Hello from Charlene

[C Feeney-Seale]

Hello. As you might have seen I'm standing for one of the fan rep positions. I know I have never participated in this forum before but I felt it was important to introduce myself and give you all the chance to ask questions. I will be active on here through out the election and obviously would use this forum as one of many ways to gather your thoughts if I was to get elected.

[Baldy Foghorn]

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Hello. As you might have seen I'm standing for one of the fan rep positions. I know I have never participated in this forum before but I felt it was important to introduce myself and give you all the chance to ask questions. I will be active on here through out the election and obviously would use this forum as one of many ways to gather your thoughts if I was to get elected.

I'll go first:

What can you bring to the table?

[Since90+2]

My question would be what do you think you the club can / should do to improve atmosphere and in particular the ongoing issue in regards to a signing / standing section?

[Pretty Boy]

How do you see yourself making the role work as a representative of a wide range of people with differing views on many topics? Also what do you feel has been and can be achieved directly as a result of having supporters on the board that wouldn't have been otherwise?

Oh and welcome.

[brog]

Hi Charlene, I believe you're currently London based & I'm hoping to meet up with you tomorrow. Will your current location cause any problems in fulfilling your duties if elected?
Good Luck!

[Brummie_Hibs]

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Hi Charlene, I believe you're currently London based & I'm hoping to meet up with you tomorrow. Will your current location cause any problems in fulfilling your duties if elected?
Good Luck!

Yup, should be a good night

[NAE NOOKIE]

Hello Charlene.

I posted on the other thread my opinion of what having a female fans rep could bring to the table, so I'm not going to repeat it here and bore everybody to death .... suffice to say I see it as a positive.

I don't see the position of fans rep on the board as being any different from that of the permanent board members, in so much as the main aim has to be getting more fans through the turnstiles and in order to do that making attending Easter Road as exciting and comfortable an experience as possible.

The biggest thing in that area the club seriously needs to give full attention to is the atmosphere within the stadium ..... Two things encourage fans to want to be part of a football crowd, the first thing is having a good and successful team on the park, but a close second is knowing that when they go to a game they will be part of a noisy and colourful crowd generating a great atmosphere in the stadium, what are your views on having a section of the stadium dedicated to our more 'colourful' fans and especially the idea that this could be situated in the lower FF?

[H18 SFR]

Hi Charlene, all the very best with your efforts to get elected.

Football club management (at a board room level) will be difficult. What would you bring to the boardroom during a time of turmoil or crisis. What leadership skills would you have that would come to the fore?

[C Feeney-Seale]

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I'll go first:

What can you bring to the table?

Noticed you tweeting some celebrities for support, not think that is a bit desperate?

In terms of what I bring to the role, I’m passionate about fan communication and have experience in my career and through volunteering in working across large numbers of stakeholders. I have a number of ideas I will commit to deliver which will improve two way communication, from providing minutes after board meetings to sharing my preparation ahead of meetings to allow fans to get a much wider appreciation of the discussions taking place. I'm also keen to reach out across as much of the fan base as I can, from making myself available on social media and in person to getting involved in online discussions like here.

[Baldy Foghorn]

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In terms of what I bring to the role, I’m passionate about fan communication and have experience in my career and through volunteering in working across large numbers of stakeholders. I have a number of ideas I will commit to deliver which will improve two way communication, from providing minutes after board meetings to sharing my preparation ahead of meetings to allow fans to get a much wider appreciation of the discussions taking place. I'm also keen to reach out across as much of the fan base as I can, from making myself available on social media and in person to getting involved in online discussions like here.

Thanks Charlene, appreciate response

In terms of publishing the minutes after board meetings, you would be bound by confidentiality to only report soft things

[ozwoody]

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Hello. As you might have seen I'm standing for one of the fan rep positions. I know I have never participated in this forum before but I felt it was important to introduce myself and give you all the chance to ask questions. I will be active on here through out the election and obviously would use this forum as one of many ways to gather your thoughts if I was to get elected.

Hi Charlene,
Thanks for posting.I guess the only question I have is what you can do for fans in terms of building on the good work the board have done in engaging the fans over the last couple of years? I have my doubts regarding fans on a board as they are restricted in what they can convey but it would be good to hear your views on what you have seen and encountered over the last couple of years to make you think you can change the status quo

[BSEJVT]

Hello Charlene and welcome

I have met both Amit & Frank and they are both nice people who clearly enjoy their role and have brought a lot of enthusiasm to it.

Their actions in the role have brought great joy and / or comfort to many, particularly in the aftermath of our Scottish Cup win

My problem is I that they do not seem to fulfil the role I thought they were there to fulfil and as an outsider looking in their duties appear to me to be largely ceremonial.

I am looking for a fans rep who will:

1) Regularly canvass opinion / issues from right across the support

2) Update the support on what these issues were and when they were taken to the board

3) Update the support on these issues and what is to happen with them after they have been taken to the board, even if the only reply is "the board didn't want to take this issue forward and preferably why, although I appreciate that confidentiality issues might prevent this.

Right now I have no clue what my fellow fans are thinking about pertinent issues other than what I read here or what the boards thinking is on some of the issues my fellow fans raise.

I have grown to hate as I have got older the same issue being pointlessly revisited ad nauseum and maybe if the support knew what had been discounted and why or what was in the pipeline or wish list it would make for a better engagement with the club.

I have no expectation of being privy to the board's thinking on each and every thing which appear before them.

I recognise that some of the suggestions / issues will be filtered out long before they get near the board, but much as I appreciate Amit & Frank's efforts and believe there is certainly a place for the "ceremonial" duties they perform I don't believe that the first two years of fans reps on the board have been any sort of success.

The old cynic in me has 2 worries about the current crop of candidates (which includes Amit & Frank)

1) That the current heightened profile / engagement is a short lived vote gathering tactic

2) That they will soon be beaten down by the realisation that their role is completely ineffectual

How would you respond to those worries?

Finally a question for you personally if you don't mind.

The old cynic in me again worries that this may be more about building brand Charlene than anything else?

How would you respond to that?

Thanks and good luck

GGTTH

[Bostonhibby]

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Hello Charlene and welcome

I have met both Amit & Frank and they are both nice people who clearly enjoy their role and have brought a lot of enthusiasm to it.

Their actions in the role have brought great joy and / or comfort to many, particularly in the aftermath of our Scottish Cup win

My problem is I that they do not seem to fulfil the role I thought they were there to fulfil and as an outsider looking in their duties appear to me to be largely ceremonial.

I am looking for a fans rep who will:

1) Regularly canvass opinion / issues from right across the support

2) Update the support on what these issues were and when they were taken to the board

3) Update the support on these issues and what is to happen with them after they have been taken to the board, even if the only reply is "the board didn't want to take this issue forward and preferably why, although I appreciate that confidentiality issues might prevent this.

Right now I have no clue what my fellow fans are thinking about pertinent issues other than what I read here or what the boards thinking is on some of the issues my fellow fans raise.

I have grown to hate as I have got older the same issue being pointlessly revisited ad nauseum and maybe if the support knew what had been discounted and why or what was in the pipeline or wish list it would make for a better engagement with the club.

I have no expectation of being privy to the board's thinking on each and every thing which appear before them.

I recognise that some of the suggestions / issues will be filtered out long before they get near the board, but much as I appreciate Amit & Frank's efforts and believe there is certainly a place for the "ceremonial" duties they perform I don't believe that the first two years of fans reps on the board have been any sort of success.

The old cynic in me has 2 worries about the current crop of candidates (which includes Amit & Frank)

1) That the current heightened profile / engagement is a short lived vote gathering tactic

2) That they will soon be beaten down by the realisation that their role is completely ineffectual

How would you respond to those worries?

Finally a question for you personally if you don't mind.

The old cynic in me again worries that this may be more about building brand Charlene than anything else?

How would you respond to that?

Thanks and good luck

GGTTH

Same question and points for me really. So thanks BJSEVT.

The lesson I've learnt from the couple of years the roles have existed is how hard it might be to match true directorial accountability and confidentiality with the expectations of supporters.

The roles definitely do appear ceremonial, possibly a deserved recognition of outstanding hibbies and maybe something aspirational to have on a CV? Honestly dunno.

I think as time has passed, the current seat on the board, in terms of effectiveness hasn't worked and now look forward to seeing the HSL block of shares leading to a seat with shareholding behind it even if it is a meaningful percentage holding rather than a majority one.

What is the voting criteria this time around? Am hoping it stays close to the last time.

[C Feeney-Seale]

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My question would be what do you think you the club can / should do to improve atmosphere and in particular the ongoing issue in regards to a signing / standing section?

Thanks for your question. My personal view is that In terms of atmosphere from certain games season - i.e. the Hearts replay in the Scottish cup last season I think it is clear the potential the stadium has, but I completely agree I think normally the mood is tense and sometimes too critical I feel. It is probably not a coincidence there have been spells throughout recent years that our record away from home has been better. One thing I’ve found at away games is that it doesn't matter if we go behind, we tend to keep singing and that is exactly what I would be passionate about creating at Easter Road.

While I love the idea of a standing section after experiencing it at Rot Weiss Essen with Hibs in 2005 I am not sure this would be the only solution as having one section making noise is great, but what we need is for all four stands involved.

So what would I do?
· Firstly I think going back to basics is key - there are no Hibs songs played regularly before the games to get us in the mood - why can't we have Hibs Heroes orTurnbull's Tornadoes played in the run up to the game?
· Secondly, is there anywhere fans can see the lyrics to the recent chants so they feel they can join in? It is easy for us, we are all media savvy but what about those people who don't look online.
· Thirdly, can we have a drum, and group of fans who are willing to create noise in each section or even one in every stand - it certainly feels like from being a season ticket holder in the FF we are always reluctant to join in!

However, I don’t think there are any silver bullets out there – maybe safe standing areas could work. If the club is going to look into safe standing areas, then I want it to engage with as many supporters as possible to gets all those views in. As your supporters rep, I’d make sure you knew if such a discussion was on the cards, and make sure everyone had the opportunity to feed into it.

[Since90+2]

Charlene - Many thanks for taking the time to provide a detailed response.

[marinello59]

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Hello. As you might have seen I'm standing for one of the fan rep positions. I know I have never participated in this forum before but I felt it was important to introduce myself and give you all the chance to ask questions. I will be active on here through out the election and obviously would use this forum as one of many ways to gather your thoughts if I was to get elected.

Welcome to the forum. Well done on sticking your head over the parapet, it's certainly not the easy option.
Good luck with your campaign.

[JohnMcM]

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Thanks for your question. My personal view is that In terms of atmosphere from certain games season - i.e. the Hearts replay in the Scottish cup last season I think it is clear the potential the stadium has, but I completely agree I think normally the mood is tense and sometimes too critical I feel. It is probably not a coincidence there have been spells throughout recent years that our record away from home has been better. One thing I’ve found at away games is that it doesn't matter if we go behind, we tend to keep singing and that is exactly what I would be passionate about creating at Easter Road.

While I love the idea of a standing section after experiencing it at Rot Weiss Essen with Hibs in 2005 I am not sure this would be the only solution as having one section making noise is great, but what we need is for all four stands involved.

So what would I do?
· Firstly I think going back to basics is key - there are no Hibs songs played regularly before the games to get us in the mood - why can't we have Hibs Heroes orTurnbull's Tornadoes played in the run up to the game?
· Secondly, is there anywhere fans can see the lyrics to the recent chants so they feel they can join in? It is easy for us, we are all media savvy but what about those people who don't look online.
· Thirdly, can we have a drum, and group of fans who are willing to create noise in each section or even one in every stand - it certainly feels like from being a season ticket holder in the FF we are always reluctant to join in!

However, I don’t think there are any silver bullets out there – maybe safe standing areas could work. If the club is going to look into safe standing areas, then I want it to engage with as many supporters as possible to gets all those views in. As your supporters rep, I’d make sure you knew if such a discussion was on the cards, and make sure everyone had the opportunity to feed into it.

I'm not sure how I missed this reply by you. You have my attention.

[hibeerealist]

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Hello. As you might have seen I'm standing for one of the fan rep positions. I know I have never participated in this forum before but I felt it was important to introduce myself and give you all the chance to ask questions. I will be active on here through out the election and obviously would use this forum as one of many ways to gather your thoughts if I was to get elected.

Hi Charlene,

Please don't be put off by some of the posts in first three pages, there likely will be more t come. However, I can assure you here are many people on this forum who will welcome you as a fellow Hibby and wish o hear what you have to say s a candidate in the upcoming vote.

You will see from my avatar that I may be swayed by one particular candidate, but there are two positions!!!

[DaveF]

Thread now back open after all the guff was removed.

Keep it on track please - IE, discussion with the OP on her bid for the board position.

[MSK]

Charlene, welcome to hibs.net 👍


I share your views on atmosphere & like you sit in the FF stand (lower) what are your views on a standing section in the lower FF with drummers/singers etc ?

I love my seat, as does my Wife, Neice & Nephews & have no intention of moving. How do you see an improvement without disruption/upheaval ?

This to Tracey Smith & others..

HH

[NAE NOOKIE]

Its interesting that of the 9 candidates the only two who have come on here to introduce themselves are the two female candidates .... I know Amit has been on, but he needs no introduction and it is notable that he has probably doubled his post count from the last two years in the last 10 hours.
IMO its vital that anybody applying for these posts is social media savvy, it is after all mainly concerned with supporter interaction and communication and like it or not these days that means the internet ..... having a chat with a few fans at the HSA pre match or accepting invitations to watch St Pats latest presentation ( no insult intended to St Pats ) isn't really cutting it for me.

I don't think the current reps, possibly through no fault of their own, have been anything like proactive enough in forming the link between the club and fans they were supposed to make happen ....... I see from both their presentations that they have a lot of duties ranging from monitoring youth team activities to attending funerals. That all very laudable but is not what I understood their purpose was going to be, I thought the whole idea of 'fans reps' was to present, represent and champion the thoughts, ideas and concerns of the ordinary supporter at boardroom level and vitally to 'communicate' back to the fans the boards response to these thoughts, ideas and concerns.

I mentioned to Amit a few posts back about the state of the artificial turf in front of the east stand ( I used it because it is a minor gripe in the grand scheme of things, but one that a few fans had commented on ) my point being that even though it had been discussed on here nobody at the club seemed concerned about it.
Amit's response was that maintenance work on the stadium was carried out during the close season which is why nothing had been done, but that response goes directly to my point about what role fans reps are in my opinion supposed to be playing ...... That's the sort of response I would expect from the stadium manager or the groundsman ...... I don't want the person representing me at board level to be telling me that, I want them to be asking why something like that has to be left until the close season to be done and give me the response to that question.

If the fans reps are going to be what we ( the fans ) want them to be then without doubt a monthly question and answer session on here would be a beginning and IMO long overdue ....... That way in real time we could find out exactly what the club are doing over a range of different subjects.
For example I asked Amit what the intentions were for the FF stand and the behind the goals bar in light of the well publicised tie up with NHS Lothian and other bodies .... 'discussions are ongoing' was the answer I got ... but that doesn't answer the question, ongoing discussions or not Hibs must surely have an idea of how ANY outcome to these discussion will affect the FF stand. If for example a grateful NHS snap up every inch of space in the stand will behind the goals still be available on matchdays? Will behind the goals be relocated to elsewhere in the stadium? Or will it be done away with altogether?

Hibs must know the answers to these questions and I don't think it would be giving away any vital secrets to at least give an idea of what their intentions are ....... unless of course its 'watch this space for an exciting new development which we cant talk about just now'

At the moment it seems the fans reps are being used to undertake duties more suited to ordinary board members and that IMO is not their purpose .... their purpose is to represent us at board meetings and get us answers to our questions.

[tartanhibee]

Hi Charlene,

How would you balance working life, family life with this role as it appears to be quite demanding for not a lot of thanks?

Also if I may what would you say to people who aren't going to vote as they feel no-one represents them or that it's a waste of time? I'm not sure on the percentage that voted last time.

[Mikey]

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I’m passionate about fan communication

That works for me. You've got my vote so far and it's up to the others to prise it away!

[C Feeney-Seale]

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Hi Charlene, I believe you're currently London based & I'm hoping to meet up with you tomorrow. Will your current location cause any problems in fulfilling your duties if elected?
Good Luck!

Hi Brog,
Yeah, I currently live in London, but I travel regularly back to Scotland to visit family and get to Hibs games, home and away. I also work from Edinburgh fairly regularly, at least once per month. I can commit that I’ll be able to attend all the board meetings, and I’ll be at the games to speak with other supporters.
Look forward to meeting you at the Burns night tomorrow.
Cheers,
Charlene

[C Feeney-Seale]

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How do you see yourself making the role work as a representative of a wide range of people with differing views on many topics? Also what do you feel has been and can be achieved directly as a result of having supporters on the board that wouldn't have been otherwise?

Oh and welcome.

Hi Pretty Boy,
Well, I think the first stage is making sure I effectively gather as many of these views as possible. I think this means not just relying on fans coming to me, but actively seeking out views on social media, at the games/ other club events and online.
The next step is to ensure all these views are considered, and feedback to fans is given before and after the meeting. I want fans to be able to see what is taken in, and what comes out of the board discussion.
In terms of what the supporters’ rep can provide which a traditional board member can’t, I think there are two aspects. Firstly, it widens the scope of those who get into the board room, which can help to bring different views. More importantly though, it creates two board members who are totally focussed on gathering and sharing fans views – something which would only be a perhaps small part of a traditional boards priorities.
Cheers,
Charlene

[Pretty Boy]

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How do you see yourself making the role work as a representative of a wide range of people with differing views on many topics? Also what do you feel has been and can be achieved directly as a result of having supporters on the board that wouldn't have been otherwise?

Oh and welcome. [Pretty Boy]

Hi Pretty Boy,
Well, I think the first stage is making sure I effectively gather as many of these views as possible. I think this means not just relying on fans coming to me, but actively seeking out views on social media, at the games/ other club events and online.
The next step is to ensure all these views are considered, and feedback to fans is given before and after the meeting. I want fans to be able to see what is taken in, and what comes out of the board discussion.
In terms of what the supporters’ rep can provide which a traditional board member can’t, I think there are two aspects. Firstly, it widens the scope of those who get into the board room, which can help to bring different views. More importantly though, it creates two board members who are totally focussed on gathering and sharing fans views – something which would only be a perhaps small part of a traditional boards priorities.
Cheers,
Charlene

Thanks for the detailed answer and for raising your head above the parapet.

[DaveF]

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Hi Pretty Boy,
Well, I think the first stage is making sure I effectively gather as many of these views as possible. I think this means not just relying on fans coming to me, but actively seeking out views on social media, at the games/ other club events and online.
The next step is to ensure all these views are considered, and feedback to fans is given before and after the meeting. I want fans to be able to see what is taken in, and what comes out of the board discussion.
In terms of what the supporters’ rep can provide which a traditional board member can’t, I think there are two aspects. Firstly, it widens the scope of those who get into the board room, which can help to bring different views. More importantly though, it creates two board members who are totally focused on gathering and sharing fans views – something which would only be a perhaps small part of a traditional boards priorities.
Cheers,
Charlene

That's an interesting point, as there was a lot of heat (rightly or wrongly) directed towards Frank and Amit over the treatment of Hibs fans at Ibrox and silence which followed it. How would you be sure that you could do better should such an issue occur again?

[jacomo]

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Hi Brog,
Yeah, I currently live in London, but I travel regularly back to Scotland to visit family and get to Hibs games, home and away. I also work from Edinburgh fairly regularly, at least once per month. I can commit that I’ll be able to attend all the board meetings, and I’ll be at the games to speak with other supporters.
Look forward to meeting you at the Burns night tomorrow.
Cheers,
Charlene

I think that will be a challenge. Don't doubt your enthusiasm, but it will be much harder to be the fans rep if you are not based nearer the club.

However, I've just read your statement and it seems you are keen to bring some organise fan surveys etc in a more structured way. That could work.

[marinello59]

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Hi Pretty Boy,
Well, I think the first stage is making sure I effectively gather as many of these views as possible. I think this means not just relying on fans coming to me, but actively seeking out views on social media, at the games/ other club events and online.
The next step is to ensure all these views are considered, and feedback to fans is given before and after the meeting. I want fans to be able to see what is taken in, and what comes out of the board discussion.
In terms of what the supporters’ rep can provide which a traditional board member can’t, I think there are two aspects. Firstly, it widens the scope of those who get into the board room, which can help to bring different views. More importantly though, it creates two board members who are totally focussed on gathering and sharing fans views – something which would only be a perhaps small part of a traditional boards priorities.
Cheers,
Charlene

I wasn't going to vote at all as I couldn't see how a fans rep didn't just become another director. That may just have changed.

[Viva_Palmeiras]

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Wtf. Poor lass won't come back.

Folks that have worked for PwC are made of sterner stuff.

In that regard Charlene how would you see yourself building relationships within the board with folks that might see you From management consultancy background as bit of a threat?

How would you as an out of towner manage to balance commitments?

Are you familiar with the work of lets work together and working together, perhaps you may have attended ?

What are your insights as to the initiatives successes and real challenges that they just for some reason don't seem to be able to get past?
How do you think you could address that?

tracking comments and themes that get blocked / stalled / punted into the long grass - won't working together have that anyway? Is it better to focus on understanding the profile of our support base and tackling the reoccurring issu of a patchy supporters database or would you bake that in too?

And finally - were you on the pitch ;) ?

Good luck and well done for putting yourself forward and adding a different dimension.

apologies for the bad typing / capitalisation probs - the iPad is an editing nightmare tonight.