The following TUST programme notes appeared in the programme for the game Vs Macclesfield Town - 24.04.2010
PLAYER OF THE SEASON VOTE
As we are all currently being buried under a flurry of media coverage in the run up to the General Election, we retain the theme but change the dynamic somewhat with the Torquay United Player of the Season ballot. Today the trust members and volunteers will be manning the ballot boxes for the paper vote to discover Torquay United's Player of the Season for 2009-2010.
Please take the opportunity to cast your vote and have your say about who you consider to have given as mush to the fight and the cause if Torquay United over the past season.
Once we have counted the paper votes, we will then inform the club who will add the paper total to the votes cast online, and the the two totals combined will give us our deserved winner.
So please take the opportunity to cast you vote as we try to find the player that the supporters believe has contributed the most over the past season.
One of the ballot boxes will be located in the Pop Side well and the other will be situated at the foot of the floodlight which is positioned at the corner of the Homeland Stand and The Family Stand.
We'll see you there.
NEW FACES WELCOMED A-BOARD
It is with great satisfaction that the trust welcomes two new and eager faces to the gradually expanding and improving TUST board.
We recently informed you of the arrival on the board of local accountant, Steve Vincent as the new treasurer. Steve has now finally taken over the reigns from former treasurer, Phil Smith after a smooth and almost seamless transfer of the TUST treasury and the relevant accounts and information.
Phil served as TUST treasurer since the formation of the trust board and he only offered to do it for a short period on a temporary basis. So three years later he will be delighted to have handed over to Steve. And we would like to thank Phil here on these pages for his efforts, his time and his diligence in carrying out the treasurer's role for all this time. He will of course be staying on the board and we will be looking to use his range of skills in a whole new area now.
VITAL EXPERIENCE AND CONTACTS: Vanessa Fennis is warmly welcomed to the trust board.
Also joining the board recently have been Vanessa Fennis, who brings with her bags and bags of marketing experience as well as a plethora of excellent local contacts with local businesses and local schools, which will only serve to boost the profile of the trust. We are also hoping that her vast PTA experience at Sherwell Valley Primary School and her contacts with other schools in the area will help us to raise the flag a little higher for the newly-formed Junior Gulls. Welcome aboard Vanessa.
Also stepping up to the plate has been Ross Warner, a lifelong Torquay United supporter and one of the current senior match day stewards at Plainmoor.
IN SAFETY HANDS:
Lifelong Gulls fanatic Ross Warner will bring ideas to the trust.
Ross has lots of ideas with regard to safer stewarding at Plainmoor, and he has a lot of energy and ideas in other areas. So welcome aboard Ross, and we look forward to working with both yourself and Vanessa.
Just to keep you all up-to-date as over the last few months there has been quite of movement on the trust board, we currently have nine board members.
They are Hayden Jones (chairman), John Mowl (vice-chairman), Jamie Holmes (secretary), Steve Vincent (treasurer), Martin Wildman (disabled liaison officer), Louise Smith (Junior Gulls manager), while Phil Smith, Vanessa Fennis and Ross Warner are currently without portfolio.
THE JUNIOR GULLS NEED YOU
As many supporters will know, the trust launched the Junior Gulls back in October to encourage the younger supporters and to try and bring in more youngsters from Torbay and South Devon area. They are after all the Torquay United supporters of tomorrow and we want them to be attending Plainmoor for many, many, many years to come.
The Junior Gulls was set up in full consultation with the club, and in real terms we manage it for the club.
The two organisations meet regularly to ensure that things are running smoothly and so far the scheme has been a success.
HAPPY DAYS, HAPPY SMILES: The Junior Gulls pose with the players at one of the Junior Gulls Q&A session.
But over the summer months we will be looking at ways in which we can improve the Junior Gulls as it stands. As with most things, it's an evolution, and as the organisation grows we have come to realise that certain things work and certain things don't and we hope to improve the whole way in which it is run, how it operates and of course increase membership.
One idea is to split the thing into three age groups to accommodate the different needs and requirements of the various, different age groups. We'll be looking at the possibilities of doing this and seeing what the different sections could offer to their respective members. We will also ask the children themselves what they would like to see included as part of the membership, and we hope that the feedback we receive will be both positive and well received.
We are always looking for volunteers to assist in general with the trust, but in particular we are hoping to get some parents involved in the running of the Junior Gulls to make the whole organisation run more smoothly. So we extend an invitation here and now to anyone that would like to get involved in helping, supporting the Junior Gulls and helping to ensure that the scheme continues to grow.
To aid this idea we have organised a meet and greet day for parents and to encourage potential helpers and volunteers who would like to get involved with helping to run the Junior Gulls and assist in Junior Gulls events.
The event will take place on Thursday, May 20 in No:10s Restaurant at Plainmoor. The evening will commence at 7.30pm and the trust will be providing a buffet for guests. Please don't just skip over this bit and think someone else will do it. We would love to see as many of you there as possible so that we can give you a brief as to how the Junior Gulls scheme will move forward and what we hope the future will bring. We also to have a coherent and proactive recruitment policy for the Junior Gulls in motion over the summer months, so look out for us at summer fetes and school fayres over the course of the summer.
WITH MASSIVE THANKS AND APPLAUSE
As we head inextricably towards the end of the season, we though we just look back at the season from a trust board perspective, look at some of the comings and goings and acknowledge the work of some of the people who have worked so hard to make the trust what it today.
Leaving the board back at the back-end of last year were former chairman, Chris Fleet, Laurie Noble who had served as our membership secretary and Audrey Goddard who had been in post as TUST secretary.
We would like to take this opportunity to say a very huge and sincere thank you on behalf of Torquay United Supporters’ Trust, the board and its members to Chris for his service to the trust over a number of years. His tenure as a member of the trust board was a long and fruitful one, and it is also important that we take time to acknowledge his efforts on behalf of TUST.
For Chris it was often a difficult and rocky road, but his contribution is highly valued and appreciated, because was also absolutely instrumental in setting up the trust and as a result it could be said that his contribution was longer and somewhat harder than other board members experienced.
VALUED AND APPRECIATED:
Chris Fleet was instrumental in setting up TUST.
Chris was one of the few who was prepared to put his head above the parapet. As a result he was subjected to all manner of criticism, rumour and speculation from some quarters but he stuck to his guns and fought for what he believed in. But on a positive note, his sacrifice, hard work and diligence certainly enabled the trust to reach the position it finds itself in today.
Similarly, Laurie Noble gave sterling service to the trust over a number of years. As membership secretary, Laurie made a lot of friends through the trust and his diligence and ability in that post enabled him to create an extremely workable system for membership matters and administration. He took over a rather confused membership structure and straightened it out with aplomb.
Laurie's efforts on behalf the trust, his advice and counsel were always very well received and always with much appreciation, so we're very gratful to him for his efforts on our behalf and we're sure that everyone will wish him all the very best as he takes his retirement to the next stage.
Audrey's contribution to the TUST board was perhaps a little more short-lived than we would have liked, but nevertheless it was always a positive and considered voice that she brought to proceedings. As we said, her tenure in the role as TUST secretary was too short by far, but she made an impact and similarly we wish her all the very best for the future.
