Open Meeting

[northernsoul]

First of all I'd like to thank everyone involved last night in organising the meeting.

 

My personal point of view in regards to the Board Rep, at this time is if any action will be taken by the Trust or fans in protest to their not being a Trust member on the Board then lets wait until January until we know what's going on.

 

The BoD have asked for this time from now until January and I'm prepared to give them that. We will find out in January exactly what the situation is regarding the Board Rep.

 

The Trust Rep is still allowed to sit in all Board meeting from now until January. Give the folk who have taken over the reins a bit of time.

 

 

The most important subject we need to address is this cash gap. The Trust (and fans outside the Trust) need to be coming up with fund raising ideas and schemes to plug this cash gap.

 

This has to be number one priority right now.

 

 

One more thing. I realise and appreciate the time put into making the meeting happen e.t.c by the folk who organised it but if the Trust wants to get a bit of momentum with gathering new members and keeping the fans in the know then another Open Meeting should be organised soon. With the Club Board meeting on Friday I hope answers will be given to Trust, which they have been waiting for and I'd like to think there will be another Open Meeting sooner rather than later.

Edited October 7, 2010 by northernsoul

[stolenscone]

One more thing. I realise and appreciate the time put into making the meeting happen e.t.c by the folk who organised it but if the Trust wants to get a bit of momentum with gathering new members and keeping the fans in the know then another Open Meeting should be organised soon. With the Club Board meeting on Friday I hope answers will be given to Trust, which they have been waiting for and I'd like to think there will be another Open Meeting sooner rather than later.

 

For what it's worth, I agree and that is the intention. The timing will depend on what comes out of the Club and when, but I do appreciate that like ducks, there is a lot of paddling going on under the water by the Club directors at the moment.

[Junior]

Will the JT be able to get one or more of the directors to come to a meeting to outline their plans ? (when and if they have some that is )

[macjag]

I agree with this and said as much on the way home. The bolded part was a ridiculous comment for them to make. They also seemed to be able to heckle or make comments whenever they seen fit whilst others were told not to shout out. Although it may not have been their intention it certainly made the night a lot less constructive.

The comment was a bit stupid the three ladies mentioned are very close to gordon pedenn so maybe that,s the reason they are reluctant to deal with morag after his time on the board and his departure.

[lady-isobel-barnett]

Just a couple of points from what I thought was a most worthwhile meeting. Like others I thought the discussion re the Board rep took up a disproportionate amount of time. However I'm fairly sure we'd be saying the same about Propco if that topic had kicked off the evening instead.

 

My own view about the Board rep is fairly simple. As large shareholders the position on the Club Board of a fans rep should be sacrosanct regardless of the level of membership of the Trust. (Obviously the larger the membership the more muscle but that's another matter.) Further to that I want the fans rep to do just what it says on the tin, in other words to represent the fans. Therefore by far the most important skill required is an ability to fight the fans corner and ensure the views of the fans are heard, understood and as often as possible acted upon. Any other skills the Jags Trust Rep has, welcome tho' they may be, are secondary.

[jag71]

Thanks to the Trust Board for orgainsing and running this event. I've joined up.

[McKennan]

The comment was a bit stupid the three ladies mentioned are very close to gordon pedenn so maybe that,s the reason they are reluctant to deal with morag after his time on the board and his departure.

 

One of our directors used to berate users of a forum which preceded this for their 'student politics'. If MacJag's suggestion is anywhere near correct then our board just passed has surely stooped to the politics of the kindergarten. I hope not, brave new era and all.

[McKennan]

My own view about the Board rep is fairly simple. As large shareholders the position on the Club Board of a fans rep should be sacrosanct regardless of the level of membership of the Trust. (Obviously the larger the membership the more muscle but that's another matter.) Further to that I want the fans rep to do just what it says on the tin, in other words to represent the fans. Therefore by far the most important skill required is an ability to fight the fans corner and ensure the views of the fans are heard, understood and as often as possible acted upon.

 

 

I get the impression from what I heard that the club wants the trust's rep to make a very different contribution. What is the subtext here? Is the club suggesting that the trust rep must have business acumen? If so, that's a bit rich coming from a board that presided over our present shambles. Let me also say that if this is the case then it's not going to make some of the paranoaics who fixate on the North West supporters bus any happier.

 

Hopefully the supporters' rep on the board will be there because he/she was sent there by the supporters, not merely because of their expertise.

[Bluddy Hell]

To be honest I only read a few posts on this thread, and had a small thought but I have no idea how feasible it would be. With the club not really playing ball with a non-exec board rep, could the trust not raise the amount needed to buy a place on the board? I have no idea what the legalities of it would be, ie does it have to be in 1 persons name or can it be a company etc

[Col]

Thanks to the Trust for organising this meeting and for doing the online stream. Thought the meeting was very interesting but disappointed that nobody from the club board made an appearance. Do you know if there is a reason for this? Just that the club made announcements about being more involved with the fans and this was an ideal time to have someone from the board speak to the fans and let us know what their intentions are?

 

Cheers

[McKennan]

To be honest I only read a few posts on this thread, and had a small thought but I have no idea how feasible it would be. With the club not really playing ball with a non-exec board rep, could the trust not raise the amount needed to buy a place on the board? I have no idea what the legalities of it would be, ie does it have to be in 1 persons name or can it be a company etc

 

That is one of the problems with Thistle given the talents of the folk I know who have volunteered to help over the years.

[lady-isobel-barnett]

I get the impression from what I heard that the club wants the trust's rep to make a very different contribution.

Yes, and that's in effect another way of the Board saying that they do not want the Jags Trust to put forward the person best equipped to represent the fans.

B.C.G. Jag puts this point over very well in his Fans' Representative thread.

[stolenscone]

disappointed that nobody from the club board made an appearance. Do you know if there is a reason for this?

 

A couple of Club directors offered to come to the meeting, but I took the view that it wasn't the right time. Important that we had an open and frank discussion away from Firhill to allow folk to clear the air.

 

My hope is to take those directors up on their offer for one of the next meetings. Whether or not that actually comes to pass will depend on a number of factors, including availability and the nature of the proposed discussion. But for now, I am comforted that the offer was made in good faith and declined on the same basis.

[Col]

A couple of Club directors offered to come to the meeting, but I took the view that it wasn't the right time. Important that we had an open and frank discussion away from Firhill to allow folk to clear the air.

 

My hope is to take those directors up on their offer for one of the next meetings. Whether or not that actually comes to pass will depend on a number of factors, including availability and the nature of the proposed discussion. But for now, I am comforted that the offer was made in good faith and declined on the same basis.

 

Thanks very much for the response. I just think that having a board member there would have allowed the fan rep/non exec position to be resolved and we could also hear what the club are doing at the moment and in the near future.

 

Glad to hear that the club are offering to get involed with the fans though, and a good sign for the future. Hopefully they will be in attendance at a future meeting, that all fans are invited to. Thanks again for organising these.

 

Cheers

[Hot Shot]

I think the Club do take into consideration the size of the Trust Membership, but I also think they want the Trust to contribute to the Club financially by helping the Club raise funds. They probably feel that the Trust don't communicate well enough with the support to bring in a decent amount of cash. So leading on from that, the more members you have, the more opportunities you have for making money.

 

 

Finally getting where you're coming from on the numbers thing(skull's got a fairly thick layer to penetrate), although still unconvinced just having the numbers is any big advantage in itself without those numbers offering more than an annual fee and a name on a list.

[macjag]

One of our directors used to berate users of a forum which preceded this for their 'student politics'. If MacJag's suggestion is anywhere near correct then our board just passed has surely stooped to the politics of the kindergarten. I hope not, brave new era and all.

Dont get me wrong the three ladies mentioned are good jagsminded people and the close ties with G P shouldn,t matter but nobody knows why they dont want to deal with morag this was just a suggestion.I attended the meeting and thought it was interesting even though there wasn,t much info i think the next one will be better if we get the board starting to open up i can see these meets being well attended.

[lady-isobel-barnett]

i think the next one will be better if we get the board starting to open up i can see these meets being well attended.

I've attended many JT meetings, meet the Board etc and I find the deeper into the sh*t we are and/or the more controversial the reason for the meeting the more turn up. Maybe we don't really want the next meet to be too well attended .

[Allan Heron]

I've attended many JT meetings, meet the Board etc and I find the deeper into the sh*t we are and/or the more controversial the reason for the meeting the more turn up. Maybe we don't really want the next meet to be too well attended .

 

All too accurate, unfortunately.

[lady-isobel-barnett]

Coverage in the Glaswegian

[dougie247]

The company say their intention is to develop the areas of the ground under their ownership with a commitment to a four-sided football stadium.

 

 

this again??? thought we were gettin a tesco metro on the otherside???

[Mr Bunny]

The company say their intention is to develop the areas of the ground under their ownership with a commitment to a four-sided football stadium.

 

 

this again??? thought we were gettin a tesco metro on the otherside???

 

So ...? ... the back of the Tesco can be painted to look like a full house stand

[lady-isobel-barnett]

We've even made the Football Economy.com

 

Not that I've ever heard of it.

[yoda-jag]

Coverage in the Glaswegian

 

"Partick Thistle halved their long term debt of £1.6million last summer when they completed a deal to sell Firhill Stadium's main stand and south end - both of which are presently unused on match day - to an independent property company.

 

The company say their intention is to develop the areas of the ground under their ownership with a commitment to a four-sided football stadium."

 

Loving the third and second last paragraphs

 

An "independant" property company? erm...........

 

"Four sided stadium"? What, 2 walls, two stands = 4 sides?

[rodmac]

I have just read through all 8 pages of this thread. I think it gave me some insight into the open meeting, but I am left feeling rather flat by it all.

I have not been a member of the Jags Trust for a couple of years now,and I really don't feel any inspiration at present to rejoin.

I joined at a time when there was a major push to reform the Trust as it stood,and much work was done initially to restructure the Trust,and make it more representative and accountable to the fans,

Unfortunately in my opinion, much was lost in the turgid process of restructuring,and it got bogged down in committee procedure. People who I regard very highly,came and went from the Trust board, in very short order.While I do not know all that went on at that time with disagreements and grievances, I do feel the Trust lost it's way a bit.

I do get the impression that it has got it's act together a bit more, but much more needs to be done before the likes of myself will place my trust in the Trust!

 

With regards to the open meeting,by the sounds of things it could have been handled better. Although, I do appreciate from long experience, that controlling the ebbs and flows and structure of a meeting can be difficult.

I have no idea why the club are reluctant to have the current trust rep on the board? But certainly, silly petty comments, such as suggesting sexism,perhaps gives some indication!!

 

Unfortunately, I am too far away these days to be much help. Although, I doubt my volunteering would make much difference! The Club board are not the only ones to ignore offers of assistance in the past!

 

Although I am not yet convinced enough to either join the current Trust,nor expand any mental energy in offering assistance, I do wish all the current Trust board my best wishes.

Perhaps there is a sea change happening, with the club,and with the board. I certainly hope that much more can be achieved in the future. Meanwhile, I wait and see!