WISA AGM 10/05/2001

Minutes of Annual General Meeting Thursday, 10th May, 2001

Wimbledon Community Centre, St. George's Road, Wimbledon

1. Apologies for absence
Apologies were received from Charlie Bell, John Bottomley, Tom Brooks, Rob Dunford, Alan & Margaret Edwards, Daphne Hussein, Stefan King and Mark Lewis.Guests attending
Roger Casale - MP for Wimbledon
David Tilley - Wimbledon News

2. Minutes of last meeting
The minutes of the last AGM held on 5th October, 2000 and the OGM held on 22nd February, 2001 were agreed and there were no matters arising.

3. Constitutional review
No amendments had been put forward. The way in which the constitution was operating would continue to be monitored.

4. Affiliation with other organisations
* National Federation of Supporters Clubs
WISA will join from next season; approximate cost £100 p.a. This will give links to other supporters groups around the country. Benefits include insurance for away travel and access to advice on a range of football related matters.

* Supporters Direct
WISA have subscribed (no charge) to this government sponsored organisation which encourages supporters organisations to take an active role in clubs (e.g. supporters trusts), offering legal and other practical advice.

* Clubs in Crisis
This is a website set up by Brighton & Hove Albion fans for supporters of all clubs in trouble, e.g. financial mismanagement, ground disputes.

5. Roger Casale was invited to speak
Roger Casale (RC) told the meeting this was an impromptu visit.

He had been pleased to come along this evening to thank WISA for the tremendous work the organisation had accomplished in its attempts to bring the Club back home and for the passion and commitment to WFC and the community that had been demonstrated.

RC felt that, whilst it is still very difficult, what is crucial is bringing the Club and Council together in a constructive and open dialogue. He had convened a meeting, under the auspices of the Wimbledon Civic Forum, between the Club, Council and WISA (representatives Kris Stewart and Nicole Hammond) on 9th March in order to have a frank and open discussion. This meeting ruled out Prince George's Playing Fields as a possible stadium site.

RC announced that he had that afternoon arranged a further meeting for Thursday, 17th May. Those invited are: Charles Koppel (WFC Chairman) and Andrew Judge (Leader of Merton Council), plus Kris and Nicole as WISA representatives. The expectation is that the Council will identify a site(s) suitable for a new football stadium.During a short question and answer session, the following points were covered:

* What if the Council specify a site they deem suitable but the Club disagree? RC would be seeking very good reasons for rejection.
* Availability of national/local government funds - RC believed this would not be possible; local government cannot afford it and, at national level, the ongoing problems with Wembley suggest it is highly unlikely.
* Does the Council have a sum of money per person for each job that is created? There are various pots of money available (London and nationwide) which councils or partnerships can bid for where a particular project will create jobs or bring about economic regeneration. This is a point to be explored when a site has been identified.

6. Membership fees for 2001/02
Current rates are: £5 adult; £3 under-16s and over-60s; £7 household and £100 life membership. There were proposals that:

* adult and household rates should be increased
* the counter view - maximising membership is more important
* 'household' should be renamed 'family'
* groups such as the unwaged and disabled should pay the lower £3 rate
* international members should pay a higher rate (to reflect higher postage costs)

After some discussion, the following membership fees were agreed for next season (1st September, 2001 to 31st August, 2002):
£5 Adult
£10 Household
£3 Concessions
£100 Life membership
New application forms will include provision for additional contributions.

7. Reports from officers
(a) Mags Hutchinson - Membership Secretary
There are 427 members, plus those received today.

(b) Nicole Hammond - Treasurer
From last October until the end of April 2001, the majority of income has derived from membership fees (£757), followed by donations (£325) and merchandise sales (£301). The major outgoings were leaflet printing (£676) and stationery and postage (£324).

As at end of April, there was a balance of £1,064.39.
For next season, the possibility of standing orders and secure credit card payments is being investigated.

8.Election to committee
Darren Foreman has decided not to stand again and is also relinquishing the ownership and running of WISA chat. On behalf of everyone, Kris thanked Darren for all he had done in establishing and running the WISA website so successfully over the last 4 years.There was one nomination only for each officer position and 10 nominations for the general committee; therefore the following were declared elected for a further year:

9.Allen Batsford benefit dinner
This will be held on Thursday, 26th July at the David Lloyd Centre, Raynes Park. Tickets are available at £35 each (including dinner) or £10 (excluding dinner) for admission after 9pm. Dave Bassett will be the main speaker and former and present members of the playing and coaching staff will be attending, including Terry Burton. Ticket enquiries should be made to Steve Elson (tel: 020 8682 2330; email: stevedons@aol.com). The majority of full tickets have been sold but some £10 tickets are available.
The idea is primarily to honour Allen's achievement in taking WFC into the Football League during his tenure as manager (1974-77) and WISA will be arranging a trophy or momento. However, we are hoping to raise money - any donations for a raffle or auction or any other ideas should be given to Steve.

10. Progress report on new ground campaign
Lee Willett explained that a sub-committee, known as Ground Force (GF), had been set up to act as the executor and co-ordinator of WISA policy in raising the profile of the ground issue. This year has seen two major developments:
* an increase in the number and productivity of meetings between WISA and other parties on the ground issue
* two major challenges to our `sovereignty' as a football club - Milton Keynes and the QPR merger

Meetings between WISA and other parties
Whatever people may think about WISA being `hood-winked', through meetings with WFC, Merton Council (MC), local MPs and local business leaders, it is clear that there is currently far more activity regarding our move home than there has been for some time. WISA is much more actively involved and, while we have had to fight a rearguard action on issues like Milton Keynes and the merger, we are now able to be far more pro-actively involved at the centre of the decision-making process between WFC and MC.

Milton Keynes and the QPR merger
These two episodes show that WFC and MC still have much to do and still have much to learn about the supporters of WFC. The issue has not been whether the moves would have happened; what is important is how WFC, MC and the supporters responded to these stories. What has been heartening in these two cases was the unprecedented response from supporters. Each demonstration of the three we have had this year has been bigger and better. It is also notable how much more press coverage WISA has had in these situations. While WISA never claims to be able to change WFC/MC policy in such situations, WISA is very successful in achieving what it does state that it can do - and that is to put our plight firmly in the public eye.

Current and planned GF activity
* Meetings with the relevant parties on the ground issue will be continuing over the close season.
* GF will be lobbying the Football League (FL), submitting a formal representation to their AGM on 7th June. We will be seeking the FL's formal response on merger issues, on the geographical limits to ground re-locations and what the FL can do to help clubs and supporters to move home.
* It is very likely that we will be lobbying the tennis and the elections. The tennis in particular will be a very big job, so we will be looking for volunteers.
* There is also an MC Planning Committee meeting on 16th May.

What should GF be doing?
* On behalf of GF, Lee thanked everyone for helping us to have real teeth when we bite back, including all the volunteers who get their hands dirty on `demo days'.
* While we are successful at being re-active, we need to be more pro-active in driving WFC's case forward. We need to be presenting practical and well-researched options to WFC and MC on a variety of issues associated with moving back to Merton, from studies of particular sites, to assessment of the social and economic impact of the club returning home, to marketing analysis designed to pull in bigger crowds
* Lee pointed out that, while WISA and its representatives are by no means above criticism related to WISA policy and to what WISA does, one of the hardest aspects encountered is taking personal flak from people who are not prepared to do something about WISA issues themselves. WISA always welcomes all advice, comment and suggestion - certainly, there are many, many good ideas out there which we need to hear. We are elected by you to do a job, one which we do to the best of our abilities, but we do not claim to get it right all the time. It is far more beneficial - not only for WISA, but also for its cause of getting the club home - for everybody who has something to say to do something about it. The sheer number of challenges which the GF (and WISA more broadly) must address is, at times, overwhelming. While WISA as an organisation has grown substantially in numbers, structure and capability in recent years, we always need more hands on deck. It doesn't matter if you don't have the knowledge, confidence or experience: you will pick this up as you go along. It's not about getting your face on the telly: WISA is here because someone needs to be. On the issue of a return to Merton, now is perhaps the last opportunity to get our club home. We need more people to stand up and be counted. As we all know from our own dealings with WFC and MC, actions speak louder than words.

Questions and ideas arising from Lee's report
* Fallback position if Roger Casale fails to hold his seat at the forthcoming general election - Stephen Hammond (prospective Conservative parliamentary candidate for Wimbledon) has said he supports our aims.
* A newsletter detailing the season's events and achievements should be distributed (by post, not just on the website).
* Given a general election is imminent, we could try to get the candidates to come along to a public meeting. In addition, candidates should be encouraged to publish their views in their election addresses.
* Attempt to get greater greater coverage in the press. Note: David Tilley attended the meeting with a view to writing a feature for next week's Wimbledon News.
* How much contact is there with the majority owners of WFC? The first meeting between supporters organisations and the Club was hosted by Bjorn Gjelsten (BG), the then Chairman. Based in Norway, and with other business interests, he will not/cannot spend time on running the Club. Charles Koppel is not only Chairman of WFC but, along with his business partner BG, he bought the remainder of Sam's shares so he has a significant financial stake. BG and Kjell Rokke are happy to leave the running of the Club to Koppel and do not want to spend any time on it themselves at the moment.
* Canvess support amongst the Wimbledon public, e.g. on a Saturday afternoon in the town centre. This had been previously considered - for 24th March, when our home match against Crewe was postponed - but a dearth of volunteers was expected as it clashed with an England game and other international fixtures. The idea will be reinvestigated and possible dates scheduled. It was pointed out that the Club itself is proposing to mailshot every household in the borough over the summer, including marketing material and a questionnaire. Hopefully, we can have our content as a supporters association included as well.
* Whatever the medium of communication, the positive points of having the Club back in Merton should be emphasised, e.g. Football in the Community.
* Efforts should be made to obtain the Club's mailing list. Again, this had been discussed but would be followed up.
* The possibility of taking stands at the Lions Fair and Wimbledon Village Fair would be considered, subject to fixtures.

11.Walk for Wimbledon

Lou Carton-Kelly summarised the arrangements. Following a suggestion originally made by Steve Elson, it had been agreed that a walk to Selhurst will take place on the second 'home' Saturday game of next season. The starting point will be Wimbledon station at 10.00 a.m., walking to Plough Lane and then on to Selhurst via the intervening railway stations so that people can join en route. The anticipated time to walk the entire route is 3-4 hours. There is scope for fundraising - for WISA and charities.

Anyone with experience of organising such an event, ideas for fundraising or willing to help should contact Lou.

12.Pub
The meeting having concluded, many retired gratefully to the Wibbas Down (Wetherspoons)!