Millennium Champions event
We are holding An Evening with the Millennium Champions this Friday (2 Dec) in the hospitality suite at the Paisley 2021 Stadium.
The evening will allow fans to relive one of the most memorable seasons in the club’s history in the company of some of the men who made it happen.
Expect video highlights from the 1999/2000 season, a Q&A with members of the squad, and the chance to get pics taken with the First Division trophy.
SMISA’s £25 per month and Premium members are entitled to a free place as part of the benefits promised when they signed up to #BuyTheBuds in the summer – and this can still be claimed by emailing [email protected] for those of you who haven’t yet done so.
Tickets are available to all other fans via this Eventbrite link at a cost of £10, with all ticket proceeds going to the St Mirren youth academy.
A pay bar will be available on the night but due to venue licensing we are afraid the event is only open to over-18s.
Director election
As you know, the election to decide who should sit on the St Mirren board as the SMISA representative has now concluded.
David Nicol – who was temporarily appointed to the board when the #BuyTheBuds campaign concluded in the summer – received 65% of the votes. David Riley received 18% of the vote and Kenny Morrison 17%. Our thanks go to all three guys for putting themselves forward.
David Nicol will serve a two-year term as your voice in the boardoom and as the key link between the club and the trust.
He is there to raise issues with the club on your behalf and can be contacted on [email protected]. Any issues relating to the operation of the trust should go to [email protected]
Latest member numbers
The membership numbers as of end November were 1325
We appreciate this can be a difficult time of year for people financially and we don’t take that lightly – we value the continued support of every one of you.
We would politely reiterate our commitment to take the majority shareholding in the club into fan ownership is a long-term one which can only be realised if St Mirren fans continue to financially back the trust
Disabled platform
As you know, the club has now opened a new disabled platform in the main stand, meaning wheelchair fans now have protection from the winter elements, as well as one of the best views in the stadium.
This project was only made possible because of you, with the first three months’ worth of £2s from the SMISA member money part-funding the building of the platform.
And our members have been thanked by John Clark, chair of the St Mirren Disabled Supporters’ Association, who said: "The disabled set-up at St Mirren is now among the best in Scotland and that speaks well not only of Smisa members, but of the wider fanbase.
“We want to thank SMISA's members for using the first three months of their £2 pot to help fund the platform - it is very much appreciated."
You can read the full text of John’s message to SMISA members on our website.
We look forward to using the £2 pot for lots more projects which could have a similar positive impact on the club and community over the months and years ahead.
January £2 spend
Moving neatly on from the last point, by January we will have another three months’ worth of member contributions in the £2 discretionary pot, and we are already looking at possible uses for that money to put before the members.
The survey we carried out in September provided a very useful and detailed guide to your spending priorities and we will use the results of that to help inform the contents of this and future ballots.
Any ideas you have for specific projects (big or small) we could include in the next or future ballots can be sent to [email protected]
Volunteer squad update
Our SMISA volunteer squad have continued to make great progress with their stadium clean-up over the past few weeks.
The group have braved all weathers to clean the backs of seats, advertising boards and stairs in the Family and West stands, and have now moved on to the Main stand.
Led by SMISA committee member Jim Crawford, the group has at various points included - in no particular order - Ken Docherty, Gordon Black, Bert Downie, Tommy Stirling, Ian McLaren, Margaret Tweedly and David Riley.
A massive thanks goes out to all involved – the difference around the stadium is there for all to see, making it a much nicer place to be for all, although three points would help!
If you could spare a few hours one weekday, the group would be delighted if you would join them. Contact [email protected] for more info.
December fixtures
For all we are proud of what SMISA is achieving around the club, there is a grim irony in that this has been a horrible season to be a Saints fan where it matters most – on the park.
With six fixtures in December the team are heading into a critical month in what has now become a battle to avoid to relegation to the third tier.
Recent results have been frustratingly bad, but there are enough positive signs in some of the overall play of late, particularly from the younger members of the squad, to suggest a change of fortunes could happen any time.
As fans it is easy to let frustrations get the better of us but this is a young team and they need our support now more than ever.
The club’s fate is still very much in our own hands and we would encourage all members to keep getting along to games and backing the team.
As always, if there are any questions for the committee, we can be reached on [email protected]