Greetings!
Welcome to our second season of the Idle Hour Electronic Newsletter. The electronic newsletter format enables us to communicate with our membership in near-real time at a reduced cost and allows us to retain back issues at our web site IdleHourTennis.com for your future reference.
As we expand our electronic offerings, we are looking for interested content contributors, editors and advertisers. What makes Idle Hour special is your stories, musings, experiences and challenges from the newest member to the those that have been with us the longest. If you have a viewpoint about a rule, a conversation or something you read on a bulletin board or overheard in the locker room, why not share it? Send your offering to us at the e-mail address below. We'll edit it and put it in the next newsletter. If your business would benefit from an advertisement on our newsletter or at our web site, please let us know by e-mailing us at [email protected].
Sincerely enjoy, The Newsletter Staff |
The Flood of 2010: My Recollections
by Emilio Cortez , Insurance Chair
On September 30, 2010, Idle Hour Tennis Club was assailed by a storm and a flood that left devastation in its wake. The words of Governor Ed Rendell proved prophetic when he said "People who live along streams and creeks know the dangers of rapidly rising water.In light of the forecast, these residents ... should take immediate steps to prepare before the situation becomes an emergency."
The Idle Hour Tennis Clubhouse and courts were battered by torrential rains and major flooding for hours. Five feet of water engulfed and entered the clubhouse while back waters from the adjacent stream overflowed and washed out fourteen har-tru courts. Rubble, mud, leaves, and branches formed battering rams leveling fences and fence posts. The club looked like a deserted city after a bombing. The rising water in the clubhouse enabled the ice machine to float through part of the clubhouse ceiling.
The toppled refrigerator came to rest in a doorway. In the clubhouse kitchen, the countertop was leaning against a cabinet and looked like adiscarded banana peel. The new microwave oven no longer shined and met with the same fate as the heating and electrical systems. The club's defibrillator "safely perched" six feet high on the wall was encrusted with mud. The strong smell of mildew in soaked rugs was offensive. You didn't walk through the clubhouse; you trudged through the clubhouse. Chairs, tables, and club memorabilia were in major disarray. The insurance adjuster calculated damages to be over $222,000.00 which did not include the damage to the courts, trenches, fences, and poles.
One of our seasoned members, Harold Jackson, who worked so diligently to remove the five-inch layer of mud from Courts 6 and 7 offered some advice: "After the mud dries, you're better off using a pickaxe." Five months have passed, and the clubhouse and courts are still being repaired. To see the club after the flood was discouraging. Nevertheless, I am confident that the dedication and perseverance of our membership will enable our club to flourish well into its next century. |
Clubhouse Renovations
Carol Wenner, Vice President and Property Chair
The devastating flood of September 30, 2010 resulted in extensive damage to our clubhouse and courts. Thus began a four month renovation of our clubhouse. The bid for repairs was awarded to Phoenix Construction and Management Inc. owned by Chris Rohner, a club member. With previous floods, the Board opted to do minimal repairs. As a result of the extensive rotting to the foundation and a serious mold problem within our walls, the Board elected to take a comprehensive approach. Although future floods and its damage is unpredictable, structurally the clubhouse should maintain its integrity.
TENNIS COURT REPAIRS:
When the courts are flooded and the water recedes, we are left with mud and debris. Many thanks to the members who volunteered their time to help with the massive clean up. As a result of their efforts, our hard courts were back in play in approximately a week. The har tru courts presented a more challenging problem which needed the attention of professionals.
FENCE REPAIRS:
When we have massive flooding and the water exits our courts, much of our fencing is pulled down. The leaves and debris become trapped against the fences blocking the exiting water. In the future to avoid this damage Joe Soohoo, a board member and engineer, designed fences that are horizontally hinged and pivot. In anticipation of heavy rains, a pin is released at each section, allowing the fence to freely float in a horizontal position.
EXPRESS REPAIRS:
One of the positives of our recent court damage is that a contract is now in place to immediately repair the courts. In the past we have had to involve ourselves in the timely process of soliciting three bids prior to proceeding with court repairs. A priority of the contract is to have 4 har tru courts and 4 hard courts playable as soon as possible. |
ANNUAL ELECTION OF OFFICERS & DIRECTORS by Jack Higgins, Nominating Committee Chair
During our annual meeting in October, we will be electing a President, Vice President, Treasurer and five members for our Board of Directors.
Anyone interested in running for one of the above mentioned positions should contact a member of our nominating committee:
Jack Higgins - 610.459.8380,
Audrey Reinsel-Hughes - 610.543.2774,
Alan Soffer - 610.565.6086. |
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Membership Connection
by Larry Knox, Membership Chair
Going into the 2011 tennis season we have 463 senior memberships 19 Junior Players. Idle Hour by-laws permit 525 senior members so we can allow 62 new senior members into the club in 2011. Do you know that our best form of advertising is YOU? Have you heard about our referral program that can reduce your 2012 membership dues? See this http://www.idlehourtennis.com/id10.html for more details.
Since we are a member own club, maintaining our membership numbers at a healthy level is the responsibility of all us. Do you know most residents in Delaware County do not know where Idle Hour is located, or even that there are 14 Har-Tur/4 Hard Courts behind the beer distributor? They certainly don't know the annual cost of membership is less than a dollar a day. We are counting on you to spread the word that membership at Idle Hour is a fantastic value and great fun too. For more about Idle Hour's great value, click this link http://www.idlehourtennis.com/id17.html.
We have 54 new members thus far in 2011. On May 9th, we had another successful new member orientation. New members learned the details of how the club works and almost everyone in attendance got to play tennis. If you see a new face, please introduce yourself and attempt to get the new member some court time.
We all owe a note of gratitude to Emilio Cortez who did an outstanding job organizing the new member orientation and for his ongoing recruiting efforts on the clubs behalf. Emilio is a true asset to all of us!!!!!
There are a few men's and many women's lockers still available. To secure a locker, see Dennis or Zdenka Olenik. Annual locker is a very reasonable $20 for 2011.
One of the projects I am currently working on is an On-line Application Form. The primary goals of setting up an on-line application are to gain accessibility to a wider range of prospective members, offer faster entrance time into the club and to obtain accurate membership information the first time. Look for the on-line application form on our web site coming soon. Of course, a downloadable membership application will still be available. http://www.idlehourtennis.com/id10.html
In accordance with our by-laws, annual dues are required by March 1st and unpaid members are dropped by April 1st. A late fee will be applied to all members not paid/postmarked by March 1st. If you ever have any trouble sleeping, feel free to read our by-laws at the following link: http://www.idlehourtennis.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/by-laws_10-2009.pdf
"Standby" is a benefit offered to all active members. What is Standby?
"A Standby Membership can be requested by any member who is temporarily unable to play because of (1) Medical problems (2) Moving out of the local area and/or (3) Working out of the local area. Standby members have no playing or voting privileges. Membership in this category is limited to two consecutive years unless extended by the Board at its discretion. Standby members can return to one of the regular membership categories upon payment of the regular dues."
The current annual cost for Standby status is $25. Although tennis players never want to go on Standby, in the unfortunate event that it becomes necessary, please e-mail us at [email protected]. |
RECOMMENDED CHANGES TO BY-LAWS
by Emilio Cortez, By-Laws Committee Chair
These are the changes recommended by the Board for consideration at the Annual Meeting in October
1. In the event of the resignation of an immediate past president, the most recent Past President shall be asked to fill said vacancy. If said past president is unable to fill the vacancy, then the next most recent past president shall be asked to fill the vacancy, and so forth. If no past president is available to fill the position, then the Board of Directors shall appoint a former board member. (Article IV, Sec. 4)
2. The Board of Directors shall vote by electronic means (e-mail) or ballot upon the admission of the applicant no later than its next meeting. (Article VII, Section 1)
3. The purpose of this club is to promote tennis, sportsmanship, fair play, and social responsibility (Article II, Purpose)
4. The [RESERVE] fund cannot be expended for any purpose unless approved by a two-thirds vote of the membership at an Annual or Special Meeting. (Article IX, Section 5)
5. All candidates for office and appointed committee chairs must be active senior members in good standing for two or more years. (Article III, Section 2)
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Our Charter
The purpose of this Club is to promote the game of tennis within the territory designated as the USTA/Middle States Section by the United States Tennis Association. The Club does, by these present, adopt the precepts and purposes of the USTA/Middle States and the United States Tennis Association as its own and intends to maintain active membership and representation in such fraternal tennis organizations. |
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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Welcome back for our Centennial season! On behalf of the Board of Directors and the staff, I am pleased to share this historic milestone with each of you.
It's been a long winter punctuated by the flood of September 30/October 1 that decimated the club house, damaged fences and buried the courts in debris. The Development Committee led by Allan Soffer and Dick Wenner reviewed options including moving the club to a new location and elevating the clubhouse on pylons. A survey of the membership underscored the findings of the committee, specifically to rebuild and move ahead. Under the leadership of Carol Wenner, the Property Committee embarked to rebuild the clubhouse, the membership came together to clean up the debris on the hard courts and return them to playable status and a hinged fencing solution was designed to mitigate damage to the fence supports caused by cascading flood water.
With those events behind us, the celebration starts this Saturday, June 4 with the Golden Age of Tennis, a tribute to those 20 or so individuals like C.H.Keelor, Bil Achtermann and Aaron Burtis,who conceived the club on a cold February day in 1911 in West Philadelphia. Bring your wooden racquet (we have one if you don't), long white pants, white shirt or white bloomers and best Suzanne Lenglen or Bill Tilden impersonation with you. Many thanks to John's wife, Gail Parke, for her ideas and guidance in bringing this event to reality. Festivities are 2-4 PM followed at 5 PM with the New Members' Cocktail Party .
Paul Painten's Tennis and Alice Ciccarelli's Social Committees have successfully collaborated in planning these events for almost a year . I encourage each of you to attend, engage and enjoy as we wind our way through the many culinary and tennis-themed activities. The Centennial events will continue into the season culminating in September with a semi-formal Dinner/Dance organized and coordinated by Lynn Armao at the Springfield Country Club. Invitations will be mailed in July. Thanks to Gail Parke for designing and printing the invitations. Kudos to Adriene Higgins for lending her talents to the decorations for all the Centennial festivities. Kevin Pattinson and Audrey Reinsel-Hughes designed and outsourced a variety of commemorative tennis wear that will be available for sale soon in the Pro Shop. For these individuals and all the other individual contributors..."thank you". As we head into the summer, enjoy the " Idle Hour Difference"
Bob Celani |
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New Members' Orientation
Twenty five new members gathered in the clubhouse on Saturday, May 7th to attend a club orientation. Emilio Cortez, Larry Knox, Bob Strimel and Carol Wenner explained some of the club procedures. They learned the rules and regulations concerning how to use the court sign up board, tennis dress, and guest policy. An important part of the meeting was devoted to helping new members find others in search of games. Following the orientation the group played mixed doubles. A special thanks to Connie Meth and Joy Effron for providing beverages and snacks.
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The Health Corner
We are including the following CPR-related information as a public service to our membership. This information could save the life of a loved one. It is easy to remember and easier to do. Click on this link |
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