Meeting Call to Order and Welcome
Pat chaired the meeting on Jerry’s behalf, opened the meeting and led the singing of “O Canada.”
Deidre provided the invocation, expressing special gratitude for Rick’s recovery.
Pat welcomed our guest speaker, Bill Jones, and thanked Jeff and Marjorie for hosting the outstanding club barbeque.
Events
- Sip and Savor not going ahead this year.
- Beatles Night scheduled for November.
- Shred a thon was a great success and looking to add another one in the spring
Pat encouraged us to think of additional Fund Raisers
Financial Report – Jeff
Jeff stated that we currently have approximately $34,000 in the bank, with $1,000 of this total available for the club operating budget.
The club has an operating requirement of $8,000 per year. Projections show that this is currently underfunded, and Jeff remarked that if we do not continue with the Breakfast autopay system (which contributes to this budget,) we will need to replace between $3,000-$3,200 per year.
Without the breakfast autopay and additional funds, we anticipate a club operating shortfall of approximately $200 per member.
Discussion points:
- Shift RYLA and YAIL from operating budget to project budgets (address approximately $1,000).
- Add Sergeant of Arms collections at member socials as well.
- Breakfast autopay provides budget predictability, while a self-pay system allows for greater flexibility for those who prefer a light or no breakfast, as well as those who are not able to attend each meeting. Self-pay may be preferred for attracting new members, while auto-pay may help to encourage meeting attendance. Discussion also explored separate meeting fees, and potential for 2-tiered auto-pay options. Knowing that we are looking at ways to meet the $200 per person shortfall, it was suggested that an immediate additional membership fee increase of $200 per person in one step would be experienced as too extreme and was not recommended.
Motion: It was moved by Jeff and seconded by Rick that: “For the next 6 months, we test a new approach whereby we self-pay our breakfasts, apply a $100 per person regular membership fee increase and supplement the shortfall with special events and Sergeant of Arms at club socials to raise additional funds.”
Motion Carried.
Jeff added that this new approach would take effect July 1, 2018. Since we are billed in 6-month intervals, Jeff would apply an additional $50 to the membership fee for the period of July 1, 2018 – December 31, 2018, with the 2nd $50 additional fee applied in the following 6-month interval.
New Membership Fee Rates:
Motion: It was moved by Jeff and seconded by Deidre that: “The Regular Active Member fee be increased from $250 per year to $350 per year. The Family Membership would include the new $350 per year for one active member and the additional family member would pay $200 per year for a total combined Family Membership annual fee of $550.”
Motion Carried.
Outstanding Membership Fee Issues:
It agreed that the club would defer discussion to a future meeting regarding the considerations of Corporate Membership Fees and the potential waiving or application of Initiation Fees for Honorary Members shifting to Family Membership. Jeff encouraged everyone to google Rotary Corporate Membership fees to gain some awareness of the variety of options currently employed by other clubs.
Deidre thanked Jeff for all of his hard work on helping us to explore issues and options in meeting our operational budget requirements.
Jeff reminded everyone to self-pay for their breakfast on the way out.
Rotary Minute
There was no Rotary Minute at this meeting.
Future Meetings
All future meetings to be held at the Pacific Inn until further notice.
August 1 – NO MEETING – Long Week-end
August 8 – Regular Meeting – Pacific Inn – New District Governor, Linda Murray, to attend.
Projects – Save-On Gift Cards
Don reminded members of the Save-On Gift Card promotion. He has lots of cards available for purchase!
Guest Presentation: Bill Jones Tour of Portugal
Peter introduced the guest speaker, Bill Jones, Past Rotarian.
Bill shared a pictorial review of he and his wife, Joan’s month-long travels throughout Portugal this April. He started with a brief history of milestone events from the Roman influence, the Moors, Henry the Navigator, the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, all the way to the shift to democracy in 1974. This set a wonderful foundation for his present-day tour of Portugal. The tour started at the northern city of Porto and continued inland to the Douro Valley. From there, the review took us to Coimbra, Nazare, Evora, Algarve and ended in Lisbon. Bill provided something for everyone, from vineyards to terraced orchards, Roman ruins, beaches, museums, and art galleries, to Portugal’s own ‘Stonehenge.’ By the end of the presentation, we were all ready to book our flights.
Rhonda thanked Bill for his informative and engaging presentation.
Adjournment:
Pat adjourned the meeting.