OXVOX News - Issue 3

to locate and develop players to
trade for substantial fees, without
unduly weakening the first team
squad and having an adverse
impact on results. The Club is
dependent on shareholder loans
which are less than some other
clubs but ultimately repayable to
the shareholders. Sustainability
in the longer term would require
increasing revenue sources or
shareholders converting loans to
share capital.
Thursday night social: Ali
organised Thursday night Zoom
sessions open to fans feeling
the pressure of lockdowns, or
just wishing to chat with other
fans they were unable to meet
in person. It was really enjoyable
to connect with fans in this way,
and special thanks are due to
James Constable who gave up an
evening to be involved.
Big Brothers Big Sisters: Paul
introduced Robert from the
committee who told us of
his involvement with the Big
Brothers Big Sisters mentoring
project in Oxfordshire (https://
bbbsuk.org/) which is designed
to help young people achieve
their potential and increase their
self-esteem. Robert was meeting
with the club to discuss how
he and OxVox can involve fans
who are interested in becoming
mentors for this exciting project.
Cherwell Larder appeal: We
were unable this year to repeat
our collection for the Oxford
Food Bank due to pandemic
restrictions. Instead, we worked
alongside the club with Emily
Connelly and her band of
volunteers at Cherwell Larder
in Kidlington. The Larder not
only collects and distributes
food to those in need in and
around Kidlington, but they
also provide clothing, cooking
advice, demonstrations and
menu planning, sustainable
food growing kits and advice.
We got involved alongside the
club, who during lockdown had
used the training ground chefs
and kitchen to cook meals from
Larder donations. We visited
a number of times to lend our
support and set up a donation
page which raised £750 for the
work.
Mickey Lewis: After the tragic
loss of club legend Mickey, we
were able to lend our support
in a number of ways including
funding and producing a Mad
Dog tribute banner which can
still be seen in the North Stand
on matchdays.
Vox newsletter: Simon from
the committee was introduced
by Paul and gave a description
of the Vox newsletter, issue 2
of which was circulated at the
meeting and is now available
in online form here. Simon said
that the aim of Vox was to
pull together details of recent
trust activities and provide
an accessible and readable
summary of what the trust was
about, to reach out beyond the
current membership. It is hoped
that Vox will be widely read and
that we will get contributions for
fans and members to expand its
appeal.
OxVox ‘Andy James’ Supporter
of the Year: Paul reported that
we had previously discussed the
creation of an annual award for
supporters and we had decided
the obvious name to attach to it.
It was a marvellous coincidence
to be contacted by Stuart from
Andy’s family who offered to
help and were very happy to see
Andy’s name commemorated in
this way. Paul Smith has made
a terrific wooden trophy shield
that will be awarded annually
to the supporter chosen by the
fans as having made the greatest
contribution to the life of the
club in the previous year. The
club are very supportive and
the first award presentation will
be held shortly at the training
ground, where the trophy will
be on permanent display with
details of the winners. Huge
congratulations go to Michael
North as the first winner. Michael
will be known to many through
his match day stall selling
programmes and memorabilia.
6. Close of AGM
Paul closed with thanks to the
rest of the committee. The
formal business of the AGM was
declared to be completed and
the Q&A session began.
Q&A Session
Q. A member thanked the
committee for their work
and for the regular email
communications.
A. Paul thanked the member for
his comments.
Q. Is the creation of the
supporters’ panel detrimental to
OxVox?
A. Paul said no, and he views
the panel as another step, along
with the work of OxVox, on the
path towards having supporter
representation on the club
board, and for that reason the
committee was on the whole
supportive. The panel has a clear
remit to focus on the match day
experience, just as OxVox has a
wider role primarily focusing on
the medium and long-term issues
for the club and other matters
beyond what happens on a
match day. The different natures
of the two organisations were
important – the panel originating
as a club initiative and not being
membership-based, OxVox being
an independent fans’ initiative
based on a paid membership
model and accountable to its
members. We remain available to
members and fans who wish to
raise issues with us. Where there
are areas of overlap it wouldn’t
matter who resolved an issue.
Q. Is there evidence of a long
term plan for the club?
A. Paul cited the developments
that have taken place over recent
years, including the acquisition
and setting up of a permanent
training ground, the creation
and implementation of the
player development and trading
model, and the building up of the
academy and youth teams and of
the women’s team, as evidence
of long term planning and moves
to grow the club and make it
sustainable.
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