It has been a whirlwind year to date, and it is hard to believe we are less than three months until Christmas.
This time of year is particularly busy at both a golf and operations level. The Keperra Bowl has kicked off with low scores on the Board early in ideal conditions. This year we will crown our first Keperra Bowl Ladies champion which is a great step forward for the Bowl. Our own Grace Rho and Caitlin Vanderkruk (current ladies Club Champion) are in the field, with Caitlin only one off the lead after round one, we hope she is there contending on the back nine on Friday.
On the men’s side, we are also well represented with Jarrod Mann, Jake Corben and current gents club champion, Jordan Rooke. The Club’s support is behind you.
Once the Bowl is over, we will move into our course renovations which will be expanded this year to include selected tees and fairways with a focus on fairways 10-18. A slightly different approach is being taken this year with the decision made to close selected 18 or 9 holes on a given day to provide our course staff with the best opportunity at the required renovations. We expect the long term benefits will far outweigh any short term inconvenience. A little rain would not go astray either.
At an operations level, the Clubs financial year concluded on the 31st August, and there is a lot of administration items for Management and Board to focus on including audit, compliance and governance tasks culminating in the Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 25th November 2020 at 6:00 pm.
It is pleasing to share that a strong financial performance has continued throughout 2019/2020 despite the huge challenges thrown up by COVID. Member golf rounds are at unprecedented levels helped by strong membership numbers, and social play has been incredibly strong once we have been able to open up as restrictions eased. Our audit is almost complete, and the soon to be issued Annual Report will provide more details and data on these achievements but I wish to take this opportunity to thank both Management and the rest of the Board for the way they have worked together to navigate the challenges this year, whether it be the drought at the start of the year or COVID.
In the lead up to the AGM, the following Board roles will be up for election: –
- Vice President
- Captain
- Vice-Captain
- Director (3) positions,
I thought it prudent to update the members on the intention of current Board members.
Current Vice President Ian Broadley intends to stand again for the position. Ian has been my vice for the last 3 years and as I move into my last year as President, I fully support Ian continuing in this role.
Current Captain Rod Rhodes’ tenure is up after 4 years in the role and is required to stand down. There are a couple of strategic course initiatives on the drawing board which we hope to be able to bring to the membership within the next 12 months and Rod will seek re-election as a member of the Board to assist seeing these through.
Current Vice-Captain Doug Tester has advised me of his intention to step up to Captain. Doug has been Rod’s Vice-Captain through his term, and it is good news that Doug has committed to the time consuming and important role of Captain. This has meant that the role of Vice-Captain is available a year earlier (and will be initially for a 1-year term).
I have asked Greg Marshall to move from his Board role to Vice Captain for the next year. Greg has been involved on our course and match subcommittee since joining the Board 3 years ago, has been involved in pennant for many years and is assisting at the moment around the course. Greg has all the credentials for being a great VC to Doug.
With Greg nominating for Vice- Captain, there will be 3 Board positions available one for a 1-year term and two for a 2-year term.
Incumbent Directors Helen Blanchfield and Paul Morris have indicated their intention to re-nominate for their Directorships. Both have been invaluable this year through challenging times.
Paul has played a key role on the Finance and Compliance Committee, particularly during COVID. Paul’s full-time job in a Big 4 accountancy firm has provided us insights and strategic views which would not otherwise have been available. His calm and thoughtful demeanour on the Board has been welcomed and together with Treasurer Greg Woodroffe provide a dynamic duo on the numbers side of the business.
Helen sits on the Course and Match Committee and provides to the Board her business acumen and a great link into our ladies’ membership. Growing female membership is part of our Strategic Plan and prior to COVID intervening, Helen was driving some great initiatives in this space. With Helen’s support, we have been able to provide greater playing availability to our lady members on Wednesday and Saturday while opening Tuesday to a medley competition. This has been an enormous step forward for the Club. And most of you will know Helen with the smiley face behind the wheel of a buggy leading our volunteer course marshal crew.
Those re-nominating are all considered hardworking and committed members of the Board, and I believe their performance and results support their continued tenures.
Nominations Close: Wednesday 28th October 2020
Ballot Open: Wednesday 04th November 2020
Ballot Closes: Monday 23rd November 2020 (6:00pm)
Filed under: Uncategorized