Wednesday 8 th March 2023
held via Zoom at 7.30pm.
ATTENDEES
Franco Volpe (FV), Amanda Lansbury (AL), John Bullard (JB), Arthur Harris (AH), Kieran Lansbury-Yemm (KLY), Jeff Newall (JeffN), Jo Newall (JoN), John Samuel (JS), Louise Walsh (LW) and Gordon Wylie (GW).
Minutes taken by Louise Walsh.
CHAIRMAN TO OPEN MEETING & WELCOME
FV opened the meeting at 7.32pm.
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies were received from Steve Manning.
MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING
The minutes of the meeting held on 8 th February were reviewed and agreed.
Proposed by GW and seconded by AH.
MATTERS ARISING
None.
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT – FV
FV thanked the committee for their support & unity in the past month.
James Rees has resigned from the committee and from running the MKDSA shop. FV thanked James for all the hard work he put in to set up the shop from a box of programmes to the success it has become.
The MKDSA will have a stand in the Arena at the forthcoming Family Fun Day on Saturday 11 th March.
The Wembley 15 th Anniversary social event will take place on the evening of Friday 31 st March and is open to all MKDSA members. There was a discussion regarding the arrangements for the evening.
FV proposed GW to take on a new role of Community & EDI officer thus allowing AL more time to commit to the Vice Chair role. This was seconded by JS and carried.
VICE CHAIR & EDI REPORT – AL
AL has commenced a weekly inclusive article.
Following the success of the campaign earlier in the season AL remains in contact with MK Prostate Cancer Support with a view to continuing to raise awareness.
AL, KLY, Jon & JeffN will be present at the MKDSA stand for Family Fun Day with a competition & goody bags.
AL is currently in the process of collating the shop stock.
SECRETARY’S REPORT – LW
LW, JoN, JeffN & Aiden Gray continue to have regular supporter liaison meetings with Oona Carmichael when issues regarding ticketing, away travel, matchday experiences etc are shared.
TREASURER’S REPORT – JeffN
February Opening Balance: £6,187.66
Money In: £375.37, Money Out: £88.98
February Closing Balance: £6,474.05
Balance as at 8 March 2023 £6,374.05
There will be further expenditure at the forthcoming planned events.
MEMBERSHIP REPORT – SM
FV reported on SM’s behalf. Applications remain steady with an overall increase in members of
50%.
DISABILITY OFFICERS REPORT – JeffN & JoN
JeffN & JoN had just finished a meeting with Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson as part of the Unite For Access fortnight.
JeffN & JoN are now hoping that the Club will commit to participating in an audit which could result in the receipt of the Level Playing Field Centre of Excellence award. The award is only presented to those sporting venues and stadia that demonstrate the highest access and inclusion standards.
Shane has been contacted to arrange a trip around the stadium regarding the availability of hot and cold water. AH has volunteered to join him to do this.
JoN is in the process of collating information regarding accessible away travel provided by other clubs. It isn’t unusual for other clubs not to provide any accessible away travel or only one
space on a coach. MK Dons provision of an accessible coach is not the norm.
As part of the Unite For Access campaign one of the mannequins in the club shop will be provided with a crutch.
JeffN & JoN are liaising with Kelly Day regarding the development of a comfort room.
MKDSA PROGRAMMES & SHIRTS
The MKDSA shop will continue to open on matchdays with the proceeds being used to support the fans and future projects.
SUPPORTERS’ BOARD UPDATE – JS
The minutes of the Supporters’ Board meetings are available online.
Rumours have circulated on social media saying that the price of season tickets will increase next season. There will not be a price rise.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Discussion regarding the submission of invoices for the October social.
CLOSE MEETING AND SET DATE FOR NEXT MEETING
There being no other business the meeting was closed at 8.43pm. The next meeting will be held on Wednesday 5 th April at 7.30pm.
Signed on this day as a true record ………………………………………………………………………………………….
Chairman ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Franco Volpe
Secretary……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Louise Walsh
