Staff Announcement

After four years of service to the club, Bar Supervisor Albert Philpot has left us to pursue other opportunities in the food and beverage industry.  Albert had a great rapport with the membership and I am sorry to see him leave.  We all wish him well in his future endeavors.  Being promoted to the position of Bar Supervisor is Katie Haynes.  Katie will take over the same responsibilities as Albert was well as having a more active role in attracting and running outside functions.  Welcome aboard Katie!

This past weekend was certainly a challenge for the club.  It never fails that catastrophe will strike on a Friday, and on a Friday of a beautiful weekend.  With the water main break we were forced to shut down the clubhouse in the interest of health and safety to the members.  I know this was a major inconvenience to you the members and I thank you for your understanding.

Member Cards

I ask that the members start bringing their membership cards with them to the bar in the next week.  After working out some bugs we should be going live with the card readers by Friday.  You will only have to use it to open your tab, not every time you order a drink or food.  If you are sending your tab to the office for billing, please check that it is correct.  If you do not put a tip on it the office will put on a 15% before tax gratuity on your account.  If you wish to leave a different amount please write on the bill.

See ya at the club!

Mike Macdonald

Past...and Present Vice Commodores - Financial Services (to name a few): Axel Noriega, Giles Osborne, Brian Neysmith, Thanos Kaponeridis and Ron Clark

Vice-Commodore - Financial Services

a)     Oversee all financial transactions, as approved by the Board;

b)     Oversee the proper accounting records of all monies received and paid;

c)     Report at each regular meeting, or when requested by the Commodore, on the financial status of the Club and present monthly statements;

d)     Present to membership, the annual audited statements and table a motion for the selection of the Auditor for the following fiscal period at a General Meeting

e)     Furnish such security as required;

f)      Furnish statements to the Club Internal Auditor;

g)     Establish and appoint a Finance Committee;

h)     Submit all financial returns to Governments as required by law;

i)      Establish accounting systems and methods and oversee the revision and maintenance of such computerized systems including the audit of their integrity;

j)      Establish and manage the process for the annual operating budget preparation and fee setting, including the provision for capital expenditure;

k)     Administer the policies with regard to delinquent accounts and those members requesting special terms for settling their accounts;

l)      Recommend policies and measures for the collection of aged accounts;

m)   Conduct quarterly analysis of Actual and planned revenues and expenditures and make appropriate adjustments.

Q & A: Up close and personal with those who have held the position of Vice Commodore - Financial Services in the past. 

What are the challenges of this role?

The largest challenge that this role has is its scope.  It is about the details. It's about the big picture.  It is about every operation.  It is about having eyes everywhere and understanding all aspects of the operation, as some members would expect.  It is about having full knowledge and understanding of where every cent (or nickel) ends.  If this was a full time job, all of these would be possible.  It is a lot of hard work and it takes a lot of your personal time.   As a volunteer with many other responsibilities, it is about prioritizing and making sure that we have the controls and mechanisms to abide to our governance duties. 

It is challenging to review and comment on the operating results and follow up with appropriate board members on major deviations or planned changes during the year.

What are the rewards of this role?

The largest reward, at least for me, is the feeling of contribution and belonging to a group of outstanding individuals (board and members).  Each small job has its own sense of accomplishment.  I do thank the Finance Committee for their support and for having a full ear to bounce off different ideas.  I also thank them for their support in ensuring that our projects get done. Coming together has been one of my biggest rewards.

If you are prepared to give the time and want to participate this is certainly the way to go.

Would you recommend taking the Vice Commodore - Financial Services postion at ABYC?

Yes.  I believe this role requires both qualitative and quantitative skills.  Quantitative skills are those hard skills to ensure that the technical part of the job is taken care of: to understand the financial needs of the club and the membership (two different aspects).  The qualitative component (soft skills) is to be able to influence decisions and ideas, and at the same time to ensure that you build a team (Finance Committee) that will support you. 

This position can result in a lot of personal satisfaction from knowing that you have participated in and contributed to the financial planning and operation of a very good club.

What advice would you give to anyone wanting to run for this position?

My biggest advice is to build bridges with your peers and colleagues in the club.  I do not think that only one person can do the job. Having the ability to think outside of the box in this role goes a long way.  You should have a basic understanding of accounting principles for Not for Profit Corporations and the ability to organize and summarize the preparation and compilation of the annual budget.

Next Focus on the board will outline to position of Vice Commodore - Marine Services 

Cruise to PCYC  

Saturday, June 28 to Monday, June 30

(Photo from a past year at PCYC, courtesy of David Studholme)

The "sort of" July long weekend cruise is going to Port Credit Yacht Club on Saturday June 28 to Monday June 30 with an option to stay until Tuesday July 1.  There will be no charge for the third night if you stay Monday night.

We have 41 boats signed up for the cruise and sign-up is now closed.  If you wish to be added, you will need to try to make your own arrangements with PCYC for a dock and we cannot guarantee sufficient food for you.

There will not be a skippers meeting on Saturday morning.  Many members will tend to leave between 10AM and 11AM and we monitor VHF Channel 16.

You will be sent your dock assignments by email once they have been provided by PCYC.  As a courtesy and for your convenience, please hail PCYC on channel 68 when you are arriving to confirm your dock has not changed.

We provide dinner beginning around 6pm.  By tradition many of us gather beforehand around 5:00pm to share some appetizers that you bring.  A few people bring deserts.  With close to 100 people attending you might want to consider bringing your favourite lawn chair.  It is expected you will bring plates, cutlery and glasses.

Port Credit YC has a pool which many of our members like to enjoy and we always have a great turnout.

There is no special theme this year. Y ou might consider some red and white in your colours since it is close to Canada Day.

Hosts are: David Cloutier & Lyn de Souza (Minerve) - desouza-cloutier@sympatico.ca and Nancy Ogden & Harvey Harman (Sail La Vie).

The weather was spectacular for the RCYC Open Regatta, and ABYC boats represented us well, especially in the Dinghy fleet.  RCYC is the only club that includes dinghies and Juniors in their Open Regatta; kind of a throwback to the old days of the Metro Yacht Racing Council (MYRC).

In IRC  2, Murray and Winnie Gainer's Lively placed third overall, while Winston Beckett and the Fortitude crew placed second in IRC 3, while Michael and Pat Flynn and crew were able to get Starwatch back on the race course to finish 7^th.

BIG congratulations to Shawn Gershman who placed first in three races in the Radial fleet and managed Third overall despite being black flagged in one of the races and having to count 18 points as a result as there were no drops.

On the Delta Course, Sarah Christensen and her crew placed fifth in the 420 fleet just ahead of teammates Rowland Goddard and crew.

Paul Staadecker was the top ABYC finisher overall in the Opti fleet with an 8^th place finish but was FIRST in the Blue fleet. Quinten Beelik  was 8^th in the Red Fleet (9^th  Overall) and brother Martin was 9^th  (10^th overall).

Hunter Dejean, only recently having moved up from the Green fleet, finished 15^th overall and 13^th in Red, with Jack Peabody 17^th (12^th in Red).  Sacha Anderson placed 24^th, 14^th in Red.

In the Green Fleet, Petra Fischer's favorite junior Danny Assimakopoulos placed SECOND in the 21 boat fleet, followed by Taylor Knoll (THIRD), Annabel Gravely and Kate Evans in 4^th and 5^th places respectively, with 7^th to 9^th going to Matthew Laffey, Paul Wortmann and Caoimhe Laffey.  Wyatt Small was 12^th, while Davis Dejean ws 13^th, Connor Roggekamp 15^th, Aidan Massey-Garrison 17^th Connor Hill 19^th and Amy Glennie 20^th, all in their first event.  Well done all!

Full results can be found at http://www.lorc.org/Results2014/2014_Results.htm.

Next events include the Canadian Laser Masters Championships at EYC this weekend, followed by the PCYC Open on the 5^th and 6^th of July.

- Grant Dietrich, Dinghy Fleet Captain

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We are looking for people to help run the Wednesday night dinghy races.  A few people have offered to help but as it is a long season, more people will lighten the load.  No experience is necessary as training can be provided. 

The wings and cold beer always taste better after the racing.

If you are able to help out for some of the season please email me at grant@torbridge.ca.  We started June 4th. and finish in September.