Not long to go before the Brisbane Lions AGM (6pm, 18 December at The Legends Room, the Gabba).

We have received quite a few queries, so here’s the low-down:

1. The AGM – get along or nominate a proxy. 

There are two items of special business on the AGM agenda.

The first is a proposed amendment to the constitution to allow Life Members (such as Leigh Matthews) to be appointed as Directors of the club, along with other rights enjoyed by full members. This seems a no-brainer.

The second special item on the agenda is a proposal to change the club’s guernsey logo back to the ‘Fitzroy and Triple Premiership Lion’.

The Lion’s Roar has long campaigned for members to be able to have their say on the guernsey, after it was changed without significant consultation several years ago. While it has, in our opinion, taken far too long to get to this point, we are thrilled that the moment has belatedly arrived. We hope members take this opportunity to finally have their say, one way or the other. 

Members with voting rights should have already received their AGM notices. We are aware that some voting members (such as those who have changed addresses recently) may not have received their AGM notice. That won’t change your entitlement to attend in person to vote, or your ability to nominate a proxy. To that end, a PDF of the club’s proxy form is here.

If you can attend the AGM in person, we encourage you to come along and be heard. 

If you can’t make it, then we encourage you to nominate another voting member you trust to act as your proxy. While it is possible to nominate the Lions Chairman for this task, quite a few members have asked The Lion’s Roar to act as a proxy so we will be providing that service.

We have previously campaigned for members to be able to have their say on the jumper, rather than promoting any particular design. As such, the two co-founders of The Lion’s Roar will each be offering themselves as a proxy, but on opposite sides of the guernsey issue:

a)    If you are for the motion to revert to the Fitzroy and Triple Premiership Lion, and wish to nominate a representative of our group as your proxy, please nominate Adam Staines (membership #1120089, address: PO Box 149, Annerley, QLD, 4103);

b)    If you are against the motion to revert to the Fitzroy and Triple Premiership Lion, and wish to nominate a representative of our group as your proxy, please nominateJames Kliemt (membership #1014791, address: PO Box 149, Annerley, QLD, 4103);

Then simply return the completed and signed proxy form to:

The Lion’s Roar
PO Box 149
Annerley, QLD, 4103

…or scan and email it to thelionsroar@thelionsroar.net

Both James and Adam will be voting in favour of the balance of motions put at the meeting, which include ensuring that ‘Life Members’ have the equivalent rights of ‘Full members’ of the club.

The forms need to be received by The Lion’s Roar before 9am December 16th, so they can be lodged with the club before 5pm that day. Please don’t leave it too late.

2. Members’ privacy concerns.

We are dissatisfied with the club’s findings of the internal investigation regarding the mass e-mail of members by Dr Henry Pinskier in the lead up to the EGM. Our view has been informed and reinforced by voluminous feedback we’ve received from irate members on the issue. These members received emails from Dr Pinskier to email addresses which had only ever been provided uniquely to the Brisbane Lions. Other members were addressed by name/email address combinations registered uniquely with the Brisbane Lions (eg wife’s name / husband’s email address). Furthermore, emails were sent segmented by State – ie different emails were sent to those who lived in Victoria vs Queensland.

As accomplished internet techies, the co-founders of The Lion’s Roar do not accept that it is possible to garner the level of detail demonstrated in the emails from social media or social networking, as has been claimed. The club and the AFL is governed by the Privacy Act and under no circumstances should a third party have access to members’ contact details without their express consent. 

We believe members deserve better than an announcement buried on the club’s website late on a Friday night, with a few paragraphs giving the club the all clear.

We intend to put questions to the Board about this at the AGM and we would encourage other attendees to do the same. After all the recent unrest, this is an opportunity for the Board to start with a clean slate and to engage transparently with members. We sincerely hope they take that chance. The health of our club depends on it.

3. The financial picture.

The financial loss announced by the club is very concerning. While some of the planks already put in place appear to suggest that a recovery is achievable, it seems that there is some way to go. From our perspective, the picture only reinforces the importance of the club engaging with its supporters.

4. Welcome to Steele Tallon as General Manager of club communications.

In recent weeks, Steele has taken over in what we see as a key role for members and supporters. We would like to take this opportunity to welcome Steele to the club. We have already met with Steele and are encouraged by his focus on supporter engagement.

5. Don’t forget the footy!

After some dark days during the trade period, the light is already beginning to shine, with the club widely lauded for its performance at the draft. It would be remiss of us not to welcome Jackson Paine, Trent West, Luke McGuane, James Aish, Darcy Gardiner, Tom Cutler, Daniel McStay, Lewis Taylor, Nick Robertson, Jonathan Freeman, Zac O’Brien, Isaac Conway and Archie Smith to the club – we are certain that we are not the only ones excited by them joining the Lions’ pride. It goes without saying that we’re right behind the current membership drive and want everyone who can to sign up as members.

We’re sure that the coming months and season will be one not to miss!

Go Lions!
 

Adam, James, Andrew, Nathan, Craig & the rest of The Lion’s Roar crew.

Addendum: AGM FAQs:

1) Am I allowed to vote?

If you are qualified to vote, chances are you will have received the AGM agenda with a proxy form via mail. However we are aware that some members haven’t received that letter, and should have, so it may be worth checking. The following membership types have full voting rights:

Premium http://membership.lions.com.au/packages/view/111
Prime (with September Member addon) http://membership.lions.com.au/packages/view/112
Standard reserve (with September member add on) 
Victorian Plus http://membership.lions.com.au/packages/view/119
Traditional Victorian http://membership.lions.com.au/packages/view/120
Gold Class http://membership.lions.com.au/packages/view/110

Note: Standard http://membership.lions.com.au/packages/view/113 has a September Member addon available to provide voting rights. If you purchased this as an add-on, you do have vote rights. 

*You have to be 18 or over to vote.

2) I just became a member. Can I vote?

The Club has confirmed that only 2013 members with full voting rights are able to attend and vote at the 2013 AGM.