Message from the Returning Officer
Thank you to everyone who voted in TJF’s third set of elections. As the returning officer, it’s always a relief when these things run smoothly!
With the agreement of the four candidates and the rest of the TJF Board, I’m pleased to be able to bring you the results of that election in advance of our AGM on Thursday.
Turnout
The number of people who voted in TJF’s elections this year was 725. This broke last year’s record of 703 members voting. The turnout in the election was 47.1%.
Whilst turnout in percentage terms is down on last year (which hit an incredible 67%) this still compares favourably with our counterparts at other fan-owned football clubs. For example, SMISA had a 35% turnout in their 2023 elections (with 427 members taking part).
There is no complacency on our our part, however. We will be redoubling our efforts to drive up member engagement, not just in our next set of elections, but also in our various fan consultations throughout 2024-25.
There’s one such consultation live now on the proposed dedicated Singing Section in the John Lambie Stand, which more than 520 beneficiaries have already responded to. That’s open until Sunday, so make sure to have your say.
Results
The results of the TJF Board ballot 2024 are as follows:
Derek
McLeish
536 votes
Jamie
McDonald
510 votes
Caitlin
Rose
507 votes
Davie
Brown
497 votes
As the candidates with the three highest vote tallies, Derek McLeish, Jamie McDonald and Caitlin Rose have been duly elected for a maximum 3-year term (until TJF’s 2027 AGM).
Davie Brown has been elected for a maximum 1-year term (until TJF’s 2025 AGM).
The future is bright!
On behalf of the current board, I’d like to congratulate all four candidates on their election. We look forward to working with them in the year ahead to grow the TJF membership, hold some great fans events, raise vital funds for the Club, Youth Academy and Thistle Women’s team, and embed a culture of fan ownership.
New directors will formally be appointed to The Jags’ Foundation’s Board at our 2024 Annual General Meeting, set to take place on Thursday 6th June 2024 at Firhill.
Wrapping-up
Today also saw the results declared in the first set of Club Board Fan Representative Elections. As TJF members you are among the beneficiaries of the PTFC Trust and so these new elected roles also represent you in the Club’s leadership group.
Former TJF Board member and current club volunteer, Allan McGraw was the first placed candidate in those elections, and we’re delighted to see him do well. We look forward to working with both him and Alistair Gray, who finished second in those elections. We are confident they will build a good working relationship with the rest of the Club Board, especially with our own representative, Stuart Callison.
I am also sure that the unsuccessful candidates in that election have a lot to offer Partick Thistle, and I hope they won’t be disheartened at the result this time. There’s much more to making fan ownership work than boardrooms and late night Zoom calls.
I hope to see more and more of our membership get involved in a volunteering capacity, whether for TJF or the Club itself, in 2024-25.
If you have any questions about the TJF Board elections, you can drop me an email at secretary@thejagsfoundation.co.uk.
Best wishes
Graeme Cowie
Secretary, TJF