Chester City Supporters Trust

•ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Thursday 22nd May 2008 at 20:00 Home Guard Social Club, Canal Street, Chester The meeting commenced at 20:10, once the requisite number (14) of members were present. The meeting opened with the Chair, Paul Reid, outlining the short agenda: 1. Chairman's Annual Report48 2. Ratification of New Board Members in the absence of challenging candidates48 3. Trust Accounts for the Financial Year ending November 2007 and Accountant's Independent Examination Report 48 4. Appointment of Accountant for Financial Year ending November 2008 48 5. Any Other Business 48
1.	Chairman's Annual Report
	Paul Reid presented his report, a copy of which is available by clicking here48 (return to contents/agenda 48)

2.	Ratification of board member candidates in the absence of challenging members
	Adrian Williamson, as Secretary, explained that there were two members who had put themselves forward to stand for election to the Trust Board and there were currently five vacancies. The Society Rules allow for a maximum of 12 elected members with 4 further vacancies for co-opted members during the year. Following the last AGM there were 9 elected members and 2 further members were co-opted to the board. During the year 2 of the elected members chose to step down from the board. None of the elected members are required to stand down this year, however, both co-opted members have stood down as required before the AGM. Both members co-opted to the board during the year are standing for election - Campbell Smith and Graham Page. Accordingly, only ratification of those standing is required as opposed to a full election. Both were unanimously ratified to join the Trust Board. (return to contents/agenda 48)

3.	Trust Accounts for the Financial Year ending November 2007 and Accountant's Independent Examination Report
	Campbell Smith, as Treasurer, gave an explanation of the Independent Examination Report that had been distributed. These accounts had been prepared by Hargreaves & Woods who the board appointed following last years AGM, at which members voted in favour of a change to the Society Rules to allow an Independent Examination to be carried out in accordance with Supporters Direct membership, rather than a full audit which had been presented previously. It was highlighted that the Independent Examination Report actually contained more information than previous audited accounts but for less than half the cost! A copy of the report is available to any Trust member on written request to the Secretary, or by sending a request by e-mail48 A number of questions were raised during the course of this item: - A breakdown of the "Events & Fanzine" income was asked for, with Campbell responding that ~£800 related to the Race Night held in July 2007 and ~£1200 related to 2 issues of the fanzine "On The Burgerline" - A question was asked about the lottery, however, this is something run by the football club and has nothing to do with the Supporters Trust. - A comment was also made that the Trust share holding is not reflected in the accounts yet the loan notes are. Campbell responsed by saying there is currently no value associated with the share holding hence the reason for not reflecting in the accounts. The Trust share holding remains unchanged from the previous AGM (426,361 shares which represents a 2.11% stake in the club and for which the Trust had paid £8,600) The accounts were accepted by the members present as being accurate and fit for submission to the Financial Services Authority. (return to contents/agenda 48)
4.	Appointment of Accountant for Financial Year ending November 2008
	Due to excellent quality and value provided by the current Accountant, it was the boards recommendation to re-appoint Hargreaves & Woods. All members voted in favour of the boards recommendation. (return to contents/agenda 48)
5.	Any Other Business
	There was no further business, however, a number of topics were discussed in an open question and answer style session at the end of the meeting. These are summarised below: There was general support for the Chair's statement, although none of the members present wished to get more directly involved. The board thanked those members who had made the effort to attend, as without their support the AGM would have needed to be rescheduled. A question was asked about the aims of the Trust for next season. Paul Reid confirmed the board would be discussing this at the next meeting, and they were always open to suggestions from the members. It was also commented that more time was available following the withdrawal of support of the Official Web Site and DevaTxt services. Those members in attendance were asked if they were in support of the Trust's current position regarding the football club, specifically challenging the club where it was felt good governance was not evident. Paul Baker commented that it was a difficult balancing act as the club was becoming more and more insular, and ultimatly the Trust "would be damned if you do and damned if you don't" by sections of the fan base as it was impossible to please everyone. Paul Reid expanded on the Trust meeting with Stephen Vaughan and subsequent conversations when the non-payment of players wages was challenged. It was also noted that the Trust had been actively involved with two bids that had been made for the football club over the Christmas period, but these had come to nothing. Peter Mitchell, Chair of the Independent Supporters Association (ISA), thanked the Trust for initiating and supporting the City Fans United day, which it was felt was a good first step in bringing the numerous supporters groups closer together, although it was felt that the event could have been promoted better to the general fan base. Peter also explained how the day had been funded in support of the Centre of Excellence. A discussion followed the question of "what are the obstacles for creating one fans group" which included historical reasons from both a people and "politics" perspective with each group having slightly different goals and objectives - Supporters Trust as a vehicle to purchase and run the club, ISA as an "independent" voice of the fans, Exiles representing the fans living away from the Chester area and the Official Supporters Club [TrueBlue]) as a means for non-season ticket holders to have priority ticketing. Over recent times these "roles" had become less distinct, especially between the Trust and ISA where the Trust has been the one challenging the club regarding good governance. It was commented that the working relationship between the Trust and the ISA has improved greatly over the last 12 months, with Peter Mitchell attending a number of Trust Board Meetings. The chair of the Exiles, Pauline Meakins, is also a Trust Board Member, and whilst the Official Supporters Group do not officially hold meetings, communication between the groups was much improved. It was pointed out that membership of each group is probably made up from many of the same people, with at least one of the members present being a member of all 4 groups! Adrian Williamson added that the Trust currently have 134 members, of which around 50% are Life members. Peter Mitchell added that the ISA have a similar number, although at one stage there were over 600 members. There was some discussion around Stephen Vaughan's investment in the club and whether this was in the form of a loan and the implications of him "pulling the plug". Paul Baker provided some personal insight based on his close relationship having worked with Stephen on the football club Board and through his own company's involvement as club sponsor. The question was asked how the Trust could re-engage with the football club, which it was felt would only be possible through a change in ownership, and in one which the Trust could develop a strong relationship with the management at the club, working toward a meaningful voice on the board and a significant shareholding in Chester City Football Club. If was felt the Trust should continue to stand up and question poor decisions, but should also be vocal in support of the club where it was seen to be doing "the right things". There followed a general discussion about Stephen Vaughan's relationship with the fans and specific incidents that have been raised in the local press and on the DevaChat message board. The clubs relationship with the Council was also discussed, with the member made aware of the position the Trust had taken in trying to facilitate open discussions between the Council, AWG Shelf (the lease guarantor) and the club in order to remove some of the barriers around the covenant on the ground. Paul Baker gave some background on the lease, whilst Paul Reid expanded on the work done by the Trust to bring all parties together, which had ultimately failed due to a lack of support from the club. The final topic of discussion was the recurring slump in form around the Christmas period over the last 3 seasons, which had ultimately lead to the removal and appointment of 3 managers at the start of each season. Whilst a number of theories were put forward, it was impossible to know exactly what had happened in each case, and whilst they may be common themes, there were also likely to be unique factors that had effected each. The meeting was closed at 22:10 (return to contents/agenda 48)