Dee4life

Dee4Life End of Season Message

Dear members,

There were many ups and downs over the course of the campaign but it’s a pleasure to write to you all with our Premiership status restored after a remarkable end to the season.

On behalf of the Trust, I want to thank Gary Bowyer for guiding us back as champions at the first time of asking. He and his backroom staff will always be remembered fondly amongst the Dark Blue faithful.

His departure so soon after a weekend of celebrations came as a shock to many and we hope that the board will move quickly to appoint a new manager, allowing them time to build foundations before the season kicks off again.

As we shared with you all recently, talks have been ongoing between the club and ourselves regarding a future working relationship.

A formal proposal outlining how we see a partnership between the club and the Trust working has now been submitted.

Key to this is ensuring that an appropriate platform exists for supporters’ views to be raised, respected and reflected in decision making by those running the club. As such, we have called for several measures intended to increase the level of fan representation, engagement and communication, along the lines outlined in the club’s own Customer Charter.

We also outlined the various ways we can help with regards to fundraising, the club’s development and growing our support if the board are willing to enter into meaningful engagement of the type we have proposed.

We will update all members once further talks about this have taken place with the club.

Meanwhile, our director Kenny Valentine raised several issues highlighted by members in his latest meeting with Greg Fenton and he was assured that action will be taken over the summer to address the poor state of several areas of Dens Park. The sporadic closure of South Enclosure exit gates will also be raised with Safety and Security Manager Jim Thomson.

Greg also revealed that investment is being made in the club’s media department and DeeTV offering, as well as the wider people resource. More details on these areas will be shared by the club in due course.

Greg has requested that the FAQs arising from our season ticket survey are addressed as part of an upcoming update on developments to be shared with all fans simultaneously. Whilst the delay is frustrating we await the communication and hope it addresses the concerns expressed by members. If not, we will continue to raise these with the club.

All the best,

Ross Day,
Secretary.

Trust Update

New Dee4Life Chair appointed

Dear members,

I am delighted to tell you that Keith Winter has been appointed Dee4Life Chair.

Keith brings with him a wealth of professional experience having held senior positions in local authorities north and south of the border. Before retiring last year, Keith held the position of Executive Director of Enterprise and Environment at Fife Council.

His field of expertise is town planning and economic development and he holds non-executive directorships and other voluntary positions with a number of organisations.

Keith (above) impressed my fellow Dee4Life directors and I with his passion for Dundee and his desire to ensure that the voices of his fellow fans are heard by the club board.

Keith, who has followed Dundee since 1969 and is a member of the Invergowrie Dark Blues, said: “After discussions with representatives of the Trust, I was delighted to be offered the opportunity to fulfil the role of Chair particularly given my long association as a fan of The Dee.

“I hope to bring some of my experience from other roles and organisations engaged in partnership working. I will seek to achieve goals and common objectives, whilst representing the Trust in its purposes, engagement with, and support for Dundee Football Club and its supporters.”

Keith’s appointment was approved by the Dee4Life board at our meeting on Monday 1 May.

Minutes from this meeting will be available online shortly and further updates from the Trust will be shared at the conclusion of the season.

Keith takes on the role from Norrie Price who has stepped down but remains an active board member.

Regards,

Grant Hill (Vice-Chair)

Chairman's Updates

Monthly update

Dear members,

Over the past three months, representatives of Dee4Life have been meeting with John Nelms and other Dundee FC officials. The purpose of these talks has been to establish a framework for the future relationship between the Trust and the club, including the restoration of fan representation to the Dens Park board.

These discussions are progressing in a positive manner but, given the extent to which the relationship between the two groups deteriorated over several years, there remains some distance to go before we arrive at an agreed position. We feel that for a fans’ representative to be successful, their addition to the board has to be done in a positive manner that adds value to the club and its supporters.

We sincerely hope that the positive dialogue we have had since New Year lays the foundation for a fresh start that will allow us to represent our members – and the wider support – at board level, supporting the club’s development and helping to grow our fan base while also asking challenging questions when appropriate.

Gardyne visit and DSA meeting

I visited Gardyne campus on Wednesday to present the findings of our season ticket survey. A total of 200 members responded, with many taking the opportunity to ask other questions of the club.

We will share the results and their responses to the most asked questions with you all shortly and acknowledge the club’s decision to reduce early bird prices by £15.

After that meeting, myself and several other Dee4Life directors met with the committee of the Dundee Supporters Association.

This builds on our improving relations with the DSA over the past year and it was very obvious from our meeting that the same hopes and concerns are shared across both groups.

Combined we represent a substantial part of the Dundee fan base and we will work together closely in pursuit of our common goals.

The Dundee players celebrate a goal in our recent win over Ayr United. — Image: Derek Gerrard Photography

Earlier that day, Greg Fenton had reaffirmed his intention to meet with supporters’ groups, including Dee4Life, in the close season and we welcome this.

The more communication and engagement that takes place, the more likely it is that the club and fans will move forward as one.

In the meantime, I would encourage as many of you as possible to take advantage of the reduced admission offering for tomorrow’s vital home clash with Hamilton.

Times are tough for many people right now, so we were pleased to see ticket prices slashed to just £15 for the game. Let’s hope for a bumper crowd to cheer the Mighty Dark Blues on to victory.

Kenny Valentine
Trust Director

society updates

Norrie Price steps down as Chair

I am sad to report that that Norrie Price has decided to step down as Dee4Life Chair though he will remain an active member of our Board. He became a director several years ago and held the position of Secretary before assuming the Chair last year.

It is vital for any organisation to have a diversity of opinion and it is fair to say that Norrie is not shy when it comes to getting his point across! He argues passionately for what he believes to be in the best interests of Dundee FC, while respecting other viewpoints and the democratic process.

Norrie played an important role in ensuring that Dee4Life survived a difficult few years and was instrumental in introducing new directors to bolster the Board. I am personally thankful to him for bringing me on board, and for his leadership, support and friendship.

Norrie (above) said, “I am pleased that in my time as an office bearer we have seen a transition to a more modern and streamlined setup. Also that the age profile amongst the directors has been reduced and the resultant influx of fresh blood has driven an increased membership level to almost 500.

“However, I feel great frustration at the way the football club itself continues to be operated. This has contributed to my decision to step away from my current position.”

We will update members on the vacant Chair position in due course.

Vice Chair,
Grant Hill

Chairman's Updates

Monthly Update

Dear members,

Increasing dialogue between Dee4Life and the club has been taking place in recent months, and we are hopeful that this will lead to a stronger relationship that will enable us to better represent Dundee supporters on all the issues that matter to them.

To that end, we were pleased that Dundee’s General Manager Greg agreed to a Dee4Life proposal for members to route any questions they have about the club through the Trust. We will share further details of how members can submit questions over the next few weeks. Greg also expressed his interest in attending a future Dee4Life meeting to hear from members in person.

That agreement came when our Director Kenny Valentine held another positive meeting with Greg at Gardyne Training Centre last month. At this, Greg confirmed that the club are committed to addressing the problems that some supporters have experienced when trying to gain entry to Dens Park this season.

We have agreed to support them in this endeavour and we hope to share plans for an improved admissions experience shortly.

Kenny (above) also shared feedback from members regarding the cleanliness at Dens. Supporters have noted improvements over recent weeks but also report a few areas where more work is required. Greg was pleased to receive this feedback and confirmed that steps continue to be made to improve the general upkeep of Dens.

In response to a question raised by one of our members, it was confirmed the club have plans to relaunch the Junior Dark Blues. We have offered our support for this initiative and look forward to helping with a new offering for young Dundee fans.

Prior to this meeting, Kenny was introduced to John Nelms, spent more than half an hour discussing the relationship between Dundee FC and Dee4Life with him.

Elsewhere, Directors George McIrvine and Scott Lorimer represented the Trust at the recent Dundee FC Sponsors’ evening at the Invercarse Hotel.

Board members George McIrvine (centre) and Scott Lorimer (second right) represented Dee4Life at the recent Dundee FC Sponsors' Dinner. The are pictured with players Luke Hannant and Max Anderson. — Board members George McIrvine (centre) and Scott Lorimer (second right) represented Dee4Life at the recent Dundee FC Sponsors’ Dinner.

The evening was well attended, with players and management staff taking time to chat with guests.
George and Scott had good conversations with Luke Hannant and Max Anderson, who they shared a table with, and both took an interest in hearing about the work Dee4Life does.

The more members we have, the more successful our efforts will be. Please encourage fellow Dees to sign up to the Trust as we aim to provide a voice for supporters.

Best wishes,
Grant Hill (Vice Chair)

Chairman's Updates

Chairman’s monthly update

Dear members,

The most notable piece of work we carried out in January was undoubtedly being able to inform you that Dundee will remain at Dens Park for the 2023/24 season.

Speculation about the imminent sale of Dens, the Camperdown Park development and potential groundsharing has been the biggest concern expressed by members in recent months.

So we were pleased when General Manager Greg Fenton confirmed to our director Kenny Valentine that we will still be playing at Dens next season.

We again thank Greg for taking time to address members’ concerns and hope we can build on recent dialogue to strengthen our relationship with the club.

While this was welcome news in regards to the immediate future, Dee4Life will continue to ask questions about the impact of the stadium proposals on the club and all matters of importance to Dundee supporters.

Given that we will remain at our traditional home for the next season, we have also raised concerns around the general cleanliness of Dens and enquired about the possibility of reinstating a pay at the turnstile. Matters surrounding the series of postponements this month have also been discussed with Greg and we will keep members up to date with any further updates.

Kenny Valentine hands over some of the hot water bottles we donated to Greg Fenton at Dundee's Gardyne Campus base. — *Kenny Valentine hands over some of the hot water bottles we donated to Greg Fenton at Dundee’s Gardyne Campus base.*

When meeting with Greg, Kenny also handed over 168 hot water bottles for Dundee FC Community Trust’s winter support program, which provides a vital service to those most in need in the wider community.

Liaison officer George McIrvine attended Saturday’s DSA meeting. It was interesting to hear the views of their members and learn more about their work and conversations with the club. George also talked about the work that we have been doing recently.

While Gary Bowyer is making adjustments to his playing squad, there have also been a couple of changes within Dee4Life.

Firstly, Douglas Tott resigned from his position as Director on the board. Douglas took on his role last February after first volunteering with Dee4Life in January 2018 and wewish him all the best in his future endeavours.

Meanwhile, Scott Lorimer has been appointed as our new Communications Director.

Scott, who has experience in journalism and public relations, takes over the comms brief from Grant Hill, who will continue in his role as Vice-Chair of Dee4Life.

Scott was straight into action, handing out Dee4Life flyers at the recent home game against Queen’s Park alongside Grant.

They were assisted by Grant’s son Elliot, who was paid far in excess of the national living wage for an 8-year-old in the club shop afterwards.

Young Dee Elliot was on hand to help recruit new members before the Queen's Park game. — *Young Dee Elliot was on hand to help recruit new members before the Queen’s Park game.*

We welcome those of you who signed up after receiving one of our flyers, bringing our membership up to 428 at the time of writing.

While pleased at more than doubling our member numbers over the past six months, if each of us could reach out to two or three others, that number could fairly swiftly reach our medium-term target of 1,000.

That would be significant progress and give Dee4Life an ever-increasing voice so please encourage your friends and family to sign up at dee4life.com.

Finally, minutes from our most recent Board meeting are now available to view for Members when they log in to the website.

Kind regards,
Norrie Price,

Chair

Trust Update

new director appointed

We are delighted to announce that Scott Lorimer has been appointed to the Dee4Life board as our new Communications Director.

Scott is a lifelong Dundee supporter who volunteered with Dee4Life when the club was placed in administration in 2010. He was a journalism student at Stirling University at the time and assisted the Trust on the communications side during that period. He has subsequently gained significant professional experience in journalism and public relations and currently works as an online content producer.

Scott takes over the comms brief from Grant Hill, who will continue in his role as Vice-Chair of Dee4Life.

Chairman's Updates, Uncategorized

Dens park update

At our AGM back in November, and via subsequent communications, our members made it clear how worried they were about speculation that the sale of Dens Park was imminent, with Dundee FC having to ground share from 2023/24

As you know we previously contacted the club for clarity over aspects of the new stadium proposals and today General Manager Greg Fenton confirmed to Dee4Life director Kenny Valentine that the club will still be playing at Dens next season.

We welcome this and thank Greg for taking the time to address what was the biggest single concern expressed by the members we have spoken to.

Not being able to share details of all we have been doing of late has been frustrating, but we feel progress is being made and we hope to be able to update you more fully in the near future.

Dee4Life will continue to ask questions about the impact of the stadium proposals on the club and all matters of importance to Dundee supporters. We sincerely hope to build on recent dialogue to establish a positive and mutually beneficial relationship with the club board.

Norrie Price

Chairman

Trust Update

Director Resignation

Long-standing director Douglas Tott today informed us of his decision to resign from the board of Dee4Life.

Douglas began volunteering with Dee4Life in January 2018 and joined the Trust board in September 2020 as a Co-opted director.
Douglas was appointed a full director at the Dee4life AGM in February 2022.

During his time with Dee4Life, Douglas’ experience of the banking industry has helped us improve the financial side of our operations. The diligence and tenacity he displayed in tackling seemingly intractable issues with banks is particularly appreciated.

Douglas continually tried to encourage Dee4life members and Dundee supporters to raise funds for Dee4life using Easyfundraising for online purchases and Easysearch as their internet search engine.

We wish Douglas all the best for the future.

Trust Update

Hot Water Bottle Donation

Director Kenny Valentine visited the Dundee FC community trust this morning to present a donation of hot water bottles to support the trusts winter support program.

Dee4Life are an active supporter of the great work the DFC Community Trust carry out, the winter support program provides vital service to those most in need in the wider community and we were more than happy to support with providing 168 hot water bottles to help those who may be struggling to heat their homes

Kenny Valentine & Dundee FC Community Trust CEO, Greg Fenton

You can join Dee4Life through our website www.Dee4Life.com

Kenny pictured with Greg Fenton CEO of the Dundee FC Community Trust