Saturday 8th April 2000 : Two new directors appointed today

Cambridge United today appointed two new directors to the board, and both men are existing shareholders who will be known to many fans.

Seattle-based Paul Barry was planning to attend today's match as part of the 'Moosenet' mailing list meeting, and he still joined the gathering at half-time although he found his presence was required elsewhere for most of the match! Renford Sargent is the Managing Director of Premier Travel, who have been major sponsors of the club and recently sponsored the shirts for two seasons.

The official press release is as follows:

Cambridge United have today confirmed the appointment of two new directors at a Board Meeting held at the Abbey Stadium this morning. The appointments take the total number of directors up to eight - the maximum allowed under the Club's articles of association. Chairman Reg Smart and his five existing directors agreed to extend the Board in order to bring in both new ideas and wider skills as the Club prepares for redevelopment and the continued implementation of its ambitious five year strategy.

Paul Barry (38) was born in Hauxton and educated in Cambridge before emigrating to the United States in 1983. He began a career in the travel industry and in 1990 formed his own company, Europe Express, which has been headquartered in Seattle since 1993. Paul began watching United in the Southern League days and attended most games at the Abbey from the early 1970s until his move to the US. He maintained his passion for United after emigrating but, until the advent of the Internet, had to rely on occasional trips to the UK and information from his father (who still lives in Cambridge, supports the Us and has been a season ticket holder for many years) to keep up to date with the Club.

Paul has been a shareholder for a few years and his business activities now provide him with more opportunities to spend time in the UK. He believes his years of working in the US, and his experience of a wide variety of successful marketing and sales techniques, will help position the Club as one of the premier sporting attractions in East Anglia which in turn will help United achieve its attendance and commercial revenue growth objectives.

Renford Sargent (54) was born in Balsham and has supported the Us for 37 years - since the days when teams played with five forwards! He joined Premier Travel in 1965 (at the bottom of the company) and is now the Managing Director of Premier Travel Group - a world-wide holiday operation and East Anglia's leading, privately owned travel agency. Renford has travelled extensively, visiting many of the world's great football stadia, and he has a desire to help turn the Abbey Stadium into a ground the fans can be proud of. This dream can and will be turned into a reality over the next few years and Renford hopes to be able to convince more businesses in our fast developing area to become involved with, and also be proud of, our Club.

In addition to football, he has a keen interest in golf - he is secretary of the Travel Industry Golf Society of Great Britain and has played many of the world's greatest courses - as well as tennis, walking and swimming. Renford is also keen on broadcasting and he has done his fair share of promoting the Us on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire on Saturday mornings when he is their travel presenter.

Both Paul and Renford take up their appointments with immediate effect.

Chairman Reg Smart stated, "I am pleased that the Club's already strong Board will now be further strengthened by the appointment of two gentlemen with extensive experience of running successful businesses that deal directly with the public. We are entering exciting times in the development of Cambridge United and I am certain Mr Barry and Mr Sargent will bring a wider dimension to our outlook and they will enhance our ability to put the Club on a sound footing for the 21st century".

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