Vancouver –  Last night the newly elected Southsiders Board of Directors voted in Brett Graham to serve as the Southsiders President effective immediately.  Brett Bird was elected Southsiders Vice President.

Brett Graham has been a Southsider since the Swangard days in 2004.  He has served on the Southsiders Board of Directors for all three previous years and has been Vice-President for the last two terms.  On Saturday he was elected to the 2013 Board of Directors as the Director of External Communications.

Brett Bird was last years Southsiders Ombudsman and was extremely involved with the Southsiders Charitable Causes Committee (CCC) .  He organized much of that group’s 2012 fundraising efforts on behalf of the Vancouver Street Soccer League (VSSL), an organization providing healthy recreation opportunities for vulnerable residents of downtown Vancouver and neighbouring communities facing issues like homelessness, poverty and substance abuse. Bird was elected to the position of Director of Stadium Operations on Saturday at the Southsiders AGM.

In another vote the Southsiders Board of Directors appointed Brett Graham and Brett Bird as Delegates to the Independent Supporters Council of the United States and Canada (ISC). They will both travel to Kansas City next month for the ISC AGM where they will meet with other supporter leadership groups and league officials.

Both the Southsiders Charitable Causes Committee and Athletic Recreation were approved for another year. In addition a new committee was created. The Southsiders Information Technology Committee will be headed by Southsiders Secretary, Peter Czimmermann, and will be tasked with improving the technical aspects of the group’s website, membership database and store.

For more information, please contact External Communications director Brett Graham (details below).

The Southsiders is a supporters group for the Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Its members, The Southsiders, stand, sing and above all else support the players on the field.

The Vancouver Southsiders hold firm in their belief that when it comes to football, their city and their nation are out of step with the rest of the world. They refuse to conform to Vancouver’s inherently quiet and reserved nature. They are fierce in their support for their football club, and they shall fearlessly lead newcomers by example. They will welcome all who wish to join them, and they will extend to them the same friendship and camaraderie that has been the foundation of this organization from its humble beginnings. The Southsiders are not to be confused with Ultras or hooligans, as they are vehemently against violence and racism.

ISC – The Independent Supporters Council of the United States and Canada was founded in 2009 to advocate for the fair treatment of home and away supporters, promote supporter culture, and oppose racism and bias in the stadium. Its members now include twenty-nine Supporter Groups from MLS, NASL, USL-Pro and PDL clubs.

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Contact: Brett Graham
Phone: 604.379.0437
Email: media@vancouversouthsiders.ca