We are delighted to welcome 'Walsall Supporters' Trust' Secretary Steve Davies to Bescot Banter. Steve will be regularly contributing to the site, giving us all the latest news and views direct from the Trust, including details of their regular charity drives and their continuing drive for greater involvement in the future of Walsall Football Club.First of all, I would like to give you a little bit of historical background about the Trust or the 'Walsall Football Supporters' Society Limited' to give us our official title.
It was formed back in 2000 by a group of Walsall Fans and is an independent non profit making group which is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. We are an Industrial Provident Society (IPS) and are members of a National body called Supporters Direct.
Each fully paid up adult member of the Trust holds one equal share and is entitled to one equal vote at Trust General meetings and elections.
We are an independent open democratic organisation with the aim of working towards obtaining a representative voice within the club itself, a voice for the fans and to strengthening bonds between Walsall Football Club, it's supporters and the local community.
Our long term aim is to have a democratically elected Fans Representative elected to the Board of Directors of Walsall Football Club with an equal voting right to other Board members.
The Trust are committed to increase it's shares in Walsall Football Club and thanks to the efforts of previous Board members we have over 200 shares in Walsall FC and are always looking to increase this number. Our share holding in Walsall Football Club allows us to attend Annual General Meetings and to table questions for the Board to answer.
The Walsall Football Supporters' Trust board currently consists of;
CHAIRMAN - Neil Ravenscroft
VICE CHAIRMAN - Bob Thomas
SECRETARY- Steve Davies
TREASURER - Margaret Vardy
MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY - Richard Evans
TRUSTEES - Mikee Evans, Ian Astbury, Mark Jones, Trevor Reece, Mike Garratt and Josh Piddock
WEBSITE EDITOR AND SOCIAL MEDIA ADMINISTRATOR - Daz Anslow (non Board position)
As you can see we have a good mix of people on the Board ranging from Magistrates to factory workers, Main stand season ticket holders to Floors to Go Lower Season ticket holders. The one thing that brings us all together and provides a strong Board is that we are all passionate about one thing - Walsall Football Club!
Our meetings are held in the Upstairs Function Room at our base the Pretty Bricks Club in John Street Walsall, the Board consists of 11 members at present.
Last season we adopted a set of New Model Rules which were drawn up by Supporters Direct and adapted for us by Daz Anslow to bring us up to date with new rules and regulations as required by new legislation.
We normally meet every two months depending on current events and have other projects that are run by sub committees reporting back to the main Board.
The Trust are also represented along with the Saddlers Club at Working Party meetings with Walsall FC normally Secretary Dan Mole and Chief Executive Stefan Gamble. These meetings take place every two months. The Secretary - me and Colin Bromley normally represent the Trust and Saddlers Club and this is a place where any problems from the fans side can be highlighted and concerns raised. Any activities undertaken by the Trust will be highlighted at these meetings as well.
We have developed an excellent relationship with the Club partly via these meetings. We do not always agree on things but we do have a platform to raise our concerns and a voice to raise awareness.
The Club are very supportive of events we have run, often donating raffle prizes and publicity for which we are grateful.
As members of Supporters Direct we have a network of Trusts at other clubs, with whom we can contact for advice or liaise with on projects, Portsmouth, Coventry City, Bury and Shrewsbury Town Trusts in particular over the last season or so for varying reasons have been high on our list.
All Club's Trusts are there for the same thing so there is a lot of common ground and camaraderie amongst Trust Board members.
We also attend regional meeting arranged by Supporters Direct, the last one being late last year at Nuneaton Town and there is an end of season Weekend organised by the Football Supporters Federation and Supporters Direct which last year was held at St Georges Park.
One of the big pluses has been the Formation of the Walsall FC Former Players Association, under the Trust banner, something that was much needed for the old boys who still love to meet up and remember their time at the club with affection.
For further information on Walsall Football Supporters' Trust click HERE.
By: Steve Davies.