11th December 2015 - Annual General Meeting                         

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of Watford FC Enables held on

11th December 2015 at 7.30pm, in The Staff Room, Vicarage Road Stadium.

Present:   

Phil Nightingale                Vice Chair

Phil Linnegar                    Secretary

Iain Lamb                           Hon Treasurer

David Butler Enables Member

Dave Messenger              Supporter Liaison Officer, WFC

Andy Jenkins                    Health and Safety Officer, WFC

Kieran Reynolds              Project Coordinator, Level Playing Field

Chris Summersell            Admin and Communications, Level Playing Field 

Apologies received:

Glyn Evans                       Operations Director, WFC

Stephen Anderson

Mike and Debbie Carter

Paul Garfield

Jean Ginder

Robert Hawes

Eddie Lucas

John Skilton

1.  Welcome and apologies

Philip Linnegar welcomed everyone, and thanked everyone for their work supporting Watford FC ENABLES, since the last AGM.

2. Apologies for absence

Apologies had been received as shown.

3. Secretary’s Report

3.1   Philip thanked the Club for hosting the Annual General Meeting, and explained that there was a need to elect officers and members.  At the last general meeting, members had provided a list of inclusive access issues, by operational area.  Dave would respond to some of these in his report, and the remainder would be reviewed by Dave and Phil, into a workable three season plan, if possible.

3.2   Kieran Reynolds explained that his role was to support Disabled Supporters Associations, DSAs, and complimented WFCE for having a comprehensive governing document. 

4. Hon Treasurers Report.

4.1   The Hon Treasurer, Iain Lamb, reported that the current balance was £793.40. A Receipts and Payments Account, and Statement of Assets was tabled. This was accepted for information.

4.2   Independent Examination.  It was agreed to ask WFC Finance Director, Katie Wareham, to independently examine the prepared accounts.

5. Election of Officers

At the AGM in May 2014, all Officers stood down from their posts, and nominated representatives from WFC and WFCST were confirmed.  The meeting, being an AGM, confirmed the new Committee as follows:

Chairman                      - David Butler

Vice Chair                     - Phil Nightingale

Treasurer                       - Iain Lamb

Secretary                   - Phil Linnegar

Social Secretary           - Gary Armstrong

Fundraising Officer          - Vacant

Membership Secretary    - Dave Messenger

WFC                               - Andy Jenkins

WFCST                          - To Be Confirmed

5.  Confirmation of cheque account signatories

5.1   Iain confirmed account signatories were Phil L, Glyn E, and Iain L.

It was agreed that Don Fraser and Debbie Carter would be removed.

It was agreed that David Butler would be added.

6.   WFC Update

6.1   New Club Shop

6.11 At the last WFCE, the Club shop had been discussed.  Dave presented the design concepts and layouts of the new Hornet’s Shop.  This included self-opening doors, flush floors, drop counters and hearing loop system. 

6.12 There was also a separate ‘print shop’, taking shirt printing to a different part of the store for this more time consuming activity, to speed up customer flow at the checkouts.

6.2   Parking/Blue Badge

6.21 Match-day parking for Blue Badge holders is limited to the service station at the top of Occupation Road and Stadium Way. On matchdays where live television broadcast is taking place, those parked in the service station are accommodated at Chater School. 

6.22 Dave and Phil L had been working on the idea of a matchday Shuttle Bus, between Chater School, Watford Girls Grammar School, and the Stadium.  More work is yet to be done, but the pilot is hoped to be introduced in 2016. 

6.23 Discussion followed about ‘Accessible Entrances’ to the ground.  The existing entrances and the possibilities of using lifts to gain further access, were not always clear or understood.  It was agreed Dave would review this and report back.

6.24 Dave reported on the club’s progress towards complying with the Accessible Stadia guidance issued by the Sports Ground Safety Authority. The document is commonly known as the Green Guide and provides guidance on accessibility, including suggested numbers of wheelchair and ambulant disabled spaces. The club are committed, via agreement made by all Premier League clubs, to make their stadiums compliant by August 2017.

6.25 Architects from Wilson Owens Owens visited Vicarage Road to review current provision and to make suggestions on how the club can proceed. WOO have provided a report on their findings, which the club intends to review at the highest level. The club will keep the Enables group fully involved in any related discussions.

6.3   Watford FC ENABLES Website

6.31 The Committee discussed the need for a WFCE website.  It was understood that some existing commercial contractual arrangements prevented developments progressing in the preferred manner. 

With respect to WFCE content on WatfordFC.com, it was difficult to ensure timely, usable and current information on-line. 

6.32 It was agreed that David would seek to acquire a suitable web domain, for the purposes of setting up an independent website.  The web domain would be www.wfcenables.co.uk and David would create a draft for comment as to structure and content. Also an email on Google - wfcenables@gmail.com. 

6.33 Discussion around on-line communication and social media followed.

         It was agreed that Dave would set up a Twitter account for WFCE. 

6.4   Accessible Programme

6.41 Dave reported that the Club’s Accessible Programme is now available, and supporters can download a version of the programme which can be converted to the spoken word, if the device has the necessary software. 

         Programmes can be downloaded to your iPad, iPhone or Android devices. The free matchday digital app can be downloaded at the following links:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/watford-fc-matchday-programmes/id927877783?ls=1&mt=8

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.matchdaydigital.watfordfc

Season passes or individual purchases are then available via the app. 

7.  AOB

7.1   Edward Carter RIP

7.11 Long-standing members may remember Edward Carter, a Junior Hornet and WFC ENABLES founder member, with his parents, Mike and Debbie.

7.12 The family had moved North, and Debbie had been in touch to let us know that sadly, Edward had passed away just a few weeks previously.  Everyone sent Debbie and Mike their deepest sympathy.

7.2   Hospitality Thoroughfare

7.21 David reported his recent experience, and those of others, to the limitation of ‘1 carer per disabled person rule’ which applied through the hospitality entrance.  In practice, this meant that anyone else in that group had to run around ‘the long way’ in order to meet up the other side of the doorway.  It was agreed that Dave would raise this matter with Jackie Shepherd.

8.  Date of Next Meeting

8.1   Annual General Meeting

8.11 The date of the next AGM was proposed and agreed by the WFCE Committee, would be within 12 months of this meeting, ideally around September 2016, after the association’s financial year end in September.  The date would be notified to WFCE members.  

8.2   General Meeting

8.21 The date of the next General Meeting would be Tuesday 12th January 2016, at The Staff Room, Vicarage Road Stadium.  Members would be notified by email. 

9.  Close

9.1   David closed the AGM and thanked everyone for coming and taking part.