St Albans City Youth Community Football Club Annual General Meeting 1st September 2019 Held at the Scout Hut, Riverside Road, St Albans Present: Andy Lawrence, Jon Davies, Chris Johnson, Andrew Bracey, Mark Rainey, Jon Cassidy, Greg Danford, Alan Cowan, Keith Collins, Jon Seabrook, Pete Mayhew, Matt Haylock, Mark Betteley, Matt Bailey, Steve Davenport, Keith Jury, Simon Wakeling, Mark Mckinstry, Darren Armoogum, Andy Clark Phil Beasley, Chris Yeo, Julian Hails, Ian Morgan, Neil Robinson, Tony Moss, Matt Gauthier, Andrew Carr, Stuart Smith, Tom Johnson, Chris Wollington, Robert Baker, Geoff Watts, Ian Woods, Sam Mardle. Apologies: Julian Tatlock, Ian Wilkerson, Ryan Rowatt, Sarah Kropman, Charlie Boswell, Laurence Wilson Chairman’s Report We were delighted at the start of the season to celebrate the opening of the new all-weather facility at Samuel Ryder Academy. Along with the existing facility at Nicholas Breakspear School we can now accommodate training for all teams at these two excellent venues. The Trustees under the new Chairmanship of Sam Mardle are taking initiatives aiming to maintain the club as a viable and self- sufficient charitable organisation. The recent debuts of two of our Under 18s in the St Albans City first team demonstrate that the pathway which we have worked to establish in recent years does exist and that the opportunities are there for those with the talent and dedication to take advantage. There are many challenges, but the club approaches its 50th anniversary in a state of good health and optimism. As always I am proud to oversee all that happens but must emphasise that the real work of running the Club is done by the committee, the trustees, the team managers, their assistants and coaches. Without their efforts none of what happens each week would be possible, and they deserve our continuing thanks and support, Secretary’s Report Despite still largely being run by volunteers the club lurches on towards its 49th season. The 48th has seen the improvement to our training facilities with the addition of the all-weather surface at Samuel Ryder Academy but even with this and Nicholas Breakspear School the size of the club has meant a lot of juggling and understanding on the part of teams and coaches On the field of play the under 16 girls reached the County Cup final but unfortunately fell at this last hurdle. Cup success was however achieved by the under11 Centurions, 10 South and Orient sides in the newly formed Hertfordshire Development League; the under 12 Girls South in the Hertfordshire Girls League; the under 16 South in the Watford Friendly League; the under 16 Central and under 13 West in the West Herts Youth League. League winners were the under 12 Orient in the Watford Friendly League and the under 18 North and under 18 Orient in the West Herts Youth League. Congratulations however to all those who have represented the club during the season. The club has continued to provide community support to several St Albans schools with the financial backing of the National League Trust and has also run coaching camps during school holidays. Louise Shepherd and Jon Davies again organised very successful small sided tournaments for the girls and boys. Finally, it would be remiss not to mention the work of Steve Ward in ensuring the continuing success of the thriving disability section. Moving on this season are the under 18 North, Orient and South teams. We wish them well in the future and thank their managers Graham Watts, Andy Nash, Chris Gentle and Joe Casali for all their input over the years. Thanks also to other managers standing down, Sharon Loughlan, Gavin Rothwell, Mark Bradley, Ed Lorman, Paul Stevens and Doug McCullen. None of the above would be possible without the input of the club officers Geoff Watts (Chairman), Robert Baker (Treasurer), Terry Edwards (Press Secretary) and Sarah Kropman (Girls Section Coordinator) ably supported by the Business Manager Laurence Wilson and the Trustees under the Chairmanship of Sam Mardle. Treasurers Report The accounts for the year end 30 June 2019 are distributed. Page 6 is a summary of the Income and Expenditure for the year. Income is down £18k this is mostly due to the cessation of letting services at Nicholas Breakspear School. Expenditure is also down by £17k due to similar reasons. As a result of this, our loss for the year is £11k - our aim is to break even each year. This reinforces the need to increase subs in the coming season. Page 7 is a statement of financial position. Cash is down £24k mainly as a result of the license fee for the use of the Astro pitch at Samuel Ryder Academy (£45k). In response to a question about debtors, I stated that this was down to the prepayment of League Affiliation Fees and Sponsorship. Robert finished by requesting anyone with a good knowledge of Gift Aid to get in touch with him. Election of Officers Andy Lawrence (Trustee) took over the Chair for the election of officers Officers Standing for Season 2019-20 Chairman of Football Committee – Geoff Watts Chair of Trustees – Sam Mardle Hon Treasurer – Robert Baker Hon Secretary – Ian Woods Head of Girls Section – Sarah Kropman Press Officer – Terry Edwards The committee were elected en bloc The meeting concluded at 7:15pm .