Yesterday the club announced that Gordon Scott was stepping down from his role on the St Mirren board.

Gordon epitomised the dream of many of us may had, from being a fan to being the owner of the club you love and support. Gordon has been a fervent supporter of SMiSA and all that it represents since the Trust was formed over 20 years ago. He was a regular participant of Saints Aid and always ensured he wore the No.9 jersey of the black and white stripes.

Gordon was an attendee at SMiSA events from day 1 and was instrumental in the 'Buy the Buds' campaign resulting in SMiSA becoming the majority owner of the club. This demonstrates how well Gordon understood what the club meant to the fans and more importantly how the club depends on the supporters.

It was Gordon who suggested "SMiSA" would be embedded in the lower level of the Caledonia stand at Love Street and along with another member of the then SMiSA committee re arranged the seats to achieve this, no mean feat!

Fast forward a few years to a Championship winning trophy, consolidation in the SPFL, transferring ownership of the club and ultimately a top 6 finish means Gordons legacy at St Mirren has been established.

All the SMISA members and the SMiSA board would like to thank Gordon for his lasting contribution.

The SMiSA Board will commence the process to elect a new director to the Club Board shortly, with more information on this published in due course.

Following yesterday's final game of the 2022/23 season against Rangers, SMiSA member Murray Bryce presented Keanu Baccus with a Special Recognition award for being the first Saint's player to play in a World Cup Finals.

Baccus was announced as part of Australia's World Cup squad in November 2022, and went on to feature off the bench in their first 3 Group Stage games. Australia managed to get past the group stage, where they were then up against a star-studded Argentina team in the round of sixteen. Baccus was announced in the starting line-up of this game, where he competed against the likes of Lionel Messi and Alexis Mac Allister. Despite losing the game 2-1, the Australia team caught the world's attention and showed real passion and Belief. 

Everyone at SMiSA and St. Mirren would like to congratulate Keanu on this milestone for the club, and thank him for his tremendous contribution to both club and country this season.

Last week we presented our AGM which had the highest ever attendance of SMiSA members. We would like to thank all our members for taking the opportunity to engage with us. 

Also in attendance were 3 of our SMiSA nominated Club Board Directors; John Needham (Chairman), Alex White and Paul McNeil. We would like to thank all three for attending and for their participation on the night. Also in attendance was Academy Director Allan McManus who provided an update on our academy.  

For the first time ever, we recorded the event and made the footage available to all members via email in the days following the AGM. We hope this will make SMiSA meetings more inclusive to all members by allowing those not able to attend the chance to catch-up on the proceedings.  

So far, we have received great feedback on the night and questions posed within the Q&A. We have had several requests on SMiSA’s position with regard to information offered by Alan Wardrop concerning the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund (RCGF) application. Whilst Alan applied to become a SMiSA Director it was inappropriate to comment to allow the election process to follow its course.  

Having heard contents of information from the AGM, SMiSA will now approach the Directors of the St. Mirren Board and Alan Wardrop for their version of events and provision of supporting documented evidence before deciding the next course of action. We do note an overwhelming majority of SMiSA members at the AGM indicated the need for further clarity of the background to the funding application. 

SMiSA will make no further comment on this issue until this process is concluded, at which stage a follow-up statement will be provided to members. 

Regards, 

SMiSA Board 

The publishing of the following update for April from SMiSA Chairman Alex Dillon was delayed due to the fact that Alex was one of five candidates up for election to the SMiSA Board. This decision was made to ensure that the Chairman's update was not giving an unfair advantage to one candidate over another. With the AGM now concluded, we have published the Chairman's update for April below. Although some of the contents are now outdated, there is still some useful information about our progress and plans for the rest of May.

Well, we did it!!

On behalf of the SMiSA Board, members of SMiSA & all St. Mirren fans, I’d like to congratulate Stephen Robinson and his team for breaking a near 40 year hoodoo and getting us into the top 6. Make no mistake about it, this is where St. Mirren belong.

With the post-split fixtures now known we have winnable games away to Hibs and Aberdeen, Celtic & Rangers will take care of themselves with Hearts visiting in what could then be a 4^th place play-off and potential European space up for grabs. It couldn’t happen, could it?....

As European draws are now regionalised it’s possible Saints fans could dream of an away trip to some exotic location, but just as likely play in Wales, ROI or Northern Ireland!

The month started in style sweeping Livingston aside to give us the platform to finish Top 6. For the Kilmarnock game we seen a crowd of nearly 8000 turn up with great expectations. The atmosphere pre-match was electric. Danny Lennon, legend and ex St. Mirren manager appeared trackside. He also got a rousing reception in the 1877 Club which was packed full of Saints fans.

For those attending the match you must have been blown away by the flag display put on by the Northbank & W7 supporters. The guys and girls gave up hours of their own time to arrange the display; from both the Family Stand and Main Stand the view was sensational. Well done and thanks to all who took part, it is much appreciated and created a brilliant match day experience. As for the game, the less said about it the better….

One main aim of the SMiSA Board has been to engage more with you, our members. We completed the first fans survey in a number of years, and will share the feedback of that in May. We have had free giveaways for members this month, a family day at the Ralston Training Ground, three signed shirt winners by survey participants, and the unique 10^th anniversary League Cup winning bundle signed by Danny Lennon and Steven Thompson.

Look out in May for the for the 100^th anniversary of the historic Barcelona Cup win. A limited edition of Saints Gin donated by Saints fan Donald Boyd of Teardrop Gin and the Journey to Barcelona book from Jack Paterson and Alan Wardrop. Can Saints lay claim to be first Scottish team to win a European trophy?

Also in May is the St. Mirren POTY Dinner at the Normandy Hotel. SMiSA Members have the opportunity to enter the draw to win a place at the event, and maybe get on stage to present the SMiSA POTY award! Another great benefit of being a SMiSA member.

May also sees the SMiSA AGM take place on 17^th May at the Stadium. Full details on registering attendance will be on the SMiSA homepage. I’d urge as many SMiSA Members to attend if you can. It gives opportunity to engage with not only SMiSA Board but the St. Mirren Directors too.

As we head into May, this also brings the football season to an end. It’s also the time, for whatever reason, players see their time at St. Mirren come to an end. As fans it’s sometimes difficult to understand that players are not as passionate about the club as we are, and reality is that gone are the days of a Shuggie Murray or Tony Fitzpatrick giving years of service to the club.

For those who move on we thank them for their service playing in the Black and White stripes, helping us reach Top 6 and maybe European football? It is great to see the club extend contracts of a few players already, and, maybe with the prospect of European football, the potential for a couple of new signings.

Now where’s that passport….

COYS,

Alex

The SMiSA Board would like to thank everyone who attended the 2023 1877 Society Ltd (SMISA) AGM on the evening of Wednesday 17th May at the SMiSA Stadium. A review of the past year was presented, along with an insight into what is planned for SMiSA over the next year. An update was also provided by Academy Director Allan McManus on progress at the Academy and the difference SMiSA funding has made. Club Chairman John Needham also gave an update regarding the progress made at the club over the past year and shared some plans the club have which they are looking to implement moving forward. Finally, the evening was closed with a member's Q&A which allowed attendees to ask questions to both SMiSA Board and SMiSA Club Board Representatives.

Results of AGM Voting

SMiSA Finance

The below diagram shows the voting results for the Finance Approvals, which took place online prior to the AGM:

Board Election

The below diagram shows the voting results for the SMiSA Board Election, which took place online prior to the AGM:

With 3 places available on the SMiSA Board, we would therefore like to congratulate Stuart Chawk, Alex Dillon and Jack McSkeane on being successful in being elected onto the SMiSA Board. We would also like to thank John Allison and Alan Wardrop for standing in this years election, who narrowly missed out this time round. 

Constitution Amendments

Two amendments to the SMiSA Constitution were proposed to members by the SMiSA Board.These were voted on in person at the AGM due to them being extraordinary resolutions, which require 75% of attendees to approve at the meeting. The proposed amendments were issued to all members via email prior to the AGM, and can also be viewed by clicking here. These were both approved by a vast majority of members who attended the AGM (>75% in attendance).

SMiSA Aims 2023/24

The aims and objectives of SMiSA for 2023/24 were presented during the AGM, with a summary of these provided below. These will also be made available to view in more detail on the website shortly.

AGM Minutes

Minutes of the 2023 SMiSA AGM can be viewed by clicking here.

AGM Video

Following our recent members survey where it was found that a large number of members would benefit if the AGM was streamed live or recorded, we are delighted to announce that for the first time ever this years SMiSA AGM was recorded on camera, and will be made available to members via. email over the coming days. We hope this will make SMiSA events more accessible to members who are unable to attend in person, and will be looking to continue to offer a live stream or recording for events in future.

This is a reminder to all SMiSA Members that this years SMiSA AGM is taking place on Wednesday 17th May at the SMiSA Stadium Hospitality Suite, with a starting time of 7pm. 

Details on how to register to attend the AGM, along with voting information for accounts approval, Board election and constitution amendments were issued to all members via. email on 1st May, with a reminder email also issued on 8th May. If you did not receive these emails, please get in touch by emailing [email protected] and we will be more than happy to assist.

Proxy Voting

As has happened at all our previous AGM's, any member who cannot attend the evening will be able to put forward an individual as a proxy.

This can be to raise a question in your absence or to vote in your place. 

This may be especially important due to constitution amendments as per our rules requiring a vote to be passed by 75% of members attending a general meeting in person. SMiSA would like all our members to feel they have the opportunity to approve business or ask questions, this hopefully makes the AGM more inclusive to all. 

If you wish to put forward an individual to be used as a proxy for yourself, then please email [email protected] from the email linked to your SMiSA membership with the name of the person being used as a proxy so that they can be added to the AGM register.

We can also confirm that the AGM will be recorded and published in the days following the meeting. This decision has been made as part of our pledge to listen to members opinions in order to improve the SMiSA experience. In our recent members survey, an overwhelming majority of members expressed that it would benefit them if the AGM was broadcast live or recorded. 

We hope to see as many of you as possible on the night.

Best Regards,

The SMiSA Board

We are delighted to announce our latest member benefit - the SMiSA Monthly Prize Draw.

A new prize will be won each month by a member. The draw will be open to all members, no matter your membership tier. Your membership automatically enters you into the draw each month.

For April's draw, the prize was a limited edition League Cup Commemorative bundle, containing a print signed by Steven Thompson and Danny Lennon, mugs and coasters. Many thanks to Cairters Corner who produced this months prizes. A variety of items can be found on the online shop by visiting www.saintsshop.co.uk.

Print included in April's Draw

April's draw took place at 1pm today (20th April 2023). We are delighted to announce Iain McCabe as this month's winner, Congratulations! We will be in touch via. email regarding your prize.

We are currently reviewing the current member benefits offered following the completion of the recent Member Survey. We hope to bring you some more exciting new member benefits soon!

In the meantime, we hope everyone enjoys Saturday's game against Kilmarnock. Hopefully the team can secure our Top 6 finish!

COYS!