Minutes of the (virtual by Zoom) Old School Hammers Annual General Meeting held on Thursday August 29th 2024.
Present
P Stringfellow (Chair)
S Law (Secretary)
Committee Members
T Conlon, M Field.
Members
M Adie, R Blane, P Colborne, John Elliott, T Messenger, G Penfold.
The Chair called the meeting to order at 7.00 pm thanking all for attending.
Apologies
Received from R Sherman.
Annual Report
Chair pointed out that the Annual Report had been circulated and then read out in full. He drew particular attention to the ongoing campaign against the club’s attacks on concessions pointing out that the clubs actions would lead to some of our most loyal and longstanding fans being priced out.
T Conlon moved endorsement. This was seconded by R Blane and agreed unanimously.
Election of Old School Hammers Committee
Chair confirmed that 6 positions were available. He then reminded the meeting that 4 nominations had been received, formally moved and seconded and election addresses circulated.
Chair read out the names of nominees as follows:
T Conlon, moved P Stringfellow, seconded M Field.
M Field, moved L Rogers, seconded R Blane.
S Law, moved P Stringfellow, seconded P Colborne.
P Stringfellow, moved M Field, seconded R Blane.
Each was ratified individually by an affirmative vote.
Election of Chair
Chair asked for nominations leading to S Law nominating P Stringfellow. T Conlon seconded. There were no further nominations and P Stringfellow was elected unanimously.
Election of Secretary
Chair called for nominations leading to J Elliott nominating S Law. G Penfold seconded. There were no further nominations and S Law was elected unanimously.
Progress report on Fan Advisory Board
Chair reported that the members had voted in favour of Old School Hammers joining. Detailed application had gone in and he was confident that OSH met the laid down criteria and that the application would be endorsed. The first meeting of the new FAB was scheduled for September 11th.
Election of Representative on Fan Advisory Board
Chair called for nominations leading to P Stringfellow nominating M Field. This was seconded by T Conlon. There were no further nominations and M Field was elected unanimously.
Campaign to reverse inflation busting season ticket price rises and attacks on concession tickets
Chair reported that Old School Hammers committee was playing an integral part in the West Ham fans campaign. This was noted. This led to full and frank debate round the table, J Elliott seeking clarification on what revenue this attack on concessions would bring in to the club. Chair confirmed that Hammers United had been advised that this would amount to around £550,000 for the season which in the overall picture was not significant and would not impact the club’s ability to compete. It was agreed that we should examine the true financial position of the club.
All agreed that our fan-base was priceless. Atmosphere was largely generated by the more regular fans and as they continued to be priced out this could only impact on the atmosphere still further, devaluing ‘the product’.
Other Business
T Messenger suggested there might be mileage in contacting Age Concern. This was agreed and T.M. would draft a letter for the committee’s endorsement.
There being no further business Chair closed the meeting at 7.55pm thanking all for attending.
