Notice is hereby given that an election will be held to fill eight (8) vacancies on the Board of Directors of Rangers Supporters Trust (RST).

The vacancies arise as follows: five (5) in accordance with Rule 64 which requires that one third of the members of the Society Board elected by the members who have served the longest at the date of the annual general meeting each year will resign; two (2) in accordance with Rule 65 which requires that any member who fills a casual vacancy is to retire at the next annual general meeting; and, one (1) as a result of a member indicating his intention to stand down at the AGM.

The date of the election will be the RST AGM to be held on either 18 or 19 September 2010 to be confirmed once the date of the Rangers v Dundee Utd fixture is known.

Any person wishing to be a candidate for election to the Trust Board must be a fully paid-up member of the Trust and be nominated by at least two fully paid-up members of the Trust.

All candidates must complete the RST Board Election Application Form and the Board Disclosure Statement which may be downloaded from the RST web site. A signed fax or letter of nomination from a member, or email from the address a member has given the Secretary for receiving trust communications, are acceptable substitutes for a signature on the candidate’s nomination form.

In addition Candidates must submit a statement in support of their nomination. Candidate statements should be typed, at least 250 words long and no longer than 500 words. Candidates shall not in their statements make threats, insults or derogatory, abusive, racist, sexist or homophobic statements.

Nominations should be sent to: The Secretary, Rangers Supporters Trust, PO Box 3099, Clydebank, Glasgow G60 9AN, to arrive not later than Friday 13 August 2010.

By submitting a nomination, Candidates will be deemed to have accepted these election rules, the Trust’s Rules, and any other policies and rules adopted by the Trust Board and the membership and agreed to be bound by them.

In the event of there being the same or less number of candidates than vacancies, all duly nominated candidates will be deemed elected subject to confirmation at the AGM.

If there are more candidates than places available on the Trust Board, postal ballot papers and copies of candidates’ statements will be issued with the notice sent convening the Annual General Meeting. Votes may be submitted by the post up to 12 noon on Friday 17 September 2010, and also deposited at the start of the AGM. The Count shall be made during the AGM, and the result announced before the close.

BY ORDER OF THE BOARD
Alan S Harris
Secretary
20 July 2010

The Rangers Supporters Trust notes that the Murray Group are “no longer actively marketing its controlling stake” in Rangers FC and hopes this heralds a period of much-needed stability. However we are concerned that Rangers remains in the hands of a reluctant owner who has not constructively participated in the club's affairs since October 2009. Sir David Murray has on many occasions stated his desire to sell the club but there is still an obvious requirement for a strategic plan to deliver long-term financial stability and ensure the success of the last two seasons is built upon.

The failure to clinch a deal to sell the Club also shows the pressing need to consider innovative and creative models of ownership, underlined both by Coalition Government policy and UEFA’s ‘Fair Play’ initiative. Rangers fans are the third largest support in the UK and the only group providing significant year on year investment in the Club. Our loyalty and commitment should be recognised through an entirely new partnership, where enhanced fan involvement and engagement generates significant additional revenue to secure the club's financial position and provide solid foundations for a successful future.

We will continue to work with partner fans’ organisations to ensure the voices of Rangers supporters are heard in challenging, uncertain times and are seeking a meeting with club directors at the earliest opportunity.

On the 12th June, the Trust and the Wee Rangers Club were proud to host an annual event which – more than all the manoeuvrings behind the scenes between Mr. Murray and Mr. Ellis – shows why supporters being actively involved in football clubs is the way forward. Without the support of the Rangers FC, volunteers from the Trust, friends and families put on a Family Day which represents all that is good about being part of the ‘Rangers Family’.

Soldiers from 2 Scots spent the sunny afternoon with kids, letting them try on backpacks and uniforms, cook and taste army food and explain how they survive in the extreme heat and cold of Afghanistan. The soldiers were a credit to themselves and their regiment and could not have been any more friendly or accommodating; - and we wish them all luck and good fortune when they tour again in September, this time for 6 months.

Local police officers mingled and chatted with people and couldn’t have been more helpful. Iain and his crew from Govan Fire Station brought their second appliance along and let the kids climb all over it and allowed them to have a go on the hose – and as you’d imagine a few stray jets of water caused a few laughs. Local MP Ian Davidson came along to show his support and there was a BBQ on the terrace, a huge inflatable slide, a very friendly clown doing magic tricks and a beat the goalie.

Inside the club, there were games, karaoke, dancing, face-painting, disco and a free-goodie-bag with t-shirts and badges etc. The excellent Rangers Pro-Dance girls performed a few routines, the Founders Committe talked about the Gallant Pioneers who established our great club, and Mr. Nash was on hand to promote the Erskine Appeal for ex-Servicemen and woman. Rangers legends Davie Wilson and David Provan were recognised with lifetime honourary memberships of the Trust and both showed warmth and humility in accepting their awards. Also, Dennistoun’s excellent Bristol Bar sent the ‘Bristol Bears’ and the Delmonte Brothers realised that weight-loss is indeed possible after only 10 minutes inside the sweltering suits!

The event was free so nobody took a headcount, but to the eye it would be fair to say that easily upwards of 300 people came along, so many thanks to those who did - and an early welcome invite to next year’s event, for those who couldn’t!

If Rangers would find a way to open its doors to ordinary fans like us and let those who have the commitment and skill to promote Rangers, there is probably no limit to our collective ability to paint the city blue and put Rangers at the heart of the community – where it belongs.

To all current members – thank you for your support! To all past of future members, we’d be delighted if you’d come on board and help us build ‘the Rangers family’ from the bottom-up. This is what the Rangers Supporters Trust is all about.


Here are just some of many comments we received from people who came along:

“My son had a great day. Many thanks to those who organised it”
“It was a wonderful event celebrating all that is good about Rangers”
“It was a great day for all the family. Soldiers were really good with the kids and the slide was fantastic!”
“Called in for an hour today, great effort guys!”
“Great day, kids loved it”
“Kids enjoyed it and many thanks for the goodie-bags!”
“Wee one loved it even though she was scared of the slide – think it was the height of it!”

  

   

   
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