EGM MEETING 10TH MARCH 2025 HELD AT STADIUM MK
21 Voting members attended – Register available for inspection
4 members attended, but were not entitled to vote
Ollie Charnock, MK Dons Fan engagement Officer attended as an observer
Franco Volpe arrived at 7pm and was not entitled to vote
The quorum for an EGM is 15 (fifteen) and this was met
John Samuel (JS) – Current vice Chair, chaired the meting and was brought to order at 645
The EGM was proposed by Amanda Lansbury and seconded by 20 current members, list of seconding members available for inspection, following the resignation of current chair and two other committee members leaving the MKDSA unable to meet its quorum requirements (per section 6.3 of our constitution). To resolve this, we must either elect a new Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer or dissolve the MKDSA.
The first motion of the meeting was to decide is MKDSA could deviate from 6.8 of the constitution namely “6.8: The Officers shall be elected at the AGM, by the showing of hands. Members wishing to stand for an office must be nominated by a full member and seconded by another full member. An officer will be considered elected if the majority votes for them. No member shall be considered for election to the committee or Officers’ position at the AGM if under disciplinary investigation” by electing a new chair at this meeting which was an EGM and not an AGM.
Before the vote, statements from two former chairs were read out
John Brockwell Statement
Hi everyone,
I’m gutted I can’t be there tonight due to ill health, but I’m grateful to John Samuel for making my participation possible.
For those who don’t know me, I’m John Brockwell, one of the original 30 who formed the MKDSA in 2003. I’ve served in every committee role and was Chair for 10 years before stepping down due to work commitments. Over its nearly 22-year history, the MKDSA has had 12 Chairs—excluding me, the average tenure is just one year, highlighting how demanding the role is.
My views – and postal vote! On the EGM Motion:
Deviation from 6.8 of the constitution
I’d support this if multiple candidates were standing. Since we only have one, it won’t solve the issue of an inquorate meeting. If elected, David would face three choices: call another EGM, wait for the July AGM, or breach the constitution by appointing committee members without following the constitution. The latter is a legal risk, potentially exposing the MKDSA’s £8k funds to misuse and the possibility of legal action.
Therefore my view is to vote against this motion which would make the next part irrelevant.
Election of candidate(s)
As there is only one candidate I’ll give you my views on his application. As in the past, I’m always happy to be a sounding board or give advice to the chair. Only two prior chairs have taken me up on that – Colin Butler and Franco Volope.
Firstly I’ve never met or spoken with David so my only judgement can be made via his statement. The below is nothing personal just a few (not all!) of my concerns.
Nowhere on the statement is any reference to serving on a committee before. As mentioned before it’s a tough gig and for someone with no experience and with an organisation on its knees it’ll be a mountain to climb and will eat up a LOT of time. To give some context when I was chair and at some points, for several months, I’d need to put in 8 hours a day 7 days a week on top of a demanding full-time job just to stay still.
He’s never served on an MKDSA committee so why now? Why has he never stepped forward in the past 22 years? His statement gives no clue to this.
I’m also concerned that being the Chair of the MKDSA a major part of the role is to understand the eco system that the club works in. What are its off-pitch strategies, any EFL/FA changes that can affect the club/supporters, Local Council aspects – as an example keeping up to date with Planning Applications for any of the clubs assets. Supporter aspects via the FSA and Level Playing Field plus monitoring the changes to the Football Regulator bill. This eats time.
One example of off-pitch strategy, that David has demonstrated he’s missed:
“Work with MKDONSSET to create a better match day experience for existing and new MKDSA juniors.”
On the 9th December 2024 the club advertised for a “Fan Engagement Manager” whose Job Description included: “Lead the coordination of activities on Match days including Ball Retrieval team, Mascots, Young Don Zone, Mascot Experience and half-time activities for Men’s team.
Ollie Charnock is now in post and the adverts for a team of Matchday Assistants are in place with a closing date of the end of March.
As a former SET Trustee I know the importance of the SET.Pete had utilized the SET’s community hours to backfill roles in the stadium thereby reducing the running costs of the club but at the same time reducing the SET’s community involvement. The new owners have torn up that model and want the SET to go back to focusing on the community and the roles that they used to cover in the stadium being funded and managed by the club. Therefore the MKDSA needs to work with Ollie from MK Dons and not the SET on this.
I feel that I have too many concerns and as I won’t be able to speak to David to address these directly if we get to this point I’d need to vote against his election.
Dissolution of the MKDSA
I honestly never thought that I’d ever contemplate this. The last time it was discussed Andy Cullen asked me and a few others to talk to the remainder of the committee after Nick stepped down. I spent an hour going through the history and background of the MKDSA with Colin and the remaining committee and at the end of that Colin stepped up to the plate and in effect relaunched the MKDSA.
With the prospect of yet another EGM to sort this out or just hanging in limbo I’m inclined to agree that it’s time to draw a line and dissolve the MKDSA. Current SA’s organise travel and social events plus interfacing with clubs via Supporter Boards or Fan Advisory Boards. With a tiny committee that’s just not possible.
In the past the MKDSA covered all areas of support. The modern era has produced atmosphere groups, DonsAction are a good example of this. Targeted supporter groups are now more in vouge – Disability, LGBTQ, Female etc, etc.
Therefore I’d vote in favour of dissolution.
Franco Volpe Statement
As I may not get there tonight before 7pm due to work, i would like to notify the EGM of my voting intention.
I vote to support the dissolving of the MKDSA.
Having been involved in the creation of the Association and up until August 2024 the Chair this decision saddens me deeply.
For the last few years the Association has been struggling to attract members to serve on the committee this has reached a critical point. It’s a difficult situation for many to balance work, home life and find the time to represent the Association.
Since the formation of the Supporters Board the MKDSA has lost its ability to directly discuss and represent fans needs and concerns.
All the funds in our bank account should be donated, as per the constitution, to the MK Dons Sports and Education Trust as soon as is practicable.
Regards Franco Volpe
The vote on first motion was carried out to deviate from 6.8 of the constitution
This can only be passed on a majority. 10 people voted in favour, therefore the motion was not carried
For recording purposes, 4 people abstained
Motion two Election of New Chair. This was not discussed because motion one was not carried. Therefore no discussions around a new chair or other committee positions were held
Motion Three Dissolution of the MKDSA A two third majority is required for this to be carried
10 People voted in favour, therefore the motion was not carried
For recording purposes, 10 people abstained
This leaves the MKDSA at an Impasse as JS (vice chair) has indicated he will resign immediately after the meeting, leaving just 2 disability officers in post.
JS said that the workload is onerous and can often be difficult and he feels this has taken him away from his club. More people need to come forward to offer to help. For reference current membership is 360
David Bosdet (DB) commented that he had attempted to join the committee in January, but a meeting was not held to enable this. JS said because of personal commitments the committee had not met since October 2024
Tina Kenny (TK) asked what could be done to move the situation forward, JS said the AGM can be brought forward from the current schedule date of July, this would need to be arranged by the remaining committee members
The meeting was formally closed at 7.10pm
John Samuel resigned as vice chair after the closing of the meeting
END OF MINUTES
