Bluebirds Trust AGM

[blue nige]

If the Trust had done that then this forum, you included, would have accused them of being a closed shop, secretive clique.

This forum serves as one way of communicating what happens at Barrow AFC

Frankly, if any of the posts saying different are out of misguided concern for the individual involved..well I would say he is getting off extremely lightly right now, I guess it comes down to whether you believe the statement or not. That's for individuals to decide but in my opinion shouldn't be hidden away.

No I wouldn't I would have gone down the appropriate channels please don't patronise me the Trusts business is for the trust membership not for open debate on here as I said unprofessional

[boyliegladbach]

If the Trust had done that then this forum, you included, would have accused them of being a closed shop, secretive clique.

This forum serves as one way of communicating what happens at Barrow AFC

Frankly, if any of the posts saying different are out of misguided concern for the individual involved..well I would say he is getting off extremely lightly right now, I guess it comes down to whether you believe the statement or not. That's for individuals to decide but in my opinion shouldn't be hidden away.

No I wouldn't I would have gone down the appropriate channels please don't patronise me the Trusts business is for the trust membership not for open debate on here as I said unprofessional

Give over it was always going to end up on here, this is not a trust forum.
Once the AGM was over and people were made aware of the situation it was inevitable it would be posted on here.
The trust can't stop people on here.

[barrowaberdeen]

+1

And why folk think that's unprofessional is beyond me. Its in the public domain, it affects an aspect of an organisation that isn't connected to Barrow AFC but operates in that area. It involves someone who was very well known at the club and on this forum quite a lot.

The Trust had to wait till the AGM to release the info.

I'm astounded that folk are more concerned with being pedantic and picking holes in how the information came out than what actually happened. If that's patronising than pat me on the Head and call me Little Soldier

[Ryan P]

Just to address a few points:

The issue of precisely how we told the membership about this is one that we discussed in detail. We came to the conclusion that a general meeting of the Trust was the only real appropriate place for this to be done. We decided the best course of action would therefore be to present the matter at the AGM, along with the signed accounts. Sending a notice out earlier would have relied on a draft wording of the accounts which had not yet have been signed off. Naturally, it would have been preferable if all members were able to be informed prior to it being posted on the forum, but that is not of the Trust's doing - individual members have made the decision to post their views here (which, of course, they are perfectly entitled to do). Once people have posted on here there is very little the Trust can do, for two reasons. Firstly, this forum is entirely independent of the Trust, therefore we have no power to dictate what can and cannot be discussed here. Secondly, any attempt made by us to request this thread be removed may have been perceived as an attempt at a "cover-up". The board have refrained from getting into the level of debate here that was had at the AGM, as minutes of that discussion and copies of the accounts are yet to be sent to members who were unable to attend (which they will be next week). Once these minutes are sent, if anyone has any further questions they are more than welcome to contact myself (or other members of the board).

[Chris Benoit]

I'd just like to emphasise that I am not "concerned local".

[DIXIE]

And this is a trust who set up hoping to buy shares in our club. Sounds like an absolute shambles and especially in the way you are handling this situation.
I for one hope you as a trust, never have any control in our club.

Ridiculous post, and actually very annoying...........you weren't there so you've read the scraps on here and come up with that!!

Then when asked how you would've handled it you're "not sure" but, you were sure enough to come up with that drivel.

The final decision might not have suited everyone but it took a long time to come to along with a lot of advice by quite a few people who investigated as much as they could before deciding this was in our view the best solution for the members.

So you decided to protect a friend, ok understand now.

[bigmac95]

Firstly, as a trust member i do not feel that this being discussed on the forum, or the fact I only know about this incident via this forum is particularly a big issue and I do not understand those who have taken issue with this.

Secondly, I do not know Pete but his statement said that he had held the position of treasurer in several organisations, and with such experience I would assume that he would know the common protocol of the position e.g. keeping receipts, informing others of expenditure ect. As such I cannot accept that £2000+ over 17 transactions at a average of around £150 per transaction could simply be "unaccounted for". I would not like to accuse someone of foul play (especially given that i only know the facts of such a case via this forum) but a full, independent and if necessary legal inquiry should be held into what has happened - if such an inquiry has been held, can I request that as a member of the trust we be given full disclosure of what was found. Also the trust has lost more than the money being paid back, is Pete going to repay interest lost, and possible damages for the damage to the reputation of the trust? I would not assume the latter, but the former should be requested as it is a clear loss of earnings.

Thirdly, the trust is the fans voice, and hopefully would one day take over partial control of our great club, but this incident surely questions whether the trust can indeed be trusted in being a standard bearer for fans. I would also like to know why a single individual was able to have access to such funds without checks and balances? There seems to be neglect on the part of other board members in allowing this to go on.

Finally, I know the common argument will be thrown around regarding "if you think you can do a better job get involved", but the truth is i cannot do a better job hence why i did not try to get involved, but i did respond when the trust wanted support, membership and funds. The trust will continue to get my support, but this incident cannot be allowed to re-occur.

I do think a possible sub-forum for trust members to receive updates on the financials and directions of the trust should be considered - this would improve transparency and allow a more open debate on the future of the trust.

[boyliegladbach]

^^^
The trust does not get interest on its account, the question was asked on Wednesday night at the agm

[bigmac95]

^^^
The trust does not get interest on its account, the question was asked on Wednesday night at the agm

Ah thanks for clearing that up - any reason why not?

[spirit of 1990]

Ridiculous post, and actually very annoying...........you weren't there so you've read the scraps on here and come up with that!!

Then when asked how you would've handled it you're "not sure" but, you were sure enough to come up with that drivel.

The final decision might not have suited everyone but it took a long time to come to along with a lot of advice by quite a few people who investigated as much as they could before deciding this was in our view the best solution for the members.

So you decided to protect a friend, ok, i understand now.

Grow up.

The former treasurer was someone I knew through the club/football, not someone I go for a drink with or call up for a chat...so no, you don't understand.

[Bigfathoss]

I see more than one concern in play here.
Firstly, a person (in a position of authority) has had had personal problems. I have some sympathy for that situation. Nobody can predict when such a condition can take hold of you and once it has, what the effects might be. Unfortunately this has been in a very public forum. If Pete has been 'ill' then I hope he can recover. I think he deserves, on a social level, a certain modicum of understanding. Upon reflection, I realise I don't know him well enough to assume guilt or innocence.
Secondly, I can't believe that this went totally unnoticed by trust board members over the period in question. From a legal standpoint, occurrence number one of this happening should have been addressed, and the fact that it wasn't lies with the remaining members of the trust board (whether or not they accept the scenario of an unpredictable state of mind being the root cause) and the general set-up of the Trust. My personal opinion is that some well-meaning people have been in over their heads. I don't know everyone on the board but the majority of the ones I do know, I respect enormously for their efforts.
Thirdly, and this is again just my opinion, I think the trust is pretty worthless in its current set-up. I won't apologise for saying that. I had tried to be involved in the Trust board early on with the belief that it would be a 'safety net' if something went tits up with PC's investment and control. I think only a fool would now think that it is anything other than an alternative sweet shop and occasional fund-raiser for something that will never be needed or, in the event of a complete pull-out of PC, be totally inadequate. I wish the sterling efforts of the team could promise something more but I don't believe it ever could.
Believe what you will of the statement(s) coming from the last meeting but the only reasonable way forward is to collect the money and try and move forward (even though I believe the efforts to be ultimately futile).

[Wintergreen]

It's out in the open at least, measures to recoup 'missing' funds are in place and I see no point in kicking a man when he is down. One day the Trust will run the club and lessons are being learned all the time. A very sad affair by the sound of it and no I don't know the former Treasurer.

[Chris Benoit]

It's out in the open at least, measures to recoup 'missing' funds are in place and I see no point in kicking a man when he is down. One day the Trust will run the club and lessons are being learned all the time. A very sad affair by the sound of it and no I don't know the former Treasurer.

+1

Pete is a good bloke and makes no secret of his own personal battles, regardless of what the circumstances MAY BE the FACT is that he is repaying any unaccounted for money. Nobody apart from Pete himself will ever know if it was intentional, through his illness or whatever else and it's not important now. Maybe people can look beyond baying for his blood, the trust is recouping the money and is heading in a new direction with a new treasurer. Time to move on.

[Kieran]

Thirdly, and this is again just my opinion, I think the trust is pretty worthless in its current set-up. I won't apologise for saying that. I had tried to be involved in the Trust board early on with the belief that it would be a 'safety net' if something went tits up with PC's investment and control. I think only a fool would now think that it is anything other than an alternative sweet shop and occasional fund-raiser for something that will never be needed or, in the event of a complete pull-out of PC, be totally inadequate.

This is something I've been thinking too, it seems to have either lost sight of what it was meant to be or the people involved just don't have the time to make it what it was meant to be (which isn't a criticism of those involved, its a big commitment of course). It just seems to me that the trust has become BDF mark 2 but with a travel bit attached and a higher public profile. If the long-term aim of the trust is still to buy a decent stake in the club and/or build up a sufficient reserve of funds to provide some sort of safety net should PC walk away then I think its a million miles away from achieving that aim. There doesn't appear to be any sort of strategy as to how any of that is going to be achieved and updates on progress appear very irregular if not completely non-existant.

I still think the idea of supporters trusts is fundamentally a good one and something that is needed here. But in its current form I'm not sure what the purpose of ours is.

[Ste Story]

Note from mods: At the individuals request, his personal statement has been removed from this thread. I've also had to edit a couple of threads. Just please remember this is a public forum, and as such be wary of posting things that are libellous or generally without factual grounds.

Regards.