Well here we go; this is the last time that you all have to listen to me here in the GBC President's column. To be honest knowing that fact, the big blank space was intimidating me a little as I thought about what I wanted my final words in this space to be. I hope you find them adequate.

 

Action packed - From the moment that I was elected by my fellow Shareholders, this job has been action packed. For goodness sakes, I wasn't in the role 24 hours and we had a hurricane!  Man, I could hear my mother laughing about that and saying "no good deed goes unpunished." I learned about construction, code requirements, and insurance from this experience. I'm pretty sure I will never build a house from scratch after this, but looking at the glass half-full perspective, we did get a beautifully remodeled dugout which now serves as a great function space for us.

 

Eye-Opening - When you think "Beach Club" you generally think of sand, sun, cocktails, dinner with friends. (I also think prom and homecoming dates because it's where I got all mine, but I digress...) You don't think snow plowing, licenses, contracts, policy manuals, mortgages, attorneys, etc. Who knew, but it was certainly eye-opening to realize the amount of work it takes to run our little club - and how it really isn't a little club, but a vibrant business. Our menu offerings and entertainment options that we provide to our members have changed tremendously from "back in the day." We have more than cheeseburgers, hot dogs, and cabinets on the dugout menu. The dinner menu includes tuna steaks, all sorts of fancy chicken, and we even have music on the beach. We also now have a full outside function operation with a business and marketing plan to support it.

 

Coordination and Cooperation - The work done on behalf and for our club is done by the coordination and cooperation of many people. I'd like to take the credit for everything great we have done over the last two years, but that would be just wrong. The smartest thing that we did is to create a division of responsibility. Every board member has a job for which he/she is primarily responsible. So whether it is Entertainment or Rules or Functions each person worked with his/her committee to solve issues, brainstorm ideas, and ensure the work was being done. So when we had a hurricane, while the Buildings and Grounds Committee worked on the issues related to that, everyone else kept moving along working on their tasks at the same time.   It takes the time and efforts of many involved members and a great General Manager to keep our club running.

 

Grateful - You have all heard me use this word on several occasions, but it is still appropriate. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to work with great boards over the past two years. Collectively, they never hesitated to answer my call for help, to offer their opinions, to meet to discuss an issue, to laugh at the absurdity of something that we never thought we would have to figure out. I had a chance to spend time with fellow members that I hadn't really known before other than where they sat on the beach (you know that lady, the one who sits down front on the right) and to spend time with people who I hadn't a chance to do so in a while (like someone who took care of me when I was little and created one of those prom dates). With profound gratitude to Donna Carlson, Gene D'Onofrio, Brian Forrest, Suzanne Hassan, Paul Harrington (yes, even though you got me into this), Addie Knight, Mrs. Curzake, Joey Fiorenzano, Kara Bell, and Kathy Beam. I also have to thank my brother-in-law Donald Kubricky who I am pretty sure thinks his name is now "Donald, could you...?" and my sister for both her work as Membership Chair and for being between a rock and a hard place of being the President's sister.

 

And for as much work that this job took and for all my l time spent here at this computer that I type on today, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to help move the club forward.

 

Most of all, I will continue to be grateful that I get to spend time with my feet in the sand, to see the boats go by and to smell the ocean. I am grateful that I didn't have to spend my childhood summers in the city. I am grateful that my Dad said "I'm in" when asked to be a shareholder. I am grateful that I now get to spend sunny days with my friends and family and my summer nights having a cocktail watching the sunset. I am grateful that I get to be part of the GBC family. I hope that the work that we have done helps you to be grateful too!

When I think of the summer of 2014, Mae West's quote "Too much of a good thing can be wonderful!" resonates. Not only was the weather lovely, but also all of those who contributed to making it such a great season deserve a high five (and some good tips!). From my perch (or sand chair), we could not have asked for a better trained, polite and helpful staff. The parking lot attendants, the lifeguards and the entire food service staff provided high quality service with politeness and a respectful demeanor that somehow harkens back to a different time. They brought "service with a smile" to a new high. On the hottest, most crowded days in the parking lot, we were greeted with a smile of welcome and an offer of assistance. Some days I felt that I should be the one offering to help them (not that I could have fit this body into those tight spaces). The wait staff both upstairs and down served us by name (I swear they memorized our numbers by the close of Father's Day) and with a smile. Because there was consistency, I felt like I got to know the wait staff better this year and felt a pang of regret when I realized we were parting, hopefully for a few months only.

 

I want to say a special thank you to Kevin. He took the considerable advice and recommendations from year one and applied them to year two. He listened to the Board and participated with the food committee to revise the menu selections, prices and particularly service needs. As several have said, "This is not an easy place and that it takes a year to get it and us." We also learned about him, his needs and goals. In the end, Kevin helped to make this a great and memorable summer.

 

Hiring Deb was a real coup. She brought experience, wisdom, expertise and just plain common sense to the position. We are now in the process of expanding her role and truly giving her the authority to manage the GBC (more about that at the shareholder meeting). We are really fortunate to have Deb as part of our team!

 

As I've said before, in all the years of being a member, I never appreciated what it takes to make this short season of summer so successful. From afar one wonders what could possibly require so much time and effort, but, believe me, this is a complex, many dimensional organization that requires time, expertise, patience and lots of collaboration. Our vision remains the same, but we are thinking bigger as we grow our season and find ways to generate revenue through functions. It has been both a labor of love and a burden of time and energy to serve on the board these past two years. And, if I take nothing else from the experience, I will now understand and appreciate the extraordinary efforts of others on my behalf. I will be much less quick to criticize and hopefully willing to step up and try to help find solutions rather than complain from a distance. It truly has been a pleasure working with members of the board. I think we worked extremely well together as a team under the very capable and dedicated leadership of Jackie. We handled some very challenging issues and hopefully leave the Club in a better place. I wish the new Board the very best as they assume these leadership positions.

Remember the ANNUAL MEETING October 5th from10.00am-12.00pm at the Club. Please remember to send in your Proxy form if you are unable to attend. It is important to achieve a quorum as next year's budget will be presented for approval and elections for the new Board will take place. According to Robert's Rules 'silence means consent' so in non-participation you abdicate your right to complain about the majority decisions!

 

Your meeting information packet will be emailed on or around Sept 23rd, please watch for it.

 

Donna seems to have covered all so well in the summing up at the end of her term and I agree wholeheartedly with all her observations and look forward to handing over to a new secretary a position which has been greatly streamlined over the last few years. 

Although Summer is over, there is still a lot going on behind the scenes at the Club.

 

As you may have heard, the house and land (which includes parking spaces) across the street from the club is for sale. The finance committee, the buildings & grounds committee, the board of directors, and club manager are looking into the purchase to see if it is a viable option for the club. We are in the process of getting an appraisal and inspection of the property and will have an update for you as things progress.

 

We are also looking at various improvement projects that need to be done at the Club, and are compiling a Budget to see what makes sense from a financial and cash flow standpoint.

 

Hope to see you at the club soon !!

 

The last Board meeting was held on Thursday, September 4th at the Galilee Beach Club. Issues discussed included:

• Deb Kelso, our General Manager attended the meeting. She will attend the meetings going forward.

• As a result of the exemplary service by all of the GBC and Millonzi catering staff this season, a thank-you will be sent to all staff to express the board's thanks for a job well done.

• The extending of the Millonzi Concession contract is in process.

• The agenda for the Shareholder Annual meeting was drafted.

• The General Manager's job description is being updated and will be discussed during the Annual meeting.

• Spending limits for the General Manager were set at $1000.

• Approved four by-law changes. A final version is in the process of being refined and will be approved at the next meeting.

• The finance committee will be meeting to draft the budget for approval at the next board meeting and at the annual shareholder meeting.

• The Policy Manual is in the process of being revised for next season.

• Approval was given to move forward on the work to update the gas and sewer lines and to switch to Natural Gas.

• The Who We Are Task Force has completed their work on the Strategic Plan.

• The Facility Master Plan Task Force is working on getting an assessment on what the CRMC and Town Regulations will allow and putting together a Wish List of building and ground improvements.

• The Function plan provided by the Dining Task Force was approved, including the fee schedule for functions. The Facility Contract will be reviewed by the attorney and approved at the next Board Meeting.

• A new Shareholder was approved. Welcome Karolyn and Brian Busconi!