Dylan's The Dude

When Ally Mitchell departed the Theatre of Pies earlier this season it was farewell to the last member of our 1997 cup winning squad. Thankfully one of the medal winners is now back at Rugby Park although not on the playing front I may add. Charismatic full back Dylan Kerr is back as 'Youth Coordinator' and he has been tasked with raising the necessary funds to ensure our Youth set-up continues to be as successful as it has been in recent years.

Several local businesses have pledged their financial backing to youth development and a Youth Committee has been formed with a view to cementing the long-term future of our youngsters. The committee felt they needed to employ a well-known 'Killie-minded' person to help raise the

required funds and they decided that Dylan was their ideal candidate and he was appointed a few weeks back.

B&H along with landlord Billy Miller met Dylan last week in the Howard Arms for a chinwag about how he was enjoying his new career and to see if we could help him in any way. Firstly we asked about the Youth Academy which the club, Kilmarnock Academy and the council propose to build in Townholm. The club has submitted all their plans and a decision is expected from the Scottish Executive sometime in July. The decision was due in April but due to the elections in May we have to wait until next month.

On the fundraising front, the Youth Committee has drawn up various sponsorship packages that will appeal to both businesses and individuals alike. Dylan is still friendly with ex-Killie hero Gary Holt and he was delighted that the carrot topped Canaries midfield general was the first person to put his hand in his pocket and sponsor a Killie youth player. Needless to say we all fell for his persuasive patter and all three of us will be taking out sponsorship in one form or another next season.

It's great to see a real character like Dylan back at Rugby Park and I've no doubts that he will be successful in his work. He tells us that he's already planning a big benefit dinner dance at The Park Hotel with a top-notch band from down South, we'll let you know how you can get tickets as soon as the details are finalized. For as little as a ton you too could do your bit in ensuring that Jim Jefferies has a squad of talented youngsters to pick from to promote to the first team. If you'd like to find out more why not give Dylan a ring at Rugby Park, he'll be delighted to hear from you.

Season Ticket Update

We don't have exact figures as yet but we spoke to Debbie in the office last week and she assures us that we are well on our way to a record-breaking number of season ticket sales. Although there has been a slight drop off in numbers during the last week or so, sales are still steady and there will be a surge of interest as the new season gets closer. It looks as if we could be proving all the doubters wrong!

You may remember that Killie struck a deal with Motherwell last season whereby Killie season ticket holders were admitted at discount prices at Fir Park whilst 'Well fans got the same deal at Killie. It appears that other clubs have now shown an interest in this scheme, so with any luck we'll get the same deal at around half the SPL grounds we visit - one more reason to purchase a Killie season ticket. The Share Centre is still kept busy but we still have plenty of current holders waiting to be paired-up so give us a call. Call Sandy on 0774 771 8754.

KFCDSA News

Big Davy Boyd has been in contact with us this week to pass on some information to the members of the KFC Disabled Supporters' Association. Members have to collect their season tickets on either Saturday 22nd or 29th July between 12 noon and 2.00pm from the Administration Centre at Rugby Park. We are sure the majority of you already know where it is but just in case…it is the wee bungalow on the left hand side as you enter Rugby Park from the Dundonald Road end. If you can't make it on either of those dates, contact Davy on 01294 270100.

Davy also tells us that they are trying to help out under-privileged kids in Romania and have got involved with 'Project Rachel' which is a centre for the less fortunate children in the country. There are three volunteers from Kilmarnock going there in August and Davy is collecting old football strips for the ladies to take over with them. If you have already purchased the new replica Killie strip released last week then now you know what to do with the old one! Contact Davy on the number given above and he will fill you in on the rest of the details.

Supporters' Association AGM

The KFC Supporters' Association held their Annual General Meeting in the Park Suite last Saturday afternoon. The cracking day didn't seem to deter anyone from attending and most of the supporters' clubs were represented. The minutes from the last meeting were passed and Irene Brown, the secretary, didn't have anything new to report. Danny Coffey went through the accounts and there were no anomalies as per usual.

The committee all stood for re-election and were voted back in on block. There were a few new members co-opted onto the committee to help out during next season, including young Blair Millar as the official webmaster of the Association website. With the formalities over it was then down to business. The assembled representatives voted for the Association to stay on as a member of the Supporters' Federation and John Sharpe will continue to attend their meetings. The membership fee for clubs will stay at a tenner for the coming season and individual membership will continue to be free.

John Miller reported on how the membership drive was going and indicated that the website had been very successful in encouraging new members to sign up online. He also noted that it would be beneficial if member clubs were to supply him with a contact e-mail address if possible to help speed up the lines of communication.

The untimely passing of both Ian Thomson and Rab Miller, both Killie die-hards, was quite rightly given a mention. A Travel Club representative (with whom the Puddock was a mainstay) then suggested that it would be fitting tribute to his commitment to the club if the they, or the Association, were to sponsor some sort of trophy or award in his honour, but nothing concrete has been decided as yet.

The topic of conversation inevitably turned to the last game of the season and the trouble surrounding it. Chairman Colin Hargreaves told the representatives that his post match comments about the game had prompted majority shareholder Jamie Moffat and latterly club Chairman Sir John Orr to call him to discuss the issues. Colin then met with Sir John and the upshot of that discussion is an open meeting with fans scheduled for Thursday 26th June in the Park Suite as previously reported. It is hoped that representatives from the club, the police and the stewards will be there, but surprisingly no one from the club was present to confirm that.

B&H spoke to cake lover Colin after the meeting about how he thought his initial stint as chairman had went. He said: "My first year in charge has seen individual membership more than treble in the season. This coming season, along with the Supporters Trust, I want to see the Association become stronger within the community".

Read the B&H column in the Kilmarnock Standard every week