2011 Board Vote & Annual Mtg - Sunday, Jan 30th

Hello Members,

If my math is correct, we are less than 18 weeks away from opening day - the time is going to fly by!

Please read the below letter from our President, Chris Sears, regarding the 2011 Board elections and our Annual Meeting on Sunday, January 30th at 5pm. If you are unable to make it to the meeting, please cast your vote online (check your email for the link).

Also, as a friendly reminder, dues are due by April 1st this year. For additional details and to pay online, visit our website:
http://www.hhstc.com/Membership.html

If you have any questions/comments, please feel free to contact me.

Thanks,
Leslie

ps. To save costs, paper and volunteer labor, we will be relying on email and our website, blog and Facebook page for all future communications - no more snail mail :)

Leslie Freymann
Volunteer HHSTC Board Member
Membership Chair, Communications
http://www.hhstc.com

Notice of Annual Meeting

January 30, 2011

www.hhstc.com

January 21, 2011

To:  All 2010 members of Huntley Hills Swim & Tennis Club

Re:  Sunday, January 30, 2011 Annual Meeting  @ 5:00 PM- HHSTC Clubhouse

We are looking forward to another exciting year at the club! Per our club By-Laws, we have our annual meeting the last Sunday of January in order to vote in the new class of board members.  In case you do not know, our board is comprised of two classes. Each class serves a two year term and is installed in an odd-even manner. This structure prevents the entire board from rolling off at the same time and promotes continuity in the leadership of your club. Per the By-Laws, the Board has a minimum of seven members and no maximum number.  Many members also have continued with multiple terms, which help with our continuity.  This year we are losing only 2 board members, myself included.

It has been my privilege to work with this board, and the other volunteers whom contribute their time and resources to make this club great!  We have accomplished many things, and I hope their efforts are not only appreciated but serve as an example for further volunteer participation!

I want to introduce you to our newest nominee for the class of 2011. He will begin serving a two year term at the Annual Meeting

John Jewett

John is our only new nominee to the board this year.  He is certainly no stranger at the pool as his contributions to swim team and other community service programs have been immeasurable!  As a long standing member of the community, and a public servant in the fire department, we are lucky to have his contribution here at our club!

Current members returning for another term: (in no particular order).

Braden Buck                                                            Leslie Freyman

Ann Hickman                                                           Francis Laba

Cindy Deminsky                                                     Ashley Kuehne

John Farrell                                                             Kevin Shannon

Missy Tate                                                               Kerri Henderson

Larry Pope                                                               Ryan Tracy

Please plan on joining us at the club on Sunday, January 30, at 5:00 PM. The meeting will be relatively short with introductions, a time for Q&A, and the vote for the new members of the Board of Directors. Immediately following the meeting, the new Board will hold the first Board meeting of 2011 to elect officers. If you can not attend the meeting, plan to cast your vote by visiting our web-site for a link to the ballot.  It is very important that we hear as many voices as possible. Visit our website for more information.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me via e-mail at: ccsears2000@yahoo.com

or via the club website:  www.hhstc.com .

Thank you again for your contribution to our membership!

Chris Sears

HHSTC President (2010)

2011 News and Updates

Hello Members,

Sorry to be so behind in getting out these updates... please remember, I'm only a volunteer :) I do hope you read all the way through this, as it contains some important news and updates for 2011.

Saline Update:
After doing lots of research, listening to the sales reps and debating with each other, we decided not to upgrade to saline. The bottom line is that the majority of the Board felt that there were too many risks and the rewards were questionable, based on the feedback we heard from members. If you want the details, please call me or find me somewhere at the pool or in the neighborhood.

Deck Update:
Have you seen our new deck?!? It's awesome! It has two levels and a built-in bench for watching tennis. Someday soon I hope to get all the photos online. Many thanks to all who built the old deck, which served us well for almost 25 years! And many thanks to those who showed up to demo the old deck so we could save some money and make way for our new deck. Also, a special thanks to Board Member, Braden Buck for the design and for overseeing all construction.

Budget Update:
We finished 2010 with a surplus, which we used to build the deck. The remaining surplus will go towards savings and prepayment of the loan. All the budget details will be presented at the annual meeting.

Annual Meeting: January 30th @ 5pm:
We will be electing the new 2011 Board, voting on officers, presenting the budget and discussing any news/updates. If you care about the Club, please plan to attend.

Membership Dues, Etc:
After thoroughly discussing dues, etc. during at least 3 Board meetings, we have voted on the following changes for 2011...

We will cap membership at 175. We are currently at 150 (an all-time high) and over the last 5 years have added an average of 27 memberships every year. We always lose memberships due to moves and other circumstances, but the growth has been consistent and encouraging.

We are waiving the initiation fee for new single/couple Senior Citizens (over 65). We'd like our club to reflect the entire community and want to encourage seniors to be a part of our success. Also, truthfully, in order to maintain the Club, pay off our loan, occasionally make improvements and be financially comfortable, we need more memberships. We hope this change (along with lowering dues for singles in 2008) will help us grow the club and keep us strong for many decades.

All dues are due by April 1st or there will be a $50 late fee.  After April 1st, payment (with late fee) are due in full before you come to the pool or before your kids show up for swim team practice. No exceptions, no partial payments, no payment plans, etc. We allowed this last year, on a case-by-case basis and quite frankly, it is extremely time/emotionally consuming and I just can't do it again - and no one else has volunteered. If we reach 175 memberships, any members not paid in full by April 1st will risk losing their membership. Start saving now!

We are, however, offering new members the option of paying the initiation fee early (i.e. now) in order to secure their membership.

We have not raised dues in the last 4 years and this year we decided to raise them by $25. This will still keep the family membership under $500, and we will maintain our status as being the least expensive club anywhere around town. Our initiation fee will remain the same, at $400. Our closest neighbors in Gainsborough are $100 more to join, $25 more per membership, they do not have tennis, and their facilities are about where we were 5 years ago, before all of our major improvements. We encourage you to shop around before you decide to join/renew :)

We need more volunteers to help keep costs low and morale high for all the Board members and the other small handful of people who always show up to help with work days, etc. So this year we are adding a refundable $25 work day assessment fee to all memberships. You will get 100% of it back at the end of the season if you volunteer for 3 hours. We will include work days, Friday night grilling, concession stand sales and any other opportunities that arise. Our hope is that more members will volunteer and if not, at least we will have a little extra money.

2011 Board:
I'm happy to say that we had a great Board in 2010 and the majority will be coming back for another year. However, we will probably be losing some (haven't yet received full commitments, either way from a few folks) but most likely we will have room for a couple more people. If you are interested in joining us, please let me know. I've heard from so many of you about the things you'd like to see added, done differently, etc - we all do our best to accommodate everyone, but joining the Board and volunteering to help is really the best way to ensure your voice is heard. It's a great group of people and by far it has been my favorite volunteer effort - which is why I keep coming back every year :)

I think that's all the updates I have for now. I look forward to seeing everyone on January 30th for the annual meeting. If you have any questions/concerns, please contact me anytime.

Thanks!

-Leslie Freymann

HHSTC Board Member
Membership & Communications Chair

Deck Demolition!

Hi Members,

We have some exciting news...we finished the 2010 season with enough surplus money to build a new deck for the pool/tennis courts! To save money, we will be tearing down the existing deck ourselves - and we need help!

Please join us this Saturday (the 20th), starting at 8am and continuing until we are done. Bring work gloves and any tools/equipment that you think might help.

We hope to see you there!

-HHSTC Board

Halloween Party!

Just a reminder - the HHSTC Halloween Party is this Sunday. If

possible, please prepay online before 4pm on Sunday:

http://www.hhstc.com/Store.html

Thanks!

*******

Join your friends and neighbors at the 5th Annual Huntley Hills Swim &

Tennis Club’s Halloween Party!

WHEN:  Sunday, October 31st  4:30-6:30 pm

WHERE:    Huntley Hills Clubhouse

WHAT:    We'll have plenty of candy for the kids, crafts, games, and a

graveyard hunt for the little ones (1-3 years). We’ll finish with a

Halloween parade, to get the trick-or-treating started. Pizza and

drinks for everyone!  Pizza served at 5:30.

The cost this year is $10.00 per family or $4.00 for an individual.

Cash at the door or pre-pay online.

We hope to see you there!

Huntley Hills Swim and Tennis Club Board

http://www.hhstc.com

HHSTC 2010 End of Year Update

Hello Members,

We thank you for your continued support and for making our club a great place.  We hope you take the time to read this End of the Year Update, although it’s a bit long.

Our neighborhood and the surrounding areas are awesome and your HHSTC membership continues to make it one of the best communities around Metro Atlanta! As a way to keep you informed on your membership investment, we wanted to update you on our activities, club news and finances, as we close the 2010 season.  

This year we had 150 memberships, the highest it has been in over 2 decades! Our membership continues to grow and this is a very good sign of things to come. We have had a few drops but the new members in and out of the community continue to surprise us. We are always anxious at the beginning of the year when membership registration is low and budget needs are the greatest, but so far, things have worked out ok for us.

Our hope, as your Board, has always been to create a great community where everyone feels welcome and everyone contributes as a volunteer and supporter. Some of the neat things our club offers include:

• Our Friday night cookouts are the best deal around and have become the expected event and gathering place for the area. 
• Our swim team was 4-1 and was second place in the district. There is so much potential in the younger ranks, but we are sad to see some older ones off, as they move on to new and exciting things in college. 
• Our tennis program continues to grow and one of our highly ranked tennis team has won many recent tournaments. 
• Great parties and social events for kids and adults, including the best July 4th party in town!
  

Some of the improvements we have worked on this year include:

• Transitioning to a new pool service agency (USA Pools), which saved us lots of money. 
• Creating an improved budgeting and financial tracking system. 
• Organizing volunteer workdays, where we cleaned the grounds and clubhouse and installed new drainage by the tennis courts. 
• Installing new landscaping in the front of the pool. 
• Installing shade sails to recover lost shade from tree removals. 
• Making a conscience effort to collect guest fees to increase revenue and protect your membership.
  

We continue to work on significant issues, while maintaining services, keeping a safe environment and planning for the future.  Our current debt from earlier inherited loans continues to be a very large drain on our monthly and annual bills. We have very little cushion but we continue to cut costs where we can.  We rely on volunteers do the majority of the work.  Every year we have new and unexpected costs.

Some of this year’s unexpected costs included:

• The need for shade on the pool grounds, as one of our biggest shade trees by the baby pool died and had to be cut down and members continued to ask for more shade around the pool deck.
• Replacement of several underwater lights.
• Repair of the diving board.
• Repair of the kitchen electrical wiring, to bring us up to Code.
• Repair of the water fountain.
• Removal of 3 large, dead trees that threatened the clubhouse and neighboring houses. 
• Removal of the kudzu (which had started to grow into the clubhouse!).
• Replacement of the pool vacuum.
  

Thankfully, we had budgeted to handle these expenses. However, without the new memberships (and their initiation fees) over the last few years, we would not have been able to sustain ourselves financially.

In addition to the burden of our loans, we still have several large expenses we hope to be able to afford in the near future, including addressing the aging deck and replacing the clubhouse carpeting. We continue to budget for future pool maintenance and any unexpected costs.

To cover some of these costs, we hope to have some fundraising activities in the Winter and Spring. If you would like to help with these, please let us know. Our goal is to keep our dues at an affordable level and to make certain HHSTC is truly, the best deal around town! We are currently discussing all of the options for increasing revenue and are open to any and all of your suggestions.

This is the first year since any of us on the Board can remember that we are tracking every penny. In the next month or so, we plan to provide you with a detailed financial report, so you can see exactly where every dollar has gone. We will also be providing you with a detailed summary report of our membership numbers over the last 5 years.

We are so very grateful for all of the volunteer labor and donations that help support our club. Just some of the recent donations include: air conditioning for the clubhouse, replacement of the pump house roof, painting of the clubhouse, leveling and clearing of the back lot, new plastic picnic tables, hanging of the shade sails and a portion of their costs, the website, and several other services that helped sustain us.

We urge you to get involved, ask questions, participate in activities and help us grow so we can continue to be a wonderful investment for your family and your community.  Below is a list of the Board members and their email addresses.  Please ask us how you can help or get involved.

Thanks and we are all looking forward to a wonderful season in 2011!

-Your Volunteer HHSTC Board

Frank Bragen - fbragan@mac.com
Braden Buck (Facilities/Maintenance) - braden@mayfieldhomes.com
Missy DeBerardinis (Tennis) - mdeberardinis@na.ko.com
Cindy Deminsky (Swim Team) - cdeminsky@comcast.net
John Farrell (Tennis) - john.farrell@braves.com
Leslie Freymann (Membership/Communications/Social) - lfreymann@gmail.com
Kerri Henderson (Treasurer) - kerridhenderson@gmail.com
Ann Hickman (Social) - ard1072003@yahoo.com
Ashley Kuehne (Rentals/Social) - kuehnea@comcast.net
Francis Laba (Secretary) - frlaba@yahoo.com
Larry Pope (Vice-President) - Llpope58@yahoo.com
Chris Sears (President/Pool Operations) - chris@searssmithlandscape.com
Kevin Shannon (Sponsorship/Communications) - kevin.shannon@earthlink.net
Ryan Tracy (Grounds) - ryan-tracy@comcast.net