HUST have released details of members who have agreed to stand for the HUST board at the forthcoming AGM which is being held on September 17th at Edgar Street commencing at 7pm.
Andy Carr
Nominees: Martin Watson and Chris Williams
I am 36 years of age and live in Hereford, and have been watching football at Edgar Street since the age of five.Throughout my time following Hereford United, I have always sought to get involved as much as possible since taking out my first Junior Bulls membership. Growing up watching my local club through the good (and mainly not so good) times has been a character-building experience for me, but one that has given me a lot of good memories.
As a match mascot on my birthday, I was too scared to talk to Darren Peacock and overawed at hearing the noise of the Meadow End from the pitch; as a ballboy a few years later, I was told to ‘stop f**king timewasting’ by the Colchester player-manager in the game where Chris Pike scored a hat-trick against three different ‘keepers; as a supporter, I made what looked like a questionable decision to travel to Dagenham dressed as a Mexican for a Friday night game that was going to be on TV anyway (and thoroughly enjoyed my evening); as a target man for the supporters’ team, my finest moment was undoubtedly lobbing the Morecambe goalkeeper from (at least) 45 yards – and then being played at left back in the next game.
I volunteered for the Official Website during the Graham Turner era, providing match reports and interviews, and once found Guy Ipoua collapsed in a shop doorway opposite Saxtys in the early hours of Sunday morning.
My interests away from Edgar Street are travel and watching live sport. As a fully paid-up member of the Barmy Army, I have seen both an Ashes win down under, and a 5-0 drubbing – which strangely felt more familiar. I also sit on the committee of Hereford Live, a local community group dedicated to promoting live music, and helped to organise the recent ‘Sounds of the Shire’ festival which saw over 30 live acts play in eight different venues over nine consecutive days.
If elected, I believe my prior experience and current work as a self-employed web designer will bring relevant skills, knowledge and enthusiasm to the board.
Andy Swift
Nominees: Martin Watson and Chris Williams
Now retired, I had my own successful business in the barcode industry.An avid football fan and enthusiastic Hereford Utd. supporter, season ticket holder, I decided to put my spare time, and previous experience, to good use and was co-opted onto the HUST board in April to take charge of the Prize Bull lottery. This is now running smoothly and generating much needed funds for share purchase. If elected, there plans in place to increase the volume of ticket sales by appointing “agents” and so create further interest in the Hereford population at large.
In addition to the lottery, I am also jointly responsible for the organisation of the successful 50/50 draw. Whilst the two above mentioned activities are responsible for a good income, it is absolutely necessary to hold events throughout the year to help swell the coffers and help achieve our stated aim of at least a 50% shareholding in Hereford FC. Rest assured I am very much committed to helping the trust reach that target.
I am married with two children and one grand-daughter and live in Burghill. Though I play golf and also deliver Meals on Wheels to the elderly, I have lots of spare time to devote to my roles within HUST.
It is imperative that we all work together to ensure the success of the new football club and provide the necessary finance to enable it to make rapid progress up the pyramid. In doing so it may well be possible to renegotiate the terms of the present setup and ultimately achieve a fan controlled club.
Cliff Spooner
Nominees: Mike Langford and Martin Watson
35 years’ experience in the upstream oil and gas industry as a geologist.Initially working at the rig site as the oil company’s geological consultant throughout Africa, The Middle East, The Far East and Europe including the North and Mediterranean Seas. The locations could be either on or offshore, remote and hostile, involving deserts or jungles, and be subject to conflict e.g. Somalia, Nigeria, Congo, and Gabon among others.
Subsequently, my role developed into an oil well planning, execution, and appraisal position, which apart from the technical side, involved liaison with oil company partners, foreign government ministries, our own and other countries’ embassies overseas, along with the mentoring or training of national staff, members of the oil company team, and other service providers.
Currently I work halftime with Stag Geological Services Ltd. an oilfield geological/engineering and training service provider based in Aldermaston, with approx. 200 geologists and engineers available worldwide and labour under the title of “Operations Manager”. My role is a loose, wide-ranging, overview position, which primarily deals with oil company contract acquisition, negotiation and maintenance, along with troubleshooting issues with subcontractors, consultants and clients. Planning and development are also involved, as are day-to-day operational matters, with some input into training.
A more recent development is my involvement in developing an industrywide competency strategy for geologists at all levels, to assist in avoiding incidents like the BP Makondo well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico.
For the last 20 years I have been a season ticket holder at HUFC/HFC, a member of HUST since its inception, and I contributed in a small way to the volunteering effort in recent months by assisting with the clearup and painting at Edgar Street.
In summary, I have a background in planning, negotiation, and conflict resolution, along with experience of performing in adverse conditions, all of which should prove useful to HUST, fellow fans, and ultimately, HFC itself.
Mike Langford
Nominees: Martin Watson and Chris Williams
64 years old.Worked for Lloyds Bank for 37 years and came to Hereford in 1988 from Newcastle Upon Tyne to run the Business Centre in the Lloyds branch in High Town. Football fanatic, as is my son Paul, and we quickly found Edgar Street and watched the team playing in the 4th Division with our hero Phil Stant leading the front line.
In 1992 I moved to Lloyds Corporate Banking and spent the last 14 years of my career as a Senior Manager looking after the larger corporate businesses before taking early retirement in 2006. The last 7 years were spent working out of the Gloucester office and I travelled daily as I did not want to move out of Herefordshire.
Before deciding to retire from Lloyds Bank I was offered a job by one of my customers in Hereford and I have now worked as a Business Manager for his group of Companies for the past 9 years. My main duties are on the Property side and involve control of the finances and preparation of the spreadsheets for audit purposes. I speak with our Solicitors and Bankers, being the main point of contact. I also deal with the administration and daily paperwork.
I am married with 2 children and 3 grandchildren and live in Burghill. I am involved as Chairman of Hereford 41 Club, Chairman of St Mary’s Burghill Manco Ltd (a management company where I live) and Gift Aid Officer at St Mary the Virgin Church in Burghill. In July 2015 I was appointed as the HUST Liaison Director on the board of the new Hereford FC.
When I have time I play golf at Burghill Valley Golf Club. I intended to be a part of the original HUST set up but health problems and an operation put this on hold. Took over as Honorary Treasurer from Jack James when he decided to step down at the 1st AGM in September 2014 and was co-opted onto the Board of HUST.
I am keen to ensure that HUST supports the new Hereford FC. This is a community club and we should all be pulling in the same direction to make the club successful again. To get a team playing at Edgar Street this season has been a major achievement. I bring enthusiasm and commitment to the job of Treasurer and a sound professional and financial background.
Peter Davies
Nominees: Martin Watson and Chris Williams
Born in Liverpool 1950Profession: Retired architect
Having moved to the borders in late 1974 to take up a position as an architectural assistant, I first set foot in Edgar Street, albeit as a Tranmere Rovers supporter, in January 1975. Hereford won 2-0. With promotion to the old second division the following year, and as Edgar Street was my nearest league ground, I started attending matches on a more regular basis whilst still remaining a Rovers fan.
However, after getting married, starting a family and with my career and other commitments taking up more of my time I only went to a handful of matches a year during the 1980s and 90s. During that period, I can’t remember exactly when, I went from being a Rovers fan and United follower to being a United fan and a Rovers follower. Certainly by January 1998 when the teams met in the FA Cup I considered myself a United fan but being unable to get in the home end I watched the match in silence from the Blackfriars end listening to the abuse thrown at the United supporters (it’s not only geographically challenged cockneys who think we’re Welsh w*********s).
Since the turn of the century I have been a regular at Edgar Street and am currently a season ticket holder. Before my retirement I was the head of the architectural section of Powys County Council that carried out work not only for the County Council but also the Health Trust, Housing Associations and other community organisations. The section ran its own trading account and so I am well used to managing budgets and meeting targets and working on committees. In addition to supporting Hereford I am a keen recreational runner having in the past competed in the Herefordshire Cross Country League and road races from 5k to marathon distance. For the past few years I have been the secretary and compiler of the year book of the Llandrindod Wells and Area Twinning Association that recently facilitated a successful trip to Germany by a Llandrindod FC junior football team.
Following appeals from the HUST Board for help earlier this year I offered to take minutes of meetings if a Hereford based minutes secretary could not be found and help with membership applications. Since then I have stood in for the regular minutes secretary a couple of times.
Prior to attending the meetings I had never met any of the Board members although I did have a brief word with Martin Watson whilst following a coffin through Hereford to present the petition to the Council last summer. As, with only a week to go before nominations for a place on the HUST Board closed, nobody had volunteered take on the membership role Chris Williams approached me to consider putting my name forward.
After a great deal of consideration I filled in a nomination form as I believe that a strong supporters’ trust is essential for the future wellbeing of the club. We now have three members of the HUST board serving on the board of Hereford FC in spite of the fact that HUST so far has only purchased a fraction of the shares allocated, a situation that the supporters of most clubs without fan representation would envy. Their standing on the HFC board will be enhanced if they are backed by a large, well-run, supporters’ trust that not only raises money to purchase shares but also takes an active part in the running of the club by supporting but when necessary questioning how the club is run. If places in the HUST Board remain unfilled then their efforts and will be diluted.
A large, successful, and respected Trust would also in a few years’ time be in a strong position to lobby for equality on the HFC board if circumstances are such that Trust members feel it necessary. However, what is required now is a unified approach with everyone pulling in the same direction to get the club back where it belongs in the football pyramid.