PRESIDENT’S REPORT 2013/2014

You may recall that I mentioned in the first of only two news letters that I was humbled and honoured to be chosen to lead this club. These words were not written in jest or for want of something better to say but were truly genuine. The point we have reached today, through the efforts of members of our club has made me extremely proud to belong to one of the best clubs in the Western Cape.

The quality of our greens, catering and general hospitality of our members has not gone unnoticed and has therefore attracted the attention of Western Province who has blessed us with far more provincial fixtures than ever before. While this may have put a strain on the greens staff and more particularly, our ladies in the kitchen and the odd tabs-in days, this was more than adequately compensated for by the benefits the club received from the additional revenue derived from both the catering and bar.

The fact that we were given three days of men’s nationals to host was also a great feather in our cap.

Membership

At one point earlier in the season we had fourteen new applications up on the board at the same time which assisted in bringing the current total membership up to 130. A number of the new members came from other clubs within the basin and is a testimony to the regard in which our club is viewed.

Regrettably we lost four of our members within the last few months whose tabs will always be in.

Sponsorship

As always, sponsorship is difficult to come by but where some have gone by the wayside, we have so far managed to find others. Our main sponsors over the last year have been Balamory investments, Warwick, Personal Trust, Africape Travel, Mrs Alta Rabie, Dew Harvest and Spar Lions Square.

Unfortunately, Balamory will not be sponsoring again this year and we are looking for a new sponsor to the tune of R20.000 for this year’s Classic 5’s tournament.

Fund Raising

The main source of income from this aspect has come from the Friday night suppers put on by the ladies and I must offer my thanks to Joan Marais and Mare Gruenbaum for co-ordinating this effort and especially to all of the ladies who kindly produced the delicious meals for 40-60 people so willingly every Friday. This effort has raised well over R10.000 since the last AGM, not to mention the substantial, additional turnover for the bar.

The advertising boards have not met with the same success and sponsors continue to prove somewhat elusive.

Bar

As can be seen from the accounts, the bar turnover has increased from R277k to R385K which is almost 40% year on year. This is a direct result of the substantial increased activity on our greens and the Friday night meals and other social functions.

Other than a few hiccups here and there, the bar teams have generally worked well over the year. There are however, still times, when some tend to shirk their duties and thereby put an unnecessary strain on the other team members.

Club House

Improvements continue to be implemented as and when funds are made available without digging into members subscriptions.

New chairs were acquired at a cost of R20k thanks to a donation received from Wynberg Bowling club when they closed down.

The new braai was built for some R15k per kind favour of a donation from Mrs Alta Rabie. Plans for this and a roof to cover the area are being submitted to the Council and when passed, a costing will be done and a proposal put to the members as to how this can be funded. My thanks to Brian Smith and Paddy McDulling for making the very effective braai grids.

The old canopy over the bar has finally been removed and a mini-makeover of the bar has been done. I am sure you will all agree that these minor adjustments have greatly improved the appearance of the club house. Thanks to Theo Marais, Peter Sneller, Andrew Rabie and Paddy McDulling for making this possible.

The gent’s locker room has undergone a much needed overhaul and our thanks go to Hannelie Rabie for designing the décor and to her and Andrew Rabie for physically decorating and repainting the place themselves.

Thanks to the profits from the Friday night meals, the kitchen has received a new gas hob, electric under counter oven, fridge and two new electric frying pans.

Greens

As mentioned previously, our greens are in excellent condition and are without doubt among the best in the whole of the Western Province. This is no mean feat and is directly as a result of all the hard work put into them by Spine van Niekerk and his very willing and able team of Andrew Masamba and Abu Andsen. They all take the job seriously and can be very proud of their achievements, as we are of them.

Accolades

Ladies  

Our ladies have once again served the club well by achieving first and second places in the Provan.

The Muter A team being placed fifth in their first year in the premier division was a most creditable achievement. The B team missed out on winning division two by only one point.

The mid-week team of Nina Painter, Theuna Grobler, Tina Grey and Thea Blatt got to the semi-finals.

Nina, Tina, Thea and Hester de Jongh made the quarter finals of the Sully Cup.

Nina, Tina and Thea also reached the semi-final of the WP trips

Individually, the following ladies also excelled and are to be congratulated :-

Theuna Grobler – Chosen for the BSA Gold squad, selected to represent WP in the ladies inter-districts, quarter finalist in the WP ladies open singles and invited to WP Masters singles.

Nina Painter – Selected to represent WP in the ladies senior inter-districts, quarter finalist in WP ladies senior singles and invited to WP Masters singles.

Cynthia McDulling – Semi-finalist WP ladies open singles and invited to WP Masters singles.

Mare Gruenbaum – Quarter-finalist WP ladies senior singles and invited to WP Masters singles.

Men

In a dramatic turn around, the men’s Flag A side came second in division 2B and will therefore be promoted to the first division next season. The Flag B team lifted the trophy in division 3 and will be promoted to division 2 next year.

Brendan Ferns was selected to represent WP in the men’s under 19 inter-districts.

Heartiest congratulations to all concerned for the tremendous achievement that has put us firmly on the map.

Country Club – Board of Directors

The country club is concerned about the fact that we have more than one employee living on the premises and has instructed us to ensure that this is rectified as soon as possible. Obviously we will not be asking Abu to vacate his house at this point but we will need to ensure that the situation does not arise again in future.

VAT  

The VAT issue has still not been finalised. We are however entitled to apply for exemption and we do have a letter in support of our application from the golf club.

 

While some of you might have construed my remarks in the latest newsletter as being somewhat negative or even arrogant, I assure you it was not my intention to come across that way. It has however, had the desired effect and I am pleased to say that we will not be in the same position as last year when some of the key positions on the committee were not filled until the AGM when Ken Coates and Lilian Thompson put up their hands and thankfully, took up those vacant posts.

In conclusion, I would like to thank the committee for their unstinting support throughout the year and wish the incoming committee every success in steering this great club going forward.

 

Clive Borthwick

29 May 2014