Wednesday 4th January 2023 held via Zoom at 7.30pm.
ATTENDEES
Franco Volpe (FV), Arthur Harris (AH), Amanda Lansbury (AL), Steve Manning (SM), Jeff Newall (JeffN), Jo Newall (JoN), James Rees (JR), John Samuel (JS) and Louise Walsh (LW).
Minutes taken by Louise Walsh.
VICE CHAIRMAN TO OPEN MEETING & WELCOME
FV opened the meeting at 7.32pm.
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies were received from Alfie Burr.
MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING
The minutes of the meeting held on 23rd November were reviewed and agreed.
Proposed by SM and seconded by AH.
MATTERS ARISING
None.
VACANT ROLE/S
Aiden Gray resigned as Chairperson in December. FV thanked Aiden for all his hard work over the past three years as Treasurer, Vice Chair and Chair. The committee are very sorry to lose him.
Any officer post vacated shall be filled as soon as possible from the Management Committee at the next Management Committee meeting.
JeffN proposed Franco Volpe for the role of Chairperson which was seconded by AL and carried.
SM proposed Amanda Lansbury for the now vacant Vice Chairperson position which was seconded by JR and carried.
Jackie Burr resigned from the committee December. FV thanked Jackie for her hard work as membership officer and committee member over the past two years.
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT – FV
The MKDSA pitch side advertising board has been damaged beyond repair. The sign partially covers a concrete area of the perimeter fence with the remainder unsupported. FV is making enquiries into having this replaced.
ACTING VICE CHAIR – JS
The inaugural meeting of the MKDSA took place on 23rd October 2003 and so this year will be the MKDSA’s 20th anniversary. An event was held to mark the MKDSA’s 10th anniversary and JS proposed that a similar event is organised for the 20th. There was a discussion about the proposed event, which will include music and entertainment, and a budget will be set. AL will contact the Club to discuss the proposal.
SECRETARY’S REPORT – LW
Committee members should all have read the constitution which states that they must sign the Code of Conduct policy, child protection and basic principles of Committee membership documents which LW will be circulating. Committee members have also been asked to confirm that they have read the MK Dons policy documents which are available on the MK Dons website.
TREASURER’S REPORT – JeffN
JeffN gave an overview of the account, current balance £6616.78.
The bank has been visited and everything is in place to update the current bank mandate.
There was a discussion regarding the use of the Sumup machine & the matchday football cards.
MEMBERSHIP REPORT – SM
Membership applications in the post-Christmas period are understandably slow. SM asked whether the membership sign can be placed in a prominent position in Lewington’s.
DISABILITY OFFICERS REPORT – JeffN & JoN
JeffN & JoN’s suggestion for more colostomy friendly toilets has been adopted by the Club which will include the use of recycled materials.
JeffN & JoN participated in Level Playing Field’s film of their match day experience at SMK on 3rd December. The film will be shown during LPF’s unite for action week in March.
It’s been confirmed that there will be a 50% discount for blue badge holders to park at SMK.
EDI OFFICER’S UPDATE – AL
AL is now Vice Chair but will remain in her EDI role.
The Movember campaign was very successful and going forward there will be further involvement with the charity.
MKDSA PROGRAMMES AND SHIRTS – JR
MKDSA programmes and shirts has raised £3240 this season. There was a discussion regarding how some of the money could be spent for the fans, the proposed anniversary event being one.
JR would like to see some of the equipment cleared from the bar area where the shop is located to free up some space. FV will contact Andy Gibb to discuss.
There are items which fans have donated to Lewington’s which are not being displayed. Where possible they will be used in other areas such as the Young Dons Zone but some will not be displayed. A timescale will be set to give those who have donated items sufficient time to claim them back before a decision is made regarding their disposal or sale. JR will share this regularly on social media giving a deadline for the end of January.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
It’s anticipated that the sofas that were purchased for Lewington’s but can not be used there will be put to use elsewhere in the stadium. Discussions are ongoing to donate them, if suitable, to a proposed comfort / escape / break out room, to the SET or to a local charity.
FV has visited the local Foodbank following the campaign for donations prior to the Leicester match.
A donation of £500 was made to the SET Christmas hamper appeal.
CLOSE MEETING AND SET DATE FOR NEXT MEETING
There being no other business the meeting was closed at 9.01pm. The next meeting will be held on Wednesday 8TH February 2023 at 7.30pm.
Signed on this day as a true record
Chairman ……………………………………………………………………… Franco Volpe
Secretary…………………………………………………………………………Louise Walsh
