Commodore's Column

by Rand Lien

January 2020 

Thank you for choosing me as your Commodore for 2020!

It’s cold, wet, and blowing this time of year but planning for our 2020 cruises is well under way. Kat Boggs, our new Sail Captain, actually told us the sail group cruises for 2020 are already planned, scheduled, and on the calendar! John Reynolds, our new Fleet Captain, is working hard on our power cruises for 2020. John is looking for cruise directors for July, and October cruises, as well as boaters that would like to volunteer as co-cruise directors for our other cruises.

There’s no better place to gather in the winter weather than at the Wreck Room. The warmth of chatting with our friends, expanding our relationships with other members, and, of course, some great boating stories, makes it a special place. Our Vice Commodore, Theresa Muir has taken over the management of the Wreck Room for 2020 and is looking for Food Coordinators for the balance of the year. If you haven’t been a Food Coordinator before, you should consider volunteering for this very important PLYC role. Members can team up to share a month, do it themselves for half a month, or take a whole month themselves. I helped Liz when she was a Food Coordinator three times last year, it really wasn’t that hard. Actually, it was kind of fun. There is plenty of experienced help available to guide you and help you get started if you are a newbie. 

A main area our focus for 2020 will be a continuation and expansion of the membership recruitment efforts that we started this past year. We ended 2019 as only the second year that we haven’t had a net loss in membership over the past 10 years. Our goal is to have net positive membership growth for 2020. Maintaining a healthy membership level is critical to the success of our club. As our membership declines, so does our available funds that we use to run the club. More members provide more funds to offer more member benefits. The bulk of our new memberships comes from members inviting friends and neighbors to experience the club. I’m asking for your continued help in recruiting and welcoming new members.

I look forward for seeing you at the club soon!