2009 Annual Meeting Minutes
Posted on January 3, 2010
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A meeting of the Haddon Field Club was called to order at 11:10am Saturday Dec. 5, 2009 at the Clubhouse. Executive Board members present: Chris Noll, Bob Rose, Kerry Pittenger, Jane Elkis Berkowitz, Evelyn Koruba and Mark Forrester along with a quorum of members. The attendance sheet is attached as an addendum to these minutes.
Printed copies of the 2008 Annual Meeting Minutes were passed for members to read in lieu of having them read aloud. A motion was made to accept the 2008 minutes as read – the motion was seconded and passed.
House & Grounds Committee - Bob Rose:
The new Har-Tru courts, #5,6 & 7, and the others, all played well this year due to good weather. The hard courts had bad cracks which caused safety & playablilty concerns. Repair options ranging from $1,000 to $100,000 were investigated. Since complete renovation was not financially possible, temporary crack repair was chosen. Cracks will open up again by next season and will have to be refilled, however at least they are playable and safer.
The toilet in the ladies room backing up has been an ongoing problem. A roto-rooter has helped, but it is not certain that it is 100% fixed. The problem may be further down the sewer line and may be difficult to find.
The clubhouse exterior is deteriorating and will be painted in the Spring.
Thanks went out to Glenn Earl for refurbishing the umpire chair on court #4, and again to Glenn & Jim Evans for work on the replacing wood on the back of the Clubhouse. Other H&G committee members and gardeners were also thanked: Boon Gallagher, Sue Stapleford, Ray Karcher, Don & Elsie Chew, Betty Murray & Mark Sibley.
Tennis - Mark Forrester:
The Haddonfield High School Girls Tennis Team & coaches Jeff Holman & Louise Senopoulos were acknowledged and applauded for winning the State Championship and Tournament of Champions.
The Pro Search Committee was thanked. Mark noted that Pro, John Bacha, seemed to fit in well with the Club members and will be returning next year.
Kathleen Burns questioned the Pro using a soft court ( #4) for lessons during peak times when members would have to wait for a court. During discussion, it was pointed out that the lessons are for adult members who have the right to use a soft court also. Mark said he would mention this concern to John Bacha.
Both tournaments in 2009 were successful – Junior Tournament netted $1600, Super Senior $600. The Super Senior Tournament could have been more profitable, however, due to scheduling, it was moved to mid-October and participation was less than previous years.
New plaques are needed for Club Tournament winners which will cost $150ea. Mark asked if anyone was interested in donating a plaque.
Membership – Kerry Pittenger:
In 2009 there were 6 new adult (individual) members and 3 new Juniors
By comparison, in 2008: 8 individual, 6 juniors, 2 families
In 2007: 7 individual, 1 juniors, 4 families
The unstable economy seems to be the main reason for the low number of new members this year – several people expressed interest in joining, but, for financial reasons, would have to wait for financial reasons. Next season advertisements and an open house will be tried again to boost membership.
In 2009 a new logo was designed along with a membership brochure and logo merchandise (hats, shirts, towels).
Financially we could use more members, but the courts seem to be very well used by existing members.
Treasurer – Jane Elkis Berkowitz:
The Profit & Loss statement was reviewed:
Membership income was down since there were less new members than expected, and therefore less initiation fee revenue. Revenue was only 84% of amount budgeted, however the Bishop Eustace (BE) income helped boost that figure. BE was in ‘uncategorized income’ account.
The audit committee (Boon Gallagher, Mark Sibley, Jim Marks) made some changes to the Depreciation Expense account. Depreciation wasn’t on previous statements, so $9000 of the amount shown on this statement is a one-time accounting adjustment. Many items were eliminated from the depreciation schedule that the Audit Committee deemed too small (< $5,000) or too old to retain. $3772 will be the depreciation amt for next year.
Grounds maintenance in 2009 was less than last year due to a less expensive landscaper.
Court maintenance expense was incorrectly budgeted in 2009 – it will be corrected in 2010.
Water & sewer will be slightly lower than budgeted – about 10% less.
Social events and soda expenses will be in the income account and netted out.
Overall, net income for 2009 was about $10,000 (without considering depreciation).
Cash is currently approx $48,000.
Julian Brodsky asked about joining a not-for-profit group that could allow HFC to not pay property taxes. Others noted that there is a difference between a not-for-profit organization and a non-profit (charity). HFC could not be considered a charity. Chris Noll said it would be worth looking into.
Jane Kasse questioned the quality of the work of the cleaning lady, noting the kitchen in particular was not acceptably cleaned when requested.
Old Business:
7 teams, all of which played in 2009, were listed to be accepted again in 2010 – 6 ladies and 1 men’s team:
Ladies Teams:
Spring: Late April to Mid June Monday 9:45am; 5 courts; Phila Interclub Cup 2 capt: Anne Maxwell
Spring: Late April to Mid June Wednesday 9:45am; 5 courts; Phila Interclub Cup B
Summer: July-Aug; Monday 6pm; 3 har-tru courts/all doubles; capt: Niki Sambalino USTA Senior 3.5
Summer: Tuesday 9:30am; 5 courts/all doubles; capt: Stacy Kasse
Summer: Tuesday 9:30am; 5 courts/all doubles;
Summer: Mid-May to June; Saturday 1pm; 5 courts; 2 singles, 3 doubles; 3.5 USTA; capt: Lou Ann Prescott (note: in 2009 start time was 12:00pm – Mark suggested a 1pm start time in 2010 – Lou Ann agreed)
Men’s Team:
Summer: July-Aug; Thursday 6pm, 3 har-tru courts/all doubles; capt: Kerry Pittenger USTA 4.0
An extensive discussion about non-members on HFC teams followed. Points discussed included:
-Whether non-members should be allowed on teams, and if so, what percentage of the team must be active members.
-If non HFC team members should be required to pay guest fees.
Ed Moore made a motion that non-HFC members on an HFC team will be required to pay the $8 guest fee each time they play a home match. The motion was seconded. The motion was passed.
Kathleen Burns requested a motion stating that only HFC members should be allowed to be members of an HFC team. The motion was not seconded, and therefore no vote was taken.
Jane Berkowitz motioned that the number of HFC members on a team should be GREATER than 50%. The motion was seconded. The motion failed.
Marsha Marshall motioned that a minimum of 40% of a team should be HFC members. The motion was seconded. The motion failed.
Ed Cantor motioned that a minimum of 50% of a team must be HFC members. The motion was seconded. The motion passed.
Jane Berkowitz motioned that non-members be allowed to be on a team for only 1 year, then they would be required to become an HFC member or lose their position on the team. The motion was seconded. The motion failed.
A motion was made to accept the 7 teams as described above. The motion was seconded. The motion passed
In previous years, 3 teams have had their league fees paid for by the Club (approximately less than $100 per team). The Executive Committee suggested each team be responsible for their own fees. It is unfair for the Club to pay for some teams and not others, plus if the fee is divided among the team members, it would be a minimal amount per person. Discussion followed.
Kathleen Burns made a motion that the Club pay league fees only for teams that have 100% HFC players on their roster. Motion was seconded. Motion failed to pass.
A motion was made that the Club NOT pay any team league fees. The motion was seconded. The motion passed.
Ev Koruba read a social committee report from Jan Caffrey, 2009 Social Committee Chairperson. Report is attached as addendum to these minutes.
Election of Officers:
Glenn Earl, Nominating Committee Chairperson, presented the suggested slate of officers for 2010:
President: Chris Noll
1st VP of House & Grounds: Bob Rose
2nd VP of Tennis: Mark Forrester
Treasurer: Jane Berkowitz
Secretary: Evelyn Koruba
Membership: Kerry Pittenger
Marsha Marshall motioned to nominate Mark Forrester for President. Mark respectfully declined.
Jane Kasse nominated Stacy Kasse for Membership Chairperson – motion was seconded.
Motion was made for vote on existing slate of officers EXCEPT Membership position. Motion seconded. The motion passed.
A vote for previous motion for Stacy Kasse as candidate for Membership Chairperson was taken. The membership vote (taken by raising hands) elected Kerry Pittenger over Stacy Kasse.
Slate of officers for 2010 will be as listed above.
Chris Noll started the discussion on the Bishop Eustace court rental arrangement by noting it got off to a rocky start in early 2009 due to poor communication and inconvenience to a few members. Overall, Chris felt the inconvenience to members was minor in comparison to the financial benefit to the Club. The Club received $75/day for the boys team in the Spring; $100/day for the girls in the Fall for a total revenue of $4025.
For 2010, Chris proposed to BE a flat rate of $2500 per season (Spring & Fall) for total revenue of $5000. BE agreed.
Kathleen Burns commented that she did not see the BE arrangement as benefiting our membership enrollment. She would rather see the hard court areas used to build a strong junior program which would enhance our Club membership long term. She also noted that one time the amount of students at the Club for a BE match was excessive and overwhelming.
Boon Gallagher thought that BE players should be required to be HFC Junior members. Jim Marks wondered if the BE arrangement conflicts with the non-profit status.
Ed Moore made a motion that Bishop Eustace boys & girls teams be allowed to use our courts for practice and matches for $5000/year. The motion was seconded. The motion passed. (23 for / 9 against).
Kathleen Burns proposed that we monitor BE when they are at our facility. Chris said we will put information on the website about the monitoring of BE.
Julian Brodsky said some people left HFC because they weren’t getting enough tennis because it was difficult to meet other players. He offered several suggestions: Reinstate the ladder. Have match-making ability on the website. Promote the Wed evening round robin. More structure to the weekday morning round robin. Encourage drills & match making. Have a structured junior program.
Kathleen Burns suggested Pro, John Bacha, get involved to encourage and organize matchmaking and a Junior program.
Chris Noll noted that the Exec Committee approved use of the facility for two private parties in 2009, however one party was cancelled. The event for the Rodier family used only the clubhouse (no courts) for $100. Future requests for facility rental by members (only) will be carefully considered by the Executive Committee.
In order to encourage new members in difficult economic times, the Exec Committee suggested allowing payment of the initiation fee to be spread over two years.
A motion was made to allow initiation fee to be paid over 2 years with a $10 additional fee. The motion was seconded. The motion passed.
Jane Berkowitz proposed the 2010 budget with revised figures (allowing for initiation fee proposal above, the corrected BE revenue, and adjusted Misc expense fee as discussed to include the design cost of new logo). A motion was made to accept the 2010 budget. The motion was seconded. The motion passed.
A motion was made to allow guests on the courts before 11 am on weekends as long as at least ½ the players on a court are HFC members. The motion was seconded. The motion passed.
A motion was made to amend the By-Laws, article IX, Section 1 to read:
Three weeks prior to the meeting notice will be sent by mail, email or similar method to all members eligible to vote.
The motion was seconded. The motion passed.
Meeting adjourned at 1:15pm
Respectfully Submitted
Evelyn Koruba
Secretary
Logo Merchandise
Posted on April 28, 2009
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The Club logo has been updated and looks sharp on men’s and ladies polo shirts, hats and tennis towels. Items are on display in the clubhouse along with order forms. Shirt styles and colors not in stock may be ordered.
Contact Kerry Pittenger (856-428-1872) with orders or questions.
Men’s polo shirts (green or white) $30
Women’s polo (green) $30
Women’s V-neck polo (white) $30
Hats (white) $20
Tennis towels (green) $20