Virtual AGM 2020

Thank you to every club member who voted in Fanderson’s 2020 Annual General Meeting. The results have been checked and independently verified, and are below.

There were no ineligible votes submitted and no duplicates.

Item 1 – There is only one candidate for Fanderson chairman (see www.fanderson.org.uk)

97.1% Nick Williams

2.9% I do not support any candidate

Therefore, your committee members now are:

Chairman – Nick Williams

Treasurer – Stephen Brown

Secretary – John Wilkinson

FAB co-editors – Mike Jones and Ian Fryer

Mailing Secretary – Jackie Dear

Guest Liaison – Mel Rowlands

Public Relations – Jay Mullins

Fanderson Sales – Lynn Simpson and Stephen Brown

 

Item 2 – Proposal to amend Constitution clause 10c(ii) to the following:

“Members may propose other members of at least two year’s good standing (including the incumbent Chairman and current committee members), in writing to the Secretary”

88.2% For

11.8% Against

An updated version of the club’s Constitution can be found here.


Notice of Virtual AGM, posted 13th March 2020

As per item 10c of the club’s Constitution, no one person may be Chairman continuously for more than five years. Nick Williams was elected at the Annual General Meeting on 21st March 2015, so the post is now open for election again.

You can see the Constitution under the About > Fanderson section.

Item 10c continues that at such point that the Chairman resigns (or after five years’ service, whichever is the lesser):

i – the Committee will make the resignation and application process known by the membership by all reasonable means

The nomination process was detailed in FAB 94, mailed to all club members on 13th January 2020 and new members since.

ii – Members may propose other members of at least two year’s good standing (including the incumbent Chairman), in writing to the Secretary

Only one member was proposed by 29th February 2020 for your consideration to be Fanderson chairman. One other member expressed an interest, but failed to provide any of the nomination information, as detailed in FAB 94.

iii – All members will be given the opportunity to vote (in person or by proxy) to elect a new Chairman at the next Annual General Meeting, in the manner determined by the Committee at that time

We held AGMs in 2015 and 2016: no members attended in 2015 and just one attended in 2016. Therefore, the committee agreed not to waste funds on further physical AGMs, though members are invited to contribute and vote online on issues raised at a virtual AGM.

PROPOSALS

1 Chairman election

Nick Williams

Having contributed to Fanderson’s success for over 30 years, I’m standing once again to be your club chairman.

As club secretary (between 1990 and 2007), I was instrumental in turning around the club’s finances. I replatformed the membership database (twice) to make maintenance and preparing for mailings easier. I introduced the card payment facility, and brought in elementary management information to inform the committee when making decisions.

On becoming chairman in 2007 I gave the committee a clear direction and support, with the aim of making the club more accessible:

  • With regularly updated news on our website, potential members would know that we’re thriving.
  • By publishing FAB magazine regularly, existing members would have confidence in the club.
  • By giving a new, inclusive, direction for FAB we’d see more members contribute to our club magazine.

Membership numbers (and, crucially, membership renewals) immediately increased and have stabilised.

I’ve never claimed to have an encyclopaedic recall of every Anderson fact and figure, but I don’t believe this is necessary to be chairman. As a team leader I am a good organiser and ambassador for the club. I’ve never underestimated or taken for granted the responsibility that the position demands. I’ve never been afraid to stand up and do the right thing for the club and its members – even on occasion that it’s made me unpopular with a minority.

I intend that we should keep everything that has made Fanderson one of the very best fan clubs for the last 39 years, but ensure it stays relevant for today (and tomorrow).

I’m proud to have been your chairman since 2007, and ask you to show your support by voting for me.

 

2 Amendment to the club’s Constitution

It is proposed that item 10c(ii) be amended by adding the following bold text, which would enable committee members to also stand for Chairman:

10c(ii) Members may propose other members of at least two year’s good standing (including the incumbent Chairman and current committee members), in writing to the Secretary.

 

VOTING CLOSED

Voting was open 15th-29th March 2020, and the results will be announced on the club website no later than 5th April.

  • Votes are only valid from current members of Fanderson (ie, those mailed FAB 94 or who have joined the club/renewed their membership since 13th January 2020).
  • Votes will be checked against the membership database for eligibility.
  • Eligible members will get to vote once. In the event of multiple votes, the last vote cast will be considered valid.

The UFOs are landing!

Fanderson members are reporting sightings of UFOs. That is, the club’s new 4-CD UFO soundtrack album, which is now being delivered to members!

We started taking pre-orders for the set from 1st March and, in under a month, 25% of our stock has already been bought. Like all club merchandise, the UFO soundtrack is a limited edition so when it’s gone, it’s gone!

We regularly get emails from members saying “I wish I’d bought your Space:1999 Year One or Thunderbirds soundtrack or “I wish I’d met Gerry or Sylvia Anderson at one of your conventions”, but now it’s too late. Don’t be one of those ‘I wish…’ people and chance missing out on the UFO soundtrack – buy yours today!

Please note that in the current situation we’re dispatching orders as postal services are still operating, though it may take longer than usual for your package to arrive.

UFO soundtrack – pre-order now open (with March offer)

Fanderson is delighted to announce that its latest soundtrack is now available to pre-order.

The new 4-disc set of music from UFO is the most extensive from this series that the club has produced.

To celebrate, our March offer of the month is 25% off the Ed Bishop: Identified audio archive disc, if you buy in the same transaction as the UFO soundtrack and use coupon code UFO50 at checkout. You can only use the coupon once, the offer is only valid whilst stocks last (we therefore reserve the right to end the offer before 31st March) and no substitutions/alternatives are available.

We’re expecting deliveries of UFO by 1st April, and your Ed Bishop disc with be mailed together with the soundtrack.

As with all Fanderson merchandise, the UFO soundtrack has been produced by fans, for fans. It’s a strictly limited edition.

If you’re not already a club member, join up now to buy and enjoy some of Barry Gray’s finest.

Thunderbirds Are Go’s finale – The Long Reach part two – premieres this Saturday, 22nd February

The final Thunderbirds Are Go episode, The Long Reach part two premieres at 8:30am this Saturday, 22nd February, on ITV and CITV, repeated Sunday at 5:55pm on CITV or catch up afterwards on the ITV Hub.

International Rescue attempt their most difficult mission ever while defending Tracy Island from a dangerous assault.

Easter Eggs: A dialogue reference to needing to ‘wear the hat’ is a nod to the original uniform hats from Thunderbirds.

Thunderbirds Aren’t (Le)Go!

Sadly, it doesn’t look like Thunderbirds will be go in Lego form, at least not any time soon!

You may remember that last May Fanderson members rallied to get Andrew Clark’s Thunderbirds Are Go Lego Ideas project over the 10,000 supporter line. This qualified it to be part of Lego’s official project review, and the results were announced live on Facebook today.

Eleven projects were considered in this review:

  • Thunderbirds Are Go by AndrewClark2 (click on ‘Updates’ on the page to see the Thunderbirds version)

 

plus Medieval Blacksmith by Namirob and Winnie the Pooh by benlouisa which will go forward to become official Lego sets.

Check out the Lego Ideas site for more amazing Anderson-inspired designs.

Thunderbirds Are Go’s two-part finale starts this Saturday, 15th February – The Long Reach part one

The penultimate Thunderbirds Are Go episode, The Long Reach part one premieres at 8:30am this Saturday, 15th February, on ITV and CITV, repeated Sunday at 5:55pm on CITV or catch up afterwards on the ITV Hub.

International Rescue attempt their most difficult mission ever while defending Tracy Island from a dangerous assault.

Thunderbirds Are Go: Firebreak premieres this Saturday, 8th February

The latest Thunderbirds Are Go episode, Firebreak premieres at 8:30am this Saturday, 8th February, on ITV and CITV, repeated Sunday at 5:55pm on CITV or catch up afterwards on the ITV Hub.

All five Tracy Brothers unite to stop a raging forest fire.

Easter Eggs: Brains reveals for the first time that the new version of the Zero-X will be called the Zero-XL. The Crablogger is featured, which was a vehicle from Thunderbirds Path of Destruction.

Offer Of The Month – February

Hot on the heels of our fantastic soundtrack sale, we’ve got some deep discounts for February (as always, stock permitting).

You’ll love our series of FAB Book Of…. focussing on Anderson sweet cigarette cards:

  • volume 1 looks at Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons
  • volume 2 features The Secret Service, UFO and Space:1999
  • volume 3 rounds off the set with Supercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray and Joe 90

And, if you’re just starting your collection, remember there are FAB Books of Playing Cards and Bubblegum Cards , plus a fab binder to keep them all in too!

Thunderbirds Are Go: Venom premieres this Saturday, 1st February

The latest Thunderbirds Are Go episode, Venom premieres at 8:30am this Saturday, 1st February, on ITV and CITV, repeated Sunday at 5:55pm on CITV or catch up afterwards on the ITV Hub.

When a rare spider bites a scientist, Scott must locate the anti-venom carrier drone in a dense rainforest.

Easter Eggs: ‘Centurium 21 fuel’ is of course a nod to Century 21.

Thunderbirds Are Go: Buried Treasure premieres this Saturday, 25th January

The latest Thunderbirds Are Go episode, Buried Treasure premieres at 8:30am this Saturday 25th January on ITV and CITV, repeated Sunday at 5:55pm on CITV or catch up afterwards on the ITV Hub.

Virgil and Gordon must rescue a trapped urban-explorer in a trash mine while Brains attempts a risky mission.

Easter Eggs: The Groundskeeper is humming the Fireball XL5 theme song, and this is reflected in episode’s music.