Tag: Chester FC

CFU Directors’ Portfolio Update – Commercial

Posted by Jeff Banks on

2018 has been a year to both forget and remember for Chester fans and owners.

 

It started of course, with the crisis meeting in January that saw CFU members and Blues fans alike come together and raise funds to effectively keep the club going in its hour of need.

 

Changes to the board followed with a desire to put the club back on track, and along with some amazing fundraising efforts we’ve seen the club go from strength to strength especially with the change in management team that saw Bern and Jonno come in after last season finished.

 

The call has gone out for additional bodies on both the board and working groups, to help continue drive the club forward and as we approach Christmas and the tail end of the year, in the absence of a CFU members meeting in December the board of directors wanted to update you with a taste of what they’ve been working on since the last members’ meeting and what is to come in their portfolios, and today we begin with the Chairman, David Harrington-Wright.

 

David listed the following as updates in the Commercial portfolio.

 

Matchday sponsorships – We have almost completely sold out match ball and programme sponsorships which is great news, but there are a few remaining so would encourage anyone wanted to book a matchday package to contact commercial@chesterfc.com straight away to avoid missing out!

 

Ground Boards – We have also several new ground boards in place which was always the aim, to bring new companies and sponsors into the club.

 

Groundsman’s Facilities – We have also contra deals put in place that have brought a top of the range mower for Mike Barrow, which enables vastly improved cutting of the grass and less time required on that side of things.

A contra deal has also been arranged with a company that provide drainage services for the pitch, this being a five year deal saving the club about £3k, but also gives us additional services free of charge too, which naturally is a major positive!

 

Club Shop – We have a new supplier of additional clothing and promotional items for the club shop and online, the first products were two bespoke jackets for the managers, which they can be seen wearing when not on the touchline.

 

End of Season Event – We are currently having meetings and discussion around of an end of season party, with details to follow on this very soon. We do of course have to take into consideration available dates with the planning of the event too.

 

Next Season – Even though we’re still only midway through this season, we are now planning for next season, talking to all existing sponsors, and of course new sponsors expressing interest in supporting the club.

 

Working group – We are a small working group, so always looking for more people to be part of helping the commercial side, and would encourage anyone interested to contact us via emailing commercial@chesterfc.com and a member of the Group will respond.

 

Tomorrow we’ll have an update from the Fundraising portfolio holder, David Williams, and also the Governance portfolio holder, Mark Jones.

 

CFU Meeting – Thursday 15 November

Posted by Jeff Banks on

The next City Fans United meeting will take place in the Blues Bar, at the Swansway Chester Stadium, on Thursday 15th November.

 

The meeting that will get underway at 7.30pm, is an informal meeting and so is open to non-members as well as current members.

 

It’s an ideal opportunity to come and hear from the CFU board on latest developments, as well as hopefully hearing from joint managers Bern & Jonno.

 

You can also sign up to CFU membership on the night too, with the membership package an unbeatable £12 per year at present.

 

The intention is also to stream the meeting on our CFU You Tube channel, on the evening itself.

 

CFU Life Membership – Payments Instalments News

Posted by Jeff Banks on

CFU Life Membership form

 

The CFU Fan Engagement Working Group (FEWG) can confirm that following feedback from the members, that an additional instalment plan has been put into place for those members wishing to take up Life Membership of CFU.

 

During the last couple of weeks, members were advised of the new package that enables Life Membership to be secured by way of either a one off £1000 payment, or by a maximum of 4 payments of £250.

 

The FEWG are now delighted to announce that members can now spread their Life Membership payments over a 10 month period, with a contribution via Direct Debit of £100 per month.

 

We hope this enables more members to take up the Life Membership option – all those wishing to take advantage of this extra option are invited to email membership@cityfansunited.com and we will then send details of how to activate a Direct Debit.

 

Please note, the benefits of Life membership (with the exception of the new pin badge) will be applicable to new members once at least a 50% contribution has been made. Life membership will be revoked if the full £1000 is not received within the 10 month period.

 

Of course, the other options for securing Life Membership remain – so if you would like to make a one off payment or pay via the 4 x £250 payments then please either email membership@cityfansunited.com or contact Chester FC on 01244 371376 during normal office hours.

 

The FEWG will shortly be sending Life membership packs out to those who have purchased the new Life Membership package – and we thank them for doing so.

CFU AGM Review

Posted by Jeff Banks on

The City Fans United Annual General Meeting took place last Thursday at the Swansway Chester Stadium, inside a packed Blues Bar.

 

On the night, Calvin Hughes and Jeff Banks, both of whom stood for election to the board saw their applications ratified by the members who had voted either by proxy or on the night itself. Both will now commence a minimum three year term on the board of directors of CFU.

 

Laurence Kirby, who stood down as a director of the board on the night, presented his financial report to the audience both in the room and watching online.

 

Laurence confirmed that CFU had made a £45k loss in the financial year June 2017-May 2018 but that prospects of a brighter future were indeed in place following some fantastic fundraising by volunteers since January 2018. Laurence also indicated that he would be prepared to maintain his financial reporting to the board in the interim whilst a permanent replacement is sought in due course, which the board have wholeheartedly thanked Laurence for.

 

The Chair of CFU, David Harrington-Wright, also gave a detailed report on the year itself too, and fielded questions from the audience relating to the club’s current financial position, and also with regards to the water damage to the Stadium too, even though this was experienced after the previous financial year had ended.

 

Minutes of the meeting will be published shortly on the CFU website.

 

Thanks to everyone that attended on the night, and we look forward to keeping the membership updated with the progress made as we go through the next financial period, June 2018-May 2019.

 

City Fans United AGM – This Thursday

Posted by Mike Day on

We would like to remind CFU members that it is the Annual General Meeting this Thursday (27th September) which takes place in the Blues Bar at Chester FC’s Swansway Chester Stadium.

 

The meeting will get underway at 7.30pm.

 

CFU AGM Meeting Agenda

Draft Minutes from 2017 AGM

Financial Report year ending May 2018

Candidate Manifestos

 

Five directors posts were advertised as available, however only 3 applications were received. As the number of candidates does not equal or exceed the available places, there will be no election but an affirmative ballot at the AGM. Each candidate will be put before the meeting for the approval of members. To be elected each candidate must receive the support of more than half those present in person at the AGM and those who are not able to attend and have expressed their preference by returning the proxy form.

 

Since the AGM packs were sent out one candidate withdrew their application to stand, and so the two remaining candidates will need their applications ratifying at this Thursday’s meeting.

 

Previously we have streamed the CFU meetings live, however, due to the provider now charging for streaming. We are currently looking at other streaming options at present which would hopefully allow us to show the meeting live on Thursday night.

 

We look forward to seeing you there on Thursday night.

 

 

CFU Meeting Postponed

Posted by Jeff Banks on

Please note that owing to the water damage incurred at the Swansway Chester Stadium on Sunday, a decision has been made to postpone Thursday’s night’s City Fans United members meeting.

 

Safety is of course paramount in this situation, and at present several areas of the ground are deemed as ‘Out of Bounds’ due to the water ingress and the board are currently in the process of trying to resolve the issues currently being faced and ensuring there is no risk to anyone’s safety within the ground.

 

We will announce a revised date once we are in a position to do so, but we’d also like to remind those interested in standing for election that they will need to submit their application by Friday 17th August. Please refer to our recent mailing for further details on this. or by reading our previous announcement regarding the upcoming AGM.

 

Cameron Rowley

Posted by Jeff Banks on

The board of City Fans United would on behalf of everyone connected with Chester FC like to express it’s sincere condolences and offer its support to the family of young Blues fan Cameron Rowley, who sadly passed away yesterday aged just 11 years old.

 

Cameron endeared himself to everyone he came to meet at the club, and will be greatly missed. He also made a great number of friends amongst the playing squad and management team over the last few years in addition to many Chester fans too. The determination and spirit that Cameron displayed whilst dealing with his illness was second to none, and that spirit has been and will continue to be an inspiration to everyone who knew him.

 

We’re sure the Chester FC family will join us with sending all of our thoughts and prayers to Cameron’s family and friends at this time, and the club will certainly be paying tribute in the very near future once we have spoken with Cameron’s family, at an appropriate time.

 

Rest in Peace, Cameron.

CFU AGM set for Thursday 27th September 2018

Posted by Jeff Banks on

The 2018 City Fans United Annual General Meeting has been set for Thursday 27th September, commencing at 7.30pm, and will take place in the Blues Bar at Chester FC’s Swansway Chester Stadium.

 

Due to resignations in 2018, and expiry of tenure there will be a total of five vacancies, to bring numbers on the board back up to ten.

 

To be eligible to stand for election, you must be 18 years of age or over and must have been a member of City Fans United for at least 60 days prior to the closing date for nominations which is 17th August, 2018.  This means that you must have been a fully paid up member since 18th June, 2018.   The same eligibility rule applies if you are nominating someone to stand for the board.

 

A notification has been sent out by email or by post to all current members. If you have not received this mailing by Wednesday 1st August, please email marion.needham@chesterfc.com in the first instance.

 

Details of how to stand for election are contained within the information sent out in the email/post by Marion and also contain links to Director Duties and also a nomination form and manifesto template.

 

 

Draw made for Season Ticket winners!

Posted by Jeff Banks on

 

Chester FC’s Season Ticket target of 1000 is getting closer and closer!

 

A few weeks ago, you may recall that two of our Legend Lounge members came forward and wanted to help boost the number of sales by offering to reward one lucky fan who purchased a Season Ticket before the Earlybird deadline, and both Ian Swettenham of Swettenham Chemists and Alan Case have not just honoured that offer, but have actually tripled their offer and offered to cover the cost of 3 season tickets purchased!

 

The Draw, sponsored by Swettenham Chemists and Alan Case, was made independently on Wednesday 18th July, and saw the following names drawn out of the hat:

 

Margaret Bithel
Ray Shaw
Felix Wright

 

All three lucky winners have been notified and will be offered the refund of their season ticket!

 

Ian Swettenham said, “Swettenham Chemists were pleased to support the Season Ticket prize draw. We hope it encouraged fans to purchase their tickets in the Early Bird window and contributed to all the efforts from volunteers to push the season ticket number towards the 1,000 target.”

 

Jeff Banks, Director of Fan Engagement, thanked both Ian & Alan for their contribution and generous offer, “When the Fan Engagement Working Group (FEWG) were initially approached by both Ian and Alan, we were blown away by their generosity, but the fact that they have tripled that offer and rewarded three fans is just brilliant. I’m sure I speak on behalf of everyone connected with the club that we thank both Ian and Alan for their very kind offer, and I’m sure the winners were absolutely delighted when they heard the news!”

 

Remember, you can still help us reach that target of 1000 season tickets sold, by contacting the club on 01244 371376 during office hours and also prior to our pre season friendlies too at the club’s ticket office.

 

Season Tickets can also be collected on Thursday 26th July, at a special event taking place in the Blues Bar at the Swansway Chester Stadium. The event will also see Bern & Jono appear after their training session to give an update on pre season training and latest signings.

 

CFU Meeting (Informal) – Thursday 19th July

Posted by Jeff Banks on

We would like to let our members know that the next CFU meeting will take place on Thursday 19th July, commencing at 7.30pm in the Blues Bar at the Swansway Chester Stadium.

 

Join CFU today and help us get to 2018 members in the year 2018!

 

This month’s meeting is an informal one but we are hoping to have Chester management duo Bern & Jono in attendance.

 

There will also be the chance to ‘Meet the Board’ for anyone considering standing for election at the forthcoming AGM, to gain an understanding of what the role entails.

 

Membership cards will also be available to collect on the night too, and you can also join CFU on the night too.

 

Further details will be released shortly for the online stream of the informal meeting.

 

We look forward to seeing you there!