| HHYC |
| Message from Commodore William Arnold |
| Henderson Harbor Yacht Club PO Box 465 Henderson Harbor, NY 13651 (315)938-7240 www.hendersonharboryc.com |
September 2009
Message from the Commodore
The 2009 season has been very successful in many respects.
First of all, as Commodore, I extend my appreciation to a great Board of Governors that served during the 2008-2009
period which made my job, while busy, a very rewarding one and a pleasure.
We enjoyed many successful events, one of which was hosting EYC. We entertained the crews from 45 boats
representing many US and Canadian clubs. Except for Saturday, the weather was great, Club member support, which
was so essential for this event, was outstanding with a significant number of our members participating in the effort
when and where they were able. Regatta participants are still talking about the great time they had and the hospitality
shown by HHYC. Thanks to the member support and the excellent organization by the committee, chaired by Lee
Cagwin and Steve Woiler, the Club made a significant profit.
As I mentioned in a previous Commodore’s message, hosting a large outside group is like having visitors at home when
we do a little more sprucing up. We were able to take advantage of some excellent opportunities to make significant
improvements in the appearance of both the Club house as well as the Junior Club house. Both of these facilities were
overdue for attention. The specific details of these efforts have already been described in the reports by Board
members. Many thanks to all of the members who contributed in any way.
During the off season, considerable effort went into developing a new plan for the operation of the kitchen by a
committee chaired by Vice Commodore, Art Bronstein. It was evident that a new approach was needed in view of the
significant financial loss experienced in 2008 This began with a survey to the membership that experienced excellent
membership return and significant indication of what the membership wanted. The planning took into account the
realities on our operation, membership size, location relative to membership residences, etc. The developed plan tied
the kitchen operation to direct support of a local restaurant for both staffing and provisioning. Unfortunately, this
agreement was aborted one week prior to the Club’s opening. At the last minute we had to hire two young individuals
who had the desire but fell far short of the necessary experience despite the references and coaching. From a dollar
and cents standpoint, the Club did fairly well despite the weather which resulted in low membership support for both
Friday evenings and weekend breakfasts. The Saturday evening events were quite successful relative to membership
participation and income. This was, in no small part due to the social committees who became directly involved in the
effort and the hands- on efforts of our two House co-chairs. Many thanks go to Corliss Kaiser and Karen West who
were willing to continue as House co-chairs despite the cancellation of the original plan.
The Board is in full agreement that the necessary hands-on approach required by the House chairpersons the past few
years is totally unreasonable and is not acceptable in future. Efforts are under way to find an outside agency to take
over the kitchen operation, in total, with the overall requirements being specified by the House chairperson. If this is
not successful, it is essential that a management person be hired to provide the day –to- day management of the
kitchen. The challenges we face, as you are aware, are the size of our membership, being a weekend only operation,
(except for Tuesday night family dinners), a majority of our membership living an hour or more from the Club which
makes traveling questionable with poor weather forecasts and a limited pool of qualified candidates for a part time
position.
One of the questions that has been on the minds of many of our members is a concern for borrowing from our
designated reserve accounts to cover the financial short falls in the kitchen operation over the past few years and the
lack of a plan to return these funds. The projected net income from this year’s operation is such that a significant
reduction in the reserve short fall is anticipated. In addition I have appointed a Finance Committee, chaired by Jim
Farrell, to address this and other issues for the future including funding for general club improvements that have often
been discussed but never acted upon due to the lack of the available funding. The Finance Committee’s
responsibilities are posted in the position guide section of the Club’s web site. It is noted that the 2010 budget provides
for the final payment of outstanding membership loans to the Club.
One of our goals at the beginning of the year was to expand communications with the membership and to encourage
feedback. The survey mentioned above was a significant part of this. In addition we have taken advantage of the fact
that the majority of our members have email access which provides for timely information on kitchen hours, social event
information, etc. Those members not having such access continue to receive information by regular mail but this limits
timeliness. As promised at the beginning of the year, a membership information meeting was held in July providing
information on our financial situation at that point and other subjects of interest to the membership. Of course, the
Board Meeting minutes to the membership, as well as special reports have continued. One of the things that has been
a help this year is the formalization of job descriptions for all Board members and appointed positions. This has
improved communication within the Board and with the membership. These are posted in the Members Only page of
the Club’s web site. The Club’s bylaws are also posted on the web site.
Some of the things that members would like to see at the Club are limited by the size of our membership in all
categories. We the membership are the primary vehicles for encouraging perspective members to join the Club. This
year we joined in the local Chamber of Commerce advertising campaign which can only plant the seed in people's mind
that HHYC exists and what we have to offer. This, unfortunately, has not been successful to date. We need all the
members to sell the benefits of joining the Club.
Henderson Harbor Yacht Club has a lot to offer and we all need to be positive when talking about the Club among
ourselves and with outsiders. All of us have some ideas of things that we would like to see changed and the Board’s
challenge is to balance what can be done consistent with the interests expressed by the majority of the members and
the resources available. One of the prime responsibilities of our Board Members –at- Large is to be a sounding board
and to bring membership concerns to the Board of Governors who are charged with conducting the Club’s business.
We need the support of all members to continue providing what we currently have and to continue to make
improvements. I will be asking each of the current year's Board members to provide a report on what went well in their
area and what did not along with their recommendations. These will provide guidance and reference for future years.
We have a great Club!! Are their areas for improvement? Sure, as there are in any organization. We all need to
remember that we are a volunteer organization and while we do what is needed for the good of the Club, labor is not
our primary goal. The primary goal is reflected in the stated overall goals of the Club which are “Henderson Harbor
Yacht Club is an informal family oriented, volunteer sailing club that promotes yachting activities and water safety, is a
center for camaderie and heritage in Henderson Harbor.” This statement is listed in the standing Resolutions of the
Club and can be found on the Club’s web site, Members Page and is further defined by eight specific objectives.
Hope to see all of you at our annual meeting on Saturday, September 19th beginning at 1400, (2:00 p.m.) and our
thanksgiving dinner at 1700 (5:00 p.m.)
Fair winds,
Bill Arnold