Minutes of the Sky Blue Trust AGM held on Saturday 27 October 2007 at Hen Lane Social Club, Beacon Road, COVENTRY.  12.30pm 

Present:  Board Members: Rachael Brown (Chair), Lionel Bird (Vice-Chair), Rachel King (Membership Secretary), Natalie Cox(Media Coordinator), Laura Armit (Secretary), Steve Barnett (SCG Rep) Eleven members were also present. 

Apologies: Pat Raybould (Treasurer), Kev Monks   

Welcome from Chair: Rachael opened the meeting.  It was noted that there was no quorum.  The Chair then proposed to proceed with the meeting without a quorum.  This proposal was agreed. It was also noted that the official minutes of the meeting should be sent out to Trust members before details of the meeting being posted on websites. It was confirmed that this AGM looked at the year ending January 2007.  

 Chair’s Statement:  Rachael gave the Chair’s statement which included the following points: 

• Last year was a very difficult year for the Trust.

• The Chair, treasurer and membership secretary all left last year for personal reasons.

• The Joint Council became the Supporters Consultation Group – this took over much of the Trust’s role.

• Trust meetings were moved to take place bi-monthly instead of annually.

 The Trust did achieve some things including: 

• Designing a badge for Richard Shaw’s testimonial which raised £1200.

• The academy appeal which resulted in a fan’s forum in July

• Pre-season travel at reduced costs for members

• Lionel did a lot of work in the Legends bar with memorobilia

 A question from the floor asked who does what on the Board.  The Board members were introduced.  Another question from the floor asked about membership numbers.  It was confirmed that there were around 400 members of the Trust during the year in question as anyone who donated to the Academy Appeal also became a member of the Trust. 

Open Discussion: An open discussion was then held re the current situation of the football club and the future role and direction of the Trust.  Some members felt that the Trust may need to take up a more ‘confrontational’ stance with regard to the current circumstances at the football club.  Members of the board emphasised that the non-confrontational position adopted by the Trust had been directly responsible for the fact that the various parties involved in a proposed take-over had been willing to meet with Trust board members.  It was also emphasised that a non-confrontational position doesn’t mean to say that there can’t be constructive criticism of any party. 

A document was handed to the Trust board to consider, which suggested alternative strategies to move the Trust forward in the difficult time it faced at present with regard to the proposed take-over and the possibility of the football club going into administration.  

Other members questioned the appeal being run by the Trust and whether it was still appropriate to be giving money to the Academy which is then used to pay various bills for the use of the Higgs Centre.  It was confirmed that an appeal was set up due to the wishes of some supporters who had wanted to donate money to help the club.  The club had then suggested that the appeal be run in conjunction with the Coventry Times in order to raise money for the Academy in order for other funds to be diverted elsewhere.  It was then confirmed that as a result of the public meeting held on 24 October during which some suggestions were made by Supporters Direct, the money would be given to the club in the form of a loan rather than a straight donation.  The loan agreement was currently being drawn up in conjunction with Supporters Direct. 

It was also emphasised by the Board that any Trust member was welcome to join the board and contribute in the way of ideas and suggestions in order to take the Trust forward. 

Accounts: Members were given a copy of the Financial Statements for the Year ending 31 January 2007.The Chair explained that the accounts had not yet been audited, Rachael then put forward the proposal for a partial amendment to rule 89 of the constitution.  This would enable the Trust’s accounts to be audited by another Trust rather than a qualified auditor. This motion was carried.  

Election of Board Members: It was confirmed that Pete Walden has resigned from the Board for personal reasons. The Chair explained that under the Constitution, it is a requirement for the following Board members to stand down: 

Rachael Brown

Lionel Bird

Pat Raybould

Natalie Cox 

Lionel declined to stand as a Board member again but emphasised that he would continue to be involved with the Trust.  A vote of thanks was given to Lionel for the huge amount of work that he has put into the Trust. 

Rachael Brown, Pat Raybould and Natalie Cox were voted back onto the Board.

Nigel Eccles, Kev Kelly and Ray Stephens were voted onto the Board.

Board positions will be decided at the next Board meeting.  

Date of next meeting: The next meeting of the Sky Blue Trust Board will take place at 7.30pm on Monday 5 November at Hen Lane Social Club.