Charlton fans Jon Whitfield and Lewis Catt have been elected to the Charlton Advisory Board by the club’s supporters.
The pair join representatives from Charlton Athletic Community Trust, Charlton Athletic Supporters’ Trust and the Ex-Players’ Association on the Advisory Board which will meet for the first time next week.
The Charlton Advisory Board was announced at the end of September as part of the club’s new fan engagement strategy, which is aligned to the Board’s vision to become 'the most cohesive and sustainable community-driven club in the UK competing at an elite level'. Read more about the Fan Engagement Strategy here.
From an initial list of close to 40 candidates, through the selection process with the Football Supporters’ Association, five individuals were selected to be part of the fan election to determine the two supporter representatives on the Charlton Advisory Board. Voting in the election closed on Wednesday, with Jon and Lewis achieving the most votes.
The other initial members of the Board can now also be confirmed:
Charlton Athletic Supporters’ Trust representatives
Heather McKinlay
In joining the Advisory Board from the outset, I will strive to ensure we offer serious counsel to the football club, reflecting Charlton’s heritage of fan activism. Charlton is the original community club. Our most successful period in recent memory was built on a foundation of the club’s owners and directors listening to fans and stakeholders and all pulling in the same direction. I’ll do my best to make sure that the Advisory Board focusses on re-establishing that spirit and ambition.
Sam White
Charlton needs to be fighting to get younger fans attending games and supporting the Addicks. I’m looking forward to representing not only CAST, but also those of us who only briefly saw the Premier League days (or even missed out altogether). Supporters often focus on our history and past. I’m extremely keen to make sure we look to the future too, succession planning for our fans who are just starting their Addicks journey.
Charlton Athletic Community Trust representatives
Marilyn Toft
Born in the local area and as a lifelong Charlton fan and season-ticket holder as well as Chair of the Charlton Athletic Community Trust (CACT), it is indeed a privilege to be taking up this position, working in partnership with Charlton Athletic Supporters' Trust (CAST), the fans and other key stakeholders to make a real difference to the progress of the club both on and off the pitch. CACT is proud to be part of this opportunity to help shape the club’s fan engagement strategy and much more through sharing its successful work on community development, so we all move forward together in achieving our ‘one club’ vision.
Calum Coker
As a lifelong Charlton supporter and season-ticket holder for nearly 20 years, as well as a proud trustee of CACT, I'm honoured to join this group. I’m excited to collaborate with CAST and fellow fans to drive meaningful change for the club while strengthening the Community Trust’s positive and growing relationship with Charlton Athletic.
Former Addick Steve Brown has also been appointed to the Board as a representative of the Ex-Players’ Association. A representative of the club’s seasonal hospitality holders will also be appointed to the Board in due course.
The Board, which will be chaired initially by Marilyn Toft, will operate under a strict code of ethics and confidentiality agreement, enabling appropriate sharing of information, with meetings focusing on:
- A review of the main areas of the club including finance, operations, sales and marketing, communications, infrastructure
- A status report of the working groups
- Club strategy on long-term planning