AFLMA
Inc
AFL
MEMBERS ASSOCIATION
PHONE
9554 7796 EMAIL : steercom@aflma.com
MINUTES
OF ORDINARY MEETING OF THE AFLMA
HELD
ON
TOWER
The meeting opened
at 7 00 pm. Present were Jim Brighthope, Gary Marchant, John Meehan, Ian Pike, Bev
Petersen, Jenny Bourke, Dino Imbriano, Brendan Hunter
and John Papadakos. An apology was received from John Meehan.
Minutes of the previous meeting of
Treasurer’s Report
Projected outgoings for the the year will be limited to $36.70, being the renewal of the (what’s the term for this?) for the annual meeting. There will also be a cost to Ross Symons for the renewal of the AFLMA.com name. This may be in the order of $40 (see later item).
Website Update – Brendan There are continuing problems with the website. The reason a newsletter wasn't circulated recently is that no current member-list was at hand, and I was reluctant to use an old one that didn't include new members, and re-mailed those that had indicated they wanted to be removed. A member list couldn’t be obtained because Ian was overseas, and Gary The Web Board remains functional to existing members, but is not accepting new registrants. Additionally, a member list can't be exported due to an as yet unknown problem that will require Ross's intervention. A way around this for the moment is to place a message on the website encouraging those who have had no luck registering to simply email steercom. Also mentioned was the Bug Bar, which Jim pointed out was owned by an AFL member. The intention is to place a free ad on the website for this particular bar. Meeting with Darren Birch 29-6-05 * General discussion We discussed the meeting with Darren Birch which took place on 29 June. Committee acknowledged that Darren was relatively new to the job, and may not have been able to answer all questions. The AFLMA were, as a group, quite disappointed with Lisa Laing’s over-zealous responses. Some other feedback that emerged was a concern that we weren’t addressing the requests of all the AFLMA members, that we may have tried to table too many issues rather than concentrating on the most important, that perhaps we should give more emphasis to the entitlements lost, and hence the degradation of the membership package, and that Darren may be misjudging his membership with his insistence that members don’t like queuing up, and stance that this was a ‘dark-ages’ activity. Nevertheless, it appears that Darren became more accommodating as the meeting progressed, and the AFLMA acknowledges that he has made an effort to take on board some of the issues raised and to facilitate closer dealing with the AFLMA. Preliminary Final * Press statement * General discussion Jim was contacted for a quote by the Herald-Sun, duly obliged, and was given a couple of paragraphs in a story about the preliminary finals contract. The AFLMA were encouraged that media organizations were aware of their existence. Grand Final * Ian Pike's email Discussed an email sent from Ian from a while ago. Ian confirmed that it was simply a mail specifying the breakdown of finals process, and had no greater relevance to the AFLMA. Comparison of AFL & MCC Member benefits * Gary Marchant Item deferred again until after construction of the MCG is complete. AFLMA.com address * Email from Ross Symons Ross emailed asking if the AFLMA can take over the renewal payment for the website address from 1 SeptemberAction: Brendan will email Ross regarding renewal, and ask him if he could pay and we reimburse him, moved by JP, seconded by Jenny Communication with Members * Newsletter -Brendan Hunter The members list will be obtained, and the newsletter sent out once I get confirmation from Ian that the Web Board can, in fact, produce the members list. Action: Brendan to liase with Ian/ Ross to procure a members list or find a solution if this can’t, in fact, take place More TV monitors at the MCG Jim raised this issue at the prompting of a member with Darren Birch about the lack of tv monitors in the AFL reserve. Darren stated to Jim that he’d formed a party to examine the resourcing of the members reserve and will add this item to their list. General Business Jim tabled an email exchange between he and Darren Birch. (I didn’t catch what any of this was about – sorry!) Policy was formulated that, given that there are no preliminary finals for this year, could the AFL knock off $64 for the booking fee for the grand final? Committee agreed that this should be the request of the AFLMA. Committee discussed questions to add to the AFL members survey, as per the invitation from Darren Birch. We submitted a question concerning the number of reserve seats sold, and about abolishing guest passes at the Dome, plus one or two others. Dino pointed out that, happily, there were to be no online bookings for this years grand final. Dino also pointed out that, and he was adamant, there is NO $10 booking fee for Telstra Dome games, despite the assumptions of a lot of members. He pointed out that this is a continuing mistake by ticketing operators, and some persistence from callers can have this identified and cancelled. Committee determined that everybody should attend the next meeting with two questions in mind for an AFLMA members survey. The AFLMA AGM was tentatively scheduled for Thursday 17th November at the Tower Hotel. Date & Time for Next Meeting 7.30 Wednesday, October 5th, same place. The meeting closed at 9.15pm