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Post by iamagull on Jan 26, 2018 22:29:39 GMT
10,000 a month X2 plus the rest of tust funds equates to £500,000 a year.
That's just to run the club.
That from tust coming in, as a lump sum would get Osbourne maybe to offer you a place on the board.
Then on top of that you match that money per year.
So if tust can stump up £500,000 and match that every year then yes, welcome aboard.
How far away are tust from that?
I would say £400,000 a year.
Look at Hartlepool and now Chester another famously fans club facing liquidation due to the fans not affording a £50,000 tax bill.
Pipedreams.
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rjdgull
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Post by rjdgull on Jan 28, 2018 10:09:19 GMT
There is no way that Torquay United supporters trust would pay half 1 million a year just to be on the board with Osborne. There is something fundamentally wrong with the club if it continuously needs over half 1 million a year as a subsidy although it does highlight the need for various additional income streams.
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Feb 1, 2018 23:30:45 GMT
Good meeting on Tuesday night.
Very impressed with the board for getting detailed notes out to members so quickly.
The four who turned up from Exeter City Trust were inspirational. Ordinary folk who have achieved extraordinary things.
Yet again we heard (as we have been told before) that City's Trust grew from 200 to 1500 members very quickly when crisis struck. Makes Torquay's 500 look very respectable.
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Apr 22, 2018 22:07:57 GMT
January Newsletter View this email in your browser Chairman's Comments Dear Member, First of all we would like to welcome our new members to the Torquay United Supporters Trust. We are delighted to see a marked increase in the number of those who have joined us over the past couple of weeks in pursuit of our goal to help secure the long term future of Torquay United. We would encourage all our members to share and advertise the values and beliefs of our organisation to everybody, to continue to unite our supporter base. This is a very difficult period in the history of Torquay United and therefore uniting and retaining the supporter base has never been more important. At the same time,we would also like to make a personal appeal to our members when discussing the obvious issues and problems with our beloved TUFC, that we refrain from using personal insults against members of staff at the club. We are trying hard to build relationships and work with the club locally and communication is key in ensuring the best outcome. As you will appreciate, any such actions only serve to make this task more difficult. Letter to Clarke Osborne You will be aware from previous communications that your TUST board recently wrote to Clarke Osborne to ask various questions regarding the current situation at the club. Your board made the decision not to publish this letter until such time as we had received a reply from Mr Osborne as this was felt to be the most courteous approach. We have now received a response and this letter together with a copy of our original letter is detailed in this Newsletter. There will be an opportunity to discuss the contents at our Special General Meeting (on Tuesday 30th January at the Livermead Cliff Hotel,Torquay @ 7pm). However, any members who cannot attend and wish to pass comment can email us at info@torquaysupporters.co.uk where your views will be added to those of the attendees at the meeting prior to any next steps / further communication with Mr Osborne. Special General Meeting (SGM) We feel it is important to clarify one aspect of the SGM that has raised a few enquiries.Your board made the decision to arrange the SGM for our members only as opposed to the wider Torquay United supporter population. This was a conscious decision in order to listen to the views of our members who we have been elected to represent. We have received some very sensible comments from members and other supporters alike as to why we should instead open this up to non-members and their views are certainly valid. We have also received comments to the contrary as to why we should not! Therefore, we have decided to continue with this as a members-only event at the present time in order that we can use the meeting to articulate our current thoughts and actions, but most importantly to listen to our members whose subscriptions support the trust first and foremost. We have received many new membership applications since the weekend from supporters who have joined in order to attend the meeting. Indeed, we are very thankful to the various forums and their moderators for promoting TUST and to the volunteers before Saturday's home game in raising awareness of TUST and for providing the necessary media for new members to join before next Tuesday and hence have their say. We are certainly not discounting a further meeting with the wider supporter base, but it is important that we look to take things one step at a time in view of the current TUST infrastructure we have in place. We are aware that Devon Live have incorrectly published an article today stating that "prospective" members can attend the meeting and we are contacting them accordingly to amend this. That said, we are happy to accept new member applications on the night if non-members wish to come along and sign up at that point prior to gaining entry to the meeting. However, we feel there is ample opportunity for this to take place prior to next Tuesday through our website www.torquaysupporters.co.uk. One final point, it would be really helpful if you could e-mail info@torquaysupporters.co.uk to confirm your attendance at the SGM in order that we can manage numbers and prepare the event accordingly. Disabled Roof Project We have been contacted recently by Sam Balsdon who was the person responsible for the fantastic fund raising work for the disabled roof project below Bristows Bench. Despite being £1800 short of his fund raising target, the contractor for the project proceeded to undertake and finish the home end work. Sam needs to raise a further £1800 to pay the contractor and we have agreed to support him in his endeavours. Sam will be attending the meeting next Tuesday and we are to hold a collection on the night to assist him with part of this shortfall. TUST Membership We have received some excellent feedback on providing members with the option of paying a higher level of payment each month / year rather than the £2 per month / £24 per month current subscription fees. This is something we are now looking into with the current direct debiting facility we use and hope to report back to members on this shortly. Our Treasurer (and currently Membership Secretary as well - Matt Gorman) has been spending time recently looking back through historic membership databases. It is clear that certain memberships are in arrears due to missed payments, cancelled mandates etc and therefore we would urge all members to check their subscriptions are up-to-date and particularly those who pay by cheque or standing order. It will certainly be helpful if members who are behind with their payments could rectify this position. If you wish to check the current position with your membership, please email Matt Gorman at tust-treasurer@btconnect.com Thank you for your continued support and I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible on Tuesday. Kind regards Michel Thomas TUST Chairman COYY TUST Letter to Clarke Osborne and his Response Wednesday 10th January, 2017 Dear Mr. Osborne, I am writing to you on behalf of the Torquay United Supporters' Trust, with reference to the increasing concern and disillusionment of our members and the majority of the fans and friends of Torquay United F.C. As you are aware, we, TUST, have been working hard together with TUFC and others to establish dialogue and to reconnect the fan base and community with our well loved club. The Supporters' Trust board believe that it is now very much in the interest of yourselves, the club, the supporters and the local community to give some direction as to your future plans for TUFC. To this end, we have agreed to send to you the following questions and to request that you respond as a matter of some urgency, to avoid a further deterioration of goodwill . At this point, we have refrained from entering into the public debate, however we now feel it is necessary to make some response to the many questions being asked of us by our members and the wider fan base. We ourselves, have been prepared to react, and indeed co-operate through constructive and open-minded discussion with yourselves for a long time. We would welcome you to take part in our next monthly meeting with TUFC if you so desire , which we are arranging shortly. Meanwhile, we would appreciate a response to the following questions in the next few days, before our next board meeting on the 20th of January. 1. What further actions are being taken in terms of the current situation to try and stave off relegation? 2. Assuming we do manage to avoid relegation , what is the immediate plan for next season? 3. What kind of relegation plan do you have in place? Which model does it take after eg. Full-time, part- time players' contracts, budget to reflect a promotion push for an immediate return to the National League top division etc? 4. Our members and the wider supporters base remain extremely concerned about how relegation will affect your long term business plan? 5. Where do you see supporters fitting in to this plan? Who do you intend to include in any open, constructive dialogue to help you fulfil this plan. We thank you in advance for your anticipated response and look forward to meeting you at some stage in the future. Yours sincerely, Michel/Mike Thomas (Chairman of TUST) pp. The Supporters Trust Board Clarke Osborne's Response Please note the letter below is embedded in the e-mail as a jpeg. On some browser / e-mail settings you will need to allow the e-mail to download pictures in order that you can view this. If you have any problems viewing, please e-mail tust-treasurer@btconnect.com and request a PDF of this document to be e-mailed to you. Why the TUST? I am a Torquay United Supporter. Why should you be a member of the TUST? Should you need to become a member to have a voice in the running of your club? No, you should not have to, BUT we believe that being a member of the TUST and therefore a part of Supporters Direct in partnership with The Football Supporters' Federation (FSF), the FA and the Premier League plus many substantial partners will provide us with the support, backing and knowledge to strengthen the links between our Club and you, the supporters it serves. Supporters Direct provide a range of services and advice to support their members. Since 2000 they have helped their members to establish over 185 trusts in the UK and have helped supporters to speak with one voice to challenge and change the way that clubs and the game are governed. Being a member of Supporters Direct enables the TUST to have access to a dedicated team with sport and divisional contacts. Supporters Direct will provide us with ongoing strategic, tactical and campaigning advice and support and training on how to run our organisation. Other benefits include free access to legal advice, regional membership training and seminars to help the TUST board develop their skills, access to a customer relationship marketing system suitable for trusts and clubs, and discounted rates to the Supporters Direct consultancy team of experts. As part of the Supporters Direct movement, your supporters trust has increased profile and status, alongside a network of other like minded Trusts throughout the country. Support TUST Support Your Community CLICK HERE Financial Report Balance 24th January 2018 Account 1: £3,225 Account 2: £27,586 |
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Apr 22, 2018 22:09:02 GMT
TUST SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING
MEMBER UPDATE
Dear Members
You will be aware that we held a Special General Meeting (SGM) for TUST members on Tuesday evening this week at the Livermead Cliff Hotel, Torquay.
This note is to provide an overview of the meeting. Apologies for its' length, but it is intended to give an insight into how the evening transpired for those of you who were unable to attend as well as a record for those of you who were able to come along. As you will hopefully appreciate, your TUST board have come away from the meeting with a large number of thoughts, ideas and potential courses of action to take which will be considered over the coming days and weeks.
Meeting Overview
The evening was attended by approximately 50 members with a significant number of apologies from others, particularly exiled gulls who naturally find it difficult to attend such events. A combination of very poor weather conditions on the night and traffic problems locally seemed to put pay to a greater attendance with many confirmed attendees unable to get to the meeting. The start of the meeting itself was delayed for 15 minutes (to 7.15) to allow some of those caught in the traffic to get to the venue.
The evening was split into 2 distinctive parts:
Part 1 involved a series of presentations where information was passed on to the attendees.
Part 2 after a comfort break was an open forum for members to ask questions, pass on their views and participate in debate on various subjects.
Part 1
Our Treasurer Matt Gorman opened the evening and set out the path of travel for the night. First up to speak was recently elected Chairman Michel Thomas.
Michel Thomas (Chairman)
Michel gave a short welcome and a thank you to our previous chairman Michael Goulbourne for all his hard work in the past. He then went on to thank members for their support over the last couple of years in particular and was also keen to recognise all TUFC supporters for their work, specifically in relation to the organisers of the on-line petition to the Council regarding the Freehold of Plainmoor and the tireless work of all three fans forums and their members. He then set about outlining the work of the TUST Board of late with specific comments on the following subject matters:
Torbay Council
TUST have received support from Kevin Foster MP for Torbay, Deborah Brewer, Liberal Democrats, and Sam Moss, Green Party. All three have expressed concern regarding any possible sale of the freehold of Plainmoor. TUST are meeting with Kevin Foster and a team of councillors in the next two weeks to discuss matters further. It was stated just how reassuring it was to know that they share the concerns of Torquay United Supporters.
Structured Dialogue with TUFC
The TUST Board are continuing to have regular monthly meetings with Geoff Harrop and Tim Herbert of TUFC with a view to building relations locally and with the current owners. Unfortunately Clarke Osborne as yet, has been unable to attend these meetings but Geoff Harrop reports to Clarke Osborne after the meetings via SKYPE to update him. The Board are to continue to press the club for face to face contact with Mr Osborne. A formal response to Mr Osborne’s letter of 19th January will be made following the SGM Meeting.
Contact with ex-players
TUST have had contact from several ex-players offering their support and/or help moving forward including Dave Caldwell, Steve Tully and Kevin Hill.
The Press
There has been a concern from TUST about the balance of reporting on TUFC by the Herald Express. These concerns have been raised with Jim Parker and Guy Henderson.
Michel went on to re-iterate his recent interview with ITV was cut short and edited accordingly. A statement was prepared to read, but ITV chose a different approach which resulted in the “short clip” eventually broadcast. Michel was due to meet with the BBC on Wednesday to provide comments and raise the profile of TUST amongst the wider population. It was stated that key contacts have now been established with the BBC and ITV. In addition, further contacts have been made with both the Telegraph and Guardian Newspapers to be called on where necessary moving forward.
Support for TUST
Jamie Mathie of Supports Direct and Andy Walsh of the Football Supporters Federation have been made fully aware of the situation at TUFC and are on standby and ready to support and advise accordingly including guidance on stadium development, budgets, information relating to supporter influence in football clubs.
Michel’s key message for TUST members, the wider Torquay United Supporter base and the local population was that of UNITY at this time. There is a clear need for the community at large to work together to help sustain the long term future of Torquay United. In terms of our membership, he stated that what we need is to continue to increase our membership to raise our profile and importantly there was a need for more active feet on the ground to help us with any future initiatives.
Robin Causley (Vice-Chairman)
Robin reported on a successful bid he had submitted on behalf of TUST to the Fans Fund Grants Scheme. The Fund supports projects which improve the relationship between fans and their clubs and improve the way football supporters engage with each other and improve fans' experience of the game. In conjunction with the club and the Torquay United Community Supporters Trust the project will engage new supporters and develop pathways to a range of match day and non-match day provision.
A Fans Hub will be the means to engage with the local community prioritising the most deprived wards in Torbay and wider coastal and rural population outside of Torbay.
Within those communities, those currently under represented at matches such as girls, BAME (Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic) and disabled people of all ages, etc. will be targeted.
A Pop-up Fans Zone/Hub will be used on match days and within community settings throughout the year.
Volunteers will be trained to manage and promote the project, with 10 outreach sessions planned in various community settings.
A “free” match-day package will be provided by the Club for people selected from the outreach sessions.
£20,000 has been awarded under the grant and a co-ordinator will be employed on a sessional basis to manage and develop the project. Funding will also be used to build TUST’s infrastructure, website, marketing and membership
This was seen as a great example of how TUST can try and add value to the club as a whole.
Matt Gorman (Treasurer)
Matt provided a brief update to attendees on the TUST financials as they stand at present. Some of the key numbers quoted were as follows:
Total TUST balances held were £31,006 as at 30th January 2018
Membership Number 507 was issued on 30th January (although 2 further members joined 31st January). However, in reality the number of “live” members was quoted at just over 400
47 new members (now 49) had joined TUST in the last 3 weeks compared to 10 in the whole of 2017 demonstrating how membership numbers tend to change during perceived periods of crisis
Matt also provided a brief overview of the accounts to the end of June 2017 including income received and expenses.
Chris Fleet & John Gibbes
As TUST members and well-known TUFC supporters; Chris and John answered some questions posed to them around their current thoughts on the position of our club and what role they see TUST taking with regard to the club moving forward.
Both spoke passionately about their views and provided constructive and well-balanced thoughts for the attendees to consider and digest.
Jon also provided a short background and history of his time as a Torquay United supporter. Jon (TUFC Historian) was keen to emphasise as an accountant, he is keeping a close eye on the accounts of TUFC. He confirmed that Clarke Osborne has raised his shareholding from 74.7% to 92.3%.
Chris provided us with a brief history into his background and how he became a supporter of Torquay United and his involvement with the club and players of late. He shared the concerns of us all in respect of the lack of information coming from the owner with regard to his intentions for our club. Chris was keen to emphasise we have to deal with FACTS not speculation. His thoughts were that we need to focus on two key questions: What do we know? What can we do?
Chris was keen to emphasise the importance of TUST having a clear focus on moving forward. He felt it was important our focus in galvanising support should be on the local area as a whole and not just the football club supporters who turn up to games
Exeter City Supporters Trust
TUST were delighted to welcome representatives from our friends at the Exeter City Supporters Trust. We were joined by Nick Hawker (Chairman), Pete Martin, Elaine Davis and Doug Gillard who provided an insight into Community Ownership.
Pete Martin explained the history of Exeter City Supporters Trust which began in 2000 with 200 members. After the tenure of Mr Lewis and Mr Russell and the subsequent fraud investigation, it appeared the only organisation interested in Exeter City was the supporters. In the space of six months the membership for Exeter’s Trust increased from 200 members to 1500 members. With the luck of the draw (Manchester United) the supporters paid off Exeter’s debts and have prospered as a Community Owned Club ever since. They saw no reason why TUST could not explore a similar path.
Elaine Davis was keen to emphasise the power of volunteers in a community owned club. Last year Exeter City received £250,000 worth of employed hours from their volunteers. She was also keen to stress that when supporters own their club there is a definite increase in support financially and practically and the power of volunteers should not be underestimated.
Two messages emerged from their presentation:
Communication to supporters is key
Working with the community is key
Sam Balsdon (Disabled Roof Project)
Sam Balsdon spoke regarding his project to provide a roof for TUFC supporters below Bristow’s Bench. He confirmed that although the first stage for home supporters had been completed, £1800 was still outstanding to the contractor. After talks with TUFC, Chris Rich has apologised and although the Club do intend to contribute to this debt, there is no money in the budget at present.
TUST have committed to helping Sam in raising this shortfall and were delighted to confirm that after a raffle at our meeting £382 was raised on the night to help with this hugely important cause. The winners of the raffle were Rob Burkitt who won a signed promotion winning TUFC shirt and Chris Fleet who won a signed Paul Gascoigne shirt. Chris Fleet has kindly agreed to auction this shirt on EBay and will put all proceeds towards Sam’s fund. Thank you to our members for their contributions. We would also like to thank the representatives from the Exeter City Supporters Trust for their personal contributions and their further pledge of £100 from the Trust itself.
Sam is very keen to continue with his efforts to supply superb disabled facilities to our most loyal supporters of TUFC. His vision includes portable disabled toilets and more simple things like blankets. The TUST will revisit the option of a bucket collection and other ideas with TUFC on match days to support Sam with this worthy cause.
Part 2
The second part of the evening was opened up to attendees to ask questions, provide comments and debate the current position at the club.
A summary of some of the issues discussed were as follows:
What is the difference between an Official Supporters Club and a Trust?
How do the two work side by side at Exeter City?
Chris Fleet provided an insight into the establishment of the TUOSC and the rationale behind it. Representatives of the Exeter City Supporters Trust outlined how their 2 organisations worked. It was a widely consensual view that moving forward there needs to be closer links between the TUOSC and TUST.
A change of chairman at TUOSC perhaps provides an ideal opportunity to forge these closer links although the importance was stressed that TUST is and will be independent from the club.
Can TUST or should TUST purchase the Freehold of Plainmoor?
Although no official voting took place on the evening, there was an overall majority of hands agreeing to this suggestion. Some of the advantages and disadvantages of this course of action were discussed. It was stressed that at present the freehold is not for sale. However, the TUST board were requested to consider the implications of any such availability and the pro’s and con’s accordingly and report back to members
Can TUST purchase the 7% of shares left in TUFC.
A discussion was held around whether or not TUST should look to purchase a stake in the club. The suggestion was made that we should explore the option of buying the remaining shares not owned by Mr Osborne. Once again, views for and against this were made by the attendees. The TUST board were requested to consider this idea.
Should TUST lobby for a place on the TUFC board?
A question was put forward in response to a comment made in Mr Osborne’s recent letter regarding supporter engagement as to whether TUST should lobby for a place on the TUFC board. The TUST board are to consider this idea although the show of hands in the room provided a generally mixed response to this question.
Do TUST have sufficient funds to launch a community share issue if required?
The simple answer to this question is YES. It has always been a criticism that TUST do not have enough money to run the club or buy the club. This is 100% correct as it stands. However, that was never argued. The key has always been for TUST to have a capital base to be able to launch such an issue or to deploy funds in a certain manner if required to appeal to the wider community for capital should the need arise.
The Trust need to be more visible and undertake more practical activities to generate engagement
This was not disputed by any members of the TUST board or the attendees. The fact remains that as things stand, the board is made up of a very small number of individuals who work full-time or run a business (in Matt’s case) with huge demands on their time. There is only a certain number of hours in the day and of late the resilience of the small team has been tested to the full.
Matt Gorman made a passionate call for more practical “hands-on” help either by members putting themselves forward to work as part of the board / team or to becoming part of a working party focusing on certain areas. Members were requested to complete the feedback and Q&A form provided to outline what help they could practically provide. He re-stated that TUST is not about the small numbers of board members. TUST is everyone in the room and the wider membership ideas and suggestions are great, but help is needed to implement these.
Michel Thomas indicated his desire to grow the board to the maximum of 10 members with a variety of skills and specialisms. Although not stated on the night, we are about to co-opt another board member in the coming days and will be looking to co-opt a further member shortly to work on our Social Media / Communications strategy and lead a working party in this important area.
What is our Purpose moving forward?
The general consensus of opinion from the audience was that TUST needed to remain the critical friend of the club and to be the watching eye over proceedings as they develop. TUST needed to have different plans and strategies to deal with situations as they evolve. As things stand, the club is not for sale and neither is the freehold. However, in the absence of other “white knights” TUST is seen as the last resort / go-to position to maintain the existence of the club.
Key Aims / Points Raised
Continue to increase member numbers to widen the membership.
Improve and Increase social media exposure.
Meet regularly with our MP and local councillors to continue to lobby for the protection of the freehold of Plainmoor and to investigate in the long term its' potential purchase by supporters.
Improve the TUST website and introduce variation in the amount of subscription rates, but we need to demonstrate the value of subscriptions to members. What do members get for what they pay? The need to consider more social / general events will be looked at.
Develop more co-ordinated links with the local community including the business community. Get the message across as to how TUFC impacts on their businesses and lives.
Continue building relations with TUFC using structured dialogue.
Increase the pressure on the club regarding matters such as the implementation of the local board and the five year plan.
The meeting concluded at 9.45pm
Summary
The meeting has enabled the TUST board to get a sense on how members feel and how they wish TUST to move forward from this point. The board are hugely grateful for those who took the time to attend the meeting and to pass on their comments. We have also had many comments and offers of help from exiled supporters and others who were unable to attend the meeting.
The feedback forms completed on the night were also very valuable to us and will be reviewed in detail over the coming days.
Your TUST board has a face to face meeting with the club on Saturday and will then gather for a further meeting to go through in detail the output from Tuesday evening. There is a lot of thoughts, ideas and concepts to consider at present. The key requirements is to establish the infrastructure within TUST to deal with a plan of action moving forward. I cannot stress highly enough how hard the small team of board members have worked over the last few weeks. The time devoted cannot continue at current levels with the small team we have and therefore our priority is to bring fresh-blood onto the team to share the workload and we hope to announce the first addition shortly.
Please watch this space as we provide more detailed updates over the coming days and weeks.
Thank you all for your continued support and once again for all those who attended on Tuesday evening.
Michel Thomas
pp. TUST Board
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Jon
Admin
Posts: 6,912
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Post by Jon on Apr 22, 2018 22:09:35 GMT
TUST MEMBER UPDATE
5th Feb 2018
Dear Members
Further to our Special General Meeting update last week, we promised to come back to you with further news / updates as matters progress.
First of all, we are very pleased to confirm that Chris Fleet has today agreed to join the TUST board. Chris has been co-opted onto the board as permitted by our rules and regulations. Many of you will know Chris who has a huge amount of experience and knowledge relating to all things Torquay United as well as being a regular commentator on BBC Radio Devon. He has agreed to join TUST in order to principally provide some much needed help and direction with our marketing to the supporter base and wider community. Chris will be a huge asset to the team.
Secondly, your TUST board met before the match at the weekend to review some of the feedback and offers of help both from the SGM and from direct contact over the last few weeks. Thank you to all of you who have come forward with ideas and offers of help. In due course we will come back to each of you. In the short term, it was agreed our next focus was is in relation to Social Media and IT given many of the inter-related ideas and concepts put forward and to this end we are about to speak with a number of individuals who have offered their help. Our strategy is to build a team of willing volunteers in this area to be led eventually by a new board member. We therefore hope to be in a position to co-opt a further board member focusing on this area over the next couple of weeks once discussions have been completed.
Also, this week meetings are being held with local councillors and, next week, our local MP as previously highlighted to maintain the focus and attention on the current plight of the club.
Finally, plans for a meeting of exiled gulls supporters prior to the Leyton Orient away match on 24th February look like they may need to be put on hold for the time being following the FA Trophy result at the weekend where Leyton beat Dover Athletic 4-3. It is our understanding the 4th round of the Trophy will now be held on 24th February. We will come back to you in due course on this matter.
I hope you appreciate this brief update. Further updates will be issued as and when we have news to pass on to you.
Michel Thomas
pp. TUST Board
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Jon
Admin
Posts: 6,912
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Post by Jon on Apr 22, 2018 22:10:02 GMT
TUST / TUFC LONDON EXILES Gathering at the Bell Inn, Maidenhead, Saturday 10th Dear Members Due to the postponement of the Leyton Orient match, the TUST have now arranged for a meet up with London Exiles this Saturday, 1pm, at the Bell Inn, which is next to the Maidenhead ground and railway station. Michel Thomas, TUST chairman is travelling up on the supporters' coach, eta 1pm. He will pleased to talk to anyone, answer questions, receive feedback, or just say hello. If you do not know him he will be wearing a yellow flower! COYY TUST Board Well Worth a Read! Torquay United: Fans fear for future under Clarke Osborne leadership www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/42958113 |
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Jon
Admin
Posts: 6,912
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Post by Jon on Apr 22, 2018 22:10:38 GMT
February Newsletter View this email in your browser Chairman's Comments Dear Member, Firstly, a huge thank you to those of you who braved the elements to attend our Special General Meeting on the 30th January. It proved to be both positive and productive, in enabling the board to expand further on what we have been doing, and as importantly, to receive much good advice and many helpful ideas from our speakers and members. Also, thanks are due to the many exiles and members who were unable to attend for your many emails of support and interest. Secondly, we would like to thank Exeter City Supporters Trust who accepted our invitation to attend and gave us their thoughts and advice, based on their experiences as a supporter owned club. It was particularly appreciated that their chairman Nick Hawker and club board member Elaine Davis were part of the group of four who came down to talk to us. Thirdly, but not least, I would like to welcome Chris Fleet on to our board, he will add a great wealth of experience and contacts to our team and we are looking forward to working, on your behalves, together with him. Finally, thank you to all of you have joined us in the last several weeks, and those of you who have renewed your subscriptions or updated your details. Numbers do talk! In the last few weeks, we have continued to be busy and I will just mention some of the main activities we have been involved with.... MEETINGS with Adrian Sanders and the Liberal Democrat councillors' group; Julien Parrott (Mayor's executive) and our MP, Kevin Foster. All were very supportive of TUST and appreciative of our main aims, ie. the long term sustainability and good governance of TUFC, remaining within the local community. In the medium and the short term, they are as concerned as ourselves re the lack of clarity re the possible plans that Mr.Osborne might have for our beloved club. They were all clear that there was no evidence yet of any plans to build a new stadium, and much doubt as to where it might actually be viable. Furthermore, they were of the opinion that the freehold of Plainmoor should remain under the ownership of the Council, and that a full consultation with all concerned would be necessary before, and if, any change of ownership was ever considered. We continue to keep ourselves prepared to respond to any possible future developments, in the near or long term. We cannot rule out any of four or five scenarios, positive or otherwise, these you can guess as well as we can! MEMBERSHIP has continued to rise steadily.. Our thanks goes to the 9 volunteers who distributed TUST information leaflets to just under 1500 fans at the Bromley game. Our special gratitude goes to Mr. Paul Bastard who has undertaken to continue this work at the last two away matches, at Macclesfield and Maidenhead. He has reached out and talked to the 'Manchester and London exiles', in the ongoing cause for unity! VOLUNTEERS have been forthcoming in pleasing numbers, both via our feedback forms and by email to our address. We have been working through the list of generous offers of time and have been meeting a number of people.My sincere apologies if any of you have been missed-it has been a positive, but time consuming task... Please get back in touch with an email and I WILL get back to you. Our first aim has been to establish a professional IT/Social Media team in order to improve our communication systems with you. Ali Bryant, who is our communications officer, has put together a very effective team and our thanks goes to them for the work they have done already in the last few weeks. We are now building a second team to work towards outreach to the TUFC community, marketing and advertising our raison d'etre. More of this soon. My thanks goes to all of you who have offered to become more involved, and the ex players who have offered their support. In a small or larger way, it all counts. LONDON EXILES were met at the recent Maidenhead match by three of your board members. Robin and I enjoyed a very comfortable and cordial trip up and back with the TU Travel Club, and a great away performance to boot. We met Matthew Carepenter, our TUST secretary, and a number of away supporters, both in the Bell Inn and inside the ground afterwards. It was great to catch up, and receive their support and ideas. BBC has taken an interest in our concerns and given us some 'air time', primarily through the BBC.CO.UK Sport online article that was published by Brent Pilnick recently. A couple of us have also been interviewed on Radio Devon, more generally, before and after recent home matches. The earlier ITV South West interview was cut very short, for various reasons,although I did have a statement I had carefully prepared beforehand....the media is a learning curve for me! TUFC/TUST joint monthly meetings continue, with our next one being currently arranged for the next two weeks or so. As well as developing and providing a platform for structured dialogue between the club and TUST, we have been able to highlight individual fans' requests to the club and have been working on a joint initiative, news of which we will be able to publish shortly, pending an official joint press release approval by the PL Fans' Trust. The last two results have been disappointing to say the least, let us hope that over the next week, the team regroup and come out stronger for our next home game against AFC Flyde. We DO really need the points right now, to keep the Great Escape alive. how many times have I said that before in the last 50 years!? Kind regards Michel Thomas TUST Chairman COYY Welcome to our Digital Team Tust are pleased to announce that a new digital team has been added to our organisation. Ali Bryant, our communications officer was delighted to recruit five volunteer TUST members who are keen to work on maximising our online presence. A big thank you to James Murphy, Rob Burkitt, Chris Morrish, Luke Hunter and Louis Walsh for volunteering their services. The team have already started, in creating a new facebook page for the TUST www.facebook.com/TorquayUnitedSupportersTrust/ and are now keen to actively promote and raise awareness of TUST throughout social media. Please visit and like our page, and share to as many people as you can. Our next project will focus on improving the TUST website, updating the layout and content and making changes to the payment options to give our members more flexibility in their choices. We hope that with a constant online presence, TUST will reach out to many more supporters in joining us. Our Aim - to ensure the long term sustainability and good governance of Torquay United Football Club. Welcome Chris Fleet Hi My name is Chris Fleet and I am delighted to have been co-opted onto the board of TUST. I was a previous chairman of TUST during our very early years of 2006. Prior to that I was chair of the old Supporters Club where we acted as a link between the club and the fans. Not long after the formation of TUST we had a situation with Chris Roberts wanting to buy the freehold of Plainmoor and build a new stadium! Sound familiar? I like to think we had a significant role in helping our club during that time. In more recent years I was becoming increasingly aware of the need to keep TUST members not only up to date, but very much involved with TUST activities. Previously we spent time contacting local businesses and residents to gauge their opinion of TUFC and their role in the community. My personal opinion is that any football club is about more than just football, it is about the community as a whole, and if we can get local businesses and residents to see that we are a well organised and reasonable bunch of people, with a broader view than just TUFC we could gain a groundswell of support throughout the bay and beyond. I very much look forward to putting my efforts into helping you the membership, as well as future members, spread the word that football is more than just 22 people kicking a ball around, but a way of life for some, a job for many and a vital part of our community. Warmest regards Chris Fleet Logo Thank You Robin! A supporter has donated their winnings! Hi Torquay United Supporters Trust, We wanted to let you know that Mr Robin Causley has just generously donated £25.00 in winnings to your cause! We'll transfer the donation to your account with your next payment. Kind regards, Katie Torbay Lottery Support TUST Support Your Community CLICK HERE Financial Report Balance 21st February 2018 Account 1: £1000 Account 2: £31000.43 * * Note that we are holding the sum of £457 on behalf of the Disabled Roof Project |
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Apr 22, 2018 22:11:17 GMT
Press Release
TUST secure Premier League Funding
Match-day hub will help Torquay United Supporters Trust to inspire new fans
Torquay United Supporters Trust is delighted to have been awarded a £19,750 grant from the Premier League Fans Fund, which will help them develop ways to engage new and existing supporters for National League club Torquay United FC.
The Premier League Fans Fund is a commitment from the Premier League to fund projects and organisations which improve the relationship between fans and their clubs, the way football supporters engage with each other and fans’ experience of the game.
Thanks to the funding, the Trust will be able to set up a Supporters Hub on match-days, offering events and activities for fans and the local community. The Hub will also hold pop-up sessions around the Torbay, South Hams and Teignbridge area, helping to reach more supporters and offering better access to their local professional football club.
One goal for Torquay United Supporters Trust is to inspire new fans from traditionally under-represented groups. In addition to pop-up sessions at the Supporters Hub, the Trust will deliver community outreach workshops and focused match-day events providing better opportunities to engage them.
There are also plans to recruit and train new volunteer ambassadors for the club. Part of their role will include giving presentations about the club to local groups, organisations and schools. These will be designed to teach people about Torquay United FC’s heritage, and the club’s current role in the community.
Mike Thomas, Torquay United Supporters Trust Chairman, said: “We are delighted to receive this grant from the Premier League Fans Fund and will use this funding to positively engage with those in the local area.
“We will also encourage supporters of all ages, gender, race and background to come to Plainmoor, embrace and enjoy the new match-day experience, and as a result hopefully come back again and support Torquay United on a regular basis.”
To celebrate this grant, Torquay United Supporters Trust and representatives of the club will be available for a photo opportunity on Thursday 1 March at 10am, along with other partner organisations.
COYY
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Apr 22, 2018 22:11:56 GMT
SUMMARY OF TUST BOARD MEETING
27th February, 2018
Board Members Present
Michel Thomas (MT) - Chairman
Matt Gorman (MG) - Treasurer
Robin Causley (RC) - Vice Chairman
Alison Bryant (AB) - Communications
Chris Fleet (CF) - Marketing
Apologies for absence - Matthew Carpenter (MC)
Chris Fleet:
Our new board member was cordially welcomed, his experience and knowledge of TUFC will be a great addition to our team.
Feedback on Meetings with Adrian Sanders and the Lib.Dem. councillor group, Kevin Foster MP and Julien Parrott, mayor's executive:
As already reported, the meetings were all very supportive and our concerns were similar re ensuring the long term future of TUFC. There was a general agreement that TUFC was a valuable community asset and a view that the freehold of Plainmoor would remain in council ownership for the foreseeable future and should be protected. It was clear that there had been no talks with the council re plans for a new stadium, thus far.
Response to TUST's call for more volunteers:
We now have a pleasing list of people who are willing to assist TUST, whom we have individually, personally contacted.
We will be establishing working parties re a TUST Digital Team, Marketing, TUFC/TUST community outreach initiatives etc.
Building Membership:
Membership numbers rose significantly during January. Promoting our value to friends of TUFC needs to be ongoing, we also need to re-engage our lapsed membership. The re-establishment of the TUST members' card and how it might be used and linked to agreed benefits/discounts for members with local business partners, was agreed upon.
Community:
We are planning to speak to the three Torbay Chambers of Commerce to present the value of TUFC to the community. Creating a new booklet/leaflet was agreed upon to explain to the wider community why it is important to have a TUFC and the benefits of a football trust, such as TUST. This will now be planned together with a volunteer team.
TUOSC:
It was noted that the TUOSC chairman had resigned, we hope to be able to liaise closely with any incoming chairman and to consider their members in our future initiatives.
TUST Digital Team:
This has already been established, thanks to a group of professional member volunteers. The bespoke Facebook page has been created and will be developed and linked to our twitter feed. A TUST Social Media Policy has been written for approval by the board.
PLFF Grant:
This is now approved, beginning on the 5th March. The Press release etc. , as reported to members and on our Facebook page.
A steering group will be formed to oversee the community outreach project, with representatives from TUST, TUFC, TU Community Sports Trust and TU Official Supporters Club. A team of volunteers will be recruited as 'ambassadors' to support the outreach work and Fans' Zone on matchdays etc.
Clarity of Medium and Long Term plans:
TO be reviewed in line with the proposed TUST member/Community booklet/document.
TUFC joint meeting;
Next one provisionally arranged for Wednesday 7th March.,2018
Michel Thomas
Chairman
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Apr 22, 2018 22:12:26 GMT
Meet the Chairman at Leyton Orient.
AT THE LEYTON TECHNICAL, A GREAT DRINKING HOUSE, 6:45pm, 13th March (and just 5 mins from the stadium)
TUST chairman Michel Thomas will be in the Leyton Technical before the game, TU Travel Club eta is 6:45pm. As at Maidenhead, he will be very pleased to meet any exiles and expand on any questions you may have about TUST and what we know and are doing towards supporting our lovely TUFC, in seeking to have a sustainable and successful future. You may also wish to share your own ideas and concerns.
Obviously, our members are receiving newsletters and bulletins, as well as regular updates on our recently reformulated Facebook page. However, anyone is welcome to come and have a chat, face to face can often be a more effective way of exchanging information.
Mike.... or Michel will be wearing a yellow flower to enable recognition, in case you don't know him yet.
And, for those of you on the Travel Club coach who have begun to wonder, he's not arranging blind dates at away matches!!
COYY
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Apr 22, 2018 22:12:50 GMT
TUST at the O's
It was great to meet up with a number of exiled fans, members of TUST and other supporters, for a catch up before Tuesday night's game against the O's. In fact, I am slightly concerned that, being on my own, I may not have had time to chat to everyone as much as I would have liked to. So, if any of you do have questions that remain unanswered or suggestions and views that I didn't have an opportunity to listen to, please feel free to contact me, or any member of our board, via our dedicated email address:
info@torquaysupporters.co.uk
It was a great day out, Torquay United Travel Club looked after us well, delivering us safely and in plenty of time right outside the ground. Just disappointed I didn't get the 'golden goal' time yet again, on the way back!
The Technical (formerly, I think, part of the Technical Institute College) was an entirely one off drinking hole, full of conviviality and providing some reminiscences of the distant past for me as an older supporter. It was great to see younger and older supporters from both sides mingle cordially.
I was greeted with a friendly shout from Alan Merson as soon as I entered the bar, with my homemade yellow daffodil buttonhole proudly on display, to meet a circle of friendly exiles, some familiar and others not. Some of our 'major' away fans were amongst them, such as Mr. Paul Bastard and Mr. Roger Lester to name but a few.
There were a variety of questions and comments, but most importantly it was an opportunity to connect with those who don't get to Plainmoor too easily and those who loyally travel to away games, even when the results are less than encouraging! I can confirm that there is a recurring theme of 'what is going to happen next, whether we survive or are relegated?', and all of the already well documented issues attached to the long term plan, a concern, I think, the majority of us share.
I should also like to thank all those who continued to offer their support, enthusiasm and encouragement to us in our aims and initiatives to support our beloved club.
The result was the icing on the cake, with circa 150 Gulls fans and a drum making all the noise , the 'large looking' 2600ish O's fans mainly seated in silence! Our supporters are just a class act...The team turned up and brought home the points, but it was a nail biting last 30 minutes.
COYY Michel Thomas
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Apr 22, 2018 22:13:18 GMT
Meet the Chairman at Chester.
TUST EXILES MEET UP at THE BLUES BAR, CHESTER STADIUM
We are again endeavouring to meet as many exiles as possible who do not have the opportunity to get to Plainmoor very frequently, or speak to us.
Our chairman, Michel Thomas, would again be pleased to meet anyone, members or supporters, who would like to ask any questions, make suggestions or just to receive a TUST update at the Chester match this Friday. Again, he'll be travelling up in comfort with the TUFC Travel Club, the eta. usually being approximately 1:45-2pm., subject to traffic.
We are reliably informed by Chester FC that the Blues Bar will be open to away supporters, and so plan to be there from around 2pm. Michel will again be wearing a yellow flower, for those of you who might not recognise him.....
The coach always needs to leave soon after the match, so apologies to any supporters hoping to meet us afterwards! One or two did suggest this re the Orient game, but it was unfortunately not possible.
Kind regards,
TUST board
COYY
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Apr 22, 2018 22:13:56 GMT
Call for New Volunteers
We have today sent out the following email to our members who kindly offered their voluntary services at our recent SGM. For anybody who could not attend the SGM but would like to play a more active role in our organisation please email info@torquaysupporters.co.uk.
NEW DATE FOR TUST VOLUNTEERS MEETING
We are now able to confirm that the rearranged date and time for the TUST Volunteers meeting with the TUST board is now, as follows:-
Wednesday, 18th April, 7-8pm, at Endeavour House, 228, Higher Union Street (opposite the old bowling alleys and pool rooms).
Since the appeal at the SGM, and consequent feedback, we have now established a strong and cooperative IT group ('The TUST Digital Group') of 5 professional members who are currently doing a great job of developing our communication systems with Ali Bryant.
This meeting will be an opportunity for you to hear more about the activities and initiatives we are hoping to build working groups towards, and will also be looking for 'feet on the ground' for specific future events-particularly relating to the PLFF Grant and the TUST/TUFC Community Outreach projects, as well as developing our TUST network in the continuance of our work to be as ready as we can be to ensure the long term sustainability of our club, and to support good governance.
You can than make an informed decision as to which you would be interested in, and how much time you might be able to give in assisting these areas.
We would, again, like to thank you for responding to our call for more helpers on the ground.
Many thanks,
Michel Thomas
pp.TUST board
COYY
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Apr 22, 2018 22:14:25 GMT
March Newsletter View this email in your browser Chairman's Comments It continues to be a difficult time for Gulls fans, but most have remained loyal to the cause. With hopes of another Great Escape really on the edge of the precipice right now, we are still waiting for a clearer picture of our owner's future business plan and in particular, clarity on his stated five year plan incorporating a new stadium proposal. However, we welcome the news that the club will remain full time next season, even if we are relegated to National League South in an effort to secure an immediate return to the National League. That said, I personally believe it will not be an easy task to bounce straight back given the competitive nature of the next league down and the fact we will be seen as a “big club” with a “big stadium” so most visitors to Plainmoor are likely to treat the visit as their cup final and will no doubt raise their game accordingly. We also welcome the news that Mr Osborne intends to invest capital in order to improve the Seale Hayne training ground and structure. On a separate point, it was sad to note the departure of Craig Hutcheson from his role as Manager of the Torquay United Community Sports Trust (TUCST). Craig has been an integral part of the Sports Trust and will be missed. We are currently waiting to see who his replacement will be, but in the interim wish Craig every success for the future. From our recent discussions with the club, the TUST board have been encouraging Mr Osborne to engage further with supporters and the local community in clarifying more specifically his intentions for the club moving forward. There has been some media communication, but we continue to push for more detail so that we, the supporter base and the local community can provide constructive feedback as to what may or may not be possible or viable in sustaining the long term future of TUFC alongside his own interests and aims. The key word is “clarity”. This would then enable us at TUST, as an organisation, to also consider more purposefully which best route we can take in ensuring that TUFC's long term future as a local club is more secure, with good governance. At this point, as always it will be a discussion for you to be involved in. Remember, for all major TUST decisions every member has one vote! Kind regards Michel Thomas TUST Chairman COYY TUST Volunteer Meeting This has been re-arranged, after interruption from 'the Beast from the East', for 7-8pm, on Wednesday 18th April at Endeavour House, 228, Higher Union Street, Torquay. The meeting has been organised to gain involvement and feedback from volunteers with regard to several different projects we are instigating at this time. We would like to thank all the members who have already volunteered, either through the feedback forms at the SGM or otherwise. Everyone should now have received personal contact from either myself or another member of the TUST Board. If any other members would like to join us at the above meeting and find out more about ways that they might be willing and able to help us with our initiatives in supporting our club, please do not hesitate to get in touch via the info@torquaysupporters.co.uk email address. Any additional attendees to the meeting will be welcome. TUFC / TUST Joint Meetings These have continued on a monthly basis since the beginning of the season. They have been constructive and have been an ongoing developmental project. Part of the Structured Dialogue agreement we entered into with TUFC, based on national supporter guidelines, involved developing our relationship together with senior representatives of/or the owner of the club in order to be able to discuss items as 'critical friends'. Furthermore, the aim is to find grounds for unity, as the recently successful PLFF Grant award application exemplifies. This will enable us to plan jointly a community outreach programme over the next year. More detailed information to follow, but TUST will be establishing a united Steering group together with TUFC, TSCT and TUOSC to lead this initiative. TUOSC New Chairman I met last week with the new Chairman of the Official Supporters Club (Bob Etherton). The meeting was very constructive and provided an opportunity for us both to discuss the objectives and plans for our respective organisations. Importantly, we agreed upon a more united approach moving forward in working together for the benefit of the club. We see the Premier League Fans Grant as a catalyst to initiate this greater unity and the TUST Board look forward to working with Bob and his team moving forward. We wish him well in his new role. Marketing We are in the initial stages of planning a campaign to reconnect people in the local community and local businesses in outlining the importance of our club to this area and why we consider it to be important to secure a sustainable and successful long term future within our locality. This will be one of the items we will be looking to discuss at the Volunteers Meeting. Meeting up with Exiles We have already had a TUST meet up for our exiles at the recent away matches with Maidenhead and Leyton Orient. We are repeating this at the away match with Chester this Friday in the hope of reaching out to our more northern friends. We will be pleased to answer any questions, listen to any suggestions and generally update you on anything, as you wish. Note: -The Gulls won both games at Maidenhead and at the Os.........can we make this three times lucky? Social Media / Digital Group A note to remind you that our new Facebook page is developing, as is our Twitter account The access details are as follows: Facebook: en-gb.facebook.com/TorquayUnitedSupportersTrust/ Twitter: @tustcoyy We encourage you to visit these, as well as relying on the members' email newsletters and updates we send you. Our recently formed Media and Digital Group are working hard behind the scenes in an effort to also upgrade our website and general online presence. As part of the project, we will be reviewing various areas including membership fee options which has been mentioned previously. Media Coverage A renowned reporter and ex footballer from the national media (Primarily the Times) is currently compiling an investigative article on the past few years, the present and the possible future of Torquay United and has recently contacted us. He is aiming to do likewise with other stakeholders of the club. It is evident he has already done a lot of research! In recent times the reporter has been covering other clubs around the country who have for various reasons fallen on hard times and have been struggling in terms of sustainability etc. If we receive a heads up as to if and when it will be going to press etc., we'll of course let you know. General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) Some of you may be familiar with changes due to take effect towards the end of May over how organisations hold and process the data of individuals. We hold very limited information regarding our membership and hence do not expect any significant changes in processes. However, your TUST board are currently reviewing this and may well be in contact with you again over the coming weeks should any action be required. I think that’s all for now! As ever, please feedback to us with any thoughts or comments you have via info@torquaysupporters.co.uk Support TUST Support Your Community CLICK HERE Financial Report Balance 29th March 2018 Account 1: £1000 Account 2: £32463.18 * * Note that we are holding the sum of £457 on behalf of the Disabled Roof Project |
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