At the last General Meeting when those agitating for an all-in general election got the opportunity to put their proposal to members, I got up to say one thing. I begged those supporting the proposal to make this their last final effort. If the members voted against the proposal, would they please fall in behind the advice provided by the administrator, his consultants and ILGA and allow for the constitutional reform to go through as presented.
That has not happened.
Max Donnelly will try and pass through his reforms again on Tuesday, 14th May 2019 at 7pm in the Cumberland Lounge at Bankwest Stadium.
If that does not go through, members will then be asked to vote again on the same constitution two weeks later with the exception that the initial board will constituted by a general election, rather than the merit-based process put forward by the administrator and requested by ILGA.
I cannot stress strongly enough what this next general meeting means to the club. If it is defeated, I think member fatigue will set in, and I cannot see enough people bothering to show up for a second meeting to defeat the member’s proposal. That then would have the potential to launch an election smack in the middle of the football season.
We’re talking the mother of all elections. The group that wants the election is chock full of former and current politicians and supported by deep-pocketed developers. We all know how disruptive and ugly these elections get. You will see our club vaulted back into the newspapers as the war for the Leagues Club goes public and vitriol gets spat across social and mainstream media. You will see former players forced to support one ‘ticket’ or another and we’ll again promote deep divides between the membership and supporter base.
IT IS THE LAST THING EITHER OUR LEAGUES CLUB OR FOOTBALL CLUB NEEDS.
A merit-based selection process gives any member the chance to put their name forward and be considered on their qualifications. And then after the initial board is constituted, any member who misses out and still wishes to run for the board can put their forward in the ongoing triennial elections. All without forcing people to form ‘tickets’ and all the ugly politicking that comes with that.
So this is a call to arms. If you are a member of Parramatta Leagues Club ensure you attend the General Meeting on 14th May. If you know someone who is a member of the club, then urge them to attend the general meeting on 14th May. Check out the Cumberland Lounge. But let’s make this General Meeting representational.
To date, this process has been frustrating. The reforms have been set back by a couple of years and it’s required members to keep returning to vote on the same issues again and again. However, it’s no longer a frustration. It’s dangerous. The time for apathy and complacency is over. If you are a member, book May 14 into your calendar.
On a personal note, I’ve now been campaigning for constitutional reform in this club for close to a decade. We’ve made great progress. The Parramatta football board is stable and professional. We suffered the worst year of football I can remember, without the club imploding and throwing the baby out with the bathwater, and instead we were able to get ourselves back on track. That would not have happened in the previous era. I desperately want to see through this, and this next AGM represents the chance to complete the process and I believe solidify the club’s future for the next couple of decades. However, for this to happen, it needs EVERYBODY to get behind this. If you are a member, get to the Stadium on May 14. If your family are members, bring them with you. If you know any members, urge them to bring themselves and their families. Spread this message via your social networks, Facebook groups, etc. Let’s finish the process and give the club the professional foundations it needs as it enters what is certainly the most transformative era in the club’s history.
Replies
May 14 is a Tuesday?
Yeh sorry. Have amended.
Phil you are right, fatigue is starting to set in. I have been to the last 3 or so elections and voted all for no result except see a few people make a dick of themselves. It’s getting to the point of why bother, it will be another election with no result and another waiste of time. You can’t keep doing the same thing over and over again expecting something different to occur.
Cumberland lounge , so be there parra
Why don't they have these things on a Saturday arvo on a weekend when Parra aren't playing at home.
Alot of people are just getting home from work at 7pm on a Tuesday, or their f*cked from doing tradie type work all day, or they're actually working, or they do alot of business travel, or their kids have some sort of sport practice, or their missus doesn't want them going out when they've got dinner to be done and the family packed off to bed, or old mate doesn't want his missus to go because he'll be stuck with the kids and he's been at work all fecking day.
It couldn't be any worse of a result to try something different could it?
Saturday arvo is prime time for weekend sport.
What weekend sport exactly?
I said an away weekend for Parramatta (and a weekend when they're not playing on a Saturday).
As for kid's sport - my experience is that the younger kids start the earliest and the age groups get older as the day progresses. You're going to have alot more chance of a member turning up with a kid who plays u16's than a bloke with a boy or girl playing u8's (in whatever sport). Weekdays are "prime time" for training (Tuesdays would be one of the more popular days).
What is the percentage of members who are involved in prime time sport on the weekend compared to those who aren't, or the percentage of members who could give up some time on the weekend but not during the week?
Only dickheads keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect a different result. How about a bit of thinking outside the box? Why doesn't the club spend a small amount of cash and effort and phone poll or email poll it's members and ASK them when they are most likely, or most able, to show up and vote?
You would think they don't actually want anyone to turn up.
Really depends on the district. For example, Blacktown Soccer schedule men's games on a Saturday arvo. I play every week at 2pm on a Saturday. Even if you're dropping off a 14 or 15 year old, you've still got to be there to pick them up. Training is different because you've got five days out of the week to train so you'd likely have a lower percentage of people training on a Tuesday as opposed to playing on a Saturday.
I agree that mid-week can be a pain the backside but we had over 300 members turn up to the last meeting and that was at the bloody Novotel where parking is crap. They give you enough warning that you could surely organise to go to the meeting. They actually did a phone poll last year from memory when they hosted a meeting at Rosehill.
300 members out of how many? That's beyond poor.
They need to try something different mate. It's not working.
God forbid they actually think outside the box and try and fix these issues once and for all.
They could do it before the game and then show the game on the big screen - incentive to get the meeting over and done with and Parra supporters get to cheer on their team together for an away game.
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