Forest Green Rovers Supporters Club

Members Newsletter Issue No.1

A Happy New Year to all of our Members.
This is the first newsletter from your Committee aimed at keeping you
fully informed of our activities, the work we carry out on your behalf and
information on planned social events/fundraising. We hope you find the
content of use and value. We will continue to liaise with you throughout
the year.
We are very keen to listen to our Members too, so if you have any
feedback or matters you feel your Committee should be aware of, then
please let us know and we will do our utmost in response. We can be
contacted here fgrsupportersclub@live.co.uk or you can visit us on match
days at the Club Kiosk outside the Green Man.
We thank you for your continued and valued support.
Club Membership:
The Supporters Club has always been strongly supported. Currently we
have 114 Adult Members and 11 Junior Members. We are always on the
look out to boost our numbers so please feel free to encourage friends and
family to join our ranks. Application forms are available from the Club
Kiosk.
Annual General Meeting:
The Clubs AGM took place on 6 September 2014. A copy of the minutes is
available on request. (Members Only)
Clubs Financial Standing:
We currently have (Members Only) in the Clubs Bank account as at 05
January 2015.

Sponsorships and Achievements:

The Supporters Club primarily exists to provide financial and general
support to the Football Club and of course to the supporters themselves.
Through our various fundraising activities, during the last year we have
achieved the following in support of our aims:

Sponsorship of the Under 18 squad for seasons 2014/15 and

2015/16
Purchase of Presentation Trophies for all Youth teams
Supply of Training Kits for the Ladies Section
Acquisition of a secure Kit Storage Locker for the First Team at the
Agricultural College training site
Covered the costs of the First Team Masseur
Sponsorship of Manager, Ady Pennock and striker, Lee Hughes
Outright purchase of the Supporters Club kiosk
Organising and subsidising Supporters Away Travel

Andy and Anna Carter:

Two of our most active Committee Members, Andy and Anna, recently took
the decision to stand down from their posts after many good and loyal
years of service. We fully acknowledge their commitment to the cause and
thank them for all their support in the past.
As part of the Committee, Anna fulfilled the role of Secretary and by way
of temporary replacement we are pleased to announce that Bob Savage
will undertake these duties.
Committee Members and Volunteer Helpers:
Without the dedication and commitment of our select band of helpers, so
much of what happens in the supporters environment would simply not
happen. Coaches to away games would not run and events such as our
Quizzes would not take place. Volunteer helpers, be they Committee
Members or raffle ticket sellers, are vital to our success.
We are aware that there is much experience amongst our membership
and we are actively looking for new blood to join us and to help take the
Club forward. If you are interested in helping out or want to find out more,
why not get in touch with the Committee. We always have a presence at
the Club Kiosk on match days, so come along and have a chat or email us
at the address above.
Social Events & Fundraising Activities:

The Supporters Club is reliant upon raising funds if it is to continue to

meet the commitment of supporting the Football Club in whatever way is
deemed best and to source Away Travel for fans. Social events such as the
Quiz held on 28th November are important to our success. We are
extremely grateful to those Members who attended and we look forward
to seeing more of you in the future.
Next on our agenda is a Race Night, to be held in the Carol Embrey Suite
on Friday 27 February 2015. Doors open at 7.30pm with the first race due
off at 8pm. This event has always proved a great success in the past for
the Supporters Club and plenty of fun for the racegoer. The cost of a
ticket, to include our usual ploughmans meal is 2.50. There will be eight
races on the night, each with eight horses and you can purchase a horse
for 5. Betting on the gee-gees can also be done on the FGRSC TOTE.
If you are interested in this fun night out, please get in touch with Sam
Reid on 01666 505519 to book your place. If you cant make the Race
Night but would still like to purchase a horse, sponsor a race or donate a
prize, then Sam is your man.
The Committee are currently exploring different means of fundraising
however, if you have any ideas on the sorts of other events you would like
to see held and are willing to support then let us know. We are open to
suggestions.
Away Travel:
The Supporters Club has traditionally organised away travel for fans and
we are proud of our recent record in this regard. We are able to secure the
coach services of FGR stalwart and former Club Director, Ken Boulton and
whilst we manage to negotiate a good price, the Supporters Club often
has to subsidise the cost of travel.
We are looking to increase the numbers of supporters who travel to away
games and equally importantly, encourage them to make use of the
official Supporters Club coach, thereby mitigating our costs. We do try and
keep our travel costs down to an affordable level; we offer special
payment deals and give Members the opportunity, through a regular
draw, the chance to win free travel.
We hope to see more of you joining us soon.
Proposed Amalgamation with the FGR Trust:
There has been much conversation on the terraces and on the Clubs
Forum regarding the existence of our two supporters groups and it has
been suggested on more than one occasion that they should consider
merging.

As members, we can inform you that several meetings have already taken
place between both groups and there have been positive developments
although there are issues and questions still to be addressed if a merger is
to become a reality. The aims of the groups are different, there are legal
issues to take into consideration and we wish to learn from other clubs
who have gone through a similar process.
The final decision will of course rest with you as the Membership and
when the time is right, we will look to call a special meeting for the facts
to be presented and a vote taken. In the meantime, we will continue our
discussions with representatives from the Trust and keep you informed as
we progress.
Are You On Our Mailing List?
If you have received this newsletter by post, it means we do not currently
have your email address on file. It helps us enormously if we can
communicate electronically with our Members. We can get information to
you quicker and we cut down on stationery and postal costs.
If you have an email address and are prepared to receive your mail
electronically then please let us know. We can be contacted at this
address: fgrsupportersclub@live.co.uk
Finally, we are your Supporters Club. Please let us know how you are
being served, what is good, what needs changing and most importantly,
let us support one another.
Heres hoping for a great second half to our season.

Committee:
President:
Vice President:
Chairman:
Vice Chairman:
Treasurer:
Secretary:
Committee Members:

Allen Grant
Trevor Horsley
Jamie Ponting
Sam Reid
John Hatch
Bob Savage
Pat Hatch
Sandy Jack
Sadie Mertens
Ron Oswell
Tracey Reid
Cav Smythe