I hope you have all enjoyed a safe and happy holiday season. Personally, Marie and I spent Thanksgiving and Christmas by ourselves, which was a big change for Marie as she is accustomed to feeding a couple dozen people.
I want to thank Mark Forrest for joining the EYC Board as First Trustee. I am sad to see June Chamberlin's resignation, but fully understand her reasons and the Board supports her and wishes her well. Thank you to Matt Sprick for taking over the job of Vice Commodore. I am looking forward to working with him and the rest of the board this year. As Secretary, Stephanie Lunceford will be taking minutes at our meetings. During one of our recent Board meetings she stepped right in—the fact she was in Hawaii at the time wasn't an issue at all. Treasurer Al Avey will make sure we have enough money in the bank and Second Trustee Katie Thomas will be contributing more in her second year on the Board.
The Board is actively making plans for this year. With a vaccine becoming available and a nice wet spring, the club will come back to life. Kind of like a lawn that hasn't been watered. After a month of rain it is no longer dormant—as good as new. A renewal like that is our hope for EYC in 2021.
We were not able to thank Rob Moline with a proper Commodore's Ball in November. I doubt we will be able to have our traditional Chili Feed in January either, but we will attempt a Zoom version ahead of this month's general membership meeting on January 30. The date for Skippers & Mates will likely have to wait till later this spring.
In light of these cancelled and postponed events, the Board has been discussing having a combination Commodore's Ball and Skippers & Mates party that also celebrates our new clubhouse deck. Exact timing will depend on Covid and the weather so we can have the event outside. We have had discussions about adding party tents to the grounds this year so members will have a place to come and enjoy some safe social distancing while having some protection from the elements.
In the meantime, there will be a number of projects at the club that could use your help. Those members who did not complete their work party requirements last year can do so this spring and summer.
The Board's goal this year is to complete projects on our list, add to our youth sailing fleet, and to make the club available for members to use. I am under a lot of pressure as my number one job as Commodore is to have a full lake. I may need to ask the membership for assistance win this high-priority project.
I am excited about the addition to our youth sailing fleet of ten Opti's and six 420's. We have ordered another training/rescue boat to help with a more than doubling of the number of boats we can use during Sail School and for Youth Sailing sessions during the summer.
Ted Walkup has put together an ambitious Thursday racing schedule. We are concerned about a number of issues in the coming months: Covid, how much help we can expect from TYC, and how to maintain a safe environment for both racers and race committee. The Board will be working on these issues in the coming months. There is much we do not have control over, but we will do our best to get the club open and operating this year.
All the Committee assignments for 2021 have been filled. Thank you to all who volunteered to take on these truly important events—they make us a club and not just a place to keep your boat.