Minutes of the 2016 BIAS Annual General Meeting held on the 26th November 2016

The following executive members were present:
Richard Merritt (Chair)
Adam Hobbs (Secretary)

Apologies received from David Gathergood.

1) The meeting commenced at 12:32pm, Richard Merritt thanked all those who attended
and also thanked the Inverness Club for hosting the meeting.
2) The minutes of the 2015 meeting were passed as accurate
3) David Gathergood provided the following financial update:
Once again I am pleased to report that we have ended the year in a very strong financial
position. The drop in income has continued by approx. £600 this year. This will need to be
addressed by next year’s committee but although members have dropped the numbers
joining our face book site has increased.
This year has been a comparatively quiet time financially with our main expenditure being
on survey monkey (£299} and membership costs (£685). The balance of our expenditure
has been on meeting expenses.
The net result of this is that we have ended the year with a surplus of £3277 resulting in a
bank balance of £14198 which I think you will agree is a very satisfactory position and
leaves us in a strong position for any future initiatives in respect of the new stadium.
Once again thank you for your continued support which enables BIAS to continue as a
strong independent voice.
4) The accounts for the last year were passed as accurate
5) The Chair delivered the following report:
Campaign wise it has been a quiet year for BIAS.
We have continued to hold regular meetings with the Football Club where both parties, talk openly,
honestly and importantly listen to each other. In fact we probably have more fans consultation now
than we did when the Club was in fans ownership.
Gemma Teale recently represented BIAS at the Football Clubs Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination
meeting and hopefully this afternoon, we may see some of our players supporting the Rainbow Laces
campaign when our team play Birmingham City.
The BIAS Stadium Action Group has remained active, monitoring events, and with Phil Marchant
attending the regular Lionel Road Liaison Group meetings and keeping up to speed with
developments.
If I have one regret, it is that we should have done more with regards to Safe Standing.
I’m a strong believer that you cannot delegate responsibility and am sorry that I did not call the project
in to be managed by the full BIAS Committee when after awaiting the conclusion of the Hillsborough
Enquiry, no progress was made by the team.
I am proud to have played a role within BIAS in NO to Woking Campaign, the formation of Bees
United, the ABeeC campaign and the Stadium Action Group.
When we were campaigning for a new stadium, it was not uncommon for myself and the others
involved in the campaign to put in 25 hours a week, planning our strategy, attending public meetings,
getting to events early to set up our stall and packing up at the end of a busy and productive day,
monitoring the press, updating our website and dealing with enquiries… all on top of our day jobs
and normal BIAS Business.
For the past few years it has been my privilege to be Chair of BIAS. The role has kept me occupied,
help me to grow and develop as a person, it has often given me a purpose and provided challenges
that I have relished and taken on with all that I have had to offer.
It is therefore with more than a little sadness that I have decided to stand down as BIAS Chair and
to take a break from the BIAS committee.
There are number of people that I need to thank for their support and understanding.
Firstly my wife Bernadette, for her patience, help, understanding and support. You can go take a
holiday from work and go away but trust me BIAS follows you.
Secondly I like to thank David Gathergood, Jim Walsh and Mark Atkinson for keeping our Finances
in order during my time as Chair.
I would also like to thank all of the committee members for both their time, ideas and input.
To thank those who have served on our sub committees like the Stadium Action group or who have
been involved in the Out and About team, The Regional and International co-ordinators and those
who run our Football team for their help in bringing Brentford fans together.
I know that BIAS will be in good hands and I’m sure will achieve great things.
I would like to urge the new Committee to update the BIAS Manifesto that they introduced last year,
with a mixture of new and renewed, group and individual commitments, to provide the Association
with a good sense of ownership and a sense of direction.
Thank you all
6) The following were nominated as Officers of the Association for the forthcoming year:
Chairman: Adam Hobbs
General Secretary: Anna Mason
Finance Officer: David Gathergood
No other nominations for office were received within the deadlines laid out in the
constitution and all of the above were successfully elected to office without objection.
Brentford Independent Association of Supporters
7) The following were nominated as Members of the Executive committee for the
forthcoming year:
Sam Bolton
Phil Flash
Sean Cudmore
Phil Marchant
Adele Peleschka
Anna Mason
Lisa O’Brien
Kath Richardson
Gemma Teale
No other nominations for office were received within the deadlines laid out in the
constitution and all of the above were confirmed as Members of the Executive
Committee without objection
8) Adam Hobbs, the incoming Chairman issued the following statement:
Thank you all for attending today, can I start by thanking all those that have attended and also to
those members who have sent apologies
May I also take this opportunity to apologise for the fact that the membership cards have not yet been
mailed out. We have used a new company this year and unfortunately the design standards are
different to that of our previous supplier which has led to significant delays in production. We hope
to have these out within the next two weeks
I would like to thank this opportunity for accepting my nomination as Chairman, and I would like it to
go on record the thanks that myself and the committee give to Richard Merritt for his many years’
service as Chairman.
It was Richard who persuaded me in the first place to join firstly the Stadium Action Group and then
the BIAS committee. I will always be grateful for this the opportunity he gave me which to help
influence decisions made by club, authorities and also represent the views of our members.
We are still seeking nominations for this role and the committee may consider co-opting under the
terms of our constitution.
There is a lot that BIAS did last year to represent our members and in some cases the wider supporter
base. This includes issues on match day facilities, ticketing, safety issues, the New Road gantry, the
EFL Whole Game Solution proposal and most recently changes to the clubs crest. Some of this, we
did well, some of this we can improve on and be stronger.
I hope that under my Chairmanship we continue to strengthen our member base, be louder, be
stronger but most of all be together. As we move towards a new era with the Lionel Road stadium
around the corner, the fans influence on the look, feel, design of the ground and facilities is paramount
to ensuring that the new ground is something that we can be proud of whilst also reflecting our history
and values.
I look forward to representing you and working with the committee for the next year.
9) The following motion was proposed by Richard Merritt:
“To propose to keep the membership fee at £12 per year”.
The motion was carried unanimously.
10) Any Other Business
a. A question was raised by a member regarding whether membership fees could
still be paid in cash. This was confirmed by the chair.
b. A question was raised by a member regarding the change of the clubs badge.
The situation was clarified as to BIAS’ involvement in the decision making
process..
The meeting closed at 12:47p