The Dons Trust Board (DTB) held its monthly meeting at The Cherry Red Records Stadium on Thursday, January 14. Ahead of publication of the redacted minutes, this article summarises the main points that were discussed.
The meeting opened with a discussion on the Election Steering Group report, following the recent Board elections. John Dolan, Chair of the ESG, attended for this item. John outlined the main report recommendations to change the current rules governing DTB elections. These were:
- That candidate manifestos should be published in advance of the issuing of voting papers
- That improvements should be made to the online voting process so that members have absolute clarity about who they are voting for before submitting their vote
- That the Board should explore the advantages of offering a ‘taster’ term for potential Board members.
It was also proposed that the 9 Years podcast should become an official hustings platform, following the recent successful trial.
All these recommendations were approved by the Board, which added its thanks to John and all members of the ESG for their successful management of the 2015 election process.
There then followed the election of Board Officers for 2016:
- Chair – Matthew Breach was re-elected unopposed.
- Vice-Chair – outgoing Vice-Chair David Growns said that he did not wish to stand again. Mark Davis was elected unopposed.
- Treasurer – Sean McLaughlin was re-elected unopposed.
The Board formally thanked David Growns for his service as Vice-Chair over several years.
With Club chief executive Erik Samuelson on holiday, Mick Buckley represented the Football Club Board and presented the latest FCB report. Mick updated the Board with Neal’s observations and thoughts on the January transfer window. He also ran through various other updates regarding the latest on the stadium planning process, the contract with Chelsea over the sale of Kingsmeadow, and club cash flow projections for 2016. David Growns also updated the meeting on his recent discussions with Kingstonian FC directors and supporters.
Mick then presented a short paper outlining the circumstances arising from the Stevenage Man of the Match presentation (which had featured as a news item on the club website). The paper included actions being introduced by the club to avoid any misunderstandings of this nature occurring in the future. The Board endorsed the club’s work in this area and agreed with the FCB that maintaining excellent player/fan engagement was crucial, and should always remain at the heart of the AFC Wimbledon ethos.
The Board congratulated the Under-18s on their recent FA Youth Cup win at Newcastle United.
At a Board teleconference held on 20 December, it had been agreed to implement private social media network tool Webjam as a way of improving the Board’s engagement with Trust members. There was a short discussion about the project’s next steps and the terms of the contract with Webjam, who have agreed to provide the platform free of charge for a further four years.
Finally, the Board formally thanked all those who had helped at the Junior Dons Christmas Party.
In attendance from the Dons Trust Board were: Tom Adam, Matt Breach, Mark Davis, Colin Dipple, Roger Evans, David Growns, Nigel Higgs and Jane Lonsdale. Apologies were received from Sean McLaughlin.