A.G.M. - 16th December 2009

[one-eyed]

125th Richmond Football Club Annual General Meeting
richmondfc.com.au
Fri 06 November, 2009

The Annual General Meeting of the Richmond Football Club Ltd (“the Club”) will be held in the Members’ Dining Room at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Wednesday, 16 December 2009 at 6.00pm to transact the following business:

1. To receive and consider the Annual Financial Report (comprising the financial statements and notes for the year and the Directors’ Declaration about the statements and notes) and notes and the Directors’ Report and Declaration;

2. Declaration of Poll for the Election of three (3) Directors of the Club;

3. Presentation of Club Award Winners;

4. Election of Life Members; and

5. To transact any other business which may lawfully be brought forward.

ELECTION OF OFFICE BEARERS

In accordance with the Constitution of the Club, the positions of Robert Dalton, Anthony Mithen, and Maurice O’Shannassy are to be filled by an election.

Each of these Directors being eligible, may offer themselves for re-election.

Nominations for the position of the three (3) Directors will be accepted at the Club until 6.00pm on Tuesday, 17 November 2009.  All nominees shall be a member of the Club and the nominations shall also be signed by two (2) members of the Club (in accordance with the Constitution of the Club).

Under the Constitution of the Club, the nominee and their proposer and seconder and all members intending to vote must have been a financial member of the Club for the 2009 year by the 31st day of August 2009.

Potential nominees should be aware that due to the obligations upon the Directors, it will be necessary for any new Director to be subjected to a police investigation and any other enquiries necessary to ensure that the Director meets the criteria of the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998 and the Gaming Machine Control Act 1991 and the Commissions established pursuant to both those Acts.

Nomination Forms and further information are available by enquiry to the Company Secretary, Michael Stahl at the Club on (03) 9426 4415 or at mstahl@richmondfc.com.au

Signed:  M F Stahl
2 November 2009

Note:
In respect to any matter about which a vote of members is held, including the election of Office Bearers and business conducted at the Annual General Meeting, each member eligible to vote is entitled to one (1) vote only.  Every member entitled to attend and vote at the meeting may appoint a proxy.

The following notice regarding appointment of proxies is in a form required by the Corporations Act:  Every member who is entitled to cast two or more votes may appoint two proxies and may specify the proportion or number of votes each proxy is appointed to exercise.  If two proxies are appointed, each proxy must be appointed to represent a specific proportion of the member’s voting rights.  A proxy need not be a member.  Members wishing to cast a proxy vote can contact the Company Secretary at the Club on (03) 9426 4415 or mstahl@richmondfc.com.au in order to gain a proxy form.  Proxies need to be received at the Club not less than 24 hours prior to the time set down for the meeting.

http://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/6301/newsid/86701/default.aspx

[Stripes]

Is anyone attending this? Every year I intend to but life gets in the way! 

Anyway if someone is could you please question the powers that be about the detrimental manner is which we record, categorize and publicize our membership. The fact that we are reported to have 30 odd thousand when we have a combined membership of 45 is misleading. This wouldn't be a problem if all teams followed the same process but when teams like the Hawks can claim they have 45,000 members when all of their Tassie memberships are only a few games while some of our packages allow Non-Ticketed members access to more games is counter productive to us as a club. Teams like Essendon and the Pies have been including their Non Ticketed members into their totals for years.

Other clubs are not going to change so we need to change to make our tally a better indicator how we actually compare. By reporting and categorizing our membership the way we do we seem to be a smaller club which reduces sponsorship, media exposure, stadium deals etc etc.

Surely this would not be a big job and would only serve to allow this club to compare more favorably compared to clubs who are more 'flexible' with their membership packages and counts every year.

We should be recognized as one of the big clubs once again and our membership count is an easy place to start!


So if someone is attending and you can bring this up I would be extremely thankful 

Stripes

[one-eyed]

Did anyone from OER go tonight to the AGM and could give us a brief summary of what was said or at least anything interesting said?

Presumably Rex Chadwick was officially announced as our new Board member.

[WilliamPowell]

Did anyone from OER go tonight to the AGM and could give us a brief summary of what was said or at least anything interesting said?

Presumably Rex Chadwick was officially announced as our new Board member.

yes i went

Yes Rex officially named as our new director

And I will report tomorrow once my elbow settles 

[Fishfinger]

Did you hand out a few don't argues at the meeting?

[RollsRoyce]

I went along to the AGM tonight. Despite announcing a tidy profit for the year, Rob Dalton was grilled relentlessly by a couple of questioners who argued that government handouts shouldn't be treated as profit per se.
Finally we got around to the stuff that I'd come for, which was Damien Hardwick's address, recognizing the top 4 finishers in the Jack Dyer medal,and introducing the new players.
Our new coach pretty much re-iterated what he's said all along,that we are following a blueprint for success, and we are not going to deviate from it. Our top 4 finishers as I'm sure you all remember were Lids, Bling, Jacko and Newman.
They played a few highlights packages of the new players on the big screen, but they were a little hard to see as the room,in an MCG corporate box,was flooded in bright sunlight. Then the new players were trundled up onstage so we could put a face to a name, but unfortunately Dylan Grimes couldn't make it. Also for some reason, none of the rookies were present, except for Jamie O'Reilly.
 Gary Cameron and Chris Naish were made life members. Naishy made a  pretty good speech, saying how much he was looking forward to seeing generation-next play.
On a sad note, it was announced that Jack Malcomson, the author of the best theme song in the league by a country mile had passed away. I didn't know this.
Finally, Gary March wrapped it up by saying that he'll see us all in round one when it will be a different result to this year. I found myself punching the air, and saying "y-e-e-s. It's payback time", as the strains of "Oh we're from Tigerland" filled the room.    

[mightytiges]

Cheers for the report RR 

Congrats to Naishy 

I went along to the AGM tonight. Despite announcing a tidy profit for the year, Rob Dalton was grilled relentlessly by a couple of questioners who argued that government handouts shouldn't be treated as profit per se.

Not sure why people would question this. The Club made it perfectly clear in the concise financials what monies were from grants and what was operating revenue. Presumably the full financial annual report would go into even further detail. The Club can't just leave out the fact it received government grants as income. Everyone is aware the cash grants are only to pay for the redevelopment and it will be converted into property assets once the redevelopment is finished and paid for. 

Finally, Gary March wrapped it up by saying that he'll see us all in round one when it will be a different result to this year.   

Gary doesn't have a great record with his onfield predictions  . After last year's disaster, I think we'll wait until the game and seeing how we perform before getting too excited.

[Smokey]

Finally, Gary March wrapped it up by saying that he'll see us all in round one when it will be a different result to this year.   

Gary doesn't have a great record with his onfield predictions  . After last year's disaster, I think we'll wait until the game and seeing how we perform before getting too excited.

Maybe he meant we would get beaten by more?   

[RollsRoyce]

Aw c'mon guys, be positive. With no Judd and no Fevola, plus a revamped Tiger list that will be playing with a bit of purpose and an actual gameplan, I reckon we're a huge chance to send Richo off in style come round one.

[WilliamPowell]

I went along to the AGM tonight. Despite announcing a tidy profit for the year, Rob Dalton was grilled relentlessly by a couple of questioners who argued that government handouts shouldn't be treated as profit per se.    

This frustrated the hell out of me. The first bloke said (well actually "accused" is better description) that the board was not beng transparent with the numbers and therefore the members.  Why, because he had studied the numbers and if you took out the govt grants, JDF contributions, and interest earned on the grants received our operating loss was closer to $1.2mil  As it was explained that the Club is required by law to included these things.

I've said it to people time and time again... The RFC is a company, companys in Australia are governed by the Corps Law Act. The act (LAW) clearly states that companies are required to follow International and Australian Accounting standards. One of the main Accounting standards states that any revenues you receive and control must be inlcuded in your revenues...Anyway Rob Dalton expalined all this but the first guy wasn't happy.

The 2nd bloke then got up and siad the numbers were wrong and that we didn't make a $1.6 mil profit but after he had taken out what he thought shouldn't be there that we had in fact made a profit  of only $84,000 .... but in essence he asking the same thing as the previous bloke.

The one question I had which was actually addressed while Dalton was presenting his report was about the $300k loss on operations. Which bascially stems from not receiving and not being able to include as "revenue earned but not received" the $800K the clubs is due from the MCG for its home games. Normally something like this would be included but because govt legislation needed to be passed to allow this arrangement between the AFL & MCC to be finalised under our trusty friend the Acctg Standards we could not 

The good news here is the legislation was passed last week and the money should be to the club by the end of the year. The $800k will be included in next years figures along with the $1mil the club is expecting for season 2010. SO it is fair to say with got a nice "kick start" to our bottom line in 2010

The other thing with this $800k is that not receiving it to me at least explains why the short term liabilities has increased by $500k (the commercial bills $4.4mil end of 2008 -v- $4.9mil end of 2009). Which as I expected is a short term thing.

Not sure why people would question this. The Club made it perfectly clear in the concise financials what monies were from grants and what was operating revenue. Presumably the full financial annual report would go into even further detail. The Club can't just leave out the fact it received government grants as income. Everyone is aware the cash grants are only to pay for the redevelopment and it will be converted into property assets once the redevelopment is finished and paid for. 

Yes the full financial cover everything very clearly. They actuall highlight the interest earned on the grants money and clearly state that that interest will be used specifically for the re-developement  Just like ever yearthe accounts explain how the JDF works and why it is included in the accounts

having read the full financials I can say that the club is in a great position financially

The other thing they mentioned was in the new year Benny Gale and his team will be releasing to all our members details of the club's "Blue Print for the Future Off Field". It is ambitious they said but very exciting. I'm looking forward to seeing it 

[one-eyed]

Life for three Tigers
richmondfc.com.au
By Tony Greenberg | Thu 17 December, 2009

Richmond announced a net profit for the year of $1,590,755 at last night’s (Dec. 16) Annual General Meeting.

Also, at the 2009 AGM, there were three recipients of Club Life Membership - current captain Chris Newman, current Board member Garry Cameron, and former player Chris Naish.

Newman, 27, has played 154 games for Richmond since making his senior league debut in 2002, and been a model of consistency along the way.  He finished fourth in the Club’s Best and Fairest award in 2008, third in 2009, and has just completed his first year as the Tigers’ skipper.

Cameron has been a Board member since 1999, with eight of those years as Club treasurer.  He has provided significant financial expertise and business acumen to the Board during this time.

Naish, a clever small forward, played 143 games for Richmond from 1990-97 and kicked 212 goals.  He did not miss a senior game with the Tigers for three years, from 1994-96, and was a key member of the team’s 1995 finals campaign.  These days, Naish is still heavily involved with the Club, as a player mentor, and serving on the committee of the Former Players and Officials Association.

http://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/6301/newsid/88265/default.aspx

[one-eyed]

A snippet from the Tiger Talk yahoo site on the AGM

http://sports.dir.groups.yahoo.com/group/tiger-talk/message/92675

Gary March had his somewhat standard speech about the future of the
club, how it started about 4 years ago and we've continued our
standard course through a tough season. He made the point that in the
last 2-3 years we've basically doubled the number of staff in the
club.

Hardwick spoke and seemed pretty uncomfortable with it. Introduced
the top 4 from the B&F and all the new players. He mentioend twice
that Taylor should "add defensive tackle pressure to our forward
line". I assume he was passing this meassage onto Taylor.

Made statements about each player and what role he expected of them -
arguably oversold them, but hey, he's allowed to. The most
interesting thing he had to say (to a round of applause) was that the
coaching staff had picked a suitable game plan, so it was just a
matter of repeating and rehearsing that game plan over and over until
it was effective. He says good teams are predictable.

He says no injury issues at this point - and mentioned Axel and
Cotchin are both doing their programmes.

http://sports.dir.groups.yahoo.com/group/tiger-talk/message/92675

[mightytiges]

The one question I had which was actually addressed while Dalton was presenting his report was about the $300k loss on operations. Which bascially stems from not receiving and not being able to include as "revenue earned but not received" the $800K the clubs is due from the MCG for its home games. Normally something like this would be included but because govt legislation needed to be passed to allow this arrangement between the AFL & MCC to be finalised under our trusty friend the Acctg Standards we could not 

The good news here is the legislation was passed last week and the money should be to the club by the end of the year. The $800k will be included in next years figures along with the $1mil the club is expecting for season 2010. SO it is fair to say with got a nice "kick start" to our bottom line in 2010

The other thing with this $800k is that not receiving it to me at least explains why the short term liabilities has increased by $500k (the commercial bills $4.4mil end of 2008 -v- $4.9mil end of 2009). Which as I expected is a short term thing.

Just catching up on posts. Cheers for the explanation WP  . Good to hear the supposed operating "loss" was just a paper one and the reality is we actually made a $500k profit if the extra $800 had been included.

Was there any mention by Dalton of a timeframe to pay off the debt/loan?

The other thing they mentioned was in the new year Benny Gale and his team will be releasing to all our members details of the club's "Blue Print for the Future Off Field". It is ambitious they said but very exciting. I'm looking forward to seeing it 

WP, did Benny give any snippets or hints as to what is contained in this off-field blueprint?

[WilliamPowell]

Was there any mention by Dalton of a timeframe to pay off the debt/loan?

They are mindful of the debt and that it needs to be reduced but at the same time the board was of the belief that it needed to increase footy dept spend and staffing to a level that is considered the norm in the comp. As a result the debt hasn't been reduced as qucikly as it was hoped. He went onto to say that their key focus in managing the debt was to make sure it hasn't increased overall in the last 5 years - which OVERALL it hasn't.

I would call it a bit of a juggling act to be honest. And they are doing it well

WP, did Benny give any snippets or hints as to what is contained in this off-field blueprint?

Benny didn't speak at all during the meeting 

March mentioned it and Benny nodded his head. All they said was that it was bold and ambitious but members and supporters would be kept informed of what the club was doing

[mightytiges]

Was there any mention by Dalton of a timeframe to pay off the debt/loan?

They are mindful of the debt and that it needs to be reduced but at the same time the board was of the belief that it needed to increase footy dept spend and staffing to a level that is considered the norm in the comp. As a result the debt hasn't been reduced as qucikly as it was hoped. He went onto to say that their key focus in managing the debt was to make sure it hasn't increased overall in the last 5 years - which OVERALL it hasn't.

I would call it a bit of a juggling act to be honest. And they are doing it well

WP, did Benny give any snippets or hints as to what is contained in this off-field blueprint?

Benny didn't speak at all during the meeting 

March mentioned it and Benny nodded his head. All they said was that it was bold and ambitious but members and supporters would be kept informed of what the club was doing

Cheers WP  .

Would it be safe to presume that the latter will involve the club looking to find new non-football sources of revenue. I know that's probably stating the obvious and all companies are looking to boost revenue all the time but if we are at the stage where we are now square even in terms of general operating revenue and expenditure then we'll need to find new non-football related revenue. We're unlikely to get any boosts to existing footy revenue for another 2-3 years while we are rebuilding with such a young team.