Our captain said this: "We are St Kilda ... be proud to be a St Kilda person" - well, we want to be this, Nick. But the club has to realise that it's a two-way street. We're all proud St Kilda people, but we want this to be 'our' club. We don't want to see it slipping away into being an Ikea club that stands for nothing.
And after reading this excellent report by Tom Biglia (thequarry -?) - http://www.redwhiteandblack.com.au/2011 ... -3rd-2011/ - it got me thinking, especially this closing paragraph.
Indeed, this is something that I think it's worthwhile to have a mature discussion about the access of the members to the board they elect. Once a year is not enough; though smarter AFL clubs are finding ways to increase dialogue with their members. Richmond are known for the cocktail function; Collingwood's interaction with their members is - from all accounts - incredible, while I know Western Bulldogs fans who speak glowingly about access to players, board members and the club's working executive.Westaway made sure that the open session was cut right then and there, thus ending the best chance the members have of direct and serious interaction with the Club’s board for another year at a royal half-an-hour or so.
Now, I'm quite happy with the job being done by Westaway and co. ditto Michael Nettlefold, Ross Levin and the management of the club. I'm certainly not advocating anything that would encourage any form of disharmony. Things are certainly going well enough at the club on that front.
However, there seems a sense of disconnect between the members and the club. Especially, as one of the questions last night concerned the treatment of senior, established members. As a 20+ year member myself, I absolutely agree with these sentiments. I have noted Greg Westway finds the public spotlight uncomfortable - he himself has said this - but we are the members and this is our club. Sometimes I feel like this club needs to be reminded that without its members, it is nothing. That's not a threat, but the club's survival over 138 years has depended on the support of the members. It's our club - members, players, the board - and we all have a fair share.
I'm not going to stand here and say I have the answers, but I would like to hear from our proud and passionate member base about ways we can increase the feeling that this is our club and that we have some involvement in the club.
Increasingly, there does seem a feeling that we are handing over membership fees to a company, not a club. Before that happens, we should try to resuscitate the feeling of a club.
We're not a company. We're not a business. We're a football club. We're a passionate, emotional enterprise. Correctly harnessed, that passion and inclusion can create a powerful business model of its own - just look at Collingwood and Hawthorn, two clubs who bend over backwards to placate members.
My suggestion - and it's purely that, I'm really hopeful there are others - is that club perhaps undertake something like this to get the ball rolling.
Senior members' - 10+ years for social club members - cocktail party or dinner
- To be held mid-year (split-round time?)
- Held at the new club in Seaford - get us to know the knew surroundings, show us why this is the new home of our club. Don't just tell us...help us to feel it.
- Starting with opening statements from the senior club officials about themselves, perhaps their journey as St Kilda people and why they are passionate about the cause. It would increase our understanding of their role and why we should entrust them with the running of our club.
- All senior staff - not just board members - should be present. Some board members deal more with broader strategic issues than the day-to-day things that some members would like to ask about.
- A Q&A session with the members that lasts for much longer than 90 minutes. We need to find a way to weed out crap questions - they tend to consistently drag down the standards of the AGM question time, and it affects the serious questions asked. I'm not sure of a way around this - there almost needs to be some sort of vetting process. (Perhaps the q's need to be vetted by a senior group of fans to ensure there aren't more ridiculous questions - I know this happens at European football clubs for example, ensuring maximum discussing for key issues).
- The format of this may require altering. For example, membership and ticketing-related issues aren't especially the problem of the board - there should be an area of the room set aside for members to discuss potential issues. (Ticketing issues range from broad and important to rather petty, so it would perhaps make more sense to keep this separate from the general Q&A).
- Perhaps considering restricting numbers to the first 500 or so; it may prove a cost burden beyond this and dilute the intimacy of the evening (just a suggestion - I don't know what is a reasonable number here, whether it should be open for everyone or just a few). This would also ensure a sense of prestige in the evening.
- Keeping it to the social club membership helps re-establish the importance of the SOCIAL club, a fact many SC members here have picked up on, especially here at SS.
First things first, the club will not consider this if they think it is going to be open-season for fans to have a crack. They'll block it point blank and quite frankly, that's where the fans have to show some maturity.
If we want more interaction with the club, we need to reach out to the board and management, and they need to reach out from their end. So this is my suggestion - but as I say, others may have better ideas.
For most of us, the family day is a day you attended as a kid, or as a parent, but for no purpose other than light-hearted entertainment. So we need something else. Something beyond the coterie clubs and their closed shops (sorry, but that's how they are largely perceived, and that won't change. Not a criticism, just stating a fact, and yes, we should probably find out more about them but most of us don't have the time).
As I say, maturity is key to this...so that applies to this thread as well.
So guys, what do you think?