Sailing Club looking for "community of sailors"
The following letter is from Alyn Pruett, Vice Commodore of the Coconut Grove Sailing Club. Alyn is responding to some of the questions about the proposed changes to the membership structure of the club.
Dear Coconut Grove residents / social members of the Sailing Club,
I have been asked in recent weeks, why does the Coconut Grove Sailing Club (CGSC) want to eliminate the social membership? I want to offer my personal answer to this and other questions I have recently received. First and foremost, our overarching purpose in the proposed change is to create a financially and functionally sustainable membership structure that is aligned with the CGSC mission.
Our goal is not to lose social members, but to encourage them to become active, engaged regular members in our “community of sailors”. We are also proposing to make club membership more affordable than ever, by eliminating the initiation fee and lowering the overall cost of membership.
Another related question I have been asked recently is what is the value of membership in the Sailing Club? The value in any club is derived through participation in club activities, and the CGSC has a rich variety of sailing, educational, community service, and racing activities to become involved with. Sailing activities include adult and youth learn to sail classes, youth and adult racing fleets, small boat clinics, member use of club Kayaks, Sunfish, Ensigns and Flying Scot sailboats, as well as cruises to local and adventurous destinations and, our very popular summer camp. We also organize and host a variety of educational activities that have included hurricane preparedness seminars, guest speaker nights, sailing safety seminars, racing seminars and seminars on buying your first sailboat.
The Club also supports and is actively involved in community service, which includes our participation in Baynanza clean up days, our partnership with Ransom Everglades School, the Coconut Grove Rotary Club and Business Improvement District to clean up and improve the spoil island “E” for water-oriented recreational use, our support of Miami Dade Public Schools, who use our facility almost daily for water based activities, and our partnership with the Coconut Grove Rotary to host their spring break sailing camp.
In addition our outstanding race committee has helped attract regattas to the CGSC, including the prestigious Melges Winter Series, each of which brings business to our Grove shops and restaurants. We also have a great series of fun events throughout the year for families and kids, including Fourth of July and New Years Eve parties. All these activities provide opportunities for sailing, community service, education, and of course, fun and fellowship both on and off the water.
Being a regular member also provides the opportunity to take “ownership” of the club through participation in leadership positions on the board, or as a candidate for one of the flag officer positions – Secretary, Rear and Vice Commodore or Commodore. Social members are not eligible for those positions.
In addition regular members vote on club business matters and elect the officers and board members that manage the club. They also receive a parking sticker that allows them to use the club parking lot.
And finally, I want to clarify the proposed change regarding cost to social members who elect to become regular members. At the present time the CGSC is proposing to offer social members the onetime opportunity to convert to regular membership at a cost of only $2 more than the current social membership cost of $135, plus a $17/month operations and maintenance fee. I encourage our existing social members to take advantage of this great opportunity to continue and expand your participation in the club. If you are not a member of the club come by and find out more about us. Our proposed new cost plan makes membership more affordable than ever.
Sincerely,
C. Alyn Pruett
Vice Commodore Coconut Grove Sailing Club
Dear Coconut Grove residents / social members of the Sailing Club,
I have been asked in recent weeks, why does the Coconut Grove Sailing Club (CGSC) want to eliminate the social membership? I want to offer my personal answer to this and other questions I have recently received. First and foremost, our overarching purpose in the proposed change is to create a financially and functionally sustainable membership structure that is aligned with the CGSC mission.
Our goal is not to lose social members, but to encourage them to become active, engaged regular members in our “community of sailors”. We are also proposing to make club membership more affordable than ever, by eliminating the initiation fee and lowering the overall cost of membership.
Another related question I have been asked recently is what is the value of membership in the Sailing Club? The value in any club is derived through participation in club activities, and the CGSC has a rich variety of sailing, educational, community service, and racing activities to become involved with. Sailing activities include adult and youth learn to sail classes, youth and adult racing fleets, small boat clinics, member use of club Kayaks, Sunfish, Ensigns and Flying Scot sailboats, as well as cruises to local and adventurous destinations and, our very popular summer camp. We also organize and host a variety of educational activities that have included hurricane preparedness seminars, guest speaker nights, sailing safety seminars, racing seminars and seminars on buying your first sailboat.The Club also supports and is actively involved in community service, which includes our participation in Baynanza clean up days, our partnership with Ransom Everglades School, the Coconut Grove Rotary Club and Business Improvement District to clean up and improve the spoil island “E” for water-oriented recreational use, our support of Miami Dade Public Schools, who use our facility almost daily for water based activities, and our partnership with the Coconut Grove Rotary to host their spring break sailing camp.
In addition our outstanding race committee has helped attract regattas to the CGSC, including the prestigious Melges Winter Series, each of which brings business to our Grove shops and restaurants. We also have a great series of fun events throughout the year for families and kids, including Fourth of July and New Years Eve parties. All these activities provide opportunities for sailing, community service, education, and of course, fun and fellowship both on and off the water.
Being a regular member also provides the opportunity to take “ownership” of the club through participation in leadership positions on the board, or as a candidate for one of the flag officer positions – Secretary, Rear and Vice Commodore or Commodore. Social members are not eligible for those positions.
In addition regular members vote on club business matters and elect the officers and board members that manage the club. They also receive a parking sticker that allows them to use the club parking lot.
And finally, I want to clarify the proposed change regarding cost to social members who elect to become regular members. At the present time the CGSC is proposing to offer social members the onetime opportunity to convert to regular membership at a cost of only $2 more than the current social membership cost of $135, plus a $17/month operations and maintenance fee. I encourage our existing social members to take advantage of this great opportunity to continue and expand your participation in the club. If you are not a member of the club come by and find out more about us. Our proposed new cost plan makes membership more affordable than ever.
Sincerely,
C. Alyn Pruett
Vice Commodore Coconut Grove Sailing Club
posted by Tom Falco at 12:30 PM
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