Dear Fellow Swim Club Members The 2015 swim season is just around corner! However, I am still hoping for a few more storms to swing by to bring some much needed relief to our water supply. We recently had a very productive Club board meeting to kick off our 2015 season. Our ‘spring swim clinic’ led by Skip Mann begins April 6th with a ‘soft’ opening of the facility to be scheduled prior to then. We will officially be open for business May 9th and we are looking to schedule an event with food, drink and cheer to kick off our season. We will close on Saturday October 31st and will look to have a ‘closing’ party before the serious trick or treating begins. The opening work party assignments are attached and scheduled for April 25th and 26th. For those families assigned to the opening work party but want to ‘buy out’ of their duties they may do so for $150 but must contact Nicolle Cannon no later than the weekend prior so we may plan accordingly. Families failing to show up for these duties will be fined $200. Beginning May 9th lifeguards will be on duty Saturday and Sunday only from 10 am to 8 pm. Once school gets out, we will expand lifeguard hours to be 2 pm to 6 pm Monday through Friday and 10 am to 8 pm Saturday and Sunday (excluding times during swim team events). This year, after much discussion, we have finally decided to eliminate ‘Gate Duty’ requirements for our Club members. Gate Duty has been a long-standing responsibility as part of Club membership but we believe with the expansion of lifeguard hours and lifeguard responsibilities, there will be sufficient oversight coverage at the facility. The Board also updated the pool rules for clarity around Club member use of the facility and general expectations while enjoying the facility. Most of the changes relate to clean up on wording for better clarity and some additional clarification around reserving the facility for parties. With these rules, our first priority will always be safety followed by mutual respect and fairness among our fellow club members. After four consecutive years of not increasing our annual dues, we have succumbed to inflation and decided to raise our dues from $470 to $490 (4.3% increase). With the expanded lifeguard hours and a general increase in costs, we believe that this is the most prudent course. We continue to feel good about the financial health of the club based on the strength of our Club membership and continued attraction of the WHO swim team as THE BEST swim team in the local area. We remain focused on improving our facility and plan to spend money this year on new chairs, umbrellas, BBQ, additional shading around the pool deck, updated swim team time clock, and better lighting, as well as some smaller items. With larger dollar spending behind us for pool equipment (we spent over $15K in this area in 2014), our spending this year will be in areas that are more ‘visible’ to the Club members. Lifeguards — If your child is 16 years of age or older, is certified in lifeguard safety and CPR, and is interested in being a lifeguard, please have them contact Catherine Brooding (catbrooding@yahoo.com). This year, our plan is to limit the number of lifeguards and increase the hours to the dedicated few that are interested and capable in this well-paying field. Preference will be given to those kids whose families are Club members. Pool Keys — we have decided to rekey the main lock to the gate and hand out new keys during opening day (or earlier for those wanting them). Please come on down and get your new key on May 9th. The Board feels this is a good idea to further secure access to the facility since we cannot remember when the last time the lock was rekeyed. I want to thank you for your continued support in making the Walnut Heights Swim Club a safe, fun, community oriented facility for our families to enjoy. I would like to especially thank our current board members Stuart, Matthew, Marlene, Catherine and Nicolle as well as Jennifer, our Pool Manager. Without them the Swim Club is not the same. As always, if you are interested in helping out with the Swim Club in any capacity please contact any one of us. We would always welcome the help. Kind Regards, Michael Brooding Swim Club President