Board Members & Co-Optees

Who's Running The FGR Trust?

Not all the committee members were available when the photos were taken - but here are the select few for the time being!

Meet the Committee Members

Tim Barnard ~ Trust Chairman & Match Day Volunteer

Firstly I will start by saying that the Trust has been set up to work with the Directors of the Club, not against them, maybe it is out of place to say that here but it is a key fact.

I grew up in Nailsworth and got my first Saturday job doing the milk round around Forest Green in the 1970s. I started watching Rovers with my mates (now flung far and wide) in the afternoons and have great memories of travelling to away matches at the back of the team coach as a teenager. I moved away in 1979 but continued watching FGR from afar and the 1982 FA Vase run cemented Rovers as my team.

I watched with something approaching fairytale disbelief as Rovers started rising through the leagues in the 1990s and was in dreamland when we reached the Conference. As a Civil and Structural Engineer running my own business I offered our services to Trevor Horsley in 2002 to help ensure that Trevor’s vision of higher things for the Club came true without the wheels coming off. Since that time I have been heavily involved with the Club on a voluntary basis and have written the book about the history of the Club “Something To Shout About”, which is now sold out.

I see the Supporters Trust as a way of keeping the supporters at the heart of the Club under its proposed new shareholding constitution, and the support it has received has vindicated this view. It also aims to increase the support for the club in any way possible.

No village club can survive at this level without supporters coming forward to help the club on a day to day basis, in any way that they see fit, and the Trust is also providing ample opportunity for this to happen, long may it continue. We are FGR.

Phil ‘Pitchfork’ Butterworth ~ Community Liason & Match Day Volunteer

I grew up supporting the Shakers, BURY FC, so my love of the underdog was cultivated from an early age. We were always under the shadows of our larger, more illustrious neighbours and they even tried to change our name to Manchester North End. Tradition and fan power saved the day.

When I moved to Nailsworth my affections gradually changed and I became a regular when the club won successive promotions in the old Dr Martens League. My father and son have also become dedicated Rovers fans. I helped with the painting of the stadium, run the Prediction forum and subscribe to GRASS and the Supporters Club.

I am a Headteacher in Gloucester, work with Trainee Heads and support schools as an ‘Improvement Partner’. Headship isn’t very different from being a manager – we have to coach, lead, weld teams together and have an eye on the budget. If performance drops the knives come out!

Richard Overthrow ~ Web Support & Match Day Volunteer

Since starting to follow Rovers I have become a big fan of non-league football and the whole ‘mucking-in’ culture. If Rovers had a meaningless home game at the same time England were playing in the World Cup Final, I’d be at The Lawn. Sad, I know. I have also done a bit of painting both at the new ground and at the old, during summer tidy-up sessions. The price of living close by, I suppose.

I work in the agricultural industry advising and helping farmers, which is possibly a second point against me after the Gloucester bit above. I occasionally get involved in marketing and publicity in my job which is why I was keen to join the Trust, as I could see a lot of untapped potential at the club which hopefully the Trust can now help to achieve.

Born and bred in Gloucester but never got round to watching City, I’m ashamed to say. In those days (as now) schoolboys went for the glamour clubs. One Scottish lad at my school who supported Rangers (not Bob above) had a very torrid time. I’ve lived in Nailsworth for 23 years but have only been actively following Forest Green for half that time, again, I’m ashamed to say.

Ben Guy ~ Web Design & Match Day Volunteer

Born and bred in Cornwall, I moved to Gloucestershire around 2001 and now live in Uley. I work in the Operations department of a software company in Yate that specialise in providing financial software to the motor trade.

I was introduced to Forest Green Rovers by my now Father-in-law in around 2003.

One of my most memorable matches (I believe my first) was our hard fought 2-1 win over Yeovil on their way to league football in 02/03 season. Mostly memorable because we were one of only three teams that managed to get maximum points from Yeovil Town the entire season as they went on to win the league by a massive 17 points. We also finished the season in 9th; our best ever finish at the time.

Living in Cornwall for the first 20 years of my life, with no quality club nearby, I really appreciate the fact that we have such a big club playing a relatively high standard of football on our door steps.

I’m still pretty shocked that so many locals don’t know who Forest Green Rovers are, let alone where we are. I feel the Supporters Trust can help to spread the word and ultimately help maintain our existence in the top flight of non-league football (at least!) for decades to come.

Shane Healey ~ Fundraising Officer

I know from my family connections that Rovers have always relied on voluntary support to push themselves onwards and upwards and this is a great opportunity to take Rovers to yet a higher level.

I see the Trust as a great way for the rank and file Forest Green Rovers Supporters to stay a part of the Club by investing in the Trust, even if they can’t afford to buy a share in the Club themselves.

My name is Shane Healey and I am a lifelong supporter of Forest Green Rovers. This is partly because my granddad, Bob Peachey, played for Rovers and was captain in the late 1930s, and my family have always gone up the hill to watch Rovers. You could say that Rovers are in my blood.

I drive trains for a living and I first went up to the Lawn in the 1970s and have followed Rovers since then.

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