Trust Board Meeting, 27th August 2007

Venue: Novar Bar, Kirkcaldy
Present: Alan Russell (AR), Graeme Condie (GC), James Proctor (JP), Blair White (BW) and Tam Cunningham (TC)
Apologies: John Mainland (JM) and George Howie (GW)

Chairman welcomed everyone and opened the meeting.

Minutes of previous meeting
Agreed they were a record of the Trust Board Meeting of 30 July 2007.

Treasurers Report
As there were no bank statements received this month GC reported there were no updates on the finance side. A Treasurers Report had been prepared ready for the forthcoming AGM. GC sent back the 2005/06 accounts with the minor amendments to our accountants for finalisation. GC has asked the club to view the share certificates held by the Trust.

Membership Update
JP reported the current membership was 420 adults, 49 juniors and 3 corporate members. The membership database was in good shape and up-to-date. Letters of renewal were prepared for the forthcoming AGM.

Matters Arising
Raith Forum: The Trust’s £8k donation to the Forum’s £30k target was presented to the club at the last home game by JM & GC.
Sponsorship: JM contacted the club and the Trust will sponsor Todd Lumsden’s away football shirt and the Team Sheet. The team sheet banner line will be adapted for the next home games to announce the forthcoming AGM.
Fair Trade: Discussed MSP George Foulkes request that the club uses Fairtrade products. The Trust supports this and will back his campaign. Action Point – AR to contact the club to show support and use Fair Trade products and also to contact George Foulkes by email to confirm our backing.

Trust board Meeting, Saturday 11th August 2007 (Medium Term Planning Session)
We all felt that the meeting was very positive and progress in the medium term was good.
AGM: As the Raith suite was not available for 27 September it was decided to move the event to Thursday, 4 October 2007. Ali More has accepted the post of returning officer.
Action Point: AR to see if the Raith Suite is available – Confirmed.
Other Outcomes: JP reported additional dates for the Dates for the Diary:

• Show Racism the Red Card 16-30 October 2007 (see www.theredcardscotland.org)
• Kick out Bigotry 24-25 November 2007 (see www.kickoutbigotry.org)

It was noted that the Trust board support both of these initiatives. Action Points: AR to request Rovers fans to volunteer and assist on these events via Fan Talk e.g. leaflet distribution, assist at events.
Informal Rovers Night: A discussion amongst Rovers fans at a suitable hostelry to discuss the Trust vision, Fans Forum, to see fans views, inspire participation, future events, etc.

Fans Forum Meeting, 23rd August
GC & TC attended the meeting along with Fans Rep Alex Condie, Supporters Club Jim Foy and Gordon Adamson, Fifes Finest Jock Gray and Blair Harley.
We thought the meeting was upbeat and very positive. Discussion also covered fans welfare on match days, stewarding and Police control as well as the Clubs Open Day on Sunday 7th October 2007. The Trust has been asked to run two events – Beat the Goalie and the Keepie Uppie Contest as well as locating some music facility for the day. Trust volunteers will be required for the day and AR and GC volunteered to assist, additional help would be required. Each group will contribute £100 towards the prizes, which will be merchandise from the club shop.

AOCB
GC to set up a Pay Pal donations account and AR to set up email accounts in conjunction. This will create an additional way for fans to contribute towards the Fans £30K target.
Other matters discussed:

• Need to find out via Alex Condie if the Jim McMillan Club is still part of the Fans Forum and where they stand.
• Need to find out how the PAYE funds are donated, and whether they count as part of the £30k target. Action Point: TC to ask Brian Crawley.
• AR to find out what happened to the RRFC International Fans Club raffle.
• With a change in the law, which now allows companies to formally correspond with shareholders by e-mail. GC requests an email address. Action Point: AR to set up appropriate email addresses for board members.

With no other business to attend to, the meeting closed at 21:35.

Date of next meeting
The next meeting is provisionally scheduled for Monday, 24 September 2007. The meeting will be held in the Novar Bar, Kirkcaldy unless otherwise advised.