2017 Opening Letter
February 25, 2017
Hello Walnut Heights Swim Club Owners
Sorry to have missed a closing a letter for 2016 with the normal run down – I will make up for it with this long letter which may be a bit painful for those on twitter speed. I am very grateful to have served as the Club President since the beginning of the 2012 swim season and have truly enjoyed the experience – especially writing a note out to the members twice a year. In taking the President role I had two goals– grow membership and pay down our loan that we took out to remodel the facility, and I am very happy to be able to check both those boxes. On that, this will be my last letter as I am stepping down from the President role. Until someone steps up for the role, the Club will operate as a committee within the existing board members. So, when you are writing out that check for the annual dues PLEASE consider the generous discount of $255 provided to those serving on the club board. While on the topic of transition, we have Rob Christiansen stepping into the role of VP Swim Club and President of the Swim Team. He has done a great job so far managing through some recent coaching turnover and is a great add to the leadership team. In addition, Stuart Lieblich, our Club treasurer who joined the board at the same time as me, will be stepping down on March 1st. Gordon Mauger has agreed to take on this role for the Club. Many of you know or are familiar with Gordon with his silky-smooth voice announcing at the swim meets. Per the bylaws these roles require a membership vote but since no other candidates stepped up to the plate, they will both very capably fill these roles. If other Club members are interested in these roles, I am happy to put this to club member vote. However, Rob and Gordon are two solid leaders and contributors who have my heart felt endorsement. Some of you may have noticed we missed our year end annual club membership meeting as dictated by our bylaws. We decided to cancel it at our last winter board meeting. I know many of you were deeply disappointed based on the outcry of silence I heard from all our club members . Attached are the financial statements that are generally provided at the year end meeting. This year I am including the swim team financials as they operate as a separate entity but under the Swim Club umbrella. Bottom line is our bottom line is good – even adding in the additional cost of ~$4K of maintaining our volunteer swim and club board members. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have but may need to defer to our two treasurers in Stuart Lieblich for the swim club and Audrey Boissonou for the swim team. Our 2017 annual dues will remain the same as last year at $490 and for those members in good standing the pool will be open on May 6th. The after-school spring swim clinic jumps into action on April 10th so for those energetic lap swimmers the pool will be ready then. We expect to close the facility at the end of October. Please visit our website for additional information about the facility. We are looking into the ability to pay dues, reservation fees and the like via debit/credit card through the website and will keep you posted on this progress. If you would like to pay online with a convenience fee, please go to http://www.walnutheightsswimclub.com/pay. You may also mail in your check as you have done in the past. Lifeguards will be available on the weekends from 10 – 6 pm until school gets out and moves to daily from 2 – 6 pm. We will not have lifeguards once school begins in late August. Our certified lifeguards are local swim club members who are typically in school and not available and this also helps save some dollars. Jennifer DiGrazia will remain our pool manager (losing count on the number of years she has helped us in that capacity with a big THANK YOU!) and will again handle lifeguard scheduling…please reach out to her (jldigrazia@yahoo.com) if your older child is interested in lifeguarding. The opening work party for those families fortunate to make the list will be held April 29thh and is included in the attached. A ‘soft’ opening is scheduled for March 26th. Nicolle Cannon will be leading the charge again for us and will reach out to you to coordinate. Families may buy out of their assignment for $150 but must let Nicolle know prior so she may plan accordingly. No show families will be charged $200. The closing party is slated for the first weekend in November. There have been discussions on providing a fall swim clinic for our WHO swim club members but details are not finalized and will be communicated if this clinic is organized. The concept will be an after-school swim clinic but only for kids of our club members. We have our normal repair and upgrade list that we will try to make our way through such as more lounge chairs, tables and umbrellas, and of course a touch up of the bathrooms. We appreciate your continued support in the Walnut Heights Swim Club – truly one of the best family experiences to be had for all ages, but especially those with young kids. And always a special shout out to our current board members for their diligence in maintaining a safe, fun, community oriented facility for the members to enjoy – Trace and Marlene Lee in the Membership Role, Ashley Phelan as Communications director, Nicolle Cannon as Maintenance director and our newly appointed Rob Christiansen as Vice President. On a personal note, I want say how much I have enjoyed working with Stuart Lieblich in the Treasurer capacity. He makes my involvement with the Club that much more exciting and fun. I think, between all our votes over the years on establishing the annual maintenance dues, we never once agreed. It has been a blessing and privilege to work with such a great group of families.
Yours Truly,
Michael Brooding
Swim Club President
