Saints Aid 4 Photos

Following the resignation of Alan Quin Willie will be taking on the role of Secretary through to the next SMISA AGM in 2023. The role will also involve working closely with the other Board members in reviewing the structure of the Board to ensure we find the best fit to serve the requirements of SMISA in representing the members and the Club as the majority shareholder.

A supporter of the Buddies since the 1970’s Willie was one of the original SMISA members involved in the formation of the Trust.  As convenor of one of the St.Mirren Travel Clubs he’s travelled far and wide following the Saints. Travel Clubs are very much a collective effort and this is also true of SMISA the strength of the Society extends beyond the SMISA Board out into the membership and utilising the wealth of abilities and skillsets that exist in the membership will be key moving forwards. The requirement for a robust succession plan to identify new Board members is also essential and Willie will be integral in the development of this moving forwards.

Introduced to St. Mirren at the beloved Love Street, I have been a lifelong Saints fan. I have several years of experience working in the retail industry, and am currently nearing completion of my Civil Engineering degree at Glasgow Caledonian University whilst working full-time at a Consultant Engineering firm. I feel my experience in people-based roles has provided me with the skills required to represent SMiSA members at board level.

I hugely understand the importance of the Youth Academy to our club, and vow to help maintain its status at the core of St. Mirren. Being a younger face on the SMiSA Board I aim to assist in the growth of SMiSA memberships, in particular those under the age of 30.

So far during my time on the SMiSA board, I have taken up a role of managing communications to members through social media channels and the website. I hope a noticeable difference in approach can be seen over time, enabling the board to be more transparent and accessible.

SMiSA Treasurer since 2002 when the trust was established, and an Accounts Manager by day,

In recent years he was assisted Alan Quinn in the accounting function of the Trust and will now oversee the transition to a new finance setup since Alan has stepped away.  

A St Mirren fan since the early seventies Jim immersed himself in writing, editing and selling to fellow supporters a Saints fanzine. His three children and wife Jayne all share Jim’s passion for the club, and it is that he believes shows how important families are to the ongoing success of the club as a community club.

Alex has been a Saints fan for 40 years with the vast majority of them as a season ticket holder with 3 other family members, sitting in the Main stand after being in the enclosure at love Street.

Through business connections he has been a contributor to the St Mirren youth teams as far back as David Longwell over 30 years ago and has continued these business links with the commercial department and the St Mirren charity foundation today, working closely with both.

Alex has over 30 years Retail and Leadership experience at a General Manager level running multi million pound businesses and is passionate about ensuring SMISA/St Mirren boards are aligned to deliver success on and off the park as per the SMISA constitution.

Like many of our fellow fans I was being taken along by my Grandfather in the season 1958/9 to watch our club, that season culminated in the winning of the Scottish Cup and the subsequent celebrations in County Square, something never to be forgotten, even as a 5 year old, which embeds you as a supporter for life.

I am totally committed to Fan Ownership in Scottish Football, supporting the buyout of our club by SMISA. To date I am not convinced we have the total package correct, in particular the relationship between those representing you the Owners and the Club Board operating the club in a responsible manner. I will do my utmost to improve this arrangement.

My role on the SMISA Board is to work with Jack Mcskeane in looking at our Governance & Compliance policies and bring them all up to date. Personally, I look forward to working with Jack. He is part of the next generation of our supporters and his views will be invaluable to SMISA.

We do require to work more closely with our Membership and strive to increase our numbers. Should you have anything questions regarding this please do not hesitate to speak to me at matches, I am always delighted to discuss all things St Mirren.

I went to my first game with my dad in 1976 & been a season ticket holder for most of my 50 years, travelling home & away with the Chivas Travel Club.

Through the years I’ve been fortunate enough to develop numerous skills in various roles that I know will make a valuable contribution to the SMISA board. I’m also a volunteer mentor for vulnerable young people in care, helping to deliver positive outcomes.

I’m the joint social convenor for the Chivas Travel Club & have organised numerous successful POTY events / fund raisers.

I’m proud to have been an early SMiSA member when it was formed and fully believe in fan ownership.  SMiSA must provide positive direction to the St Mirren board and ensure our wishes are acted upon, while fairly overseeing the board’s good management. This is essential to sustain a strong, stable and successful St Mirren. The club board, SMISA board and supporters must always work collaboratively with the good of the club at heart.

Fan engagement is my passion & I am looking forward to working with like-minded board members & supporters blessed with the passion and drive to help deliver positive improvements for us all.

It is imperative that SMiSA’s voice and all our voices are heard and that the St Mirren family continues to make a major contribution to the wider community. The club must always place the fans at the heart of everything we do.

St Mirren Football Club must always be protected for future generations.

To quote the late Gerry Rafferty “supporting St Mirren is an affliction to which there is no cure” and after supporting the famous black and white stripes for 40 years I couldn’t agree more with that statement.

I attended my first Saints game when I was 8 years old, a 3-0 win against Hibernian and I was hooked, little did I realise then that this wouldn’t be the normal outcome on a Saturday afternoon.

The rollercoaster of a ride my club has taken me on during this 40 years has been (great?). A Scottish Cup win, a League Cup win, a Challenge Cup win to complete a league and cup double, 3 second tier titles, European football and of course 2 great escapes have been some of the highlights. But remembering the first relegation from the Premier League, the long run in the 90’s of barely surviving in the second tier, nearly losing the Saints altogether and of course the League Cup final defeat against 9 men keep me grounded and able to enjoy the good times while they last.

After signing up to the ‘Buy The Buds’ campaign in 2017 and giving my full support to fan ownership I decided to become more involved with SMiSA and in 2019 joined the board, a position I have held now for almost 4 years, and I can honestly say it’s been a privilege to represent my fellow Buddies on the board.

My main role within SMiSA has been to work alongside Allan McManus at the youth academy, ensuring that the money our members pledge to support the academy is used to continue the development of future Saints players. Being able to watch first hand the work that the academy does has been fantastic.

Recently I have taken on the role of Member Benefits co-ordinator and while I’m still getting used to this role I am enjoying it.

I can assure everyone that I will continue to work in the best interests of St Mirren, to ensure that members views are represented on the SMiSA board and on the club board. In my 40 years as a Saints fan we’ve always been stronger when we are together even when things are not going well on the park, or off it. After all we’re not called Buddies for nothing.

COYS.

I’ve been a buddie for as long as I can remember, I fell in love with the club when my father took me to my first away game at 6 years old and what a game it was. A 3-2 comeback victory against Motherwell to guarantee St Mirren premiership status. Moments like this are what have grown my love for the club and has led to frequenting Love Street and the SMiSA stadium for numerous years to come, something I wouldn’t swap for the world.

I am currently undergoing a university degree in criminal justice and I’m immensely proud to have this opportunity as a younger fan, which importantly gives this board a better range of representation to the fanbase. I believe fan ownership brings about excellent opportunities for those that the club means the most to, which makes St Mirren such a remarkable football club and is something I will strive to safeguard.  I will always have the best interests of St Mirren at heart and will always prioritise this when working with everyone on the board.

Working on the SMiSA board I have put a lot of focus on the transparency and the communication side of things, making information more accessible to members through social media and working with other board members to add beneficial new features to our website. I will also be taking this opportunity to work on increasing the number of young people engaging with SMiSA as well as reviewing SMiSA governance policies ahead of our AGM.

Fans queries and concerns are of importance to me and I will always be willing to listen. 

A SMiSA member for over 20 years and committee/board member until 2017. I stepped down to encourage others to become more involved in the supporters trust and for myself to focus on the role as one of the volunteer Supporter Liasion Officers of St.Mirren.

While still fulfilling the SLO role along with two others (John Allison and Karin Pointo), I reapplied for one of several vacant positions on the SMiSA board recently which was approved by the membership.

Rather than doubling my personal workload I see the role of responsibility for Fan Engagement & Communication within the SMiSA board as complimenting and running concurrently with that of the club SLO role.

Fan Engagement should be about personal interaction with the membership and the wider fan base. People should be encouraged to comment and provide feedback in whichever format they choose whether that be on social media or club and trust representatives making themselves available before games outside the stadium, organised meetings, traveling to away games or visiting saints pubs post-match. (the last item is one that I will personally endeavour to increase further 😏).

If you see me around on match day or at any other time please introduce yourself and we can discuss any saints or SMiSA related topics.

Grow Your Club !