CHILLIWACK CURLING CLUB

MINUTES

2009 SPRING ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

 

May 28, 2009

 

The Spring General Meeting of the Chilliwack Curling Club was held on May 28, 2009 at the Chilliwack Curling Club.  President Chris Godwin called the meeting to order at 7:10 pm.  There were 43 members present.

 

President’s Remarks: Chris Godwin

 

I have had the pleasure of acting as the Club’s president for the past year.  It has been an eventful year, as you will have experienced and as you will hear from me and others through this meeting tonight.

 

The Club has had a good year from a financial perspective, thanks in large part to those who continue to curl and consume food and refreshments in the Club.  Thanks in particular to our treasurer, Lenneke Bowles who has taken responsibility for submitting grant applications to the BC Gaming Commission which has resulted in the Club being awarded significant sums of money toward capital improvements and operating expenses over the past few years.

 

As most of you are aware, in this electronic age an organization’s website of often the first thing someone sees when they become interested in the organization.  There are a great variety of websites out there for business and non-profit organizations like ours. This year Larry Legault became the official webmaster of the Chilliwack Curling Club and Larry has done a wonderful job with improving the website.  Our website is something that we can all be proud of.

 

In my view the most important thing we have accomplished this year is the development of a detailed and progressive Strategic Plan for the Club.  Thanks to Dick Allan’s persistence and the assistance of Curl BC most of the members of the Board and several other members of the club devoted an entire weekend to brainstorming to come up with an initial draft for submission to the facilitator who led the meetings.  A Strategic Planning Committee led by Jamie Newton fine tuned the document until it was approved by the Board in March 2009.  This plan will guide the Club over the next five years and will result in a complete revamping of the Committee structure within the Board and hopefully changes for the better, many aspects of the operation of the Club.

 

I would like to offer my personal thanks to Dick, Jamie and the other members of the Strategic Planning Committee and those members of the Board and Club who participated in the process of developing the Strategic Plan.

 

In addition, I would like to thank our Manager, Bruce Renwick, out ice Technician, Ed Gilchrist for their outstanding efforts during the year.  I would like to thank all of the members of the Club who gave their time and energy to volunteer when called upon.  I would like to thank those members of the Board who have completed their term and are now stepping down.  Thanks to those members of the Club who have agreed to let their names stand for election tonight.

 

With the availability and guidance of the new Strategic Plan I look forward to an exciting year at the Club next year.   I am convinced that the changes that are about to be made will be for the benefit of the Club and its members and will allow us to continue to prosper as a Club for many years to come.

 

 

Minutes:

 

Motion:

Made by Larry Legault, seconded by Lenneke Bowles,

The Minutes of the 2008 Spring Annual General Meeting be adopted as read by Jane Arden.  Carried

 

 

Financial Report:

 

Keith Britz presented the financial report on behalf of Meyers, Norris & Penny.

Copies were given out to members for review.  Discussion followed.

Motion:

 Made by Vic Martens seconded by Laura Watson,

The financial report be adopted as reviewed.  Carried

 

 

Manager’s report:  Bruce Renwick

 

 League participation was about the same as previous year.  Pro Shop sales were similar to last season.  This past season was used as a clear out year where we lowered our overall profits but got rid of inventory that has been around awhile.

 

Once again we had many private rentals when our Club isn’t being used for curling functions.

 

Dick Allan was very instrumental to getting the Business of Curling Seminar here.

Through the hard work of Dick, Jamie Newton, Jane Arden, Jane Adam and Wendi Prinse along with contributions from others, the Club now has a strategic plan which can be viewed on our website.  This is an exciting thing for the club and I am sure that with the new ideas and strategies we will fill our leagues and keep our club strong and viable.

 

 One of the things we are going to institute is “Club Bucks” program to reward those who do extra volunteer duties.  We are also going to run the Friday night league until Christmas and create five “corporate Nights” for those nights after Christmas.  The planning committee has a volunteer organizing committee and I am sure you will all be contacted soon to help out. Larry Legault has taken the bull by the horn and has a large list of improvements that he will make our Club even better.

 

We have hired a new Ice Technician, Jayson Gill who has made ice in the northern part of the province and now resides in Agassiz with his wife who works for the District of Kent.  I am sure you will give him a Chilliwack Curling Club welcome and help him feel comfortable in his new surroundings.  I would like to thank Ed Gilchrist who did an outstanding job with our ice considering he worked full time elsewhere.  I would like to take a second to thank Kris, Lou, Stephanie and Mark who helped make my job easier.  Also to the Board of Directors an outstanding job and I look forward to working with some of them again next season.

 

 

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

 

 

Strategic Planning Committee: Dick Allan

 

In October 2008, five Board members and five members of the CCC met with Jack Bowman, facilitator from CurlBC, to develope a Strategic Plan for the CCC.  If our Club does not have a vision of where it wants to go, it is difficult to know how to get there.  The Strategic Plan is a guide, which will help us, achieve that.  The plan is flexible and will need constant revision and updating as we move through it.  It is not written in stone.

 

At this time, the Board recognized the need for the Club to address problems that we, along with many other curling clubs were encountering or would soon be facing.

 

The issues that were discussed at this 2-day session included membership, volunteers, operating costs and revenues and the curling facility/building.

 

We looked at our weaknesses and threats to our club as well as our strengths and opportunities.

 

Arising from this, we developed a set of values and established a vision for our club and its curlers which include:

1)      Building and Facility Enhancement

2)      Management Structure and Communications

3)      Revenue Generation

4)      Membership Recruitment and Retention

5)      Volunteer Management

6)      Programs and Services

These areas will form the basis of our new Committee structure but will also include these present Committees: Finance, Ice Conditions and Strategic Planning.

 

The Strategic Plan has specific goals for each of these areas as well as time lines and priorities for every goal and objective.  This plan takes us over a 5 year period and each goal has been given a priority of being High, Medium or Low.

 

We have already accomplished and met some of our goals in some areas involving building/facility, revenue, membership and volunteer management.  The introduction of Club Bucks is an example of a new program we will be implementing this coming year with regards to volunteers.

 

The Strategic Planning Committee will also be measuring our performance in each area as we progress through the Plan to find out if we are, in fact, meeting our goals and objectives.

 

Members of the Strategic Planning Committee are:

Jane Arden, Jane Adam, Wendi Prinse and Dick Allan.

 

When the new Board is elected one other Director will join this Committee.

 

The committee has a great deal of work ahead of it during the coming 4-5 years and hopes to be able to assist the Board, its Manager and the membership towards keeping our Club strong, active, welcoming and enjoyable.

 

 

Building & Maintenance: Larry Legault, Jamie Newton

 

The Club went through a lot of changes this last year, both cosmetic and functional.  Thanks to the members of the committees that made this possible.

 

The new storage room off the back wall was completed and we were able to clean up the equipment from the backboard area.  We mounted the scoreboards onto the walls and replaced the carpeting.

 

We painted the ceiling tiles that were needed, the laminate along the glass upstairs was painted, shelving was installed in the office, and banners for our provincial winning teams were hung.

 

Plans for the future include:

Cosmetic painting and patching

Cleaning out the store rooms upstairs

Removing the air exchanger ducting upstairs

Building a new store room upstairs for tables and chairs

Moving the liquor compressor to reduce noise levels

Installing lighting in the new store room

Replacing hinges on the home end boards

Installing new hacks

Removing the dividers from hog to hog between sheets

Raising and replacing the remaining dividers

Building a jig to condition rocks

Replacing the furnaces

Replacing the chiller and associated pumps and piping

Relocating the heaters in the ice area

Building new lockers in Men’s Locker room

 

 

Ice Conditions: Larry Legault, Dale Morgan, Peter Lui

 

Ice conditions improved.  We had much thicker ice and Ed did a great job maintaining the ice for us.  Thanks to all the volunteers who helped out nipping and pebbling.  The springs on the nipper blades were repositioned over the Christmas break, clearing up some of the problems we were having with runs.  Care must be taken when handling the nipper so the springs do not get dislodged.

 

The rocks were conditioned again in February.  We are going to build our own jig so that we will be able to condition the rocks ourselves on a regular basis.

 

 

Draws and Bonspiels: Dick Allan

 

During the past curling season three major bonspiels were held – the Chilli Spiel, Men’s Open and Spring Mixed.  The Chilli Spiel was held in January and was organized and run by a committee from the Business Girls League.  It was well attended and very successful as it has been in previous years.

 

The Men’s Bonspiel was held in February and 28 teams participated including several from out of town.  The event winners were A Event- Carey Prinse team, B Event – Laurie McLellan team, C Event – Britz team.

 

The prizes, banquet and the good ice conditions all contributed to a very successful bonspiel which was also a financial success for the CCC.

 

In March the Spring Mixed was held and attracted 32 teams.  Winners of the Events were the Ford, Marshall and Clark rinks.  Again a number of factors helped make this a success – good ice conditions, prizes, food and entertainment.

 

A Fall Mixer was held in November and despite the low number of teams that entered a good time was had by all.  Hopefully more teams will enter this Mixer next fall.

 

In addition to these major CCC bonspiels a number of other smaller spiels were held including those put on by the Ladies, Masters and Mixed Social.  The CCC also hosted the ICBC spiel in January.

 

The Bonspiel committee and the manager have had to work hard to promote our bonspiels and to encourage teams to take part.  There has been a gradual decline in the number of participating teams over the past several years.  We are aware of this trend and will be working hard to keep our numbers up in the coming years.

 

I would like to thank our Manager, Bruce Renwick, who has put forth a great deal of effort towards getting teams to take part.  Kudos go out to Larry Legault and Dennis Bailey, two members of the Bonspiel Committee who have worked hard to make sure our bonspiels are a success.  Thanks to the volunteers who have taken on various jobs during the bonspiels – bartenders, 50/50 ticket sellers and many others who have contributed their time.

 

 

Membership and Social: Dale Morgan

 

There were 28 new members to the Club during 2008/09 season.  This is a major concern as most clubs participation is down.  Action taken by director Peter Lui was to set up an information booth at the Chilliwack Mall in August to attract new members.  We are going to repeat this promotion at the Cottonwood Mall in August of 2009.  We would like to encourage our members to bring new curlers into the club.

 

The Top dog Contest was held in October and had 35 participants, Keith Britz winning the Top Dog receiving a nights curling fees and a designated parking spot.

 

A Halloween dance was held October 31.  Seemed to be a fairly good success.

 

Drain the Keg night was held last Friday of March.  Trevor MacDonald provided the music, pizza was provided, and the evening was well attended.

 

A reminder the annual golf tournament will be this Sunday at Aquadel.  Texas scramble, tee time 9:00 am.

 

We will be looking into other social events for our members, any suggestions are welcome.

 

Advertising: Lynne Wejr, Jane Adam

 

Bills were sent out in the summer to all our customers that advertise in the club, with self addressed envelopes for easy return.  These bills were for in ice and score board advertising.  A follow up in the fall with the reminder that the ads were in place.

 

Junior Curling & Clinics: Laura Watson, Jane Adam

 

The Junior Curling program at the CCC experienced a banner season.  Thirteen curlers that have been involved in the junior program represented the Club at four provincial championships and under 18 International Optimists championships.

 

Junior Men: skip Ryan Bogle, third Kevin Jones, second Matthew Prinse, lead Adam Dyck, coach Rick Jones.  The team qualified for provincial championships in Kelowna by placing third in the Pacific play downs in Sidney.  They finished in the middle of the pack of the eight team field.  Ryan, Kevin and Matthew have been identified as high performance curlers and will start their quest for provincial championships in June with meetings and training.  Good Luck guys.

 

Chilliwack Secondary School Girls’ and Boys’ teams qualified for the BC High School Championships in Smithers by capturing the Upper Fraser Valley Championship held at CCC in February.

 

Boys: skip Matthew Prinse, third Gavin Woodfine, and second Andrew Graham; lead Keith Moredon, Coach Peter Lui

 

Girls’ skip Kayleigh Alendal, third Stephanie Prinse, and second Paige Cote, lead Emma Graham, and coach Laura Watson.  Congratulations on a third place finish two years in a row.

 

Juvenile Girls’: skip Stephanie Prinse, third Emma Graham, and second Brianne Dyck, lead Ali Renwick, coach Laura Watson This was a fabulous experience for these young curlers.  They participated in a high performance clinic on the first day with some of Canada’s top coaches and had excellent competition from the top U-18 teams from Canada, USA and Japan.

 

Thanks to the parents and grandparents for all their support at this event.

 

All these young curlers have spent many years in the Junior program as well as curling in Adult leagues, bonspiels and helping the young curlers, they should be congratulated for their performance and representing the CCC. in an exemplary manner.

 

The regular junior program began with a two day clinic for the new curlers.  Older junior curlers and volunteers from the club gave instruction to about 20 young curlers.  The Monday program continued to offer great experiences for children ages 6-18.  Sixteen Little rockers took part in the program and were helped by parents and volunteers from the Ladies and Masters Leagues.  Our recommendation for the next year is that all curlers turn eight by December 31, 2009, unless they were in the program the previous year.  The physical and emotional maturity of these young curlers presented many challenges.  The number of curlers involved in the

 

4:30 – 6:00 program was down from last season.  There were about 36 curlers getting instruction from the club members and experienced junior curlers for the first 4 weeks.  Teams were then made up and games were played each Monday.  Commitment from all the curlers was sometimes a problem.  The second last day of junior curling was “bring a friend” day.  We had a number of new curlers out and volunteers decided to incorporate this idea early in the season to try and boost the numbers in our junior program.

 

A number of junior curlers, volunteers and other club members had the opportunity to attend the world Junior Championships in March at the Olympic venue in Vancouver.  It was a great experience for all.

 

Special thanks to all members of the CCC who helped out with the junior program.  I hope more members will find the time to get involved in this great venture for young kids.

 

Good Luck and thanks to Peter Lui who will be taking over the reins of this program.

 

The club will be hosting the BC High School Championships February 3-6, 2010.  Be a volunteer.

Presentation of awards for the Club league winners was made by Larry Legault.

 

 

Elections: Bob Burke

           

Directors elected:          Kara Biersteker            Darryle Leavesley

                                    Bob Morrison               Neil Sulkers     

                                    Allan Vanderveen

                                   

Directors returning:       Jane Arden                   Dennis Bailey

                                    Lenneke Bowles           Chris Godwin

Larry Legault                Peter Lui

                                    Dale Morgan

 

Thanks to Bob Burke for conducting elections. 

 

Motion:

Made by Ed Duffy, seconded by Terry Bodman

 

The ballots of the election be destroyed.  Carried.

 

Appointment of Accountants:

 

Motion:

Made by Bob Morrison, seconded by Larry Legault 

 Continue with Myers, Norris & Penny as accountants for the upcoming year, 2009-2010.  Carried.

 

Chris Godwin adjourned the meeting at 8:30 pm.

 

 

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