2012 AGM Update
The 2012 AGM took place at Forthill on Wednesday 21st November and a reasonable turnout of players attended despite of the obvious competition from the Champions League, I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here and the One Show.
Rae kicked off the meeting with his President’s Report and aside from the clear downsides of the first team being relegated and tricky overall financial position - he stressed the other good performances across the club at all levels and his keenness to move forward positively into 2013 with the main aim of seeing the first team being promoted at the first attempt.
Wally gave his first team Captain’s report and highlighted the many positive performances, and the weather’s unfortunate part in our season - but he mainly concentrated on how good a batter he is compared to everyone else with numerous stats to support this view. He also stated his aim to get back into the top league right away next year.
Howie then delivered the second team update and reported a good season overall and supported this with one amazing statistic by quoting the percentage of wickets taken by under 18’s over the season. This took everyone by surprise and it seems clear that he must have got Pam to work this one out on the family calculator as he is clearly incapable of doing this alone. He followed Craig’s lead in regularly mentioning his own fine batting.
Simmy (looking dapper in light blue shirt and tie combo and with a nifty comb-over) then gave his views on the third team’s season and due to a lack of personal runs in 2012 was unable to follow Wally and Howie’s lead by dwelling mainly on himself. He did however report another good season for the thirds.
Dick then combined the junior report with a fourth team mention and this surprisingly short summary (compared to previous years) highlighted the very strong state of the junior section and some fine results and individual accomplishments.
The mood in general had been upbeat thus far, but then Chic entered proceedings with his Treasurers report and the early festive spirit quickly subsided into one of doom and gloom. The balance sheet is clearly in need of a European Ryder Cup type comeback - more of this later.
The gongs for the season were then dished out to the following recipients:
First 1st team batting - C Wallace
First team bowling - A Bailwal
Second team batting - G Garden
Second team bowling - A Ahmed
Third team batting - C McConnachie Snr
Third team bowling - A Cameron
Various office bearers and the Committee were then decided upon with some shenanigans required to do this – but the ‘big one’ was Ted’s elevation to the position of Vice-President. This is a well deserved award for someone who has put untold effort into the club over a number of years. Congratulations Ted.
He ran for this position on the promise that when he becomes President he will be hosting regular Rum Cocktail and Sing Song Parties into the early hours of the morning - so all members are warned in advance about the 2014 season!
Rae continues as President for 2013 and Chic was retained in the Treasurer’s role for the 22nd consecutive year. If ever anyone deserves a long service award, it is surely Chic.
It was no surprise that the best batsman in the club retained his spot as first team skipper – so Wally continues at the helm in 2013. The Vice-Captain slot attracted no fewer than three nominations and Messrs Galloway, Bailwal and Black were all entered into a vote situation. Round one failed to separate Black and Galloway and a second vote took place that saw Galzo retained as Vice Skipper for 2013.
Howie was returned unopposed as second team skipper and he has attracted Sam T to be his second in command which is a great boost to that team and the club.
The third team skipper for many years has been D Sim esquire, and the general assumption was the he would continue unopposed in the role as usual; however a challenge came to his leadership from the perhaps unexpected direction of none other than S Sim. A vote followed and Sim Senior saw off the challenge of Sim Junior and remains as third team captain. David eased family tensions by inviting Steven to become his Vice-Captain and this was accepted.
The fourth team were provided with an experienced skipper for 2013 in the form of James and this finalised the voting excitement for the evening. James was also elected on to the selection committee which will remain under the stewardship of Dave T and the respective captains.
With the bar now open and foaming ale being consumed by the younger element at the back of the room; Ted kicked off any other business with some information that told of a proposed restructure to the Strathmore Union which generally meant a new regional set-up being introduced to all leagues but the assembled throng agreed that it wanted to retain the present set-up for the top two leagues with regionalisation for the lower.
Clark then delivered details of fund raising push – full details of which will soon be distributed. These will be aimed at all businesses large and small - and also individuals. Options will include match ball sponsorship. There is also a revamp of the 50 Club (to be renamed the Forfarshire Lottery) and details were also given of upcoming new membership options with increased payment options and all-in-one membership of the Lottery.
New categories will introduced to replace the old “patrons” and “non-playing” and will see the launch of both the “Forfarshire Former Players Club” aimed at ex-players of all levels and also the ”Forfarshire Supporters Club” aimed at all other non-players. Full details of these changes will be published soon.
In closing, a plea was made for all players to get involved in any way possible by attracting new Lottery members, new sponsors (starting from £20 upwards) and generally contributing to the well-being of the club. Bringing in outside sponsors at all levels clearly takes the strain away from the players pocket; and the hope is that if fundraising can be taken to a higher level then player subscriptions could even be reduced in future. All members will soon receive documentation which will outline these plans and your full support is anticipated.
Plans are in place for a coach for next season with the aim of enhancing coaching across the board. This will clearly benefit all club members in different ways; however this comes at a cost that the club can only afford if ALL members contribute where they can, at all times.
The meeting closed with a positive vibe among those present with keen anticipation of a fresh start in 2013 for Forfarshire CC.