Supporters Meeting 8/6
This meeting had been set up some time ago with the intention of meeting our new owners, unfortunately as you are all aware this will now have to take place at a later date!
It was decided to go ahead with the meeting despite the above, as there were still some issues that needed to be discussed.
A decent turn out was greeted by Jane Corby. The RDISA had bought along several new committee members for their first meeting, along with several R&DFC supporters club members & Pigman & myself.
The meeting was opened with the arrival of David Suddens, which was bit of a surprise to all of us there to be honest. After introducing himself personally to all attending the meeting David proceeded to explain a little about the events of this week. To be fair to him there was little he could add to the official announcement that was made earlier that day due to confidentiality issues. He explained that interest in buying the club had been renewed by other parties since the breakdown of the consortiums negotiations, these were being explored, but it would be a while before any firm news was known. He did explain a little about his frustration at not being able to keep supporters informed, and explained the situation was very fluid and it was nigh on impossible to provide up to date information to the public domain - he asked for patience and understanding from supporters on this issue.
David left me (Pigman) personally feeling confident that he would do the best for the club and that Max and Stephen were still both keen to find an owner who wanted to take the club forwards, not backwards. He spoke very eloquently and came across as a very competent operator, I am confident he will serve us well in negotiations with any potential buyer. He has a clear remit from Max to find new owners that want the best for the club, the supporters and the local community.
I also share Pigman’s optimism for the future & have faith in David, Max & Stephen to find a positive solution to safe guard R&DFC’s future. We were also advised that both Ernie & Stewart were in contract with R&DFC & that they still have the go ahead to proceed with the signing of new players. Which can only bode well for the future.
One thing that was discussed prior to David leaving was the upcoming Sports Relief event that Nene Park will be hosting on the 9th & 10th of July.
Dr Martens are sponsoring this event, which will be made up of a variety of sports based fund raising ideas, such as sponsored mile runs, 24 hour cycle rides & walks, etc.
It is intended to have an open day at the club during this event, with Strikers, etc open to serve the many visitors, which will also help to promote the club. This event is the main Sport Relief event in this area & will hopefully prove to be well supported. More information will soon be released via the official website & we will try to keep you updated also.
Because of the scale of this event again the club will require assistance with “stewarding”, etc, to help direct the many visitors around Nene Park. If you can assist with this or are interested in providing sponsorship, then please contact Jane Corby at the club.
David left the meeting with our thanks for taking the time to talk to us & for trying to update us. As Pigman mentioned above please have patience with the club, any information the club issues, is “official” information & must therefore be accurate & not risk jeopardising any negotiations, it cannot be based on hope & speculation!
The meeting continued with a discussion about the required maintenance throughout the summer.
This coming Sunday (13/6/04) from 2p.m. onwards the Airwair stand seats will be available to be cleaned, there are a number of other tasks to be undertaken at this time, a separate thread has been posted on the message board for those that can help out. A thank you must go to Lindleys who have offered to put on a free buffet for all those that help out on the Sunday. Don’t forget that Strikers is showing the England v France game on the big screen! All England games & selected knockout games will be shown in Strikers, with the bar opening 1 hour before kick off, so get yourself down there & enjoy the atmosphere whilst raising some revenue for the club!
If any body is interested with helping out at the club with weeding, seat cleaning, etc at any other times, could they please contact jane.corby@airwair.co.uk to agree access, etc.
It was confirmed that understandably with the uncertainty over the new owners, season ticket sales had been slow. As a result the club will extend the discount period, for a period of time to be confirmed. Should the worst occur & the club did go into administration the moneys already paid in to date are safe & would be returned.
It was confirmed that the new away kit will be all red. Shirt sponsorship cannot be confirmed yet, however we were advised that Max & Stephen have generously offered to provide some form of sponsorship & it will be left to the new owners to decide in what way this will be used.
It was also confirmed that due to the possibility that the new kit would not be available for the Isle of Man tournament, we have been registered to play in our yellow & black away kit. If anyone fancies getting hold of one of the last yellow diamonds shirts, then get down to the Docshop, as they still have a few remaining for the bargain price of £16.50, whilst stocks last!
R&DFCNet’s interest in sponsoring players , home & away was registered. The club have kindly agreed to collect the money for us through the ticket office. Thanks to Jane, Nikki & Alison for agreeing to help us with this.
A list of names will be left in the ticket office & all those that have pledged money will be asked to make payment there & advise Nikki or Alison who you are so they can tick you off as paid. There are still spaces available for supporters interested in sponsoring another player so keep your pledges coming in to Simon through the message board, (see pinned thread).
The club have also agreed to allow us use of the A6 pitch, subject to dates, etc, for any supporters matches that maybe arranged this summer. I will try to make contact with some other clubs & see what can be sorted.
The next meeting has been penciled in for 2 weeks time to allow the next batch of maintenance to be scheduled & hopefully some more news regarding the clubs future!
Should you have any questions or suggestions for the next meeting, please post them on the board for my or Pigman’s attention & we will put them forward for you.
Thanks,
Airwair Diamond & Pigman
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