The Heart of Midlothian Shareholders' Association came into being in its present form almost thirty years ago and exists to advance the interests of Heart of Midlothian FC, to express and represent the views of the shareholders of Heart of Midlothian FC and to provide a social forum for Association members and their guests.

The office bearers and members of the Committee of The Association maintain a regular contact with senior representatives of Heart of Midlothian FC, and The Association also actively interacts with other groups that share our ambitions for Hearts. We have one representative on the Hearts Youth Development Committee, one on the Fans' Forum, one on the Hearts Supporters' Trust and two attend the G10 Supporters' Group where representatives of the club meet with the four supporters' groups (The Shareholders' Association, the Fans' Forum, the Supporters' Trust and the Federation of Hearts Supporters' Clubs). Members are kept up to date with developments from these meetings at our regular monthly dinners that are held throughout the season.

Fundraising

The Association actively raises money in support of Hearts Youth Development and other good causes associated with Hearts. In recent years our membership has donated on average £5,000 a year that has met the cost of regular weekly video analysis for the youth teams and three sets of portable goals for use out with the Academy. In 2006 we gave a donation of £5,000 to fund the production costs of the 'Player Planner', a comprehensive information booklet and diary and DVD issued to all players who join the Academy. Hearts are believed to be the only club in Scotland to have undertaken such an initiative.

The Association also contributed £1,500 to Hearts Education and Community Trust. The Trust is a partnership between Hearts and various organisations to fund initiatives for the benefit of children and adults within the community and The Association is a founding partner of the Hearts Learning Centre.

The Membership also agreed to donate £1,500 last year to the Hearts Archive Group which is authorised to buy items of interest that are worthy of inclusion in the proposed Hearts Museum in the new Main Stand. At the Association's Annual General Meeting in January 2008, the Membership agreed to donate £6,000 to Hearts' Youth Academy to part-fund the purchase of four, portable exterior lighting units for use by the youth teams at the Academy and other locations.

The McCrae's Battalion Trust recently very generously gifted to The Association Ibrahim Tall's commemorative shirt worn by him in the match against Aberdeen at Tynecastle on Remembrance Sunday 11 November 2007. The shirt was signed by the whole first team squad before it was raffled in April 2008 and raised £950 to be donated to good causes associated with Hearts.

Sponsorship

The Association also sponsors Andrew Driver's away strip and Deividas Cesnauskis' home strip. The sponsored players' normally attend a meeting when their signed shirts are raffled and personally handed over to the winners.

Meetings

Meetings of The Association are held during the football season in The Gorgie Suite at Tynecastle Stadium, kick off at 7 15 pm. With the exception of the Annual General Meeting, members' guests are welcome at any meeting. Meetings start with a two-course meal followed by tea/coffee, and feature guest speakers, usually connected to Hearts or the world of football.

Recent guest speakers have included caretaker manager Steve Frail, academy director John Murray and players Andrew Driver, Deividas Cesnauskis, Larry Kingston, Michael Stewart, Christophe Berra, Steve Banks, Ibrahim Tall, Ryan McGowan, Haraldur Bjornsson and Jonathan Stewart and U19 coach Darren Murray.

Other speakers were David Southern, Hearts marketing and communications director and Pedro Lopez, Deputy chief executive, Brooks Mileson, owner and managing director of Gretna FC, BBC Radio football commentator and Daily Telegraph journalist Roddy Forsyth and ex-FIFA and SFA referee John Rowbotham.

The membership vote for our Player of the Year for the current season and the award is presented at the April meeting. Christophe Berra was the members' first choice for season 2007/08 and is pictured above receiving his award from Chairman Alex Gowans.

There is usually an opportunity to meet the guest speaker, take photographs and get an autograph at the end of the evening.

In addition to our open meetings, The Association held its Annual General Meeting at the end of January 2008. This meeting approved the re-election of the Office Bearers and Committee Members as follows:

Chairman	Alex Gowans
Secretary	Frank Gray
Treasurer	Bill Alves
Committee members	Rab Currie, Derek Ormston, Lisa Paterson, Ron Smart and Bob Weir

Membership

The Association has around four-hundred members, most live in Scotland but there are also members from further afield in England, Italy, Norway, New Zealand and the Bahamas, and even one or two in Leith! All Hearts shareholders, wherever they are, are welcome to join. We will be delighted to hear from you.

The Association issues a monthly newsletter during the season to keep members up to date with what is happening and also has a website www.hmsa.org.uk with information and pictures from past meetings.

Would you like to join The Heart of Midlothian Shareholders Association?

First, you need to be a Shareholder. You can then download the membership application form from our website www.hmsa.org.uk. Or, if you already have a friend who is a member, ask him/her to bring you along to an Association event as a guest and you can get a taste of what we are all about. If you are already a Shareholder, you can join up on the night! The annual subscription is £12 (£8 for members aged 60 and over).

For more information on The Heart of Midlothian Shareholders' Association, visit our website, www.hmsa.org.uk, where additionally you will find news and details of upcoming meetings and dinners.