It is my pleasure to serve as your Commodore for 2019. This is our 50th anniversary and we are making plans for a great 50th anniversary celebration.  More on that to come in later months. Final 2018 Activities It is now December and the ECSC sailing season officially ended with the “Black Friday Sail” on November 23rd.  There are still a couple of boats in the water.  Hopefully everyone can get their boats out before they get iced in for the winter. With the closing of Sailboats Inc, we have more boats wanting to winter at the club.  Please be patient and work with Harbormaster (Dennis Robertson) to find a place to store your boat.  If you are taking your boat off site for the winter and haven’t done so yet, please let Dennis know so he knows how many other boats he can dry dock. The Final Bash was held on November 3rd at Rick’s Boatyard Café and was a great success.  We gave out lots of awards and danced through the night.  Thanks to Larry Conrad for fulfilling his final duty as Past Commodore.  Larry now gets a much deserved 3-year break from club management. Board/Officer Changes I want to thank Mark Walker for his service as Vice Commodore and Commodore.  Mark is looking forward to taking it easy as the Past Commodore.  We owe Larry and Mark a huge thanks for their work over the past 2 years to improve the club’s facilities.  They paved the way for our “grand projects” this year by taking care of a lot of basic repairs and maintenance.  Please thank them for their service when you see them at the club. As is customary, we elected a new group of Board Members at the Final Bash.  We had 15 nominations for 8 board seats.  I am thrilled that we had so many members wanting to take an active role in the club’s management.  I am especially pleased that we have several new members who have shown an interest in serving on the board.  We need new faces and new ideas. Our 2019 Club Officers are: Commodore Geoff Endris Vice Commodore Nan Schulze Treasurer Tom Moore Secretary Rich Fox Past Commodore Mark Walker   Our 2019 Board Members are: Term Expires 11/2019 Term Expires 11/2020 Term Expires 11/2021 Rich Fox Rick Graef Kenny Chapman Chuck Goff Bill Harrington Jen Curtis Bill Grant Ki Hickok Geoff Endris Vickie Greenough Bob Hickok Nancy Goff Les Miller Sheela Krout Bob McCoun Chauncey Olin Dennis Robertson Tom Moore Nan Schulze Jane Schmidt Dan Nicholas Mark Walker Wayne Myers Marcus Rogers   The Committee Chair appointments for 2019 are: Committee Head Assistant Grounds Nan Schulze Tom Moore, Dennis Robertson Harbormaster Dennis Robertson Ki Hickok Social Vickie Greenough TBD Membership Jane Schmidt Christy Merriman Safety & Education / Juniors Wayne Myers Dan Nicholas Publicity Rick Graef   Racing Bob Hickok John George   Keep in mind that the officers and committee chairs all have full time jobs and they volunteer their time to run the club for the benefit of the members.  If you notice something that needs to be addressed, by all means, bring it to someone’s attention.  If you have the time and skills, please also volunteer to address the issue.  If not, don’t be surprised if the request languishes while we try to get a volunteer or contractor to address it.  Our club was built by volunteers and I’d like to rekindle that volunteer spirit.  If we all pitch in, we can keep the club looking great without overtaxing our officers and committee chairs. Next Board Meeting Our last board meeting of the year was on December 11th.  The main topic for the meeting was the 2019 budget.  Not only do we need to fund our ongoing operations, but we also need to continue updating the club’s facilities.  While we have made a lot of basic repairs over the last 2 years and we have a lot more to do.  With this being our 50th anniversary, I’d like to get the club really spruced up for the “big event.”  There will be lots of work parties and lots of ways for people to get involved in the celebration. Looking for a Club Handyman/Maintenance Person In the October board meeting, the board authorized the Grounds Committee to hire an outside contractor (non-member) to work as the club’s handyman/maintenance person.  This will be a part-time position working approximately 20 hours per week on daily maintenance tasks to keep the club in good working order.  This is an ideal part-time job for a retired construction or building maintenance person.  If you know of someone who is interested, have him/her contact us at: Grounds@ecsail.org. Winter Storage Advice Those of you who are storing your boat at the club over the winter, be sure to stop by every 2-3 weeks to check on your boat – especially after a heavy snowfall.  Tarps need adjusting over the winter as wind and snow cause things to shift.  If you are out at the club and notice a boat that needs attention, please take note of the member number on the hull or trailer and contact that member. Keep warm.  If you are heading south for the winter, be sure to post pictures on our Facebook page to make the rest of us jealous!   Geoff Endris Commodore