Minutes of the last meeting on March 29th(click here)
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING and Social
Wednesday,
March 21st, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. in the CanAm Building
1. Call to Order and verification of a quorum. President Lindsay Brannen called the meeting to order and asked the Secretary to verify that a quorum was present. Chris Hemstead advised that more than 25% of the Playing Membership of 197 were present. The notice of meeting, agenda and previous Minutes were posted on the bulletin boards at least seven days prior to the Meeting as per the Bylaws, as well as being posted on the MLTC web site. Item 9a. Report of the Social Director was added to the published agenda. Attention was drawn to the handouts provided on Financial Statements and Court Resurfacing.
2. Introduction of the Executive Committee. President Lindsay welcomed everyone in attendance, and introduced the members of the Executive present: Judy Sheehan, Judy Simser, Chris Hemstead, Bob Dwyer, Dale Van Houzen, Sue Rowan, Mark Mintsioulis, Ruth Bridge, Bruce Neff, and Peter and Mavis Trivett. Lindsay expressed his appreciation for their efforts and those of the many other volunteers who help make the club run smoothly.
3. Review of the Minutes of the last AGM. On a motion of Ted Bigelow, seconded by Jim Edwards, the Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of March 23, 2011 were approved as written.
4. Business Arising from the Minutes. None raised.
5. President’s Annual Report. President Lindsay opened by saying we have had a great year enhanced by strong membership participation. He noted the effectiveness of our communications strategy based on internet distribution, and thanked Dale and Chris for their efforts. He mentioned the progress we have made on the lighting, resurfacing and maintenance work, and thanked John Bradley for his support on these issues.
Lindsay acknowledged the donation of a new Tournament Bulletin board in memory of Alex Raeside, a truly dedicated MLTC member. He thanked club members for their clothing donations to the Arcadia crop workers, recognizing the organizing efforts of Joe and Diane Kaak.
Lindsay presented the executive committee recommendations for Honorary memberships for next season to be granted to Bill O’Hare (as MLGCC President), to Dennis Paquette for his work on nets and screens maintenance, and to Lorette Pinto as Winnie the Clown; these were approved on a motion proposed by Jim Wessinger and seconded by Norm Uhl.
In closing, Lindsay encouraged every member to keep the club strong by volunteering wherever possible.
6. Amendments to Bylaws. Proposed changes to the club Bylaws were developed by the MLTC executive, and posted on the club notice boards prior to the meeting. President Lindsay reviewed these changes and explained the rationale for them. Following some discussion, Judy Simser moved “that the Bylaws revision of 2012 be adopted as presented by the Executive”; the motion was seconded by Grant MacMillan and approved.
7. Report of the Treasurer. Bob Dwyer advised that we are ending the season with 197 Playing, 17 Associate (Social) and 2 Honorary members, for a total of 216. He then reviewed the financial statements provided to all in attendance, highlighting the healthy reserve in our accounts. He thanked Grant MacMillan for his efforts on Auditing the Club’s accounts, and reported there were no issues raised. Bob explained he is stepping down from the post of Treasurer, and expressed his appreciation for the help he has received from Brian Morris and others.
Bob Pearce’s motion to accept the financial report and budget was seconded by Beryl Morris and carried.
The Treasurer advised that the Executive had approved a donation of $200 to the Communications group to support the services they provide to us, and that next year fees will be kept at the same rates as this year:- $35 full membership, $20 for 1 month, $15 for social.
Attention was drawn to the paper on “Tennis Court Resurfacing” provided to all in attendance (see attached). Bob moved “That the MLTC donate a maximum of $10,000 or half of the costs, whichever is the least, to the ML Corporation, to be used for the sole purpose of resurfacing all five tennis courts. This donation being solely contingent on the work being done in the summer of 2012”. Peter Trivett seconded the motion. Denise Cucaro expressed concerns about giving up “leverage” on getting the lights fixed, and on possible damage caused by lifts on the court surfaces. Wayne Lunt asked if low spots would be fixed and was told yes. John Bridge cautioned about paying bills before we are sure the work is satisfactory. Lindsay assured us he believes that the ML Corp Board wishes to resolve both the lighting and resurfacing issues in the near future. Nina Lacis pointed out the need for an on-site summer member to oversee the work, and was assured we will have caretakers assigned. Following these discussions the motion was carried.
8. Appointment of Auditor for 2012-13. Bob Dwyer moved, seconded by Helen Barrett-Bee, that Grant MacMillan be appointed as auditor of the Club’s financial statements again for 2012-13. The motion was carried.
9. Report of the Vice President. Judy Sheehan reported that fixing the courts and the lighting have been major goals this year and that she is pleased with the progress made. Concerns with red ants, debris and water on the courts, missing clocks, and broken benches etc. have all been resolved; and we have been assured the loose gravel at Charlotte will be paved this summer. Judy mentioned that we now have two new professional coaches to replace Milan Fiser, who resigned this season; Bonnie Samuelson for the Ladies, and David Lloyd for the Men are working out well.
Judy emphasized she could not do her job without lots of help, and mentioned the following helpers: Mike Rooney for windscreens; John Skeoch/Norm Uhl for waste baskets; Paul Mullins for summer caretaking; Ted Bigelow for ball machine training; Norm Watson/Tom Cucaro for ball machine maintenance.
She went on to thank Dave Forsythe and others on the court and lighting committee; Dennis Paquette for repairs and Wilma Ball for the weekly court schedule. She thanked all those who run the special groups, and highlighted the success of Hope Croskey on the new women’s ladder, and Keith McGruer with the mixed doubles.
She led a round of applause thanking all those who help run our many and varied activities.
9a. Report of the Social Director. Following her successful year in the role Sue Rowan thanked by name the many members who have helped her: all the teams working at social events; the BBQ gang; the Dinner/Dance committee; and many others.
She highlighted the numbers of attendees at social events: 140 at the wine & cheese, 75 on Christmas day, 130 for Fun Day, 178 to Pot Luck and 110 at the dinner dance.
For next year, Sue recommends keeping social events and timing the same, announcing the dinner dance theme early, adding a second team to run Fun Day, purchasing supplies in bulk, and meeting with team captains at the beginning of the season.
10. League Liaisons Reports.
Ladies: Ruth Bridge reported we have 5 teams in the 50+ League and have enjoyed an excellent season. We are hopeful our submitted request for a reorganized team will result in us having teams in all divisions, and allow a logical flow of players between teams.
A course on “First Aid on the Courts” is to be given by Keith Barrett-Bee in early November.
Ruth has enjoyed the Liaison role, and thanked the captains’ committee for their support.
Men: Bruce Neff told us that ML was one of the first four teams of the Peace River Senior Men’s League that has now grown to more than 500 members, the largest in the country. ML has the largest representation of all clubs and we expect to have 7 teams competing next season; the captains have recently redesigned the teams for this. He mentioned we are still hopeful of having two division winners this season, and that Maple Leaf is hosting the League’s Spring luncheon on April 3rd with about 400 men expected to attend.
11. Strawberry Festival Report. Peter Trivett described this year’s Strawberry Festival as a wonderful experience for himself and co-chair Mavis; working with such a dedicated group of committee members made their job easy. Over 100 people showed up on Tuesday for hulling. Total revenue was a new record of $4887 with 1202 ticket sales. Peter thanked by name all the many members of the committees and support groups who were instrumental in making the event such a success. Entertaining music was provided by “Ronnie on Sax”, and “Winnie the Clown” enthralled the kids (and adults too) with her magic. Even President Lindsay did his share by showing us how to have his cake and eat it too! (Check on YouTube).
Peter closed by inviting volunteers to step forward for next year, and introduced Glenn Houghton as the prospective chair for next year, presenting him with the ceremonial strawberry headgear.
12. Trophy Presentations. Mark Mintsioulis opened by giving us some statistics on the great year we have had, with 6 tournaments and the Davis Cup entertaining a total of 248 enthusiastic participants. As a true patriot he reminded us that Greece won the Davis Cup!
He described the work done by his volunteer committee, getting up at 6 am on tournament mornings, and named and thanked them all for their valuable efforts: Pat Mintsioulis, Ray and Madeleine Connell, Dave and Sue Rowan, Ron and Pauline Brimble as well as Dave Zakikian and Ron St.Germain. He also offered special thanks to Wayne and Sylvia Rose for their design and preparation of the beautiful champions trophies.
Mark and Pat then presented the 18 trophies to the individual tournament winners, as well as one to our deserving retiring President Lindsay (as he can’t seem to win one!). As well, Dale Struthers spoke briefly about the Davis Cup tournament and presented framed photographs to the members of the Davis Cup champion team.
13. New Business. No items were presented in advance to the Secretary.
John Bridge suggested adding access to the MLTC tennis web site from the Park web site.
Dale Struthers suggested we investigate booking courts on-line.
Ken Luedtke suggested replacing the score posts.
14. Report of the Nominating Committee. Judy Simser presented the report on behalf of the Nominating Committee (Judy Simser, Margie Brannen, Pete Corbett). The report was posted on the club’s notice boards in accordance with the Bylaws.
15. Election of the New Executive. Secretary Chris Hemstead advised that he has not received any other nominations for the 2012-2013 Executive. The motion to approve the following list of Executives for the 2012-2013 season as proposed by the Nominating Committee was duly seconded and carried:
EXECUTIVE for the 2012-2013 SEASON
President Judy Sheehan
Vice President Mike Rooney
Past President Lindsay Brannen
Treasurer Don McElroy
Secretary Chris Hemstead
Social Director Madeleine Connell
Publicity Director Dale Van Houzen
Tournament Director Ray Connell
Strawberry Festival Chair Glenn Houghton
League Liaison- Ladies Phyllis Gessell
- Men Bruce Neff
16. Presentation by the Incoming President. Judy thanked Lindsay for his guidance throughout the year, and for helping her understand her role. She expressed her thanks for jobs well done to the departing members of the executive: Judy Simser, Bob Dwyer, Sue Rowan, Mark Mintsioulis, Ruth Bridge, Peter and Mavis Trivett, and welcomed all the new members.
She is looking forward to another great year and is committed to finding the answer to any and all of your questions.
17. Date for the next Annual Meeting - set for 2:00 p.m, Wednesday, March 20, 2013.
18. Closing and invitation to the Social Hour. The President closed the meeting with an invitation to join in refreshments organized by the Ladies 3.5+ Snow Birds team assisted by the Men’s B3 team and thanked those members for their efforts in making this a most enjoyable event.
__________________________________ Chris Hemstead, Secretary