Our year end banquet was held at Fire & Sticks Japanese Steakhouse on November 22nd with 35 of our members and their families present. We had the back room to ourselves and the staff did a fabulous job. It was an excellent evening of food, fellowship, and recollections of our 2014 sailing season. Everyone who attended had an opportunity to win door prizes which included gift cards from West Marine and REI as well as an annual Oak Hollow Lake launch pass. We missed those of you who were unable to attend.
Here is a brief recap of our year:
1. Improved relationship and communication with City marina
2. Enhanced our boat storage privileges and launch convenience (option of buying an annual launch pass)
3. Added 22 new members in 2014. The club is now averaging 18 new members per year in the past four years.
4. Trained 11 of the 22 new members who needed or requested basic instruction.
5. We have 49 members with boats (includes the two club boats, but doesn’t include the members’ multiple boats)
6. We have filled all 31 boat storage spaces, and have a waiting list.
7. We added “social events” to our schedule.
8. We held the first annual “Blue Chips Charity Regatta” and raised over $1,500 for cancer research.
9. Participation in events increased and we had three OHSC regattas with 20 or more boats.
10. We trained two HPU students and one sailed in our September regatta.
11. Andy Squint and Phil Andrews organized and held several internal training sessions to help our members improve their skills.
12. We hosted the 2014 Interclub with LTYC, and sailed respectably, with two of three races being within 3 points.
13. Held a very successful Community Fun Day in May, which provided free sailboat rides to families and their children who had never been on a sailboat before.
A new award was added for 2014,”The Chuck and Annie Eldred Annual Club Award” which goes to the individual who embodies the spirit of sailing and who enhances our sailing club whether in spirit or action. We cannot thank Chuck and Annie enough for all their passion and dedication to the club over many, many years. In honor of them, they were the first recipient of this award.
Also during the banquet, our top sailors were recognized for their 2014 results:
1st place: Phil Andrews
2nd place: Michael Nordahl
3rd place: Paul Walter
4th place: Andy Squint
5th place: Gene Eldred
Rookie of the year: Spencer Sherrill
Turtle award: Chris Malcolm
At the banquet, elections were held for the 2015 Board and Club Officers. We had two Officer’s positions, 1st Vice-Commodore and Treasurer as well as two Board positions which were vacated by Jerry Eldred, Chuck and Annie Eldred and Connie Sloan. Due to these vacancies, 4 of the Officer’s positions changed as there was some shuffling of current Board members. Stephanie De Lair moved from Secretary to Commodore. Linda Marsh moved from Board Member to Treasurer. Paul Walter moved from Commodore to Past Commodore. Warren Mitchell moved from Past Commodore to Board member. Joe O’Sullivan, Carrie Clemmer, Art Hudgins and Chris Malcolm were voted in as new Officers and Board members.
Board and Officers for 2015 are as follows (**denotes new Board members):
Commodore: Stephanie De Lair
1st Vice-Commodore: Joe O’Sullivan**
2nd Vice-Commodore: Andy Squint
Treasurer: Linda Marsh
Secretary: Carrie Clemmer**
Past Commodore: Paul Walter
Board: Art Hudgins**
Tait Humphries
Chris Malcolm**
Art Martz
Warren Mitchell
Michael Nordahl
In 2015, we will ask each of you to consider your time and talents and let us know if there are some areas in which you would like to help the club (boat maintenance, publicity, refreshments, teaching, race committee, apparel sales, socials, etc.). Since we have grown so much in the past few years, one of the benefits has been that we have been able to spread out the responsibilities of the club. The more members who get involved, the more we can continue to do that, thus giving everyone more opportunity to enjoy sailing.
During the winter, our “die-hards” will continue sailing in the Frostbite Regatta Series organized by Andy Squint on the 3rd Saturday of each month.
Looking ahead to 2015, our Board has indicated a strong desire to continue to increase membership and the promotion of sailing and our club. Training, education and member retention will be key. Finally, “having FUN”, will continue to be a top priority!
A special thanks to Paul Walter for for his selfless efforts in leading our club as Commodore the past few years. We are so thankful to have his continuing input on our board for the upcoming year.
As we spend time with our families and loved ones this holiday season, remember that we always, always, always have something to be grateful for….
Looking forward to a great year of sailing in 2015!
Sincerely,
Stephanie De Lair
2015 Commodore