Morecambe FC bus, how we made it this far.

[thegentlegiant]

Myself and Sam were on the Eric Morecambe bus going past Christie Park and I turned to Sam and said “What a great idea it would be to have a Morecambe FC bus done in a similar way” and that’s how it all started.

We decided that we wanted to get some support for the bus and set up a group on the social networking site Facebook, within a week we had already notched up 1000 members and we were on our way. We then contacted the football club and asked if we could get some signatures outside the ground to get further support and they agreed to this straight away. We therefore sent a message out on the group asking for volunteers to help with the signatures we got instant replies from lots of people and we decided to have 7 volunteers plus Sam and his 2 nephews.

We spoke with Dave Barker who works at Stagecoach and he then put us in touch with Stagecoaches commercial manager Colin, we then got a rough figure of the costs that would be involved.

Our next step was to contact the The Visitor to get some extra coverage for our Facebook group and also to let people know that we would be taking signatures at an upcoming game, Glen Cooper the edit was more than happy to allow us to do this and was very excited at the prospect of having a Morecambe FC bus. We then decided we wanted to get some t-shirts printed for the volunteers to wear while taking signatures. We were given Michael Glen as a contact who was more than happy to help us find someone that could assist with sponsoring the t-shirts, immediately put us in contact with James Fletcher at Jessop’s Estate Agents in Morecambe he was very eager to help with the project and asked that we meet him the next day. So we went down to meet with James who was delighted with the idea and was more than happy to sponsor the t-shirts along with The Visitor.

We then decided that we would like to have some flyers printed to pass to people at the game so they knew why we were there and why were doing this. So again we spoke with James who again helped and we also decide to speak with Colin Smith at Ma Murphy’s Irish Pub who also sponsored the flyers. We then arranged for Baytype to print the flyers, Roger Cleet who owns Baytype then doubled the amount of flyers at no extra cost as he was also very enthusiastic about the project and prospect of seeing the Morecambe FC bus driving around town.

We were now preparing for the game and we had picked up the printed t-shirts and flyers and were ready to take the signatures, the day had arrived and there was a real buzz between the volunteers, everyone was very eager to let people know about the project. We got started and the fans just wanted to know more and were really enthusiastic about the prospect of having a Morecambe FC bus, we directed them to the Facebook group via the flyers and asked that they sign a form to show there support.

The day had gone so quick we had notched up 600 signatures and seen an increase on the facebook group.

We then decided to have a meeting with Geraldine Smith to see if there was any help she could give us as we were now looking for sponsorship of the bus. Geraldine put us in contact with a few people but nothing transpired. We then decided to put a message out on the Shrimpsvoices forum and the facebook group to see if anyone knew or was interested in sponsoring the bus.

In the meantime we had decided that it would be a great idea to raise funds aswell, we decided on a Racenight and raffle. We then spoke with Colin at Ma Murphy’s who was more than happy to accommodate the events. We decided to have the event in April 2009.

While we were organising the event Paul Davis had put us in contact with his boss Denise Oakes at Mains Business Lancaster, we arranged a meeting and instantly Denise liked the idea. A few days later Denise had decided to become a main sponsor along with Stagecoach NW. Denise also managed to get Brother UK on board with the idea and have also sponsored the bus.

We also spoke with Rod Taylor and he agreed to be the sponsor of the advertising board, we were very delighted so all now we had to do was raise as much money as possible from the Racenight. The night was a great success, some of the players popped down on the evening to enjoy the festivities, thanks to all of you. We had raised £750 from the Racenight and raffle for which was a great result, thanks to everyone that attended and contributed.

We had made it, we had raised enough money to get the design work underway Stagecoach had chosen the design company that would do the design and work. All we had left to do was to wait for the design and see what the came up with, we were very happy with all the designs that had been made and we had finally agreed the final design with Stagecoach.

All there is now to do is to unveil the bus, which will be done on Saturday 19th September at 12:30 inside the carpark at Christie Park, I hope everyone can make it. If you cannot make it down at that time the bus will be at the ground from 1200-1500.

Please see the list of sponsors/supporters here.

[heysham_mfc]

can't wait to see it

[Mighty Red]

This article is the best one I have read in a long, long time.

It is a tribute to everyone who has worked so hard to make this bus a reality.

Well done, a magnificent effort.

[fretz]

have seen bus at depot this morning looks good taking camera when i go back

[Duffman]

have seen bus at depot this morning looks good taking camera when i go back

Yes, please do take you camera and post photos spoiling the surprise .

[thegentlegiant]

Please do not post any pictures, as we do not want to spoil the unveiling!

Sam

[fretz]

Please do not post any pictures, as we do not want to spoil the unveiling!

Sam

taking some for myself as i cant be there saturday

[thegentlegiant]

Please do not post any pictures, as we do not want to spoil the unveiling!

Sam

taking some for myself as i cant be there saturday

No probs, I will be at the depot this evening to take a look myself and finalise the details for the grand unveiling on Saturday.

Look forward to seeing everyone there!

[Number 1]

How's it going to get to the club car park all covered up?

[greenshrimp]

Out of interest, do Brother have any local links?

[North Stand Shrimp]

Brothers local dealer is Mains Business Equipment, one of the main sponsors of the Bus.

[thegentlegiant]

I would also like to thank Brian Sheldon (Gnasher) who has helped greatly in acquiring photos and has taken his own valuable time to help. He has made sure that we have everything we need and has always been prompt in assisting, Once again thanks.

Please do take note of all of these people and businesses and when you speak to any of them please thank them for there continued support of our beloved club.

P.s Don’t forget your camera on Saturday

Sam

[bigreddog]

Well done Sam. Can't wait to see the finished article and will be making a special effort to get down to the ground to support you and all those who have made this possible. It may not be the first football bus in the country, but I suspect it's the first football bus that has seen the light of day because of the passion and not least the commitment of supporters. All credit to you and everyone involved.

Darren

[heysham_mfc]

will the bus be going stright into service after the game

[thegentlegiant]

will the bus be going stright into service after the game

Of that I am not to sure, quite possible!!

[heysham_mfc]

seen a quick sneak preview or the bus as it drove past about 30 mins ago

[shrimper]

Sent shivers up my spine, seeing it today.

Absolutely fantastic effort Sam and Aaron! I will stand and watch it every time it passes me on the bus routes and just take a deep breath of pride!


Well done, you should be so very, very proud of yourselves!

[John L]

Agreed. The effort you lads have gone to to make this happen shouldn't be underestimated! One thing though, I hope the "next match..." placard on the back will be updated regularly otherwise we'll never hear the end of it on here!!!

[4G63]

forgive me if im missing something here, but i thought the whole bus was getting wrapped, not just the rear?

[Mark S]

You should be proud lads!

[Mark S]

He was!

[4G63]

haha i spoke too soon.

Looks awesome

[Mark S]

A proud moment!

[Mark S]

The other side

[heysham_mfc]

looks great hope to travel on it soon!