WADF Options Poll

[Tubthumper]

Now that we've had a chance to consider the future of this Fund, I thought a wee anonymous poll might help.

Take into account the following when choosing:


Area needs investment in sport
Public are willing to contribute to the right cause
Additional matching funding available to a 'proper' Fund

And the following about our existing arrangement:


Dreadful public profile
Secretary tells fibs
Chairman harasses people
Landowners won't release property to the Fund
The public will no longer contribute
Committee completely unable to meet Fund's aims

[Metalattakk]

Good idea tubs, it's good to get an idea of how to develop things further once this whole sorry débâcle is sorted out.

However, didn't Wick Academy FC wash their hands of this fund completely a few years ago? Would they even be willing to accept money from WADF?

I voted for option 5. Then the new WADF committee can meet and discuss their options with hopefully a clean slate to work from, including renewed, reinvigorated relationships with Wick Academy Football Club and the peoples of Wick/Caithness itself.

[DeHaviLand]

Im with the Metal Meister on this one. The original aims of the fund are fair and reasonable, it just needs some fresh chicken to show the lame ducks what really can be done.

[Blarney]

Now that we've had a chance to consider the future of this Fund, I thought a wee anonymous poll might help.

Take into account the following when choosing:


Area needs investment in sport
Public are willing to contribute to the right cause
Additional matching funding available to a 'proper' Fund

And the following about our existing arrangement:


Dreadful public profile
Secretary tells fibs
Chairman harasses people
Landowners won't release property to the Fund
The public will no longer contribute
Committee completely unable to meet Fund's aims

More power to your elbow Tubs. Hang on in there and they WILL have to pay attention to what the public demand because IT'S NOT THEIR MONEY, they are just custodians of the fund.......................... and not very reliable ones.

[Tubthumper]

Interesting. After 38 votes it looks as if the preference (59%) is to keep WADF going, albeit after an EGM and elections to the committee.

That makes me wonder if the WADF's problem is exclusively with the personalities involved.

[Tubthumper]

The Retain & Rebuild option's still ahead at 55% after 47 votes, but dissolve and distribute among local sports clubs is at 21%. If the WADF would only open membership and let people join, we could be rocking on towards a sports complex. Not stuck in a petulant rut as we are at the moment.

[Phill]

After all the efforts so far to raise the current £100odd grand it would be a shame to stop there. Get some fresh blood into the fund, a wagon load of transparency and get cracking with the fund.

[Outsider1966]

"However, didn't Wick Academy FC wash their hands of this fund completely a few years ago? Would they even be willing to accept money from WADF?
"

Does anyone know how much money was in the fund when it was transferred from Wick Academy FC to Wick Academy Development Fund and i take it that money legally no longer belongs to WAFC if the fund was wound up.?

[pat]

after 604 folk having looked at this poll only 56 have voted - come on folks use a free vote.

Are so many folk out there wanting to know what is going on but too lazy to participate

[Tubthumper]

Does anyone know how much money was in the fund when it was transferred from Wick Academy FC to Wick Academy Development Fund and i take it that money legally no longer belongs to WAFC if the fund was wound up?
I don't know if the money was ever actually transferred from one to t'other. As far as we can find out Mr Gunn, Mr Carter and their friends set it up completely independent of WAFC. For their own hobby/ ego-trip. Claiming to be football supporters but making sure the local top-level footie club couldn't get near the dosh. Despite using the club's name to raise their funds. And so on...

Wick Academy Development Fund. Not a con in any way. Working For The Benefit Of The Community.

By the way, how do you all feel about a 'WADF For Change' campaign? To highlight the issue of our community being completely dissatisfied with the current setup, and looking to force a new management committee... Sound familiar?

[pat]

A few more votes - up to 64 votes now, come on dont be shy.

[AllanT]

I don't know if the money was ever actually transferred from one to t'other. As far as we can find out Mr Gunn, Mr Carter and their friends set it up completely independent of WAFC. For their own hobby/ ego-trip. Claiming to be football supporters but making sure the local top-level footie club couldn't get near the dosh. Despite using the club's name to raise their funds. And so on...



Tubs, from memory and lets not forget this saga has been running for years now the tickets were originally sold in Wick Academy's name but even then ordinary club members such as myself were kept completely in the dark as to what was happening. There was then a transfer of funds from the club to WADF again without the agreement of the ordinary members. I don't know the amounts involved and whilst this is only my own view I think it is fair to say that the football club has moved on with a new committee and whilst WAFC would probably have a valid claim to a % of the funds they would just be happy to see a new committee take over WADF who could put our money to good use for the community.

[Tubthumper]

Very interesting AllanT. On 13th August, a month after questions were asked by Jamie Stone MSP (and apparently as an effort to be open and transparent) Mr Carter posted the following:

15) Many of W.A.D.F.’s detractors are under the impression that we have just been in the business of taking money in from the public and have never assisted anyone with it. In fact, up until charitable status was achieved, i.e. at the time when we were still able to, some of our funds were used to bail out and rescue a local football club from the dire financial predicament that they had got themselves into. It is no exaggeration to say that the efforts of W.A.D.F. probably saved that football club from extinction at that time. It is quite ironic then, that so many of those who have seen fit to cause us so much annoyance over the years still have or had strong links to that particular organisation.
16) W.A.D.F. became disillusioned by the lack of effort and interest being shown towards the selling of A-T Lucky Letters lottery tickets by many of those within that football club. They appeared quite content to sit back and be bank-rolled by the efforts of W.A.D.F. rather than be bothered to put in some real effort by themselves. We have no legal obligation to reveal the exact amount of money involved, but it runs to several thousand pounds and appears on our pre-charitable status accounts for that period.

And also the following:

21) W.A.D.F. has never received any financial donations or gifts of money from any individuals, businesses or other organisations.

Of course what Mr Carter 'forgot to mention' was that the people in charge of the failing WAFC at that time were... Mr Gunn and Mr Carter, while the only people permitted near WADF were... Mr Gunn, Mr Carter and selected friends! Or that some poor benighted people actually thought the tickets they'd bought would actually go towards developing Wick Academy!

Transfers between two organisations run secretively by the same people would have been simple, without needing to divulge anything to the mere ordinary WAFC members (i.e. the community the WADF is 'working for the benefit of'). AllanT's point about transfers OUT of WAFC funds (while the club was about to become extinct?) also makes the £132 500 raised so far seem a bit less worthy. But I suppose on the whole we can assume that Mr Carter's whole 3000 word epic was just more of his fantasies and fibs.

Can whoever has taken over from Mr 'Pork-Pie' Carter as acting Secretary of WADF please PM me?

[Moonboots]

Well i voted to distribute to local sporting groups....

The reason being is that we (Thurso Youth FC) are currently looking for funding to make our home ground in Thurso. We have got the ground but need drainage, lighting, fencing, changing facilities etc to make it upto a playing standard for youth teams. All teams in the Caithness Boys Association will have access to this ground to play their games. In our 2nd phase we are going to make an area for a street football arena which everyone can use.

I think this would help the clubs in Caithness and not just us with the current price charges from the Highland Council for using of the school pitches and gyms/halls for youth sports when it used to be free to all youth sports and not just football.

[ducati]

Well i voted to distribute to local sporting groups....

The reason being is that we (Thurso Youth FC) are currently looking for funding to make our home ground in Thurso. We have got the ground but need drainage, lighting, fencing, changing facilities etc to make it upto a playing standard for youth teams. All teams in the Caithness Boys Association will have access to this ground to play their games. In our 2nd phase we are going to make an area for a street football arena which everyone can use.

I think this would help the clubs in Caithness and not just us with the current price charges from the Highland Council for using of the school pitches and gyms/halls for youth sports when it used to be free to all youth sports and not just football.

This sounds extremely worthy Moonboots, you would think a local charity dedicated to empowering sports organisations in the area, would be falling over themselves in the rush to help out.

[Moonboots]

by time they will however this is the first time of making this public.

We have been given the green light from the Highland Council so all we need to do now is get funding...

[Tubthumper]

That's one local sports group staked a claim. Any others out there interested in some investment capital?

[Blarney]

Just thinking that if, as seems likely, the new Wick High School is going to incorporate a swimming pool and library, there are going to be a couple of perfectly good, redundant buildings in the town. I'm sure that they, or at least the swimming pool, could be put to good use as some sort of sports centre with the appropriate refurbishment funding in place.

[Tubthumper]

Poll closes tomorrow folks. Get your votes in, let our chums in the WADF know what the community thinks, give the OSCR an idea of how we feel!

[speedo215]

Well i voted to distribute to local sporting groups....

The reason being is that we (Thurso Youth FC) are currently looking for funding to make our home ground in Thurso. We have got the ground but need drainage, lighting, fencing, changing facilities etc to make it upto a playing standard for youth teams. All teams in the Caithness Boys Association will have access to this ground to play their games. In our 2nd phase we are going to make an area for a street football arena which everyone can use.

I think this would help the clubs in Caithness and not just us with the current price charges from the Highland Council for using of the school pitches and gyms/halls for youth sports when it used to be free to all youth sports and not just football.


Why don't you write to WADF after all you wont be classed as a troublemaker and might get somewhere with them

[Tubthumper]

Why don't you write to WADF after all you wont be classed as a troublemaker and might get somewhere with them
That's a good point. But Moonboots might be better to contact one of the other three WADF honorary officers (committee members), that's William More (Vice-Chairman), William Wydmuch (Treasurer) or Allan Wares (Executive Officer), seeing as the Secretary can't be trusted and the Chairman has other difficulties.

In the absence of any other information, I would send the request to the registered address:
16 Thurso Street
Wick
KW1 5LF

I'm sure Mr Carter will forward the letter on to someone who can deal with it.

[Tubthumper]

Last chance for the Poll!

[Tubthumper]

So there we have it.
Over half of the 78 people who voted are in favour of WADF continuing, albeit after new memberships and elections to the committee. Combining the Fund with the Halkirk complex wasn't popular, but surprisingly neither was putting the money into the new High School pot, while dividing between local sports clubs and giving the cash (back?) to WAFC polled about 20% each.
Not very scientific perhaps. But a pretty clear message to the existing committee.

Thanks for voting people, see you se back on the main sticky thread.:cool: