Quaker Aurora Tennis Club

Please welcome another new member, Adrianna Boyczuk.  Adrianna just joined so missed inclusion in last week’s season kickoff email.

Welcome to the Quaker Aurora Tennis Club!

Hello to returning and new members!  We hope you’re having a great summer.  The 2016-2017 indoor season officially starts the day after Labor Day when our leagues start and reserved court time goes into effect.  Don’t forget that you can go to the schedule page of our website here to see your group’s schedule and to check out available slots before calling the answering service to reserve time.

Remember, we are a “do-it-ourselves” club so we rely on all members to pitch in to help keep it clean.  Please pick up after yourself, wash your dishes, take home the garbage/recycling when they’re full, sweep up the fuzz after using the ball machine, etc.  Treat the club like we treat our own homes.

Also, it’s especially important to sign in every time you play (including guests) and to always call the answering service if you are not going to use your reserved court so other members can play.

While you were gone
We were busy over the summer making improvement to the club.  The new furnace has been installed. The heating startup will be in the fall when the weather gets cold.  At that time they’ll do the factory startup of the burner and we’ll learn about the operation of the furnace.

We also installed pads on the side and corner beams, and sealed the driveway.

Membership Dues
Some members have reported a problem opening their invoice.  They were sent out as pdf’s but apparently some computers and/or email clients are not recognizing the attachment properly.  If you are having a problem:

• Try using another computer or email client to open the attachment.
• Email Carole Lane before August 28th and ask for another invoice.  After August 28th, email Jahna@philippsbrooks.com.
• If you have not received the email with the invoice, please check your spam folder.

New rules and by-laws
Some changes have been made to our rules which can be viewed online here.  In particular, your membership invoice is due upon receipt (but no later than September 20^th).  If payment is not received by October 1^st, membership privileges will be suspended.

Also, beginning September 1^st, guest fees will change from $15/court/time slot to $10/person/time slot (1.5 hours).  As always, there must be a member on the court accompanying the guest(s).  Both the member’s and the guest’s names must be signed-in, prior to entering the court area, on the opposite page of the sign-in book.  Individuals may play as a guest at QATC for a maximum of 5 times during the year or a total of 7.5 hours of court time per year.  Hopefully by then you will have convinced them to join!

Board Elections
The annual election of three open (of nine) board of director seats will be held this fall prior to our annual meeting on November 5^th (mark your calendar!).  If you are interested in serving a three-year term and helping the board keep the club running, please contact Tom Siener, who heads up the nominating committee at tsiener@ene.com.

New Member
Please welcome another new member:  Dee Maue!

Remember, we are still accepting new members.  Please have prospective members contact Elaine Idzik at 200-3794 or editng@verizon.net for more info and an application.

HAVE A HEALTHY AND ENJOYABLE SEASON!

The new furnace is here!
Members who have been enjoying the club over the summer have noticed the new duct work for  the new furnace.  Those who have ventured around the front of the building have seen the full unit….quite impressive!

The heating startup will be in the fall when the weather gets cold.  At that time they’ll do the factory startup of the burner and we’ll learn about the operation of the furnace.  As always, additional details about the furnace installation process are available upon request.

Membership Status and Invoices
Please notify the club’s treasurer Carole Lane ASAP if there will be a change to your member status for the upcoming year.

2016-2017 member invoices will be sent in late August and we want to be sure that they are accurate.  They are due upon receipt, so please plan your finances accordingly.  If payment is not received by October 1st, membership privileges will be suspended.

Guest Fees
Beginning September 1^st, guest fees will change from $15/court/time slot to $10/person/time slot (1.5 hours).  As always, there must be a member on the court accompanying the guest(s).  Both the member’s and the guest’s names must be signed-in, prior to entering the court area, on the opposite page of the sign-in book.  Individuals may play as a guest at QATC for a maximum of 5 times during the year or a total of 7.5 hours of court time per year.  Hopefully by then you will have convinced them to join!

Memberships Available
Due to the number of members on leave, we are accepting new members.  Please have prospective members contact Elaine Idzik at 200-3794 or editng@verizon.net for more info and an application.

Member News
If you have any news that would be appropriate to share with the membership, please reply with the details so it can be considered for inclusion in the next newsletter.

New furnace coming in June!
The new unit is on order and will be installed during the first half of June.  The winning bid was submitted by MJ Mechanical for $46,525.  They had the most competitive and professional bid, and have been servicing our old furnace for over 20 years.  It has a summer running mode that should help keep the club cooler during the dog days of summer.

To prepare for the installation, we hired Leigh to complete ditch work behind the club to reduce flooding where the exterior portion of the work will take place.  The drainage pipes are now unplugged and ground water is going where it should be going.  Additional details about the furnace installation process are available upon request.

Additional Padding
You may notice another improvement coming to your club: new padding!  Due to member feedback, we are in the process of adding padding around the beams along the sides of the courts.  Now you can go for those sharp angles with less fear of injury.

Memberships Available
Due to the number of members on leave, we are now accepting new members.  Please have prospective members contact Elaine Idzik at 200-3794 or editng@verizon.net for more info and an application.

Court Reservations
With no regular reserved court time from Memorial Day to Labor Day, the summer is a good time to play indoors at the club when the weather is bad and/or to work on your strokes with the ball machine.  Remember, you can check court availability before calling for a court on the schedule page of our website.

Member News
If you have any news that would be appropriate to share with the membership, please reply with the details so it can be considered for inclusion in the next newsletter.

New furnace:  after careful analysis and due diligence, our new furnace has been selected and is on its way!  In addition to more dependable, efficient and safer heating, the ventilation in the new system will circulate the air and should make playing in the summer more comfortable.

Rules and bylaws:  we’ve updated the rules and bylaws and have posted them on the website.  Please note the information on the guest policy, dues payments and court reservations.  Don’t forget, before making a reservation, you can view court availability on the schedule page.

Rule Violations:  due to member complaints, we did a court usage audit for a 10 day period (4/1-4/10) and found 20 instances of court slots that were reserved but not used.  Please remember to cancel court time you will not use so other members can enjoy the time.

We also found 6 instances of guests not being signed in.  Our guest fees are very inexpensive when compared to the other facilities so please be fair to your other members.  Remember, someone can only be a guest 5 times and guest fees have to be paid for the children of single members.  Please upgrade to a family membership if you have children who want to play and encourage your frequent guests to join. We’re the best deal in town!

Membership list:  the current membership list was updated recently and can be viewed on the membership page.  Remember, you can update your contact information at anytime by clicking the link at the bottom of any club email.  The list is updated on the website every few months.

New members:  please welcome three new members who have joined since the list was updated:

• Mike Pasierb
• James Domzalski
• Megan Gollwitzer

Court reservations can now be viewed online!  While we are still using the answering service to book and cancel court time, now you can see what’s available before calling to reserve courts.  This makes it more important than ever to cancel reserved slots if you are not going to use them.  You can access the schedule on the website under the Schedules tab or check it out here.  (Please note:  it takes five minutes for the document to update after calling to reserve or cancel a court).

We have two newly elected board members, Rob Montone and Flo Vach, who have volunteered to help run the club.  Also, Bill Gipe was re-elected as Club President.  Contact info for board members is under the Membership List tab.

Also under the Membership tab is the updated membership list.  You can also view it here.  You can update your member information at any time by clicking the “update your profile” link at the bottom of any of these emails.  An updated list will be posted on a regular basis; it is not instantaneous.  Please do not unsubscribe from this email list since this is the system we now use for communicating important information about the club and for conducting elections.

The water coolers have been replaced based on member feedback.  The plan is to now change them on a regular basis with clean units.

Please welcome our latest new member:  Susan Basil.  Please include her for your sub needs.

New email and member info system

We are starting to use this free program (MailChimp) to send out professional club emails, conduct board elections and surveys, and better manage our member info. We have loaded your profile and need you to update it before we send our annual update to members. Don’t worry, your info is secure and member info on the website is password protected. Plus we share only your email and phone numbers and only with other members. We promise not to share them with outside entities and not to send out too many emails.

Please take a minute to check your info by clicking the link below. List your phone numbers in the order you’d like them listed and used, and of course delete any you don’t want used. Thanks! This will help us better communicate important information about our club.

Please welcome the following new members:

• Dan and Brian Johnson
• William Ching
• Dwayne Freeman
• Lucas Hartney

Hello to all and welcome back for the start of the 2015/2016 indoor tennis season at the Quaker/Aurora Tennis Club.

(1) Jerry Workman has retired as our treasurer and Carole Lane is our new treasurer. Thank you Jerry for everything you have done and please welcome Carole Lane as his replacement.

(2) We have two members this year: Tom McQuillian and Bobby Mathew. Tom and Bobby are 3.5/4.0 players and are available as subs or to be a regular in a group.  Please contact Elaine Idzik if you know of anyone that wants to join our Club. Right now there is no one on the waiting list and the Club could use a few players in both the women’s and men’s groups.

(3) The Club’s year end meeting is Saturday November 7th. The meeting will start at 6PM. There will be plenty of food and drink plus the opportunity to use our ball machine or play a little tennis. Tom Seiner will be available to demonstrate how to use our AED machine and Karen Ricciardi will demonstrate how the security cameras work.

(4) The front door code number will be changed on October 1st. Please do not share the new number with guests or non-members.

(5) Finally, we are a “do it ourselves” club when it comes to trash removal, recycling and clean-up in the meeting room and on the court. Here are some things we can all do to have a more inviting facility:

(a) Take home and recycle or throw out the trash when you notice that the containers are full.

(b) If mud, cinders or salt get tracked in vacuum. The vacuum is in the closet next to the ladies room. If you snack and spill, please vacuum small pieces and pick up large pieces.

(c) If you use glasses, silverware or dishes, please wash them, dry them and put them away. Please take any remaining food and drink home.

(d) If you use recyclables, recycle them. If you use paper cups, drain them and throw them in the trash basket.

(e) If you spill on the court, please wipe it up. Throw away empty tennis cans, balls and water cups and bottles in the appropriate containers.

(f) If you use the court for practice, please be sure to pick all the balls left on the court and behind the curtain when you are finished. Don’t forget to clean up the yellow fuzz left by the ball machine

(g) And finally, don’t forget to sign in every time you play, sign in your guests and always call the answering service if you are not going to use your reserved court.

Thanks. Attention to these things will make it a much more inviting club. Let’s treat the club as we would treat our own homes.

Have a great tennis year. Let’s all have fun and stay healthy.

Quaker Aurora Board

The security cameras at the Club are up and the testing has been completed.

At our August 8th Board meeting, the QATC Board established a three member committee that will access the recording equipment as necessary to investigate requests by the Board to review specific incidents that have been reported.  These incidents will be duly documented and acted upon if necessary.  There will be no other access to the recording equipment to randomly look for rule violations or any other purpose.

At our club annual meeting on November 7th, time will be made available for club members to review the security camera system and the three member committee will answer any questions.  The committee members are Karen Riccardi, Jeff Briedenstein and Mitch Stenger.

The front door code number will be changed on October 1st.  The code number will now be changed annually.  Please do not share code numbers with guests and non-members.

With our new system of having the annual dues invoices emailed by our accounting firm, some members have reported not receiving them.  If you have not received an invoice, please email Jerry Workman and he will see that you receive one.

And finally, please let Elaine Idzik know if you know of anyone that is interested in joining our Club.  The Club could use a few players in both the women and men’s groups.

Quaker Aurora Tennis Club Board

Everyone:
In the past two days you should have received by email an invoice for the 2015-16 season. The format of the invoice is slightly different from what you are used to seeing, since we are shifting the responsibility for our Club accounting to the Phillips and Brooks accounting firm in East Aurora. This coincides with a change in our Club Treasurer from Jerry Workman to Carole Lane, effective 9/1/15.

Members who did not receive such an invoice should check with their spouse, because that may be where the email was directed. Members without valid email addresses will receive the invoices by mail.

Members who are on medical leave received an invoice for zero dues. Those members should advise Carole Lane when they are ready to return to active status.

Questions regarding guest fees should be directed to Elaine Idzik (editng@verizon.net). All other invoice questions should go to Carole Lane (claneaft@aol.com). The telephone number shown on the invoice and the return email address is that of Phillips and Brooks.

After reducing the dues in 2012 and holding them at the same level for 3 years, the Board has found it necessary to make a small increase this year ($50 per single and $75 per family) to keep up with increasing costs and to maintain adequate reserves to cover most emergency expenditures that may occur with a facility of this size. Even at these rates we remain below 2011 dues levels.

Checks will continue to be made out to Quaker Aurora Tennis Club and mailed to PO 124 in Orchard Park, NY 14127. Your prompt payment will be appreciated.

Thank you for your help in making this transition go as smoothly as possible.

Jerry Workman
jerry@militello.com