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| Wednesday 8th September 2010 | ||||||||||
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'Phenomenal' year for Magpies' Trust
The organisation, which officially launched in July 2009, accrued 170 members in its first year, a figure which was beyond all expectations. As well as trying to attract new members, Ring and his fellow board members are also working hard in their bid to boost the profile of the football club, and increase the Trust’s shareholding. One way in which the supporters’ group hopes to garner interest in the Magpies, is by persuading local shops to stock Dorchester Town-related products. Ring said: “We’ve talked to a large retailer in the town centre and they are keen to have some displays of Dorchester Town products in their shop while a local sports shop on South Street is keen to have the actual shirt in its shop. “The main reason most kids in the town wear Man Utd or Liverpool shirts is because those shirts are the only ones they can buy in the shops. “We want to ensure more of them are wearing Dorchester Town shirts and we can help do that on behalf of the football club. “We’re also in negotiations with the football club about taking on the club shop so that we can give them more time to concentrate on running the club. Plus, any money we make will be invested back into the football club.” Reflecting on a positive first year, the secretary added: “It’s been phenomenal. We’ve been told by Supporters Direct that for a town of this size, and a club of this size, we would have been lucky to get 50 or 60 members in our first year. “However, we managed to get 170, of which 12 are corporate members, which is great. “It’s been a fantastic year for us and everyone has been really supportive. “We’ve held a lot of fundraisers, one of which was our annual golf day which raised just over £1,000. “A lot of people don’t understand what a supporters trust is all about. It’s very different to a supporters club because we raise funds for the trust and invest that money into the club. “We get shares for the members so they get something in return for their membership. “We have got just under 4,000 shares in the football club at the moment but as the years go on, hopefully we will increase that number.” “Our mandate is that 60 per cent of what we raise goes back into the club with the other 40 per cent acting as a contingency for the future, in case the club ever went into administration. “The ultimate aim of the Trust is to own the majority shareholding, but that is obviously a long way off yet. “The chairman of the football club Shaun Hearn is trying to make the club as sustainable as possible and create a link between the club and the community. “He’s a member of the Trust so endorses everything we are doing. We are all pulling in the same direction.” Other positive steps taken by the Trust include helping to secure the short-term future of the Prince’s Marquee, as well as the introduction of club mascot Dinky Bear and a loyalty card scheme for young supporters. To join the Trust, or find out more information, email info@magpiestrust.co.uk or contact 01305 850099 (include area code when dialling).
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