Smisa Agm 4Th April

[thewhiteman]

we can confirm The St.Mirren Supporters Trust AGM will take place on Saturday 4th April, 11am till 1pm at St.Mirren Park in the function suite, which the club have kindly provided for us.

we had hoped to have the meeting before or after a match but due to several fixtures being rearranged for TV it left no Saturday home games around this time suitable to have the AGM

despite having no alternative but to have the meeting on a 'non match day', leading to some inconvenience for fans particularly those who live outside the Renfrewshire area, we are hopeful that at least having it on a Saturday will encourage the majority of members to attend

more details on the agenda and copies of the accounts will be sent out to all members during March for their review and comments on the day

please be aware the AGM as well as being for SMiSA members will also be open to non members, basically every saints fan

As per The Trust constitution this meeting will be to fundamentally allow St,Mirren supporters to question, review, propose, vote and input to any subject relating to SMiSA and provide direction for the future of The St.Mirren Supporters Trust

hope to see you there
COYS

[thewhiteman]

Hello everyone. We've sent out a new email this afternoon to all SMiSA members containing important information relating to the forthcoming AGM. There's a chance it could go in junk mail so please have a check in case. If you have any questions then please message us here or email on [email protected]

[buddiecat]

Hello everyone. We've sent out a new email this afternoon to all SMiSA members containing important information relating to the forthcoming AGM. There's a chance it could go in junk mail so please have a check in case. If you have any questions then please message us here or email on [email protected]

Got the email, it's certainly not junk, I will be at the AGM.

[thewhiteman]

03/15/2015

Fellow SMiSA Members,

This email is in preparation for The St. Mirren Supporters Trust AGM on the 4th of April at 11am at St. Mirren Park hospitality suite, attached (please see text box above upcoming events) you will find three documents and as a member of SMiSA it is important that you read these items and respond to this email. We would also hope you would be in attendance at the AGM on the day to discuss these and the way forward for SMiSA.

1) The Trust annual accounts; These have been prepared by The Trust treasurer Jim Cumming and audited by John Blair who is the elected auditor of The Trust. Please review these accounts as they are a representation of the workings of The Trust and the committee and informs on how Trust funds have been put to use over the year which belong collectively to all members. If you have any questions on any aspect of the accounts please do not hesitate to contact us to discuss, clarify or comment. There will be a vote on the acceptance of the accounts at the AGM however if you are unable to attend please reply to this email address on whether you find them acceptable, or otherwise.

2) General comments of The Trust committee members; This is intended to provide you with some informal information and individuals comments on their time during the past year as committee members serving the SMiSA membership. It is hoped that some of these comments will provide encouragement, if not confidence, of the importance of involvement and how as a Trust we continue to grow and how as a collective we endeavour to attain SMiSA's aims and objectives in the year ahead.

The performance of the Trust and the committee over the past year and the aims and objectives for the year(s) ahead will also be discussed and reviewed at the AGM therefore it is imperative that as a member you contribute to the decisions taken and direction of The Trust, not just at the AGM but at any time throughout the year, and where possible become active in whatever way your time and views allow.

3) Committee members clarification; This item is one of the most important for many reasons and lists the names of the current committee members, some who have been elected and some who have been co-opted over a number of years. Legalities and the increasing status of SMiSA demand that we become more legally aware have some elected committee members at all times and there will be a vote on a couple of the positions of the committee at the AGM.

Co-opted committee members are basically Trust members who have volunteered to assist and become part of the committee and who then take up a role they feel best suits their capabilities. However we urgently need more members who are willing to become involved and as you will see below there are still places available (up to 12) for any members willing to take a more active involvement on The Trust committee.

Although useful, please do not feel that to take part that you need to have a special skill or professional background to become involved as there are many fields we have fell short on purely down to numbers.

If you would like to become more involved in any way please reply to this email before Friday 27th March to allow clarification of the group of committee members at the AGM. Alternatively should any member want to become involved at a later date they can be co-opted on at any time in the future so please get in touch even if just to attend a committee meeting to see what goes on.

We hope you find all of the information provided of use and to your approval, and that despite the date of the AGM being somewhat unfortunate that we were unable to hold it on a match day when many Trust members were more likely to be in Paisley, we hope that having the meeting in the stadium on a Saturday for a couple of hours will still ensure a good turnout as we need you continued support to ensure our Supporters Trust continues to grow and fulfil its expectations and hopes for the future of our club

If you require any further information or would like some clarification on any of the content of either this email or any of the reports please do not hesitate to contact us by return address or any of the other SMiSA contact sources.

Keep in touch and hope to see you on April 4th.

Regards,

John White

Trust Secretary

on behalf of SMiSA

[BLF]

Looking forward to it - feels like the Support needs the Trust more than ever.

[Stu]

Good AGM, decent turn out. Good for my piece of mind that I'm not the only one annoyed with the silence of the board or think we're totally screwed if we go down!

The more folk that join the better. £2 a month - over the course of a year that's less than a ticket for last night's game and you have the added bonus of not having to deal with any Old Firm reprobates.

[HSS]

Good AGM, decent turn out. Good for my piece of mind that I'm not the only one annoyed with the silence of the board or think we're totally screwed if we go down!

The more folk that join the better. £2 a month - over the course of a year that's less than a ticket for last night's game and you have the added bonus of not having to deal with any Old Firm reprobates.

Was there anyone from the Club in attendance?

[Stu]

Was there anyone from the Club in attendance?

Aside from Campbell Kennedy (and that was just to open up) there wasn't, although there probably wouldn't have been as open a discussion if someone had been there.

[HSS]

Aside from Campbell Kennedy (and that was just to open up) there wasn't, although there probably wouldn't have been as open a discussion if someone had been there.

What was the general opinion on our situation?

[Stu]

What was the general opinion on our situation?

A lot of criticism of what the board have done over the last few years in terms of the decisions and the silence as well as worry about what will happen if/when we'll go down.

The appointment of a new director a month or so ago was taken as the directors realising they've let things slip and need to start doing things again.

[TsuMirren]

Anything on facilitating a takeover? I can't be the only fan looking to be involved, but it needs SMISA to drive this one.

[buddiecat]

Anything on facilitating a takeover? I can't be the only fan looking to be involved, but it needs SMISA to drive this one.

The fan ownership question was part of the agenda, there is an interest in the potential for fan ownership from the SMISA committee.

I think we could probably get a commitment from most if not all of the fans who pledged their cash for the 10k hours scheme, We would also need businesses on board.

There is however no formal plan for fan ownership, there are a few stumbling blocks - finding the right people who have the spare time to carry out the duties of a BOD is a major one as is finding additional funding for emergencies.

Ideally we would need a person or group of people who can pay money upfront to enable a buyout and we would then need every fan who can spare the cash to pay into a rainy day fund or vice versa.

As it stands at the moment we have 175 people who are members of SMISA, we need as many people as possible to take up membership and we need that ASAP, we have 3% of the total shares in the club and are striving to get as many folk as possible to sell us their shares so that we can get to a level where we can have a representative on the board and build from there. The consortium is also actively asking people to sell their shares to them, as is their right, and that makes it more difficult for us to buy shares.

We will be asking the BOD some questions which have arisen from the AGM today and will publish the outcome when we receive a reply.

Edited April 5, 2015 by buddiecat

[bud77]

As it stands at the moment we have 175 people who are members of SMISA, we need as many people as possible to take up membership and we need that ASAP, we have 3% of the total shares in the club and are striving to get as many folk as possible to sell us their shares so that we can get to 5%, then we can have a representative on the board and build from there. The consortium is also actively asking people to sell their shares to them, as is their right, and that makes it more difficult for us to buy shares.

We will be asking the BOD some questions which have arisen from the AGM today and will publish the outcome when we receive a reply.

I'd be happy to join SMiSA but only on the condition that any subs paid by me were for the sole purpose of buying the club.

[aldo_j]

I'd be happy to join SMiSA but only on the condition that any subs paid by me were for the sole purpose of buying the club.

I joined last week for £2. Unfortunately couldn't make the AGM, however, in my mind if SMISA were to become the vehicle for a takeover then I would happily up my subs.

[davidg]

are striving to get as many folk as possible to sell us their shares so that we can get to 5%, then we can have a representative on the board and build from there.

Don't know if I'm misreading you but 5% doesn't equal a place on the board. It does mean you can call a general meeting though but there's no garuantee of a place in the board.

Edited April 5, 2015 by davidg

[bud77]

I joined last week for £2. Unfortunately couldn't make the AGM, however, in my mind if SMISA were to become the vehicle for a takeover then I would happily up my subs.

That is your prerogative, personally I'd want all my subs ringfenced purely for buying the club or indeed I'd put them into any viable plan for buying the club. The way things are I can imagine that the BoD will approach SMISA soon to help with funding for next season, what will SMISA demand from the board in return ?

[Callum Gilhooley]

Don't know if I'm misreading you but 5% doesn't equal a place on the board. It does mean you can call a general meeting though but there's no garuantee of a place in the board.

That was my understanding from yesterdays meeting David. 5% means you can call an EGM ( although why would you want to unless you had an alternative strategy to the Status Quo & a substantial cash pot ?)

10% gets a seat /voice on the board & the right to inspect the books . Thats the way i picked it up.

[Callum Gilhooley]

Another thing :

I understand the clamour to have fan ownership , especially given the dire season we have had. A couple of points though.

How many among our fanbase have experience of running a business , let alone running a professional football club. Dealing with the Footballing authorities, temperamental players , agents . Ensuring that the BUSINESS is run at a profit or ensure borrowing is kept within manageable limits while trying to grow the football side of the business.

Who among us has the financial clout or access to sufficient funds to keep the club going until such funds can be accumulated

The idea of a fan run club is great , i suspect the reality may be somewhat more problematic.

IMO , the fact is unless one of us has a significant lottery win ,it`s still some way off. The last few years have shown us there are very few , if any , well off Saints minded businessmen willing to invest in our club.

[bud77]

Another thing :

I understand the clamour to have fan ownership , especially given the dire season we have had. A couple of points though.

How many among our fanbase have experience of running a business , let alone running a professional football club. Dealing with the Footballing authorities, temperamental players , agents . Ensuring that the BUSINESS is run at a profit or ensure borrowing is kept within manageable limits while trying to grow the football side of the business.

Who among us has the financial clout or access to sufficient funds to keep the club going until such funds can be accumulated

The idea of a fan run club is great , i suspect the reality may be somewhat more problematic.

IMO , the fact is unless one of us has a significant lottery win ,it`s still some way off. The last few years have shown us there are very few , if any , well off Saints minded businessmen willing to invest in our club.

It might surprise you what skills our fans have but until some group ask the question we will never find out.

[billymehmet1]

We need to get. You guys to. Take over the things that other people make money out of

Like

Club shop . Pie stalls etc. have no

Idea. How a commercial manager can't organise the shop. Can take to much time to organise hospitality once every couple if weeks

And why do we tender the pie stalls. It's crazy. Someone rise makes the money. That could be handed back to the club

[bud77]

We need to get. You guys to. Take over the things that other people make money out of

Like

Club shop . Pie stalls etc. have no

Idea. How a commercial manager can't organise the shop. Can take to much time to organise hospitality once every couple if weeks

And why do we tender the pie stalls. It's crazy. Someone rise makes the money. That could be handed back to the club

Outsourcing is a common business practice, someone else takes the risk of there being too many pies ordered and not sold and having to pay wages, tax, national insurance etc while letting the club concentrate (?) on the football side.

[Callum Gilhooley]

It might surprise you what skills our fans have but until some group ask the question we will never find out.

Not doubting their skills bud. But i`m sure there is a massive difference between "normal" businesses & Footy clubs.

I ran amateur football clubs for years, sat on the League commitees, been the league rep at SAFA meetings but that doesn`t mean i am cut out to be the next chair at St.Mirren

[bud77]

Not doubting their skills bud. But i`m sure there is a massive difference between "normal" businesses & Footy clubs.

I ran amateur football clubs for years, sat on the League commitees, been the league rep at SAFA meetings but that doesn`t mean i am cut out to be the next chair at St.Mirren

And that is the fundamental reason that I will not join SMISA at the moment.

[davidg]

That was my understanding from yesterdays meeting David. 5% means you can call an EGM ( although why would you want to unless you had an alternative strategy to the Status Quo & a substantial cash pot ?)

10% gets a seat /voice on the board & the right to inspect the books . Thats the way i picked it up.

Wasn't there yeterday mate and agree with the 5% part.

However, 10% as far is I know doesn't get you a seat on the board either. It does give you the right to annual audited accounts though.

Not 100% sure if this is right, just from experience but I'm confident this is the case.

[simondsmfc]

We need to get. You guys to. Take over the things that other people make money out of

Like

Club shop . Pie stalls etc. have no

Idea. How a commercial manager can't organise the shop. Can take to much time to organise hospitality once every couple if weeks

And why do we tender the pie stalls. It's crazy. Someone rise makes the money. That could be handed back to the club

Campbell takes some amount of stick for a one man 'department'.... Hospitality, sponsorship, programme and stadium advertising, annual dinners, private functions are just some of the things I see him involved with.

If a club shop made soooooo much money why isnt Alan Provan still involved? I would hazard a guess that other than kit sales there ain't enough money to make it worthwhile. Hopefully I'm proved wrong by the guys who run the shop now but I just don't see where the profit is in selling trinkets to approx 3500 folk.