DFC CIC News

[Markodarlo]

Darlington Fc CIC

As you will be aware, in recent weeks the CIC board have made available additional seats on the board and have been requesting nominations from its members, 3 positions were available for nomination, the next step in a process for election would be to put the nominations to the members for ballot, whoever, on this occasions we were surprised to only receive the same number of nominations as positions available. Whilst this makes our next step a lot easier on an administrative level it is disappointing in reflection of recent comments made with disappointment of how the board had initially been put together and lack of availability.

One reason we have presumed has caused this scenario is people thinking they don’t have anything to bring or hours to spare, we would just like to remind people that, no matter how little you think you have to give or time you have to spare you can still be an important parts of “your club”. Things like giving us your email address and allowing us to email you a copy of any future posters promoting events or fixtures and you printing it off and sticking up in your local pub or shop window, these things are as important as any other role. I would ask please, if you think you can do ANYTHING to help this club then don not hesitate to contact us.

On a slightly different note, we have another change to the board to inform you about, unfortunately due to work commitments Paul Colman has resigned from the board, Paul will continue to work with us in the back ground on matters he has been involved in and be available as and when but felt it unfair to continue his role whilst not being able to commit as much time as he previously has. Paul has wished everyone the best for the future and is still fully backing the CIC's plans. As a board we would like to thank Paul for his undoubted contribution towards the CIC during his tenure and wish him the best of luck in the future.

On the upside



We are very pleased with the nominations we did receive, these were 3 people who I’m sure many of you already know. If you don’t then here’s a little about them:



Rob Duncan

54 years old, born and educated in Darlington and a lifelong fan of Darlington FC.

I have been involved in our club since the late 1970’s when I became a member of the Supporters Club and helped in fundraising activities as well as forming the Supporters Club football team, arranging games against other Football League Supporters teams.

I have been actively involved in the Fundraising Group since its inception nearly two years ago helping with the events of other members as well as organising my own music events at The Travellers Rest in Cockerton which currently have all sold out and raised over £2000.

I have been employed as a Quantity Surveyor in the Construction Industry for over thirty years mostly in a senior capacity and for eight years, I was a Director of my own company. I believe my experience in the commercial world of construction will be of benefit to the board and I will be able to contribute constructively and positively to achieve the aims of the CIC and work in the best interests of the community.

David Collinge

48 years old, a Government Data Analyst. His love of football led him to Feethams in “92” after moving to Darlington with work and he has never left. Although his family legacy is Blackburn Rovers. David has been an active member of the Darlington football community, playing for and managing various pub teams. He was also a league committee member of the Darlington Sunday morningfootball league.

David started volunteering with the Supporters club when the club went into administration last time selling crisis 't shirts'. David stepped up as Chair of the Trust Board in 2012 and he had a 100% meeting attendance record. David's other volunteering roles are as an amateur club steward, turnstile operator, premises clean up and selling Trust shirt raffle tickets.


David is very much looking forward to being involved with the CIC model and helping protect community football in Darlington for generations to come. He is open to all suggestions from fans and looks forward to a positive partnership with the DFC board. David is firmly behind the CIC campaign to make our new ground a community locked asset that all fans can be proud if.

Joanne Cameron

Darlington fan & active member of Darlington fans fundraising group.

Key events include - abseil down the arena, sportsman's dinner, annual community fun day & last season's end of season / promotion celebration event.

In addition to day time job of Business Retentions Supervisor for a niche insurer, Joanne is also a staff writer for The League Magazine & the North East & Scotland representative for Breath takers OB Trust a charity supporting children suffering from rare & life limiting lung disease.



The Conclusion

There you have it, I’m sure you’ll agree that the three above nominees are going to be a great addition to your board, I know they are ready are raring to go with ideas and moving forward. Speaking with them it certainly comes across that these are going to benefit this club, Rob Duncan pointed out:

“Like many fans, we have been through lean times with owners that did not really understand what it means to be a Darlington fan but we now have an opportunity to be part of a new era. As a part owner of this club I want to be a part of moving the club in the right direction by getting back to playing in the town and eventually the ultimate dream playing in the Football League.

The first part is turning up for matches and supporting the team, but behind this, we need a committed and dedicated body of people to move the club forward. I believe that I can contribute to the future of our club, I have 12 years’ experience of being a Governor of a comprehensive school and chairperson of the financial committee.

People who know me will be aware how passionate I am about our club, I want to represent you, but I also want you to be proactive too so do not hesitate to speak to me with ideas and constructive criticisms of what you believe should be happening to OUR club.”



Don't forget, if you haven't already done so, you can still join the CIC for season 13/14 by sending either cash or cheque, payable to "Darlington FC CIC" for £20 adults or £10 under 16s, along with you name, address and email. Applications can be then sent to:



Darlington FC CIC

C/O Darlington RFC

Blackwell Meadows

Grange Road

Darlington

County Durham

DL1 5NR



Or handed in to Quaker retail. Alternatively hand it to any CIC board member in person.



Have you visited;

www.backtodarlo.co.uk

Here you can keep up to date with any progress made in our journey back home, also you can donate anything from £1.00 upwards toward funding to achieve this.

Also, why not visit,

https://www.squareknot.co.uk/pitch/darl ... l-club/185

Here you find details of ways to invest directly into the football club, full details on these initiatives can be found at,

http://www.darlington1883.co.uk/?page_id=6080


If you want to add your name to the list of volunteers as mentioned above then please contact,

mark.adams@darlingtonfc.org

Regards,

The Board.

[charlie]

Sorry to see Paul go but very happy with the new board members

[Spyman]

Good stuff, and puts to bed a lot of the criticism about 'unelected board members'.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[Bogratsteve]

Very happy with that

[Mr_Tibbs]

Very happy with that

Me too, and thank you to the three who've put themselves forward. I'm sure they'll do a fine job and help to further solidify the club structure we have in place.

Just for clarity the CIC board now comprises the following, right?

Ian Wilkinson
Mark Adams (Supporters Trust Seat)
John Tempest (Supporters Trust Seat)
David Collinge (Fan Elected Seat)
Rob Duncan (Fan Elected Seat)
Joanne Cameron (Fan Elected Seat)

Is Ian the CIC Chairman?

[Bogratsteve]

Joanne Cameron

[super_les_mcjannet]

All 3 are excellent additions and will massively help the CIC move forward. Very approachable people and I am sure the type of people we want to have involved.

Not sure if Ian is the Chairman at the moment but Ian has been involved the longest.

I would also say don't just leave it to these guys, if you can help, have something to offer, then get in touch with them.

Also a big thanks to Paul who was working very long hours for the CIC/Club and has drove the tie up with the Rugby Club forward.

[Mr_Tibbs]

Joanne Cameron

Corrected. Wonder where "Wharton" came from? Maybe someone I worked with in my dim and distant past.

[Mr_Tibbs]

I see the Back To Darlo total has surged past the £6k mark on the back of this news!

[Bogratsteve]

It's certainly getting there, hope for a decent jump at the end of the month

[ted_do]

Good stuff, and puts to bed a lot of the criticism about 'unelected board members'.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

Touché , no seriously this is good news, I'm also surprised that so few have come forwards, but I can't complain as I have lots to say but did not put myself forward. I, like a lot of people don't think I could devote the time needed to run DFC, with a full time job, young family ( who these days are not really interested in DFC ) and still playing football another pull on my time would be exhausting. There will be loads of average fans like me so I don't think the lack of nomination means people are not interested in rebuilding our club.

Really big thanks to those who have and continue to volunteer their time

[Mr_Tibbs]

It's certainly getting there, hope for a decent jump at the end of the month

I just went back through the posts to try and track how the fund has been progressing. Bit flat around Christmas and the New Year, but we seem to be back on the same rate of climb that we were when the fund was launched...



The original Excel file for this chart is here, in case anyone wants to make use of it. The chart in the spreadsheet will update automatically as you adjust the total.

[lo36789]

I'm also surprised that so few have come forwards

I'm not.

This is what happens in life. I have been in/around youth football in various capacities as a player/coach/manager and referee. There is one thing that remained consistent throughout all those experiences, people will tell you how you should be doing things and how they would do it. Then there will be a time when they have an opportunity to step forward and they will be absent.

I would love to be local to Darlo right now and get stuck in to some of this. Unfortunately being exiled it feels extremely difficult because it is all about engaging the local Darlington community.

[darlostu]

Thanks for the update Mark.

We also have Stuart Ford as CIC Membership Secretary

[Bogratsteve]

I'm also surprised that so few have come forwards

I'm not.

This is what happens in life. I have been in/around youth football in various capacities as a player/coach/manager and referee. There is one thing that remained consistent throughout all those experiences, people will tell you how you should be doing things and how they would do it. Then there will be a time when they have an opportunity to step forward and they will be absent.

I would love to be local to Darlo right now and get stuck in to some of this. Unfortunately being exiled it feels extremely difficult because it is all about engaging the local Darlington community.

Same here

[Vokuhila]

It's certainly getting there, hope for a decent jump at the end of the month

I just went back through the posts to try and track how the fund has been progressing. Bit flat around Christmas and the New Year, but we seem to be back on the same rate of climb that we were when the fund was launched...



The original Excel file for this chart is here, in case anyone wants to make use of it. The chart in the spreadsheet will update automatically as you adjust the total.

Loving your work, Mr_Tibbs I can't get enough of all these graphs, tree diagrams, totalizers etc.

Hopefully we can get somewhere near five figures for the B2D fund once payday comes and the end-of-January/beginning-of-February surge kicks in.