We are nearly there! Next week we have the opportunity to elect the new SAST Board and begin a new chapter in the life of Stirling Albion FC.
I have sought guidance on the preferred number of elected members on the SAST Board. The consensus of opinion is that 5 Members should be elected, plus 2 co-opted members, one of whom should be the Stirling Albion Supporters’ representative. The other co-opted member should be at the discretion of the Trust Board. SAST Members have the right to challenge the appointment of any co-opted member if they feel that person does not represent Members views.
The arrangements for the SGM are as follows:
- Beverly Mayer, Head of Membership & Policy, Supporters Direct Scotland, will act as an Independent Observer
- The SGM will be a SAST Members’ meeting only. Non-members will not be allowed access, including press
- Voting will be restricted to those Members attending the SGM, as has been the practice at previous meetings when Trust Board Members were elected
- All Members will be required to sign in at tables set up in the hallway. You will be required to bring evidence of your SAST Membership Number
- After signing in, each Member will be given a Voting Paper with Nominees’ names
- After the Interim Chair’s opening remarks, Members will be given the opportunity to ask the Nominees questions
- Members will then place their Voting Paper in a Ballot Box in front of the platform
- When all Voting Papers have been lodged, they will then be counted
- The result will be announced by the Interim Chair, who will then meet with the elected Members to agree the new SAST Board Chair. The new Chair will then be presented to all Members and close the SGM.
I will be sending out details of all Nominees to all SAST Members, as well as posting on the SAST Facebook page and the Trust website, before the SGM.
Once again, thank you for your support and encouragement over the past few weeks.
Yours aye
Duncan Strathdee
SAST Interim Chair
You say: “I have sought guidance on the preferred number of elected members on the SAST Board.” Why? What do the SAST Board’s rules say? There were ten members before, so why seven now? I asked a fortnight ago that the Trust rules be published on this website so that all members could have access to a copy; I also asked for the publication of the formal relationship between the Trust Board and the Club Board. Can this not be done?
Hi John
Thanks for your enquiry! Unfortunately I am limited to what I am able to provide at the moment as I have had nothing handed over to me as Interim Chair. I would hope that once the new Trust Board is in place then all the concerns people have will be addressed.
Kindest regards
Duncan Strathdee
SAST Interim Chair
I now have a copy of the Rules for SASSL, and wish to have resolved before tomorrow’s SGM some procedural matters of where the rules differ from your proposals above.
Rule 56 states that the Trust Board has to have between 5 and 15 members, of which at least two are co-opted, subject to elected members being in the majority. Therefore your suggestion that there should be precisely 5 elected and 2 co-opted is not valid.
Similarly your suggestion that one of the co-opted members must be the SA Supporter’s representative is too restrictive since Rule 56 merely gives suggestions of representatives of (eight) suitable groups. It is up to the Trust Board to decide who should be co-opted and the Rules do not provide for other members to challenge the Board’s decision.
The SAST Update of 4 April 2018 giving notice of this SGM states that there are five Office Bearer Positions, namely Chair, Secretary, Lottery Manager, Membership Secretary and Treasurer. Rule 30 states that the Trust is to have a Secretary, but there do not appear to be any requirements for any other position (though the term ‘Chair’ occurs frequently) even if these other officers would be useful.
Rule 61 states that certain people cannot be a member of the Trust Board (the usual ‘unfit’ conditions) but this did not appear on the Nominations form. Can we be assured that no candidate has to be disqualified?
Rule 55 allows for postal ballots or website or email resolutions where the Board considers that “a significant issue has arisen”. Given that all members of the previous Board resigned at the same time, it could be argued that the present circumstances should be regarded as ‘a significant issue’ and that other forms of voting for those not able to be present on the night should have been considered.
As for the vote itself, since with just five nominations there is no Rule-based need to restrict election on numerical grounds, what form of words will be on the ballot paper? Will it be a simple Yes/No to each candidate with only those having a majority of approvals being elected?
I raise these matters since I neither want to see the Trust being in breach of its own Rules, nor to set any precedents that may cause problems in the future.
John Sanz
In the absence of a Trust Secretary, who by Rule 30d is responsible for keeping the minutes, the first act of tonight’s meeting should be to appoint a Minute Taker for the SGM.
John