Notice of Club AGM‏

AGM NOTICE
SATURDAY 9TH MAY
2009

Another Season has come and gone and it is that time of year for the Club’s AGM. This is a great time for members to have their say airing their views on how the club has been and should be run, set the priorities for the coming season and elect your representatives on the committee to deliver them.

This year’s AGM will be held at the Clubhouse with an 11am start (I know its early but people need extra time afterwards to get ready for the HoC dinner).

There will be FREE BEER on offer but you will need to get there early to take advantage of this.

As well as the elections of the new officers there will also be the voting for the Player of the Year Awards (for each team) and also the Clubman of the Year.


IMPORTANT – POSSIBLE CHANGES TO THE WAY THE CLUB IS RUN

In response to various issues that the committee has faced over the past year, we have formulated some changes to the club’s formal Constitution. We are trying to head off possible problems in the future and to make the club’s rules better reflect the growing club we belong to.

It is the recommendation of this year’s committee that the constitution be changed on the following subjects.

1. This committee feels lots of problems are created by the ‘less than perfect’ handover of responsibilities from one committee to the next. At present, one set of people run the club up to the AGM meeting, and new committee takes over immediately after – often not really knowing what their responsibilities are. After discussion, the committee agreed that it would be better to adopt a system similar to the way the US elects it Presidents [Barack Obama was elected in November but didn’t actually become President until January]. We therefore propose that the current committee stay “in post” after the AGM until 1st August. This would give new committee members nearly 3 months to work alongside the existing committee member before taking over in time for the new season.


2. As part of the requirements for the funding we have received from the RFU, the club was required to look into “incorporating” the club – in particular as a “company limited by guarantee” – which has the effect of making the club a legal body and protecting the individual committee members from being sued etc. which is the case at present. After much discussion, the committee has agreed to recommend that the club become a company limited by guarantee as soon as possible. This would replace the existing constitution of the club with written “Articles of Association” but would have relatively little effect on the day to day running of the club. The club would still be owned by its members.



These points will be put to the members of the club before the election of the new management committee. If passed these will be implemented at the elections of the new officers and the changes made to the constitution of Millwall Rugby Football Club.


Eligibility to Vote

All Club Members (whether Life Members, Social Members or Full
Members) are entitled to vote. If you are unsure about your eligibility please see the list on our website at http://www.millwallrugby.com/members/memberslist.shtml or contact the Treasurer, David Leftley or email treasurer@millwallrugby.com . Dave will be on hand to accept Membership Payments and/or Standing Orders for next season's Membership - anyone joining at the AGM will be eligible to vote.



Voting by Email

If you are not able to attend the AGM in person, you may cast your votes by email. You should make your voting intentions clear and send the mail - from your usual email address - to vote@millwallrugby.com . All votes cast in this way must be received by midday on Friday 8th May 2009. We want people to attend the meeting and take part in the discussions…please DO NOT vote by email if you can attend the meeting itself.



Voting by Proxy

If you are not able to attend the AGM in person, you may cast your votes by proxy. This means that you appoint someone who will be at the meeting to vote on your behalf. To appoint a proxy, you must notify the Secretary, Victor Okpevba, in writing (use the vote@millwallrugby.com email address or hand a signed note to Victor personally) before 11am on 8th May 2009 clearly stating that you appoint to act as your proxy and exercise voting rights on your behalf at the AGM. You should also make sure that the proxy knows that he/she will be acting as your proxy. Proxy votes cannot be cast by email.



Remember, there will be FREE BEER on offer but you will need to get there early to take advantage of this.

I hope to see all of you there.




Regards,
Mike Costin
Chairman, Millwall Rugby Football Club.

MRFC - Festival of Rugby **This Saturday**

Dear Players & Parents,

The end of season is upon us so I thought I'd let you know what's happening in the next few weeks - apologies in advance for the long email, there's lots to get through!!

This Saturday, 25th of April sees the annual Millwall Festival of Rugby on the Lower Paddock @ Mudhcute Farm. This is traditionally a great family fun day and, touch wood, the weather usually turns out for us. All Millwall teams are playing on the day and this year promises to be even more special with the addition of more youth teams and the formation of the first ever 'Millwall Coaches XV' (you better watch out U17s...we're coming for ya!)

'Millwall Festival of Rugby' day schedule 
Time Team  Opposition
10.30   U10  Thurrock, playing for the 'Gareth Batley' Trophy
11.00   U13      TBA
12.15   U15      Eton Manor
13.30   England  RoW, playing for the 'Wooden Spoon' Award
15.15   Venus  Thames Ladies
16.30   U17      Coaches, playing for the 'Dutfield Shield'

In addition to the rugby, we have a bbq, bar, bouncy castle, sweet and merchandise stall. There will also be music and a big marquee tent (just in case!).

We will also be handing out the following awards for each youth team:

Player's Player of the Year
Most Improved Player
Player of the Year

So I'm calling on all players and their parents and families to come down and take part in this great club day. Bring along a blanket or chairs to sit on and relax in the sun* as we celebrate Millwall Rugby Club's best season EVER!

*sun not guaranteed ;-)

On Sunday 26th April, the Clubhouse will be open for the London Marathon. As usual, we will be holding a bucket collection to raise money for Mudchute Park & Farm, who provide the club with our training facilities throughout the year, so come along and help on the day. A separate email later this week will provide further details.

Over 30 club members are heading off to Slovenia on rugby tour over the MayDay Bank Holiday weekend. This is a great tribute to Wiggy & Shaf (main organisers) and the finances are looking good thanks to great efforts by Batesy, Rick Jacobs, Mike Beech and others. Thanks to everyone who supported any of our tour events – look out for another fabulous quiz towards the end of May!

Saturday 2nd May sees the 2nd annual WAGS and Venus pub crawl - also known as the anti tour pub crawl. You can take that as a dress up theme if you like (Wiggy as Cheryl Cole?). Meet at the Greenwich Wetherspoons at 11am on Saturday 2nd May or call Kathy Garwood on 07872167547 if you want to meet us later. There are no rules on what you have to drink or how long you need to stay. Just come along for one or the whole day. This is a really good opportunity for some of the WAGs to get to know some of the other members of the club while their blokes are away so please tell everyone about this event!

Saturday 9th May is the final HUGE day for the club this season, and will shape the face and direction of the club for next season and beyond.

Starting at 11am at the Clubhouse, the club AGM will debate all the hot topics and elect new committee members to run the club through next season. This is always a well attended event (does the free beer for early arrivers help?) and, being the first time in our own clubhouse, this year should be no exception. We need everyone contribute and to make sure that the right people stand and get elected in the right positions – make sure you attend this very important meeting. We will also be voting for Player of the Year, Clubman and other club awards to be presented later in the day. A separate email will go out this week with full details.

Into the early evening on the same day, around 150 club members and guests will be dressed up and gathering for our Annual Dinner taking place at the hugely impressive Palace of Westminster (the proper name for the House of Commons building), hosted by Jim Fitzpatrick MP. Even with the extra dining room, tickets for the annual dinner at the House of Commons are now completely sold out. The clubhouse isn't going to be open this Wednesday so for those of you collecting your tickets from the clubhouse, Kathy will take them down on Sat and have them behind the bar. Please don't loose them!

Youth Training will continue on Wednesday nights throughout the off-season, but will be moved to Millwall Park in order to give the lower paddock a much needed rest.

From Monday 11th May, Touch Rugby sessions - open to all - will take place on Monday and Wednesday evenings on MILLWALL PARK. Children's sessions start at 6pm with adults (and older children) from 7.15pm.

I'll send a seperate email when I get back from Slovenia to let you know what activities will be going on during the summer. Our aim is to keep all of our existing players and recruit a host of new players, so there will be lots to do during June, July and August.

Hope to see you at the Mudchute on Saturday for our club day. Come and celebrate yet another Millwall 'Rest of the World' triumph! (we have won the last 5 matches!)

Thanks

Matt Shorrock
Youth Chair
Millwall Rugby Club

Millwall Rugby Club does not wish to pester its members and friends with irrelevant email. If you wish to remove yourself from the list, or change to another category so that you receive less mail from us, you can do so at http://www.millwallrugby.com/unsubscribe.html Thank you for your support.

MRFC - MILLWALL RUGBY CLUB JOINS FORCES WITH WAITROSE IN SPONSORSHIP DEAL

Dear ,

MILLWALL Rugby Club are delighted to announce that Waitrose Food & Home has decided to sponsor our Under 13s youth side.

The team is Millwall's first youth side to play in an official division and they will be supported by the supermarket when they join the Essex U13s League next season.

To mark the deal, which has seen the team decked out in the latest rugby gear, the Millwall youngsters travelled with their team manager Maureen Lajolie and the club's youth chairman Matt Shorrock (April 5) to Waitrose in Canary Wharf.

There they met checkout manager David Harris and community liaison officer Pasty Williams-Canning in the Mill Centre where they enjoyed free smoothies and fruit pieces.

Mr Shorrock said the sponsorship deal is a natural fit for both organisations.

"Waitrose is an iconic brand with strong community awareness," he said. "They have big plans for the future and we're delighted that they've decided to invest in Millwall Rugby Club.

"They understand what we're trying to achieve in terms of growing the sport and they want to be a part of the journey. Our partnership with them will ensure that our U13s team is well prepared for their entry into the Essex U13 League next season.

"This sponsorship deal comes at a time when we are also celebrating a 150 per cent growth in youth membership and this positive vibe extends to next season where we are anticipating further increases in youth participation numbers.

"We can now move forward with the support of Waitrose and I would be delighted if there were other local organisations who are interested in supporting rugby in Tower Hamlets interested in getting on board at Millwall Rugby Club."

U13s team captain Shaun Mulholland said: "I still can't believe a big shop like Waitrose is sponsoring us, it's great and the rugby kit they gave us is very cool."

Ms Williams-Canning said: "In all our branches we work closely with the local communities.

"We are proud to actively support local charities, organisations and youth groups. We felt that Millwall Rugby Club was offering great opportunities for the young people in the area and giving them the chance to develop their skills.

"We are happy to help in the way that we have and we wish Millwall every success in the current season and for the future."

ENDS
 

Millwall Rugby Club does not wish to pester its members and friends with irrelevant email. If you wish to remove yourself from the list, or change to another category so that you receive less mail from us, you can do so at http://www.millwallrugby.com/unsubscribe.html Thank you for your support.