The September 25th, 2021 annual meeting was called to order by President Glenn Ratcliffe after 10 A.M. Glenn welcomed those members in attendance. He recognized those Board of Directors members in attendance and cited the extraordinary efforts of all Board members who worked hard to make this a successful year, in spite of Covid-19 restrictions.
In the great news department, he commented that Scott Simko, our long time property manager, has been making an amazing recovery from his surgery earlier in the year. If physical activity heals, Scott is a great example. He has been involved in activities of the club and back on the job much sooner than expected. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers. We are indebted to Joe Cieslowski, Gerry Wendrovsky, Scott’s Dad and others for pitching in to help keep the club going while Scott was in recovery.
In particular Glenn cited the great job that Owen Mitchell has done as Chairman of the Fisheries Committee. Noteworthy also was the growth in new members during the year reflecting the tireless efforts of Dean Keister as Chairman of the membership committee. Membership now totals 102 with more in the pipeline.
Our Grounds and Building chairman, Jeff Shippee, was cited for the work and organizing he did on the recent, long needed repairs to the pole barn. With Jeff’s and Eric Hutchison’s organization, the work was accomplished below our projected budget for the job. Glenn thanked the crew from Juniors Landscaping and Construction of Canaan, led by owner Jason Lemon, who leveled and braced the structure.
Members recognized outgoing President Glenn Ratcliffe for his many contributions to the growth and success of the club and its strong financial condition. During his tenure many new projects have been completed along with a number of improvements in our facility. He has led our efforts to improve our financial accounting helping us to better understand and manage our financial condition.
The issue of the property gate, keeping it open when members are on the property, was brought up for discussion with several different opinions expressed. It was decided that the Board would look into this issue further by exploring an automated gate option. Until that issue is developed further, the board’s position is that the existing gate will be closed as members arrive and leave the property.
The shareholders voted to approve the slate of nominees for seats on the corporation Board of Directors. The approved members and status are as follows:
Steve Lefebvre (1st year of his 3rd term)
Jim Oravetz (1st year of his 3rd term)
Eric Hutchison (1st year of his 1st term)
The Board will be voting for a proposed slate of corporate officers at its next Board meeting on October 16th.
Glenn reviewed details for Board recommended changes in the corporation by-laws, as was proposed and mailed to every voting stockholder. The proposed changes included eliminating the preferred share purchase requirement for any new member while honoring existing shareholder preferred share rights. The other by-law proposal was putting in place a one year timeline for share redemption after a shareholder’s membership ends. However, because of a technical issue over specific language regarding the required number of common shares for new members, it was decided to send out a request for a re-vote on that proposal with corrected text. The new proposal will be mailed to voting shareholders shortly and a re-vote will be requested. The Board recommends members vote for the proposed changes.
The meeting was adjourned at noon and was followed by a barbeque lunch enjoyed by all. Our thanks to Dean and Liz Keister for organizing and preparing a great menu. Our newest member Max Maisano sitting in for Mark Boardman did an awesome job on the grill.
Thank you all for your support!
Jim Oravetz, Secretary
