SUFC: The Future Fan Advisory Board Launched

[Holy Joe]

Imagine this scenario.

The club is in financial difficulty BUT they have secured funding and are going to announce it in a few days with a huge ( for us) media campaign to really sell the news and explain why it is such good news .

Does the club?
A. Not tell FAB
B. Tells FAB but asks them just to say nothing or just good news is coming
C. Tell FAB and allow them to pass on the info in any way they see fit- meaning the fans hear half a story and reduces the impact of the official announcement

A - they're only meeting roughly 4 times per year so it would be amazingly coincidental if the 2 coincided.

FAB isn't running the club - it's a sounding board/feedback route.

 

[defender05]

Imagine this scenario.

The club is in financial difficulty BUT they have secured funding and are going to announce it in a few days with a huge ( for us) media campaign to really sell the news and explain why it is such good news .

Does the club?
A. Not tell FAB
B. Tells FAB but asks them just to say nothing or just good news is coming
C. Tell FAB and allow them to pass on the info in any way they see fit- meaning the fans hear half a story and reduces the impact of the official announcement

The answer has to be A.

If you can't tell the fans then don't say anything.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

(incidentally, Tom just messaged me to ask about a date!)

I hope you told him you’re married.

The last thing we need is him going all True Blue and inviting you for a steak dinner.

 

[Suffolk Shrimper In Dorset]

I think this is an excellent initiative by the club and I really hope it works.

For it to be successful it will need a strong chairperson and will need to stick to its brief.

It might sound boring, but a meeting will only work well if it is furnished in good time beforehand with proper meeting papers.

The FAB should steer clear of duplicating subjects handled at the club liaison meetings. A focus on club strategy rather than onions in burgers.

I hope that those selected to be on it bring to the party a wealth of experience on business issues and have a realistic vision of the future and can also be inventive. An absolute must is to avoid selecting anyone who gives off vibes of just wanting to be there so they can feel important and rub shoulders with management.

Some of the subjects discussed might actually become quite detailed, so a good all-round ability to grasp facts and figures, and an ability to communicate with all types of people (which includes being a good listener), is also essential.

I don't agree with picking people to represent different factions. Everyone on it should be capable of doing a good all round job representing all fans. For donkey's years I ran pension trustee boards for a living, those individuals that failed to do a good job saw themselves as reps of a particular group of the workforce, in effect a kind of union rep, rather than looking after the interests of all (sending such folk on a derivatives course usually saw them off).

Having said that, I am supportive of the Shrimpers Trust having a rep on the FAB as they represent themselves a large group of fans from a diverse range of our fan base. The Trust also has a wealth of relevant experience.

I totally agree with comments that the FAB should be transparent. If the club feels that something discussed should not be disclosed then it should not be discussed at FAB level in the first place. We should all have visibility of the minutes.

Those that want to apply should be prepared to devote plenty of time to the role. It will require much more commitment than just turning up to four meetings a year.

It will be interesting to see how it all pans out and I wish it every success.

 

[BEERMONSTER]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1847268900997832863

 

[Ricey]

All gone quiet on this front.

 

[Strykr]

Id forgotten all about the fans advisory board.

 

[Liam AAS]

First meeting this evening.

 

[Ricey]

How did it go?

 

[Callumturner22]

Any updates of how the meeting went .

 

[Cricko]

Acccording to a post i saw elsewhere this morning Michelle (BB landlady) who is on the FAB board said,

Michelle Gargate
Top contributor

The first meeting was last week and there will be be a brief summary published shortly

 

[Ricey]

Any news on this?

 

[Cricko]

If it's anything like the Supporters Groups Liason meeting, who are still awaiting the club to sign off the minutes from a meeting weeks ago, we could all be waiting some time.

 

[Liam AAS]

It is co-chaired by Club and Trust and I understand that it was minuted so there should be an official publication at some point.

I have given @Medway Blue a nudge to see if he can give a little update here.

 

[Cockle43]

If it's anything like the Supporters Groups Liason meeting, who are still awaiting the club to sign off the minutes from a meeting weeks ago, we could all be waiting some time.

It is very, very frustrating to say the least.
The meeting was recorded on the Zoom recording function by Rylee Doe and/or Tom Lawrence and it was intimated that this would make the production of the minutes quicker...
The meeting was on the 29th January, three weeks ago tomorrow and we are still waiting despite several e-mails chasing up.
It is all very well having better and more meaningful engagement with the Club but it is a pointless exercise when we can't report back.

I'm seriously wondering whether my time could be better spent in future...

Any volunteers welcome...

 

[Cricko]

It is co-chaired by Club and Trust and I understand that it was minuted so there should be an official publication at some point.

I have given @Medway Blue a nudge to see if he can give a little update here.

Well that is news, just for clarity , what is the difference then between The Trust and the club having their Liason meetings and the Fan advisory board and The Trust having the same sort of meetings apart from the odd change of personnel?

 

[Liam AAS]

Well that is news, just for clarity , what is the difference then between The Trust and the club having their Liason meetings and the Fan advisory board and The Trust having the same sort of meetings apart from the odd change of personnel?

I am not the authority on this, but as I understand it The Trust will feed back on operational issues at RH (maintenance, ticketing, events etc.) as well as other things but the FAB is a higher-level strategic exercise designed to influence the direction of travel at the club. The Trust might speak about the onions in burgers but the FAB might look at spend/head at Roots Hall and help SUFC improve it's food & beverage offering as a whole.

It's a COSU initiative. This question is probably best for the upcoming CEO forum.

 

[Cricko]

I am not the authority on this, but as I understand it The Trust will feed back on operational issues at RH (maintenance, ticketing, events etc.) as well as other things but the FAB is a higher-level strategic exercise designed to influence the direction of travel at the club. The Trust might speak about the onions in burgers but the FAB might look at spend/head at Roots Hall and help SUFC improve it's food & beverage offering as a whole.

It's a COSU initiative. This question is probably best for the upcoming CEO forum.

I think we should have a Food and Beverage Board, oh and Talk about the Toilets Board and maybe a Parking Board..

In all honesty it is getting somewhat ridiculous with the amount of Boards, Ceo boards, Liason Committees, Discussion groups, Supporters groups, Trust talk. Fan advisory, etc etc etc. No wonder nobody knows their arse from their Elbow.

 

[Liam AAS]

Every time the club asks the fans for input that should be applauded, no matter what the topic.

There are inevitably some processes to iron out as historic ways of working change or become obsolete.

Everyone is working towards a smooth process to make sure that concerns and meanginful conversations are had in a timely fashion with a focus on outcomes.

 

[Cricko]

Every time the club asks the fans for input that should be applauded, no matter what the topic.

There are inevitably some processes to iron out as historic ways of working change or become obsolete.

Everyone is working towards a smooth process to make sure that concerns and meanginful conversations are had in a timely fashion with a focus on outcomes.

Thank you Prime Minister.