Last night 4 new members were elected to the Darlington Supporters Trust Board, they are Neil Raper, John Tempest, Paul Taylor and Steve Stringer-Calvert. With Claire Stone already on-board the constitution makes provision for 4 more to be co-opted and we are pleased that at the meeting 7 people advanced their names for consideration. The next board meeting is arranged for 29 May, where the roles that members will play and co-options will be discussed.

Meanwhile, in response to the mood of the meeting, the new members will seek immediate dialogue with DFC 1883 and other supporters groups to explore the potential for investing in DFC 1883.

The new members are acutely aware of the need to re-energise the Trust and the large turn-out was very encouraging.

It is expected that a new Trust website will be up and running in a couple of weeks.

Well done to the new and existing board members. Best wishes for the new era of the Trust.

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Exactly as above

Are the new board members on here? What are their user names if they are?

A fresh start good luck to you all, this is just the type of positive news we needed.

OK, I'll own up. Steve S....C.... - the clue is in the name.

But I can't say anything about anything because in a Trust initiation ceremony I have signed a confidentiality agreement using a quill pen dipped in blood specially provided by Supporters Direct.

quill from a dodo ?

I bet you had to get a solicitor to answer the questions they will have asked you before agreeing to providing the quill & blood, after first telling you that it was a complicated way of doing it & telling you which other clubs had done it by a better method!

I am one of the seven who has put up for co-option since I have unfinished business now that there is to be a new, open and constructive era with the Trust accessible, representative of its members and talking to anyone with DFC's interests at heart.

Here's hoping the slate has been wiped clean.

Good news!
Let's hope there will be positive dialogue with 1883!

Good luck Steve, and thanks for stepping forward.

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You Are My Darlo!

we're all in it together!

If you have any nagging questions or concerns contact the CIC direct at contact@darlingtonfc.org and give the directors an opportunity to respond to you.

You can also keep in touch with the CIC on their Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/DFCCIC

and you can also use the suggestion box at the retail outlet in the Covered Market.

i take it there will be a ballot of members before investing in the club?

I must admit to being rather embarassed about this whole Trust issue.

I have always defended them, especially the fact that they didn't waste the money.

I obviously recently totally changed my opinion, if the money wasn't going to be spent now (over the last few month) when was it going to be spent?

Hopefully this will be an end of it, there should be a ballot but I think most of us know the outcome.

I still dream of the day that we can move forward as one.

That was confirmed at the meeting, yes.

Pretty much my position although Monday really opened my eyes. I was very disappointed with what I heard about the Old Trust (Claire aside). the lack of previous board members at the meeting disturbed me greatly.

I've put my name forward as a co-optee mainly because I can bring some skills that would help in promoting relationships with other fan groups . There may be more credible candidates in terms of visibility, I'm not a born and bred darlo fan but have been to 99% of games since 1992, but I will continue to support the Trust in whatever capacity as the principles are dear to my heart.

From a policy angle, my view is that Trust should look to donating the money through the CIC and seek active consultation with other fan groups and the Board. There are no factions with me, we all need to support DFC as one group of fans. I do think that we should work hard to engage the resources of Supporters Direct as well to draw on thir resources whilst supplementing the excellent work done by the 1883. I felt good vibes from Tom H on Monday that he appreciated the previous difficulties and we needed to draw a line through this.

I would also pay tribute to Neil Raper who has been instrumental in getting things done recently. He organised the meeting at the Travellers and is the main reason we had a good crowd Monday compared to the 9 who attended last year (of which 3 were incidentally couples and probably board members). The other thing whoever that bearded guy (not SuperLidds I don't think) was behind me, he should get serious consideration as a co-optee given his previous board experience, assuming he has pout his name forward.

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This empty sanitised shell of a stadium, a cathedral to the vanity and narcissism of one man. It’s very difficult to fall in love with football amongst the rows of empty seats. The notion that a stadium has worth beyond its potential commerical value or it’s proximity to transport links – as a spiritual repository of the hopes,fears and agonies of generations of supporters, or as a physical manifestation of the football club in the community, is a dying one in football (Sam Volkman)

@princes town,

If you can bring good things to the table then please step forward.
99% of games since 1992? You knock spots off me and many others.

Can you give a a "hint" of some of your skills?

I also put my name down to be co-opted if needed.

I done this to ensure we have reasonable size Trust board and to ensure that things get pushed along. Got to admit I am sure they will be candidates who can offer more and I have no intention to push myself forward if others are really going to move the Trust on. I went to the meeting to ensure it was not a cartel of the old school trust people.

First view the 4 new board members seem to be DFC fans with no link to the old Trust board which I guess is needed, whether they can reinvogarate the Trust - well lets hope so but they have their work cut out.

Well done Super Les!

If you can bring positives into the Trust then you are right for the job.

For me, it wasn't just the cash they were sitting on (and I know how much of my own cash is in there) it was the silence of the recent months - I lost count of the amount of times I read a press story which included the line "..the Trust could not be contacted...".
Clearly, people who should not have been on the board in the first place!

Here's to a brighter future for the Trust and I hope to join again very soon.