Annual General Meeting / Next Meeting:
Date 29th August 2012
Location:Mt Prospect Tennis Clubrooms, ParkLake
Time Open: 7.30pmTime Closed: 8.45pm / Date: TBA
Location: clubrooms
Time:7.30pm
Present:Dean, Kingston, Smeaton, Mt Prospect, St Augustines, LawrenceRhonda Lowe (representing Bendigo Bank), Midweek Ladies, Junior Pennant
Life Members: Gary Lindsay / cc:
Apologies: Casey Preston, Warwick Remington, Kate Andrews
Writer / James Maher
Minutes of Previous Meeting
Moved: Russell Leishman Seconded: Pat Moran
Treasurers Report
Bar net profit: $5,202
Juniors net profit: $4,751
Kitchen net profit: $2,883
Midweek net profit: $2,411
Twilight net profit: $8,233
Total Cr Balance of Assoc. and subcommittee trading accounts $24,328 (includes $7,858 in main Assoc. trading account)
Investment Accounts $44,131
Donations from Sub Committees
Kiosk $3,500
Bar $6,320
Twilight $9,000
Midweek $3,000
Juniors $5,000
Moved :Peter Morrish
Seconded: Louise Lindsay
Reports
Junior: We started our season with 10 weeks of tennis before Christmas but missed 4 weeks due to rain, then again after Christmas we missed a few weeks with wet weather; However this year was a great improvement on the year before. The courts were again kept in magnificent conditions by Bill Cosgrave and Graeme Perry, so much so that Mt Prospect was in the running to host the Davis Cup. I would like to acknowledge the sponsorship of our Club Champion singles and double trophies by the Creswick Sportsman’s Club. Sponsorship is very hard to attract so we are grateful for their assistance.
This year we hosted the complete Junior Country-week tournament, which meant a lot of work was done in a short time before, during and after the week of play. I would like to thank all our club volunteers who turned up and helped in our famous kitchen. We have an excellent reputation for our catering and the players and their families supported us throughout the week. I would like to thank Yvonne and Ngaire for helping me in the kitchen for the week and Andrew for making fresh scones each day. We again ran a very successful VCTA regional tournament with players coming from Melbourne and the Central Highlands region to compete. Thank you again to Yvonne, who helped me in the office and Ngaire and Andrew for running the kitchen. I would also like to thank Pat and Carol who are the VCTA for their help and continued support of our Junior Association.
I would like to congratulate Sue Prendergast and Robin Kinnersly for taking on their new roles as Secretary and Treasurer. Well done girls! It only gets easier! Thank you to Tracey Murphy, Rachel White and Donna Robertson for running the office on Saturday mornings, Gerard Murphy (most times his wife Helen) and Amanda Pascoe for assisting me with the weather calls. Well done to the Blowhard tennis club for running our club tournaments, Laurelle Holloway for keeping our results and our club delegates for organising their clubs and running their teams. Many hands make light work!
I look forward to an exciting year ahead with new challenges and opportunities which should only make our association stronger. We have a magnificent venue with the added value of both grass and hard courts in the one place. We as an association need to be proactive and promote what we have because it is better than most other tennis facilities in Victoria. We have the opportunity to grow and develop what is already great. In the past we have had very passionate people working for the betterment of our association; we still have very passionate people working within the association, we just need NEW passionate people to take up the reins. President – Jenny Jolliffe
Squad: What a fantastic year we have had! We are the John Falk Tankworld VCTA Squad Challenge tournament winners. We have 32 children in the squad with four emergencies which is a first for our squad. At our first tournament in May we won over Buninyong, Macedon Ranges, Colac, Bendigo and Central Goldfields. We were then invited to the John Falk Tankworld VCTA Squad Challenge tournament in July. This tournament is between the top three squads in the southern and northern groups of squads. At this tournament we won by 93 points, with this being a first for the Creswick squad.
We played last week and our children did very well with Creswick finishing on top of our ladder. We are now keeping our fingers crossed for our children to be invited to the Master’s tournament in October, which is for the best kids of all squads.
I have a wonderful group of children in the squad who are committed to the squad and each other. Their parents are also enthusiastic and willing to do whatever is required of them. It has been an absolute joy to be the co-ordinator of this very special group of children. I would like to thank our coach Anthony Gilchrist who is guiding these children to be the best tennis players they wish to be. Squad Coordinator – Jenny Jolliffe
Midweek: The Midweek Ladies began the season on the 12th of October 2011 with 29 teams playing both morning and afternoon on Wednesdays. Congratulations to all the winners.
A Grade – Blowhard
A Reserve – Nexus
B Grade – Shopaholics
C Grade – Emeralds
Once again we went to the Australian Open on the first Tuesday of play. A special thanks to Jenny Jolliffe in selling the tickets and collecting the money.
This year we had Joanne Beattie coaching the young children as well as some of our members. 11 ladies were presented with Rose Awards (over 70 and playing) and 2 were presented with Orchid Awards (over 80 and playing). Ann Jebramek, Helen Madigan and Yvonne Perks were awarded life memberships.
I would like to thank Carmel Handford, Naomi Mizzeni and all committee members for their work in keeping the midweek ladies competition running smoothly. President - Yvonne Perks
Twilight: Last season we were able to field a full complement of teams for both grades which was pleasing. Trident Civil won the men’s competition for the fourth time in a row whilst WHK won the mixed competition. The competition is going from strength to strength and feedback from participants was positive once again. The social atmosphere of the competition is a real positive and this is helping to keep teams interested in playing again. Although teams haven’t entered formally, it would be expected that we would have a full complement once again. I would like to thank David Hay, Mick Kennedy and Tracey Holmes for the hard work they did in setting up the competition initially because now it virtually runs itself. Twilight Coordinator - Peter Morrish
Canteen/Kitchen: The revenue was slightly up on last year as there were less washouts, however expenses increased because of the kitchen supervisors wage and the lost McCains sponsorship for hot chips which was around $600. Glennis worked in the canteen on Saturdays and will go again. Peter Morrish on behalf of Casey Preston
Bar: This season was a better season financially than previous years. This was helped by fewer wash outs and revenue gained from private functions of members non-members. Sonya thanked everyone who had assisted with running these functions. This season there had been a few liquor license issues but this has been sorted out with people having to sign in if they are not already a member. We also hosted a responsible serving of alcohol (RSA) course which was good as a number of members now have theirRSA and are aware of what can occur, especially with regards to holding non member events. Bar Coordinator – Sonya James
Greens Director Report: David acknowledged the work that Bill Cosgrave, Graeme Perry and their assistants had done with regards to keeping the courts in top shape. The quality of the courts was acknowledged by the invitation from Tennis Victoria to bid to host the Easter Davis Cup tie. It was also acknowledged that 2 major machinery purchases were made over the past 12 months, which included a smooth roll roller and a Kubota ride on mower. These expenses totalled nearly $11,000 but they were desperately needed as the previous machines were well past their life span. It was noted that for the work that Bill does, we as an association need ensure he has the machines that can perform the work required. President – David Hay
Presidents Report:
Compared to the 2010-11 season, we got through with less wash-outs, with only 2 – 3 weeks lost to rain.One of these days was the club championship tournament which was disappointing that the allocated club championship day was cancelled due to weather, as it makes the running of the tournament more difficult over the remainder of the season.
Junior Country Week was held entirely at the complex in early January and was well received by players and parents alike.Moving this tournament to later January will hopefully attract more players and ensure the ongoing success of the tournament.It was during Junior Country Week that representatives of Tennis Victoria requested that we bid for the Davis Cup Easter tie.Whilst not successful in this bid (which ultimately went to the hardcourts at Brisbane), the experience provided valuable media exposure to our Association.I would like to thank the Geelong Lawn Tennis Club President, Bob Spurling and his committee for providing us with the benefit of their experience as a result of the February tie held at their courts.Thanks also to Peter Morrish, Mick Kennedy, Gary Lindsay and James Maher for the time they put into initial investigations regarding the bid.The invitation from Tennis Victoria is confirmation of the quality facilities we have here and is also a great credit to Bill Cosgrave and Graeme Parry for the excellent quality courts that they provide us with.
I would also like to acknowledge Pat Gilchrist and Carol Pearce from the VCTA for the continued support of our Association.Pat and Carol were behind the initial invitation from Tennis Victoria for the Davis Cup bid and are also recommending / supporting our facilities for future tournaments (including the Tennis Victoria Inter Regionals Event that attracts over 350 players of all ages from 11 Regions around the State over a 3 day tournament) and events (including the launch of the pilot program of the MLC Tennis Hotshots Community Play program designed to increase junior participation in tennis). Pat is also being very proactive in assisting to get the re-surfacing of the 4 plexipave courts completed.
It is exciting that Anthony Gilchrist will now operate his coaching business from the Mt. PDTA.Following a presentation to the committee during the year, it is hoped that this initiative will result in greater participation of Creswick juniors in tennis and also as a means of feeding tennis players into our Junior and Senior pennant competitions.The committee have agreed to provide the facilities to Anthony free of charge over the first season, with a review to be conducted at the completion of the season. This provides our association with a tremendous player development opportunity and one which will hopefully help to stop the decline of people playing tennis.
Facilities improvements over the last 12 months included:
-Installation of three timber picnic tables / seats that were funded with support of the Bendigo Bank, and built by the Men’s Shed in Creswick. We also have another three tables ready to be installed as well. Thanks to the Bendigo Bank for their ongoing support of our association
-New stainless steel box guttering for the clubhouse
-New fascia, gutters and skylight for the green keepers shed
-Court improvements were completed at the end of the season by a well-attended working bee including the spreading of 40m3 of topsoil to fill low spots on the grass courts
-Court repairs and re-application of the Rebound Ace surface to the top courts - $7,500
Major machinery purchases over the past 12 months include the purchase of:
-A smooth roll roller ($6900) to replace the old roller
-A Kubota ride on mower and trade-in of the old mower (change-over of $4000).
In terms of the quality of our greens keeping equipment, we now have relatively new and reliable equipment. This is in line with the committee philosophy of where possible providing the best available equipment to the curators to make their tasks as easy as possible.They provide a lot of voluntary time and energy to the association.
Following an application by James Maher, the Association was provided with defibrillator through a grant by the St John Ambulance Australia. This has been installed in the office.
Other planned updates for the association include:
-Replacement of the heaters in the clubhouse
-Replacement of the hot water service
-Replacement and upgrading of the chip fryer in the kitchen to gas. This will need minor compliance modifications within the kitchen and are being worked through with Glenn Murphy
These items are the responsibility of the Hepburn Shire as per our lease agreement and should hopefully happen before the start of the season.
The committee has spent a lot of time on the review of the Business Plan for the Association (which was originally prepared 5 years ago) with the focus being on:
-membership and recruitment
-facilities
-junior development & coaching
-marketing & promotion
The Business Plan needs to be updated regularly for grants application for capital works projects.
The main capital works to be addressed in the short term are the resurfacing of the middle plexipave courts with a rebound ace surface.These courts are in a particularly poor condition.We are waiting on soil tests to determine the extent of repair works which could range from a resurfacing exercise costing approximately $35,000 to full reconstruction costing over $100,000.We are not sure at the moment as to how big the project is – this is subject to soil tests.It is important that resurfacing / reconstruction works are completed within the next 12-15 months otherwise our association will not be considered for the inter-regional tournament in January 2014.
Other less critical medium term capital works improvements that are being considered include improvements to the clubhouse in the medium term including:
-works to update the appearance of the clubhouse
-rationalising of the internal spaces within the clubhouse including by constructing a store room for storage of chairs and tables
-replacement of the glass doors with more secure bi-fold doors that can be opened onto the deck
We are applying to the Hepburn Shire for assistance with feasibility and architectural design for this work.
I would like to thank all office bearers / delegates / committee members and volunteers across all competitions of the Association. In particular I would like to thank:
-Jenny Jolliffe for the work she has done over many years with the Junior and Mt. Prospect Squad
-Yvonne Perks for running midweek
-Peter Morrish and Mick Kennedy for running the Twilight Corporate Event; and
-Steve Vanderkley and James Maher for the enormous work they put in all year in their roles as Treasurer and Secretary.
Finally thanks to Peter Morrish for the assistance and guidance he has provided to me over my first year as President.
Gary Lindsay took the chair.
He congratulated David and the executive committee and sub-committees for their efforts in the last 12 months and acknowledge that whilst nearly all the tennis played at the association is during summer, the volunteer work is virtually a 12 month job. Gary acknowledged that more work needed to be done with regards to planned upgrades, but he was confident that the association is moving in the right direction. Gary especially thanked all the volunteers who have helped our throughout the season, whether it was a one off job or a continual role. Many hands make light work and everyone should be thanked for the work they have done.
Nominated and accepted:
President: David Hay nominated bySteve Vanderkley sec. James Maher
Secretary:James Maher nominated by Peter Morrish sec. Jenny Jolliffe
Vice President: Peter Morrish nominated by David Hay sec. James Maher
Junior VP:Pat Moran nominated by Peter Morrish sec. James Maher Treasurer:Steve Vanderkley nominated by David Hay sec. Peter Morrish
Committee:
Adam Sewell nominated by James Maher sec. Peter Morrish
Michael Kennedy (twilight)nominated by Peter Morrish sec. Steve Vanderkley
Phillip Hughes nominated by Leanne Hughes sec. Steve Vanderkley
Jenny Jolliffe(junior) nominated by James Maher sec. David Hay
Casey Preston (canteen) nominated by Sonya James sec. Jason Preston