tonights webinar

really enjoyable and informative 90 minutes, hosted by the excellent Richard Askam who filtered the questions well and kept it moving along . The 2 co owners were there plus the CEO, Kristine and Sandii from the Trust (who unfortunately didn't get much of a look in)

Here's what I got from it, although it's been recorded and will be put out later this week

1878 bought 50% of Mike Parker's shareholding, plus some other shareholdings and now own about 60%. Part of the process of getting BCorp status involves changing the legal structure of the club, which has the bonus of protecting the club when their tenure ends and they hand it on. It will still have to be run in much the same way
gone for a few quick wins with Cheapside and the pitch, but are now starting on the club's long term plan with the vision being aimed equally between what happens on the pitch and the stuff that goes on off the pitch. They are adamant and insistent that they want to be a listening organisation be it staff or fans. They want people to get involved and want to respond to what people say they want.
Fanzone was already planned but will be a big improvement and they are actively working on improving the tannoy system alongside a programme of general improvement works ,whilst the Trust are working on improving the food and drink offerings
Debbie's role is leadership of the club, listening and then making the organisation as good as possible and performing in all areas so well that the management and players can concentrate solely on playing and not having to worry about anything else. Going to be values led working with and for its community, with a programme of continuous improvement. Has been pleasantly surprised by the goodwill, help and cooperation from other clubs .Debbie and Jason have already been to Lincoln and she was at Burnley today left there impressed by the facilities, but also their ethos and values, with everyone working together. Sounds like they are probably in communication with Wimbledon as well. She vows they will remain open and transparent and want to improve communications in all areas
AP - Cheapside was a 'negative surprise'. long term it will become housing, but its not big enough anyway. AP is looking into getting a bigger area which can be used by the 1st team, the Academy and the wider community.That's part of the reason Debbie went over to Burnley and there may even be news in the next few months
going to have 1 of the biggest budgets in the league
Trust membership has gone from 700 to over 1700 in 2 months! Trust wants to be same as the club and be open and listen and respond to members concerns
biggest learning curve for AP is the sheer breadth of areas that are involved - liasisng with police, charities, media, the Trust, fans , the wider community and then having to learn about ground safety etc
they are getting people every day volunteering of offering help, materials, services. think the 3 'newcomers' have been bowled over by the amount of goodwill there is out there
AP said Tom Shutes won't be rejoining the consortium and I got the feeling when asked about his purchase of the Ice House that they weren't really bothered either way. Got the distinct impression they've fallen out pretty seriously
Ben Grist and his family are still considering Man U or Leicester. Great that JS  has been in contact with the family, and JS  praised the work that Neil Woods and the Academy staff are doing
Krisitne said the biggest change in the last 2 months is the buzz, the feeling that things can get done - ideas are welcomed and acted upon, and you're not put down or ignored for having ideas.She feels far more listened to than she has ever done in the 5-6 years she's been involved. They are all more empowered and things are actioned

They are looking at the 'cage' and getting town fans into the Osmond, plus they are tentatively investigating the possibility of some safe standing in the Ponny
Mark Palmer was originally a football consultant, but they soon realised that PH & CD had that covered so he did work on the commercial side and the Academy strategy. Has been a good friend and ally but his work is coming to an end and its not a long term appointment, particularly now they've got Debbie on board
good that there were no real surprises in the survey (apart from the fact that 26% of people thought the food and drinks offered were fine!)

came away from it refreshed and enthused. the Fenty years seem even more nightmarish when you see their enthusiasm, positivity and can do mentality

Very good summary Forza. Must say it was a great event to be at it was all very positive.

Quoted from forza ivano

AP - Cheapside was a 'negative surprise'. long term it will become housing, but its not big enough anyway. AP is looking into getting a bigger area which can be used by the 1st team, the Academy and the wider community.That's part of the reason Debbie went over to Burnley and there may even be news in the next few months.

This excites me

Surprisingly someone deemed that excellent summary for those like me who weren't there worthy of a red cross.

Very refreshing to read that post Forza. Great to see this group of people who have never been in the football industry getting out there and seeing what others do to help plan their own way forward.

"That's part of the reason Debbie went over to Burnley and there may even be news in the next few months."

The other part is maybe to keep the two clubs on a good footing so we might be able to 'borrow' a few of their players again.

We might even become their feeder team if they like the results of the youth setup here

Thank you Forza. Great summary.

For those Fenty bingo enthusiasts, Andrew used the dreaded “in the building” quote 😂

Thanks for putting that together forward very interesting

Great summary, appreciate the effort.
Whatever happens on the pitch, there is no denying the effort going on off it. Will be interesting how many turn up for Wednesdays forum with the England game on. I’ve a ticket but deciding whether to attend. Can’t imagine there will be much more to add than was covered tonight?

Quoted from heppy88

Great summary, appreciate the effort.
Whatever happens on the pitch, there is no denying the effort going on off it. Will be interesting how many turn up for Wednesdays forum with the England game on. I’ve a ticket but deciding whether to attend. Can’t imagine there will be much more to add than was covered tonight?

they are showing the game afterwards i think. can imagine there will be a lot more to and fro on Wednesday, whereas tonight was much more like a Q&A.

few questions we could've asked - about their medium term plans for BP, what do they plan for the academy and Graham Rodger's education section? How do they think the commercial side was doing and how could they improve it?
what do they think of having 'feeder club' relationships? What level do you think GTFC could realistically operate at?
loads more areas to be covered .do make the effort to go - i think you will find it enjoyable and informative