Hello Fellow Swim Club Owners The time is here — 2016 swim season! Well, almost, we open May 7th this year and will turn the heater on April 1st. At our last board meeting in January we continued our discussion around recruiting new members to the board as we have been in our current positions for many years. In these discussions, we felt some form of financial incentive may help with the recruiting. In a vote of the board, a majority agreed in providing a discount equal to the annual maintenance dues. It seems to be an unfortunate circumstance of our times with balancing all the activities of personal life (kids, jobs, family) with true volunteerism. I welcome open dialogue on this topic for those interested but especially am open to dialogue with any fellow club member that would like to contribute some of their time to this wonderful swim club and by extension our wonderful community. Between the swim club and swim team board incentives the financial impact will be about $4,500 a year depending on how many board members accept the incentive. Speaking of board members, Marlene Lee, who has contributed greatly by welcoming a large contingent of our new members over the past few years, has resigned her Membership Ambassador role. She was kind enough to find her replacement in a very capable and willing person, Trace Lee! Yes, that would be her husband and an awesome next door neighbor of mine. Formality requires this change to be submitted to the members at large for vote so please expect and email in the near future soliciting your approval. The water will be warm for the annual swim clinic beginning April 4th with the ‘soft’ opening of the facility scheduled March 19th / 20th. We will turn off the heater on Sunday October 30th. Although it cost us a little bit more to extend the swim season last year we believe there is an added benefit to being a private swim club with one of the latest closing date. We also expect a busy year at the facility with additional swim meets and with Jeanette Kennedy heading up the social chair role for the swim team. She does a great job of organizing the troops for fun events and activities for the kids on the swim team. The opening work party assignments are attached and scheduled for April 23rd and 24th. 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. For those new to the swim club, the work assignment for the swim club is over and above any work assignments or ‘jobs’ that may be part of your involvement in the swim team. There has been some confusion on this for some of the new families. The good news is there is no more swim club ‘Gate Duty’ to those families that may remember those days. Beginning May 7th lifeguards will be on duty Saturday and Sunday 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). Once school begins, post labor day weekend, there will be no lifeguards due to challenges finding qualified candidates to fill the hours. We are happy to say our annual dues will remain the same as last year at $490. With the sound financial health of the club and membership currently at capacity, we did not see a need to raise the rates. Along with a strong club membership, a key goal is continuous improvement of the facility with our ‘excess’ capital. Larger capital outlay for this year include industrial toilets in the women’s bathroom, additional shade and furniture in the small pool area, among other items. 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 Jennifer DiGrazia (jldigrazia@yahoo.com). Applications are based on prior service, qualifications and kids whose families are club members. We are looking for a dedicated few that are interested and capable in this well-paying field. We appreciate your continued support. The Walnut Heights Swim Club is a tough place to beat for fun, safe, community oriented facility for the families to enjoy. A special thank you to our current board members Stuart, Matthew, Marlene (aka Trace), Catherine and Nicolle as well as Jennifer, our Pool Manager. Kind Regards, Michael Brooding Swim Club President