Fan Elected Director. Statement from Mike Collins

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Mike Collins

Connections with Cheltenham and Cheltenham Town Football Club

I am Cheltenham born and bred and attended my first game with my father in the late 1960’s. I watched the club with friends throughout my teenage years and have followed them since their promotion in to the football league. I was a season ticket holder for several years and I used to bring my three youngest children to every home game

I was posted to Spain for 18 months in 2003 but I still used to travel back to Cheltenham to watch as many games as I could during that time. When I returned to the UK I became a vice president of the club which is where I first met Bryan Jacob. Since then I have been a regular sponsor of the club and for the last three years I have been a member of the 1887 Club, attending just about all the games I could. This has brought me in to contact, with not only our own board of directors but also those of our visitors, as well as many of their fans. Of course like you, I hear and listen to the many opinions and views of our own fans, when I attend matches, some I agree with, some I don’t!

I have been lucky enough to attend the majority of our home games over the last 20 years or so, including many of the clubs “Big” matches I also try and attend as many away league games as possible each season.

I have been a member of the Robins Trust for a number of years, where I am currently a 10 year member. I am also a member of the 500 Club.

Qualifications and Experience
I spent over 30 years working as an engineer, 16 of those for Airbus, where I held a variety of senior roles, including working in project management and finance management. I was also Airbus UK’s Public Affairs Manager, where I dealt with the Prime Minister, leader of the opposition, several ministers and other senior politicians, on a number of occasions. I also set up and chaired a cross party select committee into the automotive and aerospace industries.

I served for a number of years on South Gloucestershire County Council, Gloucestershire County Council and Tewkesbury Borough Council. Where I sat on a several committees including, Sport & Leisure, Health Overview & Scrutiny and Community Safety Overview & Scrutiny, I also specialised in Planning and Education. I served as Mayor in 2002 – 2003.

This valuable experience has given me a first-hand insight into, finance, planning and education. My greatest strengths are my communication and people skills. I have always been known as a people person.

I strongly believe that I have the experience and possess a skill set that is a very good fit to the requirements of this very important role. I hope that you feel that I would represent you in a fair and honest way if I was lucky enough to be elected.

I will work as hard as I possibly can to ensure that the fans of our great club are heard and listened to in all the right places, including the board room. Ensuring that the legacy that Bryan was kind enough to leave is in safe hands for as long as possible.

I hope that I can depend on your support on the 16 April.

Thank you

Mike Collins