HUST Chairman, Richard Tomkins said: ‘This is a significant moment for HUST as, for the first time, we have openly recruited and selected potential Club Board Members via a process agreed by, and open to all HUST members. We are delighted with the results and feel we have three excellent candidates who will be an asset to the Trust and club. They all have extensive commercial experience and a strong belief in the important role that supporter influence can have on a football club’s operations and development.
As required by the appointment process agreed by members, before formally confirming our new nominations and writing to the football club we are now notifying our members of our proposed nominations to complete the ‘appointment objections process’. Therefore if anyone is aware of any good reasons why the above names may not be suitable for serving HUST on the football club board then we would be grateful to hear from you.
I would like to thank all those who put themselves forward for the roles and attended interviews. Selecting three candidates was a difficult choice and we hope to engage those who were unsuccessful in other HUST roles as the organisation seeks to continue to grow its capacity’.
The potential nominees are:
Mick Merrick
With 30 years senior management and directorial experience, Mick’s key skills include strategic planning and implementation, technology use and deployment and budget planning and control. Currently, among other roles, he is founder and director of MSC Associates, a consultancy business specialising in Research and Development Tax Relief.
Mick lives in South Herefordshire. He first joined HUST in 2014 and has been a Hereford United and now Hereford FC season ticket holder for the last 8 years.
“I’m really delighted to be involved,” says Mick. “As a Hereford fan for the last 11 years, like you all, I have seen highs and lows. Running businesses for the last 30 years, I would welcome the opportunity to bring my experience to bear in this exciting period for both HUST & HFC.”
Andrew Graham
Following a long career in the armed forces and various police roles, including a spell working for the Home Office, Andrew is currently an organisational change consultant at his own company, ODOS Business Solutions, specialising in business process design and auditing.
Andrew lives in Worcester and has been Hereford fan since 1972. He was a co-founder of HUISA in the 1990s and a HUST member since 2017. He is a keen competitor in endurance events where he has raised funds for cancer and military veterans charities.
Andrew says “These are exciting times. It’s a privilege and honour to have this opportunity. My focus will be on community development of the club for the fans”.
Tony Taylor
Currently retired, Tony is an experienced finance professional who, in a long career mainly based in the South-East, has worked in senior management roles at Unilever, the European School of Osteopathy and Herefordshire Wildlife Trust.
Tony has been a lifelong supporter of Hereford United, and now Hereford FC, and a member of the HUST Board since 2016 where he is the current HUST Treasurer. He has played a key role in driving forward the Trusts financial management. He currently leads on the 50/50 match day draw and introduced the successful ‘play online’ function last season. In addition to this he is a board member of the Methodist Connexions Grant Committee.
Tony, who lives in Hereford, says “I’m delighted to be able to contribute. I would like to ensure we put the fans at the heart of our endeavours”.
HUST Members with any objections are asked to email David Evans, HUST Independent Secretary, at secretary@hufctrust.co.uk. David explains: ‘The trust asks that any objections made are well founded and relate directly to an individual’s suitability to serve as a football club director representing HUST Members’.
The period for objections is open now and will close at 6pm on 30th April. If any objections are received they will be considered by the HUST Board following a discussion with the candidate concerned. If no objections are received then the HUST Chairman will write to the football club to initiate the appointment of the three directors to the football club board on or before 31 May 2018.