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Thursday, 7th September, 2000 Wimbledon Community Centre, St. George's
Road, Wimbledon
Note: it is not the intention to record verbatim opinions expressed,
merely to provide a brief summary of the main views or propositions
aired during debates, for the particular benefit of those who were
not able to attend
1. Introduction and purpose of meeting Kris Stewart (Temporary
Committee Chair) explained that it had been decided to reorganise
the way WISA operates and adopt a more formalised structure. Therefore,
the main purpose of the meeting was to approve a new constitution.
2. Constitution The proposed constitution was discussed, clause
by clause. The following reflects decisions (where applicable) and
a synopsis of the major arguments put forward about the clauses
which attracted the most debate:
1. Name and objectives
1.2.3 After debate as to whether a new stadium in Merton was feasible,
it was agreed this clause should be reworded to state that a new
stadium should be as near as possible to Merton - to reinforce
our identity and heritage and to increase/develop our fan base.
3. Meetings
3.1 & 3.2 Quarterly OGMs: it was agreed that the AGM would constitute
one such meeting; therefore there would be an AGM plus 3 OGMs
each year. Actual dates will not be included in the constitution
but a meetings calendar will be distributed with membership cards.
3.10 After some discussion, it was agreed that voting would be
conducted using numbered voting cards.
4. Committee Two versions of the constitution had been produced,
the difference being whether members are directly elected to positions
on the committee or members are elected to a general committee
and allocate positions amongst themselves. The following clauses
relate to the "directly elected" version of the constitution.
4.1 & 4.3 After airing the pros and cons of large and small committees
(spreading the workload vs. unwieldy), a committee of 21, with
a quorum of 12 was agreed. 4.8 & 4.9 The meeting voted in favour
of a directly elected committee. (Voting results by a show of
hands: out of 50 people present, 31 voted in favour of a directly
elected committee, 3 against and 6 abstained.) Clarification was
given that, for example, someone unsuccessfully standing as Chairman
would automatically go forward to the next position of Vice Chair,
etc.
4.12 This clause was deleted.
5. Finance After discussion focusing on the need for members
to know how their subscriptions are being spent, it was agreed
that a clause should be inserted stating that expenditure on a
single item up to 500 may be decided by the committee but any
proposed spending in excess of 500 should first be approved by
members at an ordinary general meeting.
6. Media announcements
6.1 It was agreed that the word "only" should be inserted at the
start of this clause, i.e: "Only the Chair, ....... are authorised
to give on-the-record comment ....."
7. Discipline
7.2 The meeting agreed this clause should be rewritten, entitling
the person against whom a complaint is made to present their case
to the committee. It was agreed by those present that the constitution
be adopted and put forward at the forthcoming annual general meeting.
3. Reports from members of the temporary committee (a) Laurence
Lowne (temp. Publicity Officer): had been involved in issuing press
releases about the Hartson situation and getting pieces published
in newspapers, on Ceefax, etc. He spoke of the importance of publicity
and asked that examples of, say, press reporting - positive or negative
- be brought to his attention so that he can compliment or challenge
the author as appropriate. (b) Marc Jones (temp. Club Liaison Officer):
explained that he was in regular contact with WFC to determine what
is going on and the club's position on specific issues. He drew
attention to 2 matters: * Members seeking information or making
complaints, e.g. about transfer speculation, are welcome to contact
WFC themselves. * In general, the Club will give the Club Liaison
Officer the same information as the media or any supporter. However,
if information is given in confidence, that must be respected. (c)
Kris Stewart (temp. Chair): has been actively involved in drafting
the constitution. In addition, he attended the launch of Supporters
Direct on 5th September. This is a government-backed initiative
designed to help supporters take a greater, more responsible role
in their clubs and will provide advice on establishing supporters
trusts and getting representation at board level. (d) Ronan Warde
(Vice Chair): in addition to working on the constitution, Ronan
produced 35+ far-ranging ideas for comment by members and supporters
generally. Two further ideas were suggested at a recent MCTS: *
Incorporating an internet cafe in the new club shop in Wimbledon
to enable access to WISA Chat. The Club had also considered this
idea but rejected it on the grounds of insufficient space. However,
the Club are contemplating displaying items from the site, press
releases, etc. * Supporters camp outside the new shop the night
before it opens! (e) Colette Mulchrone (temp. Secretary): various
admin. tasks - arrangements for meeting, issuing agenda, printing
constitution, etc. (f) Simon Wheeler (temp. Newsletter Editor):
newsletters, primarily aimed at members without access to WISA chat,
will be issued quarterly. It is hoped to produce an edition prior
to the AGM, the intended format of which includes a chairman's message,
publicity report and membership form. (g) In the absence of Steve
Elson (temp. Treasurer), Laurence reported there is approximately
750 in WISA's account. (h) Nicy Grant (temp. Membership Secretary):
by the nature of this position, the main work will start once membership
applications start being received but preparations are in hand.
(i) Darren Foreman (temp. Website Controller): a new site, "press
releases", was launched (7th September) on the WISA home page and
another new site is due for release soon.
4. Feedback from ideas groups This topic was deferred for discussion
at a future meeting. In view of the disappointing response from
ideas groups so far, Karen Dorney asked anyone interested in joining
an ideas group to contact her. (Post-meeting note: Karen can be
contacted via WISA, P.O. Box 32923, London, SW19 4FN or email: drnkyr@aol.com.)
5. Membership fees Fees for this season (2000-20001) were agreed
as 5 for adults; 3 for senior citizens & under 18s; and 7 per household.
Clarification was given that the forthcoming AGM (October 2000)
would set the subscription rate for the following season (2001-2002).
Whilst the AGM is free to set fees at any level, it was generally
agreed that the objective should be to attract as many members as
possible, rather than purely raise funds. Laurence has contacted
people who joined last year, effectively extending their membership
for a year since, other than the Task Force, there was little happening
until the end of last season.
6. Postal address for joining details/information It was agreed
that we open a Post Office box number at Wimbledon sorting office
- allows access by up to 5 named individuals (approx. cost 52 per
year).
7. Travel There was a lively debate as to whether WISA should organise
travel to away matches (outside of London). Marc Jones and Simon
Wheeler will produce written proposals (in favour and against the
idea respectively) for consideration before the AGM.
8. Date of AGM Confirmed as Thursday, 5th October at 7.30 p.m.,
at Wimbledon Community Centre, St. George's Road, Wimbledon.
9. Any other issues (a) Lee Willett raised the subject of WISA's
positioning in relation to the Club, advocating a stance of full
independence. An alternative view proposed forging closer ties and
perhaps taking over the Official Supporters Club (if only their
function), whilst others favoured a middle course. (b) On behalf
of everyone, Kris thanked Ivor Heller for arranging the WTID posters,
etc., at the end of last season.
10. Pub The meeting having concluded, many retired gratefully to
the Prince of Wales!
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