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December, 2009
By John Rahn
CYC Commodore-Elect
Commodore Bruce Sherman has asked me to comment on our prospects for 2010. They are good, building on the excellent progress made under Bruce's leadership in 2009.
The incoming Executive Committee met at my house in November to identify strategic challenges and other pressing issues for 2010. Here are some of the issues.
Our Membership Committee will continue operating under the able and energetic leadership of Rusty Lhamon. We expect one concrete proposal the Board to act on in January, with more to follow as the year goes on. If you would like to be involved in this essential effort, please contact Rusty.
We have, along with most other yacht clubs, experienced a gradual decline in membership over the past 20 years or so, to which the economic crisis will add a temporary bump down in 2009 and 2010. We hope to reverse this trend. It will take hard work and imagination sustained over a number of years. We can start now, however.
But really, membership is related to who and what we are and how well we do it all. All the other strategic areas network to membership.
John Rahn
The overarching theme here is that CYC is a club, not merely a provider of services. Our members form a community of friends and competitors, all of whom depend on each other. You can't race without competitors - treasure them.
In the purely social area, we are looking for volunteers to run more fun events and parties during the year, and will be adding more opportunities for us all to relax and socialize together. We will continue with and build on the Fridays in February cruising talks, the pre-race tactics talks, the Monday Lunches and Christmas Lunch, the Awards Party, and such events as the Halloween fund-raiser party for the Sea Scouts. Even the volunteer working parties are parties - great opportunities to get to know other people in the club and make new friends.
We will make special efforts to make CYC a family-friendly place with lots of family-oriented events. Michael Cenname will continue his good work chairing the Junior Committee in this direction. We have some prospects identified which may transform this area, and will be reporting on developments as they become clear. If you have ideas, come forward.
We must identify and implement a long-range solution to supporting shore-side activities for our outstanding Leschi-based racing. We will re-animate the long-dormant Long Range Planning Committee and charge it with this single task. I as Commodore will serve on it ex officio; it will be chaired by the CYC Treasurer, Remmert Wolters, and will include our Vice Commodore, Wayne Balsiger. We will finish populating this committee in January, to no more than a good working number of five or six people. We would hope to begin implementation of some solution in 2010.
We are making initiatives tailored for each of several Seattle-area sailing organizations that may be able to effect closer and more productive relationships. Again, we will report on each these pictures as the images develop during the year.
So this is a work in progress. Stay tuned and get involved! This is your club and will thrive if you make it. The doors are open to people who can have ideas and get things done.