Time to vote for the Triangle Curling Club Board!
Time to vote for the Triangle Curling Club Board! There are 5 nominees for 4 open Board positions (in no particular order):
Lance Wright
Kathy Jackson
Chris Juan
Rich Wallace
Dave Hamilton (The one from Maryland)
Board members are appointed to a 2 year term. You have the option of voting via email or voting at the Board meeting on Sunday. If voting via email please send your 4 nominees to Nick Witcraft and cc Adam Prince at your earliest convenience. Attached is a short statement by each of the nominees to aid in your decision. All 5 nominees are excellent choices but unfortunately we can choose only 4.
Note: If you are not currently a paid up member, but would like to vote, you can pay next year’s membership fee and be eligible to vote in this year’s board elections. See the web site for a membership form and send it with your check to arrive by April 30. You may also pay the membership fee at the annual meeting.
If you have any questions feel free to contact Nick or Adam.
To help members who may be unfamiliar with the nominees, each nominee made a statement answering the following:
In your opinion, what are the two biggest issues currently facing the club, and how would you help the board address them?
Lance Wright
The first is the condition of the ice surface. Steps are already underway to get us trained-up on ice prep. I know that at least one Zamboni driver is lined up to take the course with us, but I think we need to get them all trained. We also need to involve them in the problem a little more. In the past, some of them have come out for a learn-to-curl, but maybe something a little more intense is required. Perhaps an exhibition match between the the Zamboni drivers (augmented by some of our people, of course). That, followed-up by a "route-map" for them to follow when prep'ing the ice, might improve things a bit more.
The second is our long-term goal of getting our own ice. This relies on two factors : fundraising, and increasing the membership. For fundraising, I would propose another sponsor-a-rock program. I initiated one many years ago, but that was just to cover the cost of the new handles. Now, I think we need something more substantial in the way of a contribution. Perhaps even a tiered system like they have for Highland Games patrons. As for increasing the membership, I'll be honest; apart form learn-to-curls and more proactive advertising I don't have any great ideas at this time.
Rich Wallace
I see the two biggest issues for our curling club is how to actively encourage donations from our members and organizations that are connected to our members towards a campaign to raise at least 50% of the cost to build or lease a dedicated curling facility. Related to this issue but nearly as important is the need to retain and grow our membership so that reasonable curling fees can pay the annual operating costs for a dedicated facility. My experience with three fundraising campaigns for a large non-profit can help with achieving the curling club campaign goal. As a senior curler, I enjoy assisting others to improve their game and encouraging them to go to outside bonspiels for the competitive experience.
Dave Hamilton
There are two main issues facing the club at this time. One is acquiring a dedicated curling facility in the triangle area. This is essential for the club to meet its objectives as listed in the by-laws. I would work with the building committee to accelerate progress toward this goal. I would promote the ideal of having a dedicated facility for the club by encouraging members to experience dedicated ice at away bonspiels. Finally, I would solicit the membership for annual, tax-deductible contributions.
The second main issue is membership involvement. Everyone has special talents that are needed in and by the club. Peoples’ lives are all busy, but part of curling is giving time and resources to the club. This needs to be taught and promoted to the membership and to perspective new members. I would do this by example, and by dedicating time, whenever club members are gathered together, to talk about volunteer opportunities and activities in the club.
Chris Juan
Effective communication is a key component to growing club membership. There are several steps we can take to enhance communication with current and perspective members, with the goal of growing the number of people curling in the Triangle. As a Board member, I would use the mass communication experience gained working on electoral campaigns to take the lead on the following proposals.
First, all official communication should come from an @trianglecurling.com e-mail address to put a more professional image on our organization.
Second, we should use e-mail marketing software to manage e-mail lists, author communication, and track the effectiveness of our messages. We are fortunate that a local company, iContact, provides these services free to North Carolina based non-profits. We should not pass up the opportunity to use professional marketing software at no cost.
Third, we should send a simple monthly message to our full e-mail list with upcoming events and any major club news. These should be short and simple messages, as most people don’t read more than a couple bullet points in any mass e-mail. The key is to have regular communication with the people who have come into contact with our club.
Kathy Jackson
One issue that I see right now is keeping a consistent number of members to fill both our Friday and Sunday leagues. The best way to do that is to continue to have frequent LTC’s and opportunities for those interested to come out and curl. We also mustn’t forget our current members while we reach out to our new curlers. Offering advanced as well as novice clinics is one way to keep interest. We need to encourage our curlers to take a more active role in the club as the more they do, the more they stay interested.
The other big issue that is current and ongoing is our goal of getting our own dedicated ice facility. The first issue is key if we ever want to have our own facility. If we cannot fill two nights, we will never have the money or the club size to be able to afford our own building. We need to continue to work to increase our membership and retain old members at all times and not become complacent. These two issues are definitely tied together, increase membership, increase our chances of having our own dedicated facility.
