Tag: Chester FC

City Fans United Members (Formal) Meeting – Thursday 23rd May

Posted by Jeff Banks on

The next City Fans United members meeting is set to take place on Thursday 23rd May, in the Blues Bar at the Swansway Chester Stadium.

 

The meeting will start at 7.30pm with the bar open from 7pm on the evening and as it’s a members meeting only, we will be taking new membership sign ups on the night and you can also renew your membership on the night too.

 

Although to help us with renewals, please visit the following link where you can actually renew or sign up online prior to the meeting. You can also set up a monthly Direct Debit to help make our renewals process even more straight forward in the future.

 

Click me for more renewal details

Sign up here

 

At the meeting, we’ll be reviewing the results from the Big City Census recently sent out to members.

 

We’ll also be latest updates from the board and as usual you’ll be able to take part in a Q&A session during the meeting.

 

For those members unable to attend on the night, but who would like to view on a live stream being tested on this night for formal meetings, please email jeff.banks@chesterfc.com – we will need all those wishing to watch the live stream to send their emails by Tuesday 21st May at the latest to then receive an invitation for the streaming service.

 

We look forward to seeing you on the night!

Big City Census 2018-19

Posted by Jeff Banks on

 

Today sees the launch of the Big City Census 2018-19!

 

Yes, it’s that time once again as we seek the views of the owners of Chester Football Club.

 

Please check your email inbox today for the link to complete this year’s survey.

 

This year we are focussing on the membership, matchday experience and overall progress of the board and working groups set up in 2018, to help drive the club forward.

 

It is also time to renew memberships very shortly and we are looking at a Direct Debit scheme for members to sign up to, which will make the process much more simplified, and your comments are welcomed in the Census.

 

If you have not received the Big City Census email by Wednesday 17th April then it’s possible we may not hold up to date details for you. If this is the case please email jeff.banks@chesterfc.com quoting your membership number.

 

Your feedback is very much appreciated and helps us to improve the way the club is run and allows us to follow up suggestions and ideas made by each member that completes the survey.

 

We have set a 7 day window for the survey to be completed, and will close at midnight on Monday 22nd April.

 

For members who don’t have email, we hope to have a paper version available in the Chester FC ticket office by Thursday 18th April.

 

Thank you in advance for completing the Big City Census, and of course your continued support.

 

Jeff Banks

Director of Membership and Fan Engagement

CFU and Community Sports Facility Meeting – Tonight

Posted by Jeff Banks on

We would like to remind members that tonight’s informal meeting will include the presentation on the Community Sports Facility, by the Chester FC Community Trust.

 

The meeting will get underway at 7.30pm and we urge as many fans to come down to the Blues Bar at the Swansway Chester Stadium, to find out more about this exciting development.

 

Tonight’s meeting will be streamed live on the Chester FC Twitter account @chesterfc from 7.30pm this evening. Please note this is a change from the original plan of streaming via the City Fans United you tube channel.

 

We look forward to seeing you all there tonight.

 

Community Sports Facility & Informal CFU Meeting – Wednesday 20th March

Posted by Jeff Banks on

City Fans United and Chester FC Community Trust are holding an open meeting on Wednesday 20th March to provide an update on proposals for a community sports facility in Chester.

 

The meeting will take place in the Blues Bar at the Swansway Chester Stadium starting at 7.30pm with supporters and the wider public encouraged to attend.

 

The development of a community sports facility has been an aspiration of the supporter-owned club for a number of years with its charitable Community Trust leading the project.

 

Following positive discussions with key stakeholders over recent months, the boards of both the CFU and the Community Trust are pleased to be in a position to announce full details of the scheme.

 

The proposals have been carefully developed to ensure it provides the best possible facility for the communities of Chester and Cheshire West. A public consultation will begin in the coming weeks, giving people the opportunity to comment on the plans and inform the final design.

 

Jim Green, chief executive of the Community Trust, said: “It has been a long time coming but we are genuinely excited about these plans and look forward to sharing them with supporters and the wider community.

“Grassroots sport desperately needs more investment and better facilities, and this project will deliver on both counts. It will be a facility the community can be proud of.”

 

CFU director Jeff Banks said: “When we reformed the club back in 2010, one of the key aims for the future was to have a sports facility that would be of benefit to the whole community. A great deal of hard work and planning has gone into getting to this point, and next Wednesday’s meeting will provide a great chance for everyone to see how they can help in bringing this to fruition.”

 

Please note, the planned informal CFU meeting, set for Thursday 21st March, has now been brought forward to the Wednesday night in order for us to have the open meeting relating to the community sports facility.

 

If you would like to know more about the project or have any questions, please contact Community Trust chief executive Jim Green by emailing  jim.green@chesterfc.com or ringing 01244 371376.

Board of Directors – Update

Posted by Jeff Banks on

City Fans United would like to advise of a couple of additions to the board of directors.

 

Firstly, we welcome Kieron Shiel who was co-opted on the board at Tuesday night’s meeting of board members, and will be initially looking at the Volunteers portfolio.

 

Kieron has been co-opted following our open request for those interested in joining the CFU board, and fills the one available place at present until the AGM later this year, when he will be able to apply for election to the board.

 

Kieron will assume the role of Volunteer coordination, recruitment and development. He has a wide range of skills and experience including project and programme management, large scale people management and information technology.

 

The board have also welcomed a new external director, as Chris Robertson joins and will assume the Treasurer role, also until this year’s AGM.

 

Chris brings to the board senior management experience and has most recently worked for over 10 years as a management consultant with a wide range of charities, social enterprises and the UN.

 

As is standard with such appointments, both are subject to approval from the FA and criminal record checks.

 

We would like to thank everyone that got in touch, and also to Richard Lynes for his extensive time and effort in speaking to all of those who got in touch following our request. Our working groups will also be contacting some of those people with a view to strengthening each group.

 

We are also making progress with the position of CFU Secretary, following Marion Needham’s announcement at the 2018 AGM that she would be stepping down from the Secretary role during the course of 2019. We hope to make a further announcement on this in due course.

 

The next CFU meeting will take place on Thursday 21st March, starting at 7.30pm and will take place in the Blues Bar at Chester FC. This will be an informal meeting which will be streamed live on the CFU You Tube channel.

 

Starbucks offer for CFU members!

Posted by Jeff Banks on

City Fans United and coffee shop giant Starbucks have joined forces to bring CFU members a special discount from now until the end of the season.

 

Starbucks Greyhound Park are offering a 10% discount on all beverage purchases from their store on Sealand Road, on production of CFU membership cards when ordering in-store.

 

Dave Pike, store manager at Starbucks Greyhound Park, was delighted to offer CFU members the discount, “We wanted to support our local club and share it’s community values. We look forward to welcoming Chester fans to Starbucks and wish the team all the very best for the season.”

 

Jeff banks, CFU director of Fan Engagement & Membership said, “It’s fantastic to have Starbucks on board with us. They are well known throughout the world of course, and for a company of that size to give our members a 10% discount is great to see and we are extremely grateful to Dave and the team for wanting to get involved in this way.”

 

It is hoped that this will be the catalyst to further discounts being announced for CFU members, “We would certainly like to invite more businesses to team up with us and offer our 2000+ members a discount on their products and services, and I’m sure many of our members shop both in the City and online. Now is the time to get involved!” said Banks.

 

If any businesses would like to offer members a discount, please contact Jeff Banks via email to FEWG@chesterfc.com

 

CFU Members Meeting – January

Posted by Jeff Banks on

We’d like to wish all of our members a very Happy New Year!

 

The City Fans United members meeting for January will take place in the Blues Bar at the Swansway Chester Stadium, on the evening of Thursday 17th January.

 

The meeting, which gets underway at 7.30pm on the night will give fans a great chance to hear about the latest updates from the board of directors of CFU.

 

We will confirm other guests on the night very shortly.

CFU Members Meeting – January

Posted by Jeff Banks on

The City Fans United members meeting for January will take place in the Blues Bar at the Swansway Chester Stadium, on the evening of Thursday 17th January.

 

The meeting, which gets underway at 7.30pm on the night will give fans a great chance to hear about the latest updates from the board of directors of CFU.

 

We will confirm other guests on the night very shortly.

Merry Christmas from CFU

Posted by Jeff Banks on

The board of directors would like to wish all members a very enjoyable and safe Christmas.

 

We would also like to thank everyone who has volunteered their time for both CFU and Chester FC – without you, the club could not function.

 

The board really appreciate every single minute of time donated to the club that we all strive to improve, and recognise that at times it may feel that it’s a thankless role, but please be assured that we really would not have a club if it wasn’t for those dedicating their time for the love of the club.

 

We hope that you all enjoy your festivities and that we will continue to become stronger in 2019 thanks to your efforts volunteering for the club we all love.

 

Finally, we would like to thank the management team, players and backroom staff for what they have achieved in 2018, and hope that 2019 will deliver the results that we are all striving for.

 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

The board of directors.

 

CFU Directors’ Portfolio Update – Fundraising & Governance

Posted by Jeff Banks on

 

Today, we continue the updates from the Director portfolios, with David Williams providing the Fundraising Update and Mark Jones with the Governance Update.

 

Firstly, David Williams, Fundraising Portfolio:

 

Christmas Raffle & Party – Since the Evening with Kevin Ratcliffe in the Summer, the main focus of the Fundraising Working Group has been the Christmas Raffle and Party. We have

  • Sold tickets in pubs
  • Sold tickets at The Forum in the City Centre
  • Sold tickets at MBNA

Furthermore, we would like to thank all the fans who have sold tickets themselves. This is something we need all fans to get involved with as it is one of the income streams that the club relies on.

The draw for which took place last night at the Chester FC Christmas Party at the Upton British Legion. Details of winners will be published in due course.

 

Seals Lottery – Regular publication of the draw results has seen a gradual increase in sales of Seal Lottery tickets, first prize was an impressive £542 last month. The pay out is linked to the number of entrants and we hope to grow this further in the New Year.

 

50-50 Draw – In conjunction with the Fan Engagement Working Group, we have offered half-time fan experiences out on the pitch as consolation prizes in the 50-50 draws. All being well, this will increase ticket sales and make the main cash prize even bigger!

 

eBay – Our eBay auctions have raised circa £1,600 since they begin in February. We wish to thank all who have placed bids – we even had a winner who lives in Shanghai! We hope to offer something relating to the Akwasi Asante debut hat-trick in the near future.

 

 

Mark Jones, Governance Update

 

Health & Safety – The last few months have been very busy on the Health & Safety front with a number of planned regular safety inspections from CWAC, the FA and under the Safety of Sports Ground Act.
Considerable progress has been made on a full review of our health & safety policies, risk assessments and safety certificate renewals.

Safety Certificate – The flooding obviously gave us major headaches with the safety certificate, however we were successful in regaining our safety certificate from CWAC following that difficult period.

Safety Advisory Group – A meeting of the SAG was held on 26th November. One area of discussion was the potential for a separate safety certificate to also enable Chester FC to host events at the stadium not involving football. This could potentially open a number of doors for revenue in the future,

Working Group – The Governance working group has attracted new members and is now meeting on a monthly basis.
Each member of the Governance working group will be working alongside CFU Board members to review and manage risks within their portfolio.

 

 

Tomorrow’s update will be provided Jeff Banks, whose portfolio includes Membership & Fan Engagement.