3. Rear Commodore's Report

Fall is upon us and winter is approaching. I wish to give my heartfelt thanks to Becky Garvie for stepping forward and accepting the chairmanship of the Grounds Committee. She will also serve on the AAC committee. I am confident that she will do a great job.

Well, I have two months under my belt as Rear Commodore and I am learning a great deal about our and other clubs. We have attended two Junior Officer's Balls (Port Orchard and Day Island) so far and it is interesting to see how different clubs handle their challenges. It is a great way to get fresh ideas.

Thank goodness we have a great number of members that are dedicated to doing all they can for the betterment of our club. Gary Stone and John Alving must spend half of their time at 520 meetings. If we were paying for their time we couldn't afford it. The amount of time that Art Mauldin spends on the docks is equal to more than a full time job. We are fortunate to have members like this to keep our club operating smoothly. However we do need additional help.

What we need at this time are more volunteers. We have a great pool of talent in our membership and those talents are not being fully utilized. We also have a number of members that just pay their dues and collect the club benefits. We need those members to step forward, join in and do their part. Perhaps you don't think that you have the skills that we need but believe me, you do. We need both leaders and workers. Being a project leader does not mean that you do all the work yourself. A leader is needed to coordinate and direct a project to its completion. If we are unable to find more members to volunteer we will have to pay to have the work done. That will necessitate an increase in dues and moorage. I know that none of us wants to see that happen. Please contact Art Mauldin or any member of the bridge to learn about the different projects and committees.

We are coming into the busy holiday time so enjoy yourselves and all of the activities at the club.

We will be hosting the Richland Yacht Club during the Lighted Boat Parade on December 11. They were our hosts in May for our land cruise to Richland and put on quite a party for us. We look forward to entertaining them in the same fashion.

Don Wilson
Rear Commodore