigate provision of membership card and badge for members as well as a placard advertising our website that can go in the window of a mini bus. Ian will organise the production of a supply of business cards for the SW Supporters Club that can be given out to prospective members.

Julian will contact clubs that we are due to visit in the South to see if they will advertise our club in the matchday programme.

8. Social

Julian will investigate the potential for us hiring a box for the away fixture at Fulham (Sat April 25th 2009)

We will discuss the potential for a Christmas Social event at the next meeting.

9. Any Other Business

Ian advises that the player of the year trophy still needs to engraved and he will organise this and pay for it with club funds.

10. Date of Next Meeting

Wednesday 26th November 2008, 6.30pm at The Dog Inn, Old Sodbury.