The Trust held their Annual General Meeting before Saturday’s game with Bristol Rovers.
There were 23 Trust members present and 17 proxy votes received ahead of the meeting, with apologies offered in advance from three Trust board members.
The Chair read the report as outlined in the financial reports. Tribute was made to the sad passing of the former Board Director, Dennis Heywood. A life-long Dale supporter, Dennis had been a significant contributor to the workings of the Trust, and will be greatly missed by all who knew him. The Chair emphasised the strong working relationship between the Trust and the Club Board, a relationship missing from many other Football Clubs. In addition to the formal meetings with the Club Directors, as issues arise, we are in regular contact with the Club to discuss these matters, and encourage members to contact us to allow us to take such matters up with the specific Club personnel responsible.
The accounts were discussed by Trust treasurer Michael Shepherd, and were subsequently approved. A further vote was carried to remain with the current auditors for next year.
All Trust Board members were up for re-election. The Trust rules stipulate that this can be done on rotation but to allow the Trust to remain a fully democratic organisation, a decision had been taken to put everyone up. All Trust Board members were re-elected and there were no applications received for consideration as potential board members.
Future Trust events for the remainder of the season were discussed, and a further appeal for Trust members to leave their details when voting for the Player of the Month. Recent polls had seen a handful of Trust members leaving details, and the Trust were keen to avoid picking the same people each time.
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Concerns were raised from the floor regarding comments made by the Dale Board of Directors about the need for outside investment into the football club in light of problems experienced at other clubs, and it was suggested that the Trust would be best being pro-active rather than responding to any investment that has taken place. The Trust Board agreed to take this forward to a meeting with the Board of Directors on Monday 11th November.
The Trust were asked to offer thanks to the Football Club’s Board of Directors for more open and detailed communication with supporters with regards to injuries within the first team squad.
The Trust were then reminded from the floor that they had not done their regular Easyfundraising plea. After an apology for not doing so, the Trust Chair did his usual Easyfundraising request, stating that in excess of £3,500 has been raised for the Trust over the years through Easyfundraising and with Xmas on the horizon, this was a perfect time to get involved. The case of Newport County was cited as just what can be achieved with the Welsh side having raised over £20,000 through this scheme.
A vote was cast of the members present for the Trust to bid for the Luke Matheson shirt that was put up for auction by the club on Friday. With the funds going towards the Prostate Testing Day – an event the Trust will be supporting, it was felt that an item of such historical significance to the club should be retained for all supporters to appreciate for years to come rather than be in the hands of a 3rd Party and that a successful bid would stipulate that it would be put on display at Spotland. The Trust would be speaking to the Football Club following the meeting regarding this offer.
The meeting was concluded with thanks to all attending and followed by a buffet.