An open letter published on behalf of the Newcastle Jets Members Sub-Committee.
Hi Everyone,
Late last year we nominated (as many others did) to sit on the club’s Members Sub-committee, and we were lucky enough to be given the chance to contribute. The Jets have committed to retaining the Sub-Committee in the new organisation and as a group of fans we are excited and proud of the opportunity to act as representatives of the club’s Members, supporters and the community the club represents. We do not seek to speak on behalf of all you, what we seek is for all fans to be listened to. It must be said that the club in our meetings have been open, honest, receptive to new ideas and positive. In light of recent changes it’s hoped more can be made of this Sub-Committee as a fans voice into the future, but we are acutely aware we are not, nor should be considered the only voice fans have.
Given the significant changes that have occurred in the last week or so we are writing to you all to implore you to make this off-season count more than any other in our history. The FFA has announced they are planning three forums – one for business, one for embers, and one for fans.
We cannot stress the importance strongly enough of making sure we attend these meetings in large numbers and present our views clearly and proudly.
Before attending please start thinking and talking to others about what the club means and what you want it to mean to you, your family, your local club and the code of football in the Hunter and Northern New South Wales.
We have been discussing with the club at length topics such as match day experience, club merchandise, online initiatives, access to players and community engagement through schools and local clubs. These upcoming forums are a chance to demonstrate the strength and depth of support not only the club has, but the code of football in the region.
Beyond the topics already discussed we must be ready to show that we have strong feelings and beliefs about club structure, club values and other issues that are truly important in how the club represents us and our region both on and off the pitch.
If you would like to contribute your thoughts or discuss the matter further with anyone of us, please email us at memberssubcommittee@gmail.com.
If you’d like to join an online discussion a new thread for just this topic has been started on the forums at newcastlefootball.net – click here.
There has been a great deal of discussion on social media and while we try very hard to keep abreast of peoples thoughts and feelings about such important issues, Facebook and Twitter move so fast, and good ideas get lost easily. We encourage you to keep those discussions happening, but also throw your two cents at us via the methods above.
We might only get one shot at getting this “new entity” to work, so now is the time for us all to come together and speak proudly of want we our football club’s future to be and how we want it to be realised.
Lastly for more info about who we are and minutes of recent meetings, they are available here.
Again, we implore you to engage with the process the FFA and club administration are embarking on. It’s our time to be heard!
On behalf of the Members Sub-Committee, thank you!
Gavin Austin
