The year 2024 has been a very busy, eventful, sometimes challenging, but ultimately rewarding year for the Well Society.
There have been a series of changes and improvements and plans are being formulated for further growth and development, while we end the year with a much healthier relationship with Motherwell Football Club.
Our attempts to bring members more value, information and access are only just beginning and our plan to help the club grow is at an early stage but there have already been some significant strides made.
Here are some of our highlights of the past 12 months.
GROWTH
A welcome pack for member number 3800 was prepared in mid-January and more than 500 members have either joined the Well Society or re-started contributions during the course of the year.
We have also increased our capacity internally. The Well Society board has benefited massively from the election of Sean Baillie, Amber Johnstone and Philip Speedie in October 2023 and we have added six new board members this year. Greg Anderson, Martin Grey and Gavin McCafferty also joined Tom Feely and the recently re-elected Jason Henderson and Derek Watson following August elections and David Cullinan, Kevin Rogers and Alison Thewliss were co-opted in October.
More progress was made than ever before in utilising the skills, experience, talent and enthusiasm of our wider membership with the formation of our workstreams. Five groups were initially formed in March before being re-organised later in the year to look after four sectors: communications, governance, membership and our growth plan.
ENGAGEMENT
The workstreams were a by-product of several extremely helpful focus group sessions put on for members in the early months of the year, which allowed you to tell us your experiences and suggestions to help shape the Well Society. An online survey also helped inform our new approach and about 100 members attended our annual general meeting in August with dozens more participating online. We also launched our phone campaign towards the end of the year to reach out to members we hadn’t heard from for a while and will pick this up again in the new year in a bid to ultimately contact every member.
INFLUENCE
Well Society members have collectively put in close to £2.5million to own our club and protect its long-term future and deserve a meaningful input, whether that is through your representatives or as individuals.
This Well Society board is determined to be an active majority shareholder and that position has been recognised with the appointment of MFC chairman Kyrk McMillan along with directors Greg Anderson and Grant Jarvie, and previously with the appointment of chief executive Brian Caldwell, who was interviewed by the Well Society board.
Most importantly, members had their say on the investment proposals put forward in June. Most eligible voters cast their vote before the Wild Sheep offer was withdrawn midway through the ballot in July. This was fan ownership in action – 330 members accepted the proposal and 1,201 rejected it, vindicating the clear stance taken by the majority of the Well Society board.
A huge amount of work is being carried out to formalise the relationship between the club and Well Society boards to ensure smoother co-operation in the future.
VISION
Our plan for growth, Our Club, Our Future, was launched in June, a major achievement given the time constraints. The document was driven by the recently-elected Sean Baillie and contains a number of plans for growing the club from within and externally.
Our focus until recently has been to install board members in both the club and Well Society to help implement the vision, and lessons from the summer show how vital it is to be clear about spending priorities and valuations, and to take the proper time to make sure any potential investments work for both the club and supporters.
Progress has already been made though with the Well Society’s first strategic partnership, a five-figure investment from East Kilbride-based technology company Social Jungle, which will provide tangible benefits for all members in the coming months.
FRESH LEADERSHIP
Philip Speedie was the natural choice as our new chair in November after taking the lead in the formation of our workstreams and improving our internal structures, including the introduction of a new CRM (customer relationship management) system. Amber Johnstone will provide vital support with her HR experience, having also shown her ability in organising events and engaging with members, while fellow vice-chair Tom Feely provides the vast experience and knowledge of matters across the society, club and Community Trust from his various boardroom roles. With new leadership in the Fir Park chief executive’s office and boardroom as well, we are resetting relationships across the club.
ACCESS
We understand that Well Society members deserve greater access to the club for their investment and we have sought to improve this. The Live the Dream event gave fans the chance to play on the hallowed Fir Park turf and several members won a raffle to take their place in the teams. Our Meet the Manager event in July gave members an exclusive opportunity to quiz Stuart Kettlewell and Brian Caldwell and dozens of Junior Steel members have run out as mascots at games involving both the men’s and women’s teams. A ticketing focus group recently allowed members the chance to put their views and suggestions directly to club staff.
COMMUNITY
? Remembering the good times as club memorial garden opens
— The Well Society (@TheWellSociety) November 7, 2024
? Motherwell FC and The Well Society officially opened the club’s Memorial Garden yesterday. Thanks to @KGDuffy7
? Read the full story at https://t.co/HNriQ4dNGf#TheWellSociety #MotherwellFC pic.twitter.com/p1EBHYMaC1
One of the Well Society’s founding objectives is to help cement the relationship between the club and community and there have been several practical projects to help this aim, including board members volunteering at the Christmas lunch and working with the Community Trust and SAMH to launch a scheme to help men’s mental health. This year also saw the completion of a major project to transform the Fir Park Memorial Garden, co-ordinated by Well Society development manager Sally Hall, to provide fans and others the chance to remember their loved ones in a familiar and important setting.
INCLUSION
Our community focus is wide-ranging. This year saw us welcome a group of Lanarkshire-based asylum seekers to Fir Park to help integrate them into the community; play a key role in putting on two SWPL games at Fir Park to help grow the women’s game; and work with MFC Disabled Supporters’ Association to highlight their and the club’s work in improving access around International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
CAMPAIGNS
Our drive to help boost the crowd for the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final was an indication of how we can all work together to make the match day experience a more rewarding time for all Motherwell fans. A crowd of 8,327 saw the highest home attendance at Fir Park for 12 years and more than 8,000 Well fans followed the team to Hampden after roaring them to victory against Dundee United.
FUNDRAISING
Our recent 12 Days of Christmas campaign raised more than £11,000 for the Community Trust, the Well Society and the boys and girls’ academies.
2025 – A YEAR OF OPPORTUNITY
We wish all members a happy new year and we promise we will continue to work hard to help make it a successful 2025 for the Well Society and Motherwell Football Club.
You can join the Well Society or re-start/increase monthly subscriptions here https://thewellsociety.uk/join/