Welcome to the homepage of shiretrust.

This is a time of change for shiretrust which was formed by supporters of East Stirlingshire FC with the express aim of thwarting the aims of the chairman, Alan Mackin, who wishes to sell Firs Park, the club's only asset, and distribute the bulk of the proceeds to the shareholders.

At the 2007 AGM of East Stirlingshire FC the shareholders voted to split the company in to 2 parts. The first, or "A" shares, would be the football club and divorced from the second, or "B" shares which would control Firs Park.

Spencer Fearn, a supporter and benefactor of the Shire would control the football club and, early in 2008, acquire all of the football club shares of Alan Mackin and his close colleagues.

Alan Mackin would continue as Chairman of the company owning Firs Park with the continued aim of selling the ground and distributing the major portion of the proceeds as a dividend to the shareholders in that company.

shiretrust now has the task of supporting Spencer in his endevours to provide a viable future for the Shire and doing what ever it can to help ensure that this future is at a venue not too far removed from Firs Park..

In this site you will find information as to the aims and desires of shiretrust along with pieces on how to contact us, how to make donations and also minutes of meetings etc to keep you up to date on what is happening.

On the left hand side of each page are links to message boards, other Shire websites and the main Supporters Direct web site from where you can access all of the Supporters Trust web sites in Scotland and England together with an e-mail link so that you can leave personal messages.

July 16 2008

The Trust committee are delighted to announce that shiretrust now hold 10 `A` shares in East Stirlingshire Football and Athletic Club. After agreeing a fair price with a local shareholder the transfer has now been officially confirmed. We believe our new status as shareholders will increase our visibility to other shareholders and the media and enable us to better represent our members at general meetings of the club.

Two of the aims of shiretrust are:
• To provide all of those with East Stirlingshire FC at heart with a meaningful voice in the football club • To have an active role in the decision making of East Stirlingshire FC

With these aims in mind the committee recently contacted the vast majority of `Shire shareholders asking if they would consider transferring or selling some or all of their `A` shares in East Stirlingshire F.C. to shiretrust. We do not expect those who passionately care about the `Shire to sell their shares to us but are more interested in those who may have become distant from the club. Experience has shown us that although popular opinion and fine words can be useful tools when trying to influence those in power, nothing is as effective as holding shares when it comes to the `crunch`. As always, shiretrust must look to the long term and gathering more `Shire shares has to be one of our priorities.

June 30 2008

A quiz night was held in the Auld Toll Inn, Grangemouth recently which raised almost £500 for shiretrust and we wish to thank the proprietors and trust member Grant McDowall for organising it.

We also would like to welcome Grant McDowall to membership of the shiretrust committee. Grant`s contact`s and ability to organise the recent quiz night almost unaided impressed the committee and confirmed him as someone who would be useful to us. Grant has been co-opted to the committee for his expertise in fundraising and will have a similar role to Tony Ford. This latest addition completes` our planned restructuring of the shiretrust committee which we believe will work better with the new regime at our club.

June 17 2008

Member Neil Gough has, with regret, resigned from his position on the shiretrust committee. Due to a change of job which meant a lot of travelling, Neil has found it impossible to attend shiretrust meetings and functions for some time now and has decided to let another member have the opportunity to serve in his place. The committee want to thank Neil for his efforts to help shiretrust (especially in the catering project 2007/08) and appreciate his honesty and pragmatism in this matter.

The shiretrust committee has acted quickly to fill this vacancy and co-opted Andrew Miller to the committee to serve in Neil`s place until the next AGM. We welcome Andrew to the committee and expect his confident, direct and outspoken manner and will help to further change its dynamics and perspective.

June 5th 2008

We wish to welcome Graham Stevenson to membership of the shiretrust committee.Graham, who recently turned 21, was co-opted on to the committee as a representative of a younger viewpoint after it was suggested this would be a valuable step in widening our perspective.This measure is the first step in a restructuring of the shiretrust committee to enable it to respond to changes happening within East Stirlingshire F.C.

June 1st 2008

shiretrust AGM`08 - Quick Summary:

Chairman’s Report
The shiretrust committee was delighted to tell the AGM that a Trust representative would be offered a seat on a new Shire board of directors. The offer was made in a meeting the previous night between the Trust committee and current Shire directors Spencer Fearn and Les Thompson. It is one of the objects of shiretrust to have influence in the boardroom and naturally the committee will accept the offer. As time is of the essence the AGM agreed to authorize the committee to appoint one of its members to the position as an interim measure on the understanding that future Trust representatives would be elected in a ballot of all trust members. It was remarked that 3-4 years ago this development would have seemed impossible and that it represented a seismic shift in relations between club and Trust.

Treasurers Report
The Catering project was seen to be a huge success earning the lions share of Trust income – unfortunately with the move to Stenhousemuir F.C.`s ground next season it cannot continue as the hosts will provide their own catering at games. It is hoped the Zebra Lottery can be restored as a major source of income for the Trust to counteract this. Internet registering sites easyfundraising and easysearch provided a substantial boost to Trust funds.

Election of committee members/ Rule change proposals
There were no new nominations so Mark Batham, Drummond Calder and Ian Ramsay were automatically re-elected to the committee. There were no rule change proposals.

Resolution for Independent Financial Examination by Auditor Peter Jack
It was revealed that this years Independent Examination had cost shiretrust less than a quarter of the previous years Full Audit. Peter Jack, who is the Treasurer of Bairnstrust, told of how his fee was to be paid in signed tops, programmes and other Shire merchandise which would help the club. Peter was warmly thanked by the meeting and the resolution was passed.

May 18th 2008

shiretrust have been reliably informed that director and major investor Spencer Fearn has now managed to buy out the shares belonging to Chairman Alan Mackin & his associates. This means that Mr. Mackin`s reign of bad stewardship and negativity at the club when he managed to get on the board after a court case in December 1999 is finally over. It’s frankly difficult to overestimate how much damage has been caused to the club and how near it was taken to the edge of non-existence. The `Shire became infamous for poor results and lack of competitiveness during this time and had to give up its Firs Park home as part of the price of getting rid of Mr. Mackin and his associates.

This news is a huge relief to everyone who cares about the `Shire and heralds the beginning of a new era at the club. shiretrust will now look to help the club rebuild its reputation and hopefully become more involved with its running and decision making. There are big challenges ahead, the biggest being we now have no home ground of our own - that, among other priorities must be worked on in the years ahead. With the source of the vast majority of negativity at the club now removed, we expect supporters, staff, players, directors, interested locals and those from afar who wish us well to pull together to help the club become a source of pride once again.

May 15th 2008

Notice of Annual General Meeting for the East Stirlingshire Supporters Society (shiretrust)

The meeting will take place on Wednesday 28th May 2008 in the Thornhill Community Centre (a few minutes walk from Firs Park), Thornhill Road, Falkirk at 7.30pm.

Members who require assistance or directions should contact the committee by e-mail at shiretrust@aol.com or phone the chairman, Ian Ramsay on (01324)711788.

April 28th 2008

Saturday 26th April 2008 was a momentous day for all concerned with the `Shire. The team`s victory coupled with the drawn match at Forfar meant the club escaped bottom place in the division and avoided sanctions by the Scottish Football League (SFL) for too many last place finishes. The overwhelming feeling on the day was one of relief and we all hope lessons can be learned from this disappointing season to make sure that there will be no repeat in the near future.

It was also announced that the game would be the last senior match at Firs Park. Arrangements have now been made for the club to be tenants at Ochilview Park, the home of local rivals Stenhousemuir F.C. from next season. Firs Park itself has not actually been sold yet - a decision about planning permission is still awaited. However the cost for `Shire to implement new Football Club Licence standards demanded by the SFL (one of which would mean altering the pitch size and bulldozing part of a terrace) was thought to be excessive considering the imminent move to Ochilview and the decision was taken to move now. Firs Park will live on in the memories of a great many supporters but the club must be practical and move on to a new era.

April 14th 2008

shiretrust have recently purchased a portable defibrillator unit which can be used to resuscitate heart attack victims or unconscious people without a pulse using an electric shock. The unit will be kept at Firs Park and will normally be with the first aid team when a match is on and will be available for use whenever the ground is occupied - on a Saturday at a home game and on weekdays during office hours. As well as games at Firs Park, the defibrillator unit is available for use in the immediate area - especially the nearby Central Retail Park, which a great deal of people visit daily.

April 6 2008

All shareholders of East Stirlingshire F.C. should now have received their new `A` and `B` share certificates. We have been informed that the transfer of the `A` shares to Spencer Fearn from Chairman Alan Mackin and his associates are expected to be completed before the end of the season. The confirmation of this transfer of shares will be of great interest to supporters and those who wish the `Shire well and we will post any news at the earliest opportunity.

February 21 2008

The shiretrust committee has been informed that there has been a delay in issuing the new `A` and `B` shares in East Stirlingshire F.C. - these are now expected in late March or April. This will also delay the transfer of A shares to Spencer Fearn from Chairman Alan Mackin and his associates - an act which shiretrust believes is vital to ending years of bad leadership and a major milestone towards a better future for the club. We are assured that the delay is due to unforseen administrative difficulties and we hope to be able to bring good news for shiretrust members in the near future.

January 5th 2008

Those who won prizes in the shiretrust Grand Christmas Draw are listed below (in no particular order):

D DONALDSON

D RAWLE

I RAMSAY

C McKECHNIE

G FOX

D MORGAN

A MILLER

D CALDER

P BROWN

D G BROWN

K TILSON

A WILSON

PHIL ( NO SURNAME)

G MORAN

P B MORRISON

Some prizes are still to be delivered - this will be done as soon as possible. Our thanks to everyone who offered prizes, sold tickets and participated in the draw.

December 28th 2007

The shiretrust committee would like to thank everyone who bought a ticket or donated a prize for the Grand Christmas Raffle Draw 2007. Continuing the policy of supporting good causes from our Christmas Draw, this year shiretrust will be donating £100 from the profits to:

CHAS (the Children`s Hospice association Scotland).

We wish all our members a happy new year in 2008.

December 15th shiretrust 2007 EGM - Result

As expected, shiretrust members voted decisively in favour of both resolutions - 55 votes were cast for and none against. We now anticipate a substantial saving on the cost of our next financial audit in 2008. As a result of the vote, shiretrust rules will be altered to allow members the choice (normally at an AGM) of an independent examination or a full financial audit. An independent examination of shiretrust finances for year ending 31st December 2007 was also approved, the results of which will be presented at the 2008 AGM. The shiretrust committee will appoint an independent examiner in due course.