Dear ROSRC Members,

As your Board of Directors, we want to give you an update about our club and the upcoming year. As fellow members, we want to provide you with timely information as well as a clear picture of our club.

First, we trust that you agree that we have the best club of its kind. The location is wonderful, the families here are amazing and our pool is top notch. We also love having the only high dive in Gwinnett County to enjoy; directly and vicariously!

It was certainly understandable that many of you were saddened when the high dive became unavailable for use this past summer due to the severe rusting of the diving platform base; it was just not safe for continued use. We believe that it is an important benefit to you and that it will continue to attract new members to our pool in years to come, so we are taking steps to replace it before the 2018 pool season begins in May.

As you can imagine, any 40-year old structure has its wear and tear. We have learned that the low dive is also in need of the same type of repair and are taking steps to also replace it. In addition, we are aware that the tennis courts need to be resurfaced, and recognize that the baby pool, the playground, as well as the bathrooms all need some major work/repair.

In the past, we have dealt with needed repairs as they arose, at times borrowing what was needed to continue having a usable pool and tennis courts. For example, three years ago a loan was needed to have the pool resurfaced. The plan was to have any excess funds collected go towards paying down this loan in addition to the regular loan payments. We are paying $1,200 a month on this loan and there is $82,000 left to repay. It was not anticipated that the high dive and the low dive would both need to be replaced so soon afterwards. After much research into this issue, we have gotten the repair of the high dive down to $19,000 and the low dive to $13,000. We, as a club, do not have the extra funds needed to pay for the diving boards at this time but we are taking steps to fund the needed repairs.

As a reminder, the club we share is a nonprofit organization and the current membership dues collected are enough to meet our month to month expenses, but not much more than that.

We have a four-part plan to help our club:

1. Replacement of diving boards: The Board has secured a loan from Regions Bank that will cover 80% of the replacement cost for both the diving boards. We are happy to report that the work is on target to be done in time for the summer pool season; which is great news!
2. Grow our membership:  There are several new neighborhoods in our areas that do not have pools. Membership growth efforts are going to target those areas and we anticipate a good number of new members before the summer. It will be helpful if YOU would also be on the lookout for friends and neighbors that may want to join our club. Currently, we have 175 families up to date with their membership dues. Our goal is to increase this total to at least 210!
3. Small increase in annual dues: Our dues have not increased in over 10 years and just with the base cost of everything increasing over these years, we cannot continue to charge what we have and expect to maintain our club in the coming years. For 2018, dues will increase by $50.00; meaning $275 will be due March 1^st and $275 will be due June 1^st – instead of July 1.
4. Our first ever Capital Campaign:  The goal of these efforts will be to raise money specifically for needed repairs around our club. We will be asking our current members as well as former members to help raise these needed funds as well as approach local businesses for support. The first of this money will go toward the other 20% needed to repair the diving boards, then to other needed repairs like the tennis court, bathrooms and playground.

If you have a fund-raising or development background or experience, we need you to provide the Board additional guidance. Please contact Jeff Huenniger, President: [email protected]

If you are interested in being a part of the Capital Campaign Team, please contact Traci Johnson, Treasurer: [email protected]

The Capital Campaign Team will meet monthly, mainly over the next 6 months.

These efforts and YOUR support and involvement is needed to make this plan work. We believe that you share our same belief that our club is well worth it. ROSRC has been a wonderful place for us to play tennis, swim and lounge around the pool and spend time with family and friends for almost 40 years. Many of you have seen your kids and now your grandchildren benefit from the use of amenities our club offers. We hope and trust that as a fellow member and owner you get excited about the possibilities these changes can bring and get involved in making them happen. Let’s all do something to help keep our club beautiful and functional for years to come.

Watch your email for additional information we will be sharing with you in the coming weeks.

Respectfully submitted by River Oak Swim & Racquet Club Board of Directors

ROSRC Board Members

Jeff Huenniger, President, [email protected]

Laurel Tucker, Vice President, r[email protected]

Traci Johnson, Treasurer, [email protected]

Alison Makely, Secretary, [email protected]

Christie Burton, Membership, [email protected]

George Miller, Pool, [email protected]

Adam Hopkins, Building and Grounds, [email protected]

Laura Jolley, Junior Activities, [email protected]

Lisa Waite, Social, [email protected]

Mary Koerner, Tennis, [email protected]

Good Afternoon,

I’m Jeff Huenniger and I am honored to have been asked to serve as our club’s President for 2018, and I am VERY excited for all our membership now that I have met the many who also volunteered to serve as Chairs for the various areas of leadership needed to maintain our club. The energy and enthusiasm of these folks will make 2018 a very exciting year for all of us, I am certain of it.

Let me introduce them:

Vice President: Laurel Tucker

Treasurer: Traci Johnson

Secretary: Alison Makely

Membership: Christie Burton

Pool: George Miller

Building and Grounds: Adam Hopkins

Junior Activities :Laura Jolley

Social: Lisa Waite

Public Relations: Nisha Moussakhani

Tennis. Mary Koerner

My family and I have had the privilege of being members of River Oak Swim & Racquet Club since May 10, 2002. Joel Bagley was the President then; I know this because he signed our official membership certificate; #9898.  Our annual dues were $400 that year. Over the past 15 and a half years, my family has gotten our monies worth and more as we hold and cherish many strong and lasting memories from the events, people, and teams that make the club so terrific!

Your body might be wired a bit differently than mine, but over the past 15 years I have been experiencing situations where I have needed, shall we say, “additional maintenance”. And you know, that is the case for our club as well. Unfortunately, these things don’t always coordinate with a booming economy, full club membership or when we have our health savings or emergency accounts fully funded. Just as we must make tough, and sometimes uncomfortable, decisions and prioritization have to be made in order to maintain our personal health the same is true for the health of our club. I want each you to know that the volunteer members of your 2018 Board are already working hard to bring you the best experiences we can plan for the 2018 year, and with your involvement for many years to come.

Look for some of the ideas of what to improve at our club to be shared in our next newsletter. We also welcome your ideas and input. If it relates to a specific area of the pool, please contact the appropriate Chairperson. You can also CC me on any email communication or leave me a message at: [email protected].

In closing I have two requests:  First, when it comes to YOUR River Oak Swim & Racquet Club, DON’T KEEP US A SECRET.  You know one or two or TEN families that would love to have the fun and memorable experiences you have been having as a member of our Club. Talk with them and get their permission to share their names and contact information with our Membership Chair: Christie Burton ([email protected]).  Finally, I need your participation.   We need you not only swimming, playing tennis, and attending social events, but participating in committees, workdays, and club upkeep.  Will you join me?

Sincerely,

Jeff Huenniger

Our Sunday Women’s C6 Alta Team is looking for new players!!

If you have played tennis in the past and interested in getting back in the game, please contact Allison Grier ([email protected]) or Chana Coughlin ([email protected]).  Practice is on Thursdays from 7-8pm and matches are on Sundays starting at 12:45pm.