As Board Chairman I thought it would be fitting to give you an update on things happening around the Club. First I want to take the time to thank and recognize Tony Tedeschi for all he does to make the Club function. He can be seen at all events of the Club making sure everything runs smoothly. We had a great picnic last month at a new venue. Thank Tony for making it happen. Next time you see him, thank him for all he does.

Over the last year the Board has been working on reviewing and revising the Club By/laws. This review has been long overdue. One issue we will be bringing to the Assembly in November is the current structure of the Assembly meetings. For many years we have had four Assembly meeting a year. At these meeting we have brought in new members discussed highlights of previous board meeting, voted for new officers and board members, reviewed the Club’s finances and asked for members input. These meetings continue to have very poor attendance. Out of 1,000 members we are getting about 30 members attending. The cost of the dinner (even with volunteers) including a dishwasher, janitorial service is a losing proposition for the Club.

The new proposal is as follows:

• There will be one Assembly meeting in November. This meeting will be for the election of officers and board members. We will bring in new members and discuss the budget as well as gather input from the assembly.

• Taking the place of the other three meetings will be Board/Assembly meetings. We will ask members to attend a regular scheduled board meeting and observe the meeting and give input. There will be special time set aside for the Assembly to give input. Light refreshments will be served. We are hoping that Club members who attend may want to become more active and want to run for office. Currently we have board members who have been in office for a number of years. It would be wonderful if some of the newer members would step up and run for office.

• Budget information will be communicated to the members through the bulletin.

• Three times a year, before the first birthday dinner we will bring in new members to the Club.

The last thing I would like to remind our members is that of taking food from the Club is prohibited. We have stopped members with food going home in large containers. We will monitor and do what we can to stop this. We need your help. Food costs continue to rise and we are doing whatever we can to maintain current dinner costs. It is also a health and safety issue. Recently I attended a banquet at a hotel and guests asked to take some of their food home. They were given a waiver to sign to release them of any liability.

I look forward to seeing you at the Club,

Cyril Bonanno, Board Chairman