RANGERS SUPPORTERS TRUST

Last updated : 11 March 2003 By BEARSDEN BEAR

I am delighted to say that the response to the formation of the trust from Bears spread far and wide has been very positive indeed. It makes the many man-hours invested by the inaugural Trust Board members - all of whom are regular posters on the FF Message Boards - worthwhile.

Even in the week leading up to a vital Old Firm game, fans have been sufficiently motivated to take the long-term view, and get involved, whether by the offer of help (financial or physical) or by a prospective Trust Board member, or even as an ordinary member.

The most important point, worth re-iterating at the start, is that you do not have to be an existing RFC shareholder to join the Trust.

Nor do you have to attend the Launch on the morning of the Thistle game to join, although a good attendance is expected, and we hope to have an ex-player or two along to join us.

The Trust Board will most likely end up with 20 members - the majority of whom will be elected, probably late August, but meantime we can get up and running from Saturday 5 April. We are considering employing the services of the Electoral Reform Society to administer the ballot, so it can be seen to be completely independent, and we shall outline the nomination procedures at the Launch meeting. The founder members have expressed a wish though, that we have a NARSA representative, one from Northern Ireland, at least one from the Rangers Supporters Alliance and one from a Supporters Club based more than 50 miles away.

The founder members are based in East Kilbride, Bearsden, Knightswood, Ayr and Bothwell - but this is not just a local initiative, hence our desire to try and emulate Rangers global fanbase.

Further details cvan be found on our website

http://www.rangerssupporterstrust.co.uk which unfortunately collapsed

under the sheer volume of hits last night! A good sign, I suppose . . .

Exciting times lie ahead for the Supporters Trust movement as a whole, and with the goodwill and enthusiasm seen so far, the Rangers one in particular.

BEARSDEN BEAR