Club1872 board meeting summary

[BEARGER 1,849]

Suppose there's no problem posting these on here( I mean with Club1882).

 

Club 1872 Board Meeting – 29th October 2016

Club 1872 Board Meeting – 29th October 2016

In attendance – James Blair (Board), Joanne Percival (Board), William Cowie (Board), Laura Fawkes (Board), Craig Houston (Board), Iain Leiper (Board), Alex Wilson (Board), Stewart Robertson (invited for introductions), Chris Graham (invited to assist with matters still arising from working group handover), Malcolm Stenhouse (invited to assist with matters still arising from working group handover), and Christine Sommerville (invited to take minutes).

Stewart Robertson attended the first section of the meeting to introduce himself to the new Board members. He explained that the Club was fully behind Club 1872 and it was a great benefit to the Club to have only one organisation with which to liaise. However, he pointed out that while he hoped that Rangers would develop a good working relationship with Club 1872, it is important for it to remain independent from Rangers and to hold the Rangers Board accountable where necessary.

There were some questions put to Stewart regarding how to hold Rangers to account, whether a Club 1872 representative would be offered a position on the Rangers Board, and discussions on the best way to get to a position of 25%+1 and increase membership. Stewart noted the issues and said that he feels that these things will evolve in time, with further discussions taking place in the future to look at the details of those issues.

After Stewart’s departure, the Board looked at matters arising, summarised below.

Joanne Percival will oversee the transfer of RST assets to Club 1872, with assistance from Christine Sommerville (in her role as RST Board member).

In response to an enquiry, the Board considered whether it was necessary and appropriate to seek a resolution of the members before changing the name of the Shares CIC to Club 1872 Shares CIC. The Board’s view was that this had been dealt with when contributors had voted to approve the Club 1872 proposal and adopt the Club 1872 name. The Rangers First name would be preserved through the dormant subsidiary of the CIC.

The Board then moved on the discuss other items on the agenda, summarised below:

Social Media Policy

Copies of other organisations’ social media policies were distributed to the group. Two members had volunteered to assist with the Club 1872 Twitter and Facebook accounts. The Board agreed to accept those offers. Chris Graham agreed to pass on login details. Individual members agreed to be careful what they put out on their personal accounts due to the possibility of people assuming it is from Club 1872. Laura Fawkes and Joanne Percival will oversee a Social Media Working group, which will draft a policy. This will be emailed to the Board to be agreed.

Review of Admin Costs and Office Lease

It was agreed to sign the lease and retain the office until a new lease is due. This will give the Board the opportunity to use the space for a variety of suggested uses (e.g. proxy collections, meeting members, etc.) and then assess whether having the office is worthwhile.

In addition, it was agreed to retain the admin worker on a full-time basis until Christmas, and review the situation then. Some Board members were unclear about the type of admin work required. Chris Graham and Laura Fawkes gave examples of the kind of admin tasks that are ongoing. It was also agreed to halt the marketing payments until further notice.

Publication of Board Meeting Minutes

A discussion took place regarding whether full minutes or a summary should be sent to members. Iain Leiper pointed out that he and others had made a commitment at the hustings re publishing full minutes. It was agreed that, at times, there may be sensitive information discussed particularly around share purchase or potential projects. It was agreed that a full summary of Board meetings would to be sent out to members, omitting such information. The Board agreed that this was the best way to protect the organisation while maintaining a commitment to transparency.

Rangers First 2014 CIC Annual Report

Iain Leiper distributed a template for the annual report. He will continue to work on it and will consult with others if required. Part of the report concerns how we involve members in the decision-making process and several examples were cited, e.g. polling members on key issues.

Drive To Increase Membership

Craig Houston will draft an action plan to be agreed by the Board. It was also suggested that a Working Group be set up to take this forward and involve members who want to participate more in the organisation.

Board Objectives 2016-2017

Alex Wilson will produce a document to be approved by the Board. This will cover, amongst other things, a section on shareholding. It was also agreed that share purchase would be a standing item on the agenda as this is a priority for every Board member.

AGM and Voting Intentions/Arrangements

The Board agreed that a poll of members would be carried out re voting intentions for forthcoming AGM.

Club 1872 will be asking shareholders for proxies and need to agree a system for doing so once the members’ vote is known. This will be discussed further via email.

It was agreed the Craig Houston (with Laura Fawkes as back up) would vote the shares at the AGM.

All Other Business

Craig Houston suggested that the board investigate steps to protect and ensure the independence of the organisation. Board members agreed to this suggestion. This will be taken forward and reviewed.

William Cowie to email Board re suggested finance procedures.

Due to lack of time, Christine Sommerville will email correspondence from members that require the Board’s attention.

The next board meeting will take place on 3rd December.

[Bluedell 5,861]

No mention of the share purchase. Was this not approved at a formal board meeting?

Edited November 17, 2016 by Bluedell

[pete 2,511]

No mention of the share purchase. Was this not approved at a formal board meeting?

 

The meeting was on 29 October. Had they bought the shares then already? I would imagine if shares become available they want to act fast.

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[Bluedell 5,861]

The meeting was on 29 October. Had they bought the shares then already? I would imagine if shares become available they want to act fast.

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How could they decide whether they were going to buy shares, how many and what price without it being properly discussed at a meeting? Was there a discussion to buy them on the open market or hold off and wait for a club share issue?

 

Who made the decision? Was it made without proper approval of the board? The share purchase appears to have been made within 2 weeks of the board meeting but such an important issue wasn't even discussed at this meeting when everyone was there?

 

Or is this omitted from these minutes? If so, why, given the minutes were issued after the share purchase. What is so sensitive that the couldn't even mention that it was discussed. I could understand that a price range may be omitted due to sensitivity but not the overall approval.

 

I argued before that the members should be consulted. It seems strange that the board themselves don't appear to have been consulted at their arranged meeting given a 5 figure sum was spent.