Board Update: May 22
As has become customary following Board meetings, the latest of which was held last night (Thursday, May 21), the club’s Directors have provided the following update to supporters, sponsors and others interested in progress being made at the club.
Increasing Awareness
Firstly, it would be prudent to state that the club is still very much in a period of unknown regarding the possible return of football. Therefore, it is important that we continue to work hard during this break to put us in the best possible position for when we do return and, more importantly, to stabilise our future.
In the last month, we have enjoyed some fantastic exposure in national newspapers and podcasts. We’ve also continued to grow our own Let It BRFC podcast, the feedback to which has been great – so thank you to everybody who has tuned in to any of the episodes to date.
The most recent episode of the podcast featured new Club Ambassador Derek Rae, who it’s safe to say has totally captured the imagination of everybody at the club and beyond. We’re incredibly grateful that Derek accepted our offer to become a Club Ambassador and to have such a renowned voice in football commentary helping us has been phenomenal.
If you haven’t checked out the episode yet, which also features fellow Club Ambassador and the club’s all-time leading goalscorer and appearance maker Eric Tait, we recommend you do so!
Fundraising and Community Engagement
Our fundraising has now smashed through the £17,000 mark and we will close our 1881 Fund page at the end of this month.
Our continued involvement in the Donate a Ticket Scottish Cup is, however, an added late bonus. We raised an incredible £1,780 from our First Round match against Stenhousemuir alone and, as we committed, every penny you donate goes towards putting a player in a Black and Gold shirt.
The Second Round is now underway and you have until 7pm on Sunday night to ensure we see off opponents Brora Rangers to book our place in the Quarter-Finals. You can donate HERE.
As well as the conclusion of the Second Round of our match against Brora Rangers on Sunday, we also have some more exciting news to bring you on that day. Watch this space.
Board Accountabilities
The club’s Directors and Associate Directors have also all now been assigned areas to which they are accountable on the six key principles that were previously outlined.
They are as follows:
Chairman – Brian Porteous
Vice-Chairman – Craig Forsyth
Football Operations – Dave Buglass
Commercial Growth & Income Generation – Douglas Younger
Facilities & Infrastructure – Andrew Allan
Digital – Nathan Thompson
Brand & Community Development – Graeme Gurney
Footballing Partnerships – Gary Burns
The Directors would like to place on record their thanks to Andrew Fiddes, who has stepped down from his role as Director, and we hope to see him and his wife Trish at Shielfield Park soon.
Growing the Club
In our efforts to boost the club’s brand, image and reach, some new ideas and concepts have been taking shape over the past month.
For example, we were recently contacted by a Scottish football club brand designer based in Cambodia offering to work with us, while we have also been investigating the potential development of footballing partnerships.
Some early discussions have taken place at clubs both in the UK and internationally, offering some exciting opportunities to spread the word about our unique club.
Closing the season off
Finally, we are delighted to announce that we have agreed as a Board to do an end of season Zoom Update with fans and we will work quickly to schedule that for some time over the next two to three weeks.
Other than that, we’d just like to thank you for your continued support and hope you remain as engaged as us with regards to how things are progressing over the coming months.
Stay safe and hopefully we will see you all again soon at Shielfield Park.
