2015 Brisbane Lions Board Elections - Democracy comes to town Dec 17th

[Lionguy]

Realise I've done the last 3 posts - I promise this will be it for me (besides, need to get to the pub!)

Lots of posts talk about needing to re-engage with the Melbourne members. Keen to understand what this means. I see that James Kliemt says he is "very concerned and confused about the club's ongoing lack of engagement with our Victorian members". What does that actually mean?

I'm a Melbourne based member - although I admit I'm only a recent convert to the game - and I reckon the engagement (things that the club can control) is actually okay. This year I went to the Simon Black retirement lunch, Brownie's post-game function at Etihad, the Historical Society dinner and the family day/clinic. They were all great events and the club seems to really try to keep Voctorian members involved. Issues raised like the number of games in Melbourne are not within the club's control - they are AFL issues. I'm sure the Board would be happy to play all 11 away games in Melbourne. The problem is that the AFL schedules the Lions to play away games against Victorian teams in Launceston, Wellington, Darwin, Geelong, etc. It's a bit harsh to blame the club for being done-over by the League.

Maybe it's just me. I realisse people like me (generally happy and supportive of the club) are a minority in this sort of forum. Happy to hear other views on Victorian engagement.

 

[Hollow Knight]

It's a bit harsh to blame the club for being done-over by the League.

Yeah, and if you read the post by James properly you would see he placed responsibility firmly with the AFL. Why twist his words? I smell an agenda.

. I realisse people like me (generally happy and supportive of the club) are a minority in this sort of forum.

Wow, what an utterly douchey and condescending thing to say. You're off to a real flyer here.

As an aside, people who show up out of the blue and talk nothing but board politics are rightly treated with suspicion.

Which candidate is next on your hit list? I await with baited breath.

Can I assume the candidate that you either don't mention, or hit with a wet lettuce leaf is the one you are shilling for?

 

[Skoob]

Yeah, and if you read the post by James properly you would see he placed responsibility firmly with the AFL. Why twist his words? I smell an agenda.



Wow, what an utterly douchey and condescending thing to say. You're off to a real flyer here.

As an aside, people who show up out of the blue and talk nothing but board politics are rightly treated with suspicion.

Which candidate is next on your hit list? I await with baited breath.

Can I assume the candidate that you either don't mention, or hit with a wet lettuce leaf is the one you are shilling for?

I didn't get that vibe at all TBD.
I don't think there'd be anyone's agenda drawn along the line of "The club's doing a great job for Vic fans", rather a couple of naive questions wondering what the fuss is about (Lionguy did say he's new to the game).
The second quote was a bit douchey, but understandable given a couple of recent discussions sparked by a couple of 'negative Nellies'.

Lionguy, you're not in the minority, and TBD is right in saying that comment was a bit condescending. What you'll find on this forum, is a group of some of the most passionate and loyal Lions supporters. There are some who take any opportunity to have a whinge, but I'd say they are the ones in the minority.

Recent engagement with Victorian supporters, is exactly that, recent. It has been pretty lacking in recent years and is slowly on the mend, but a way off from where most would like. Being a self confessed recent convert, I don't know how much you're aware of the club history, specifically our Fitzroy roots, but a good number of supporters come from that side of our background and most would count our club as part Victorian, so demand a bit more than just an out of town team with some Melbourne based fans. Although the club can only do so much (re. the draw/Melbourne games) many would feel they could campaign or push harder.

Welcome to the board, I would recommend having a read through more threads to get a better feel for the posters here and how some of the issues you've questioned are perceived by some hard core Lions fans/members. TBD is right about new posters that appear on these types of threads and seem to have an agenda. They are treated with suspicion because we've had our share of that type of visitor and they're not really welcome. Like any community, this forum has all types, but don't write everyone off as dopey keyboard warriors. Some of the people here are highly educated, know their s**t about football and the club and quite involved with the club and some of its movers and shakers. Maybe don't make accusations or judgements on your first day.

 

[Lionguy]

TheBrownDog/Skoob - really appreciate the response. Sincere apologies for coming across a 'douchey' - not my intention but a fair call. Happy to cop to being naive, but can assure I have no agenda. Appreciate the advice from Skoob about doing a bit more homework and not making judgements on my first day. Will retire gracefully from the forum for the time being, do some more research, and hopefully rejoin when I can add value.

Whatever happens with the Board elections - here's hoping for a great 2015 on-field. Love the passion of the contributiors to this forum!!!

Cheers!

 

[John]

With voting rights being for only full members I consider myself as an outsider on such matters as the logo, the guernsey, the 6 games in Melbourne etc, so have hardly ever made comment. But from what I have read on what the Lions Roar have had to say about these issues via their web site and media releases, as opposed to other individuals that have nominated and who have contributed little to the public debate, it would seem to me to be an injustice to James Kliemt to suggest that he, through the Lions Roar, did little for the Fitzroy side of the club over the last 12 to 18 months. In fact I would say from my observations he is an excellent representative for all that support the club be they Bears, Roys or otherwise. I hope he gets the gig.

 

[James Kliemt]

James, thank you for engaging in what for most of us members is a comfortable forum.

There was an earlierdiscussion about your experience and how that impacts your suitability for the board (thus my mastabatory quoting of myself). Can you expand on your 200 word statement on how you feel your experience with the QPS, TLR and other roles means the right man for our board?

Hmmm...Looks like it was in interesting discussion. I've only actually worked in the public sector in the past eight or so years. Previous to that I worked for major record companies and was director of a management company that looked after major label bands and record producers. I have a very long and very varied career path. I'm certainly by no means your typical career public servant!

I work in engagement and digital strategy. Over the past few years I've given strategic advice to hundreds of senior executives around the country about how to connect their organisations much more closely with their stakeholders.

How would I see that playing out in terms of the Lions? Well it's a really big question.

The short version is that I want to begin to realign the club's culture and focus it on being a genuinely open, transparent "fan first" organisation. I think the club could have much more valuable relationships with its supporters if it engaged with them in a more direct, honest and down to earth fashion.

That's not to suggest the club is lying to its supporters; just that I'd like to see it do a better job of talking with them rather than talking at them.

To really do that effectively I think the club needs to get its house in order in a number of different areas. Namely accountability and transparency, governance, engagement, strategic direction and planning.

Each one of those is a story in itself so to prevent this becoming the longest BigFooty post in history I'll address each one of them in a separate reply over the next few days.

 

[MacMum]

With voting rights being for only full members I consider myself as an outsider on such matters as the logo, the guernsey, the 6 games in Melbourne etc, so have hardly ever made comment. But from what I have read on what the Lions Roar have had to say about these issues via their web site and media releases, as opposed to other individuals that have nominated and who have contributed little to the public debate, it would seem to me to be an injustice to James Kliemt to suggest that he, through the Lions Roar, did little for the Fitzroy side of the club over the last 12 to 18 months. In fact I would say from my observations he is an excellent representative for all that support the club be they Bears, Roys or otherwise. I hope he gets the gig.

Bingo!!

..like, like, like like, like!

 

[Hollow Knight]

Not one candidate has even mentioned the sauce situation yet. They're all so out of touch with the common man.

 

[Davemonkey]

Not one candidate has even mentioned the sauce situation yet. They're all so out of touch with the common man.

Hear! Hear! My vote for free sauce and mustard!

 

[James North]

Not one candidate has even mentioned the sauce situation yet. They're all so out of touch with the common man.

For the last time, he's staying.

 

[CarloLion]

Realise I've done the last 3 posts - I promise this will be it for me (besides, need to get to the pub!)

Lots of posts talk about needing to re-engage with the Melbourne members. Keen to understand what this means. I see that James Kliemt says he is "very concerned and confused about the club's ongoing lack of engagement with our Victorian members". What does that actually mean?

I'm a Melbourne based member - although I admit I'm only a recent convert to the game - and I reckon the engagement (things that the club can control) is actually okay. This year I went to the Simon Black retirement lunch, Brownie's post-game function at Etihad, the Historical Society dinner and the family day/clinic. They were all great events and the club seems to really try to keep Voctorian members involved. Issues raised like the number of games in Melbourne are not within the club's control - they are AFL issues. I'm sure the Board would be happy to play all 11 away games in Melbourne. The problem is that the AFL schedules the Lions to play away games against Victorian teams in Launceston, Wellington, Darwin, Geelong, etc. It's a bit harsh to blame the club for being done-over by the League.

Maybe it's just me. I realisse people like me (generally happy and supportive of the club) are a minority in this sort of forum. Happy to hear other views on Victorian engagement.

Completely agree mate. Having been a Melbourne member for the past 6 years I've always been completely happy with the clubs off field 'engagement' down here. Regular post match functions, a great Lions pub in the city and reasonable value in Vic membership packages.
The assholish way in which Bowers and co. treated Fitzroy are behind us now.
Mystified by peoples complaints but I believe it comes down to onfield performance. If we won every time we came down to Melb, more people would sign up and complain less

 

[Tassie4ever]

Hear! Hear! My vote for free sauce and mustard!

Never mind the sauce- how about making sure we can get a pie, otherwise what's the point.

Sorry to return to a familiar theme of mine but footy= pie- how hard can it be?

I'll vote for the Four'n'Twenty candidate.

 

[James Kliemt]

Accountability and transparency

The one clear message that I took away from both the Springfield survey we ran and the Lions Members' Forum the club ran in September was that a great many members are still have serious trust issues in the club. The events of last year are obviously still fresh in many members' minds.

This is just no way for a football club to operate. Disunity is death both on the field and off. It's of paramount importance that we all are pulling in the same direction, from the very top of the club all the way down.

So I want to do a couple of simple things to help build the member's confidence back in their club.

Members Q&A

Firstly I'd like some sort of section on the website that allowed members to ask questions and have the club answer them in public. Not just once a year at the AGM and not just via a private email that no one else can see.

I don't want it to just be a procession of media department spun Dorothy Dixers. I want to see my club brave enough and savvy enough to publicly answer real questions honestly and directly.

Transparency of board activities

In the same section I'd like to see some sort of chronology of what the board has been doing.

In an ideal world I'd like to see all Board minutes on non-sensitive, non-private issues published. I realise that may not actually be practically workable but it's important that the board's activities are seen to be open and transparent.

Whatever the actual mechanism is, there needs to be some sort of very accessible way members can see what their board has been doing over an extended period of time.


I think they are two really simple things, but in conjunction with the governance reforms I'll talk about in my next instalment, I think they would go a long way to restoring members' faith and trust in their club.

On top of that, I think they begin the process of aligning the club to the fan first culture I spoke about in my first post.

Always happy to hear more ideas.

 

[Chezzalenko Reborn]

Give me hot jam donuts.... secure 3 votes

 

[Last of the Roys]

Just saw this article from the Courier Mail / News limited papers:

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport...139439709?nk=9a842c32c4c778bdcd08ac7fba67831f

I know some people on here have been against candidates talking about other candidates, but I don't really understand that - it is an election.

If there is some clear reason why we shouldn't vote for a particular candidate I want to know / be convinced of why that is. Specifically, on Peter McGregor - if people have more information on why they think he shouldn't be re-elected, I think now is the time to put it out there to try and convince people.

 

[Always a Lion]

Just saw this article from the Courier Mail / News limited papers:

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport...139439709?nk=9a842c32c4c778bdcd08ac7fba67831f

I know some people on here have been against candidates talking about other candidates, but I don't really understand that - it is an election.

If there is some clear reason why we shouldn't vote for a particular candidate I want to know / be convinced of why that is. Specifically, on Peter McGregor - if people have more information on why they think he shouldn't be re-elected, I think now is the time to put it out there to try and convince people.

I'm against candidates talking against candidates because this is an election of board members. Unlike governmental elections where an entire party wins office, board elections are very different. I think candidates need to be careful about what they say about fellow candidates, because if they are successfully elected, they may actually sit on a board with the candidates they may've once sought to publicly discredit. I don't think that is a very smart thing to do.

As far as the discussion about candidates between those who are casting votes, it's open slather. As long as it's a discussion about true info, we should discuss it all without reservation, the more info the better.

 

[tancas]

I am a Melbourne based Brisbane Lions member and a fitzroy football club member, i regularly go to the ffc games and attend as many luncheons as possible. I must say the lions have tried to reestablish the relationship but there is so much more that needs to be done, what these things are I'm not quiet sure, but i will suggest when these efforts are made at least make us feel like you mean it and not just doing it as a publicity stunt.

I have a fair bit to do with the fitzroy community, it saddens me when I hear an old fitzroy supporter say they either no longer follow footy or have jumped on another team, there are alot of these people in fitzroy.

The locals that did follow what was left up north feel very let down by the club, they feel forgotten and insignificant and it's for this reason most don't have memberships.

I believe like many others on this board that if the club want a quick rise in memberships, then this is the market. Don't just have a couple of events a year at Brunswick st oval, don't just Reengage with the ffc, reconnect the club with the whole community, reestablish the club with the whole of fitzroy, make fitzroy feel like they have a team again and I believe at least 5,000 new members will sign up.

From what I have read in James's posts I feel like he recognizes this. But James don't just stop at being a voice for the fans and keeping the AFL accountable for us old fitzroy supporters, dream bigger and give the community of fitzroy what they really want, make them feel like they got their team back.

 

[Hollow Knight]

From what I have read in James's posts I feel like he recognizes this. But James don't just stop at being a voice for the fans and keeping the AFL accountable for us old fitzroy fans, dream bigger and give the community of fitzroy what they really want, make them feel like they got their team back.

What does this look like tancas?

 

[tancas]

A dream TBD.

 

[Hollow Knight]

A dream TBD.

Hehe, but seriously, it was a good post, I just want to know what sort of initiatives could bring it about.

Obviously for many, nothing short of the team relocating back down to Victoria and being called Fitzroy again would do (and I can understand that). But what sort of stuff could bring the fencesitters back in big numbers?

 

[tancas]

Sorry TBD that's not what I meant at all.......

I'm totally accepting of the merger and would never suggest the idea of them relocating, I totally apologize if my post was written in a way as to suggest that. Blogging is not my biggest strength, i often fail in getting my message across as I'm no word Smith.

I just feel the Brisbane Lions should reengage themselves with the whole community, get the council on board and put up Brisbane Lions banners up on street poles along Brunswick st during footy season, give out 3 day memberships to locals, give local pub tickets to games to give away at trivia night. I don't know I'm no marketing guru.

Going to a pub in fitzroy to watch say Brisbane vs west coast, you will often find more west coast supporters than lions supporters.

 

[Hollow Knight]

I totally apologize if my post was written in a way as to suggest that. Blogging is not my biggest strength,

Oh I totally wasn't suggesting you said that. We're having quite the two way communication breakdown.

There is no veiled critique of your post at all. I was just trying to work out actual practical measures are the club could do to get a big chunk of Fitzroy people back. I'm not good with ideas.

You've named some above which I think are quite interesting. Just having more of a visual presence in the community is interesting.

 

[dlanod]

Anyone know if I should've received my voting stuff yet?

 

[tancas]

Bang!! You said it perfectly, having a more visual presence in Fitzroy is precisely what I mean.

Brand it as "the Lions are reclaiming fitzroy", build the confidence back into the supporters, let them know fitzroy is a lions hub. Could you imagine going to watch Collingwood vs west coast in a pub in Collingwood and finding more west coast supporters, it just doesn't happening. By the lions recognizing fitzroy as their home away from home the supporters will flock there, fitzroy pubs will become a base to watch lions games, from that friendships between supporters will form, they will swarm to games together in masses, building crowd numbers in Melbourne, making it more attractive to the AFL to play hawthorn vs Brisbane in Melbourne rather than Tasmania.


By the lions basing themselves in Fitzroy and strong holding it, it gives Melbourne supporters a sense of belonging, letting them know they are just as much a fitzroy team as they are a Brisbane team. Letting all lions supporters know they have somewhere to go where others share the same passion, we just don't have that at the moment.

The hawks have been able to do this with Tasmania with great success and they had nothing in the beginning to build off.

These are just some thoughts or suggesting anyway, not saying it's the answer.

 

[whatboutbob]

Anyone know if I should've received my voting stuff yet?

I wouldnt fret just yet. I know some Vics who haven't received theirs yet. I'd give it until Tues.