It was great to meet so many of you, both in person and online, at our General Meeting on Thursday evening. Your engagement and enthusiasm bodes well for the Foundation’s future as a thriving members organisation.
For those who could not make the meeting, we are pleased to be able to provide you with footage of the full meeting. Publishing this is part of us living our values of transparency and accountability.
Opening remarks and the vote on new Articles
First, the formal business. Sandy Fyfe, our Chair, gave some opening remarks, setting the scene and summarising recent events.
The members at the meeting then unanimously adopted the new Articles of Association. This was important as it cements our position as a properly governed organisation, with transparent and effective rules that suit our future needs.
Fan Ownership Panel – Perspectives from Hearts and St Mirren
Undoubtedly the highlight of the evening was our Fan Ownership Panel. We were extremely fortunate to have Louise Strutt, David Nicol and Colin Orr at our meeting. They provided valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities on the fan ownership journey at Hearts and St Mirren.
Every fan-owned football club is unique, but no club has a monopoly on good ideas. We hope, whatever happens at Thistle, that our own custodians constantly learn from “what good looks like” elsewhere.
TJF Board Q&A
The most important part of the evening, however, was the members’ Q&A with the TJF Board. We found this segment very rewarding. It helped us better to understand our members, and to get across some of the ideas we have for the Foundation’s future.
Our members also suggested some great ideas, including a skills audit. We intend to take this forward in the coming weeks.
Working together
One of the common themes from our fan survey was that our members want various fan bodies to work together where possible. We absolutely agree with this, and will always seek to dialogue and cooperation where that offer is reciprocated.
Last week, we were pleased to welcome Morag McHaffie, the Chair of the Jags Trust, as a new member of The Jags Foundation. Our Chair, Sandy Fyfe, also joined The Jags Trust, and presented her with a McParland Pin at the EGM.
We hope that this is the beginning of a productive partnership between our organisations, furthering the interests of the fans at Partick Thistle.
