| 2008 President's Message
I hope you are looking forward to another great summer of sailing
and social fun at the Delavan Lake Yacht Club. Your Board of Directors has worked hard to maintain the
great momentum we developed in 2007 as we began our new
Operating Plan. Our
mission for 2008 has been to follow through and deliver the
balance of the results we set out to accomplish in 2007.
I
am very pleased to report the completion of our enhanced
technology initiatives for the DLYC computer system. We now have our point of sale system and new hardware in
place to maximize the efficiency of our food and beverage
services and member billing programs. Mark Hetzler, Dean Williams, Richard Beers and others
from the Board worked diligently to deliver this great
enhancement to our operations.
The
Executive Committee (Tim O’Keefe, Mark Hetzler, Jay Goethal,
Lindsay Christy Ambroski and Josh Funderburg ) worked through a
number of strategies to come up with a final solution to the
ongoing food, beverage and club management challenges of the
past. The delivery
of our new technology systems has been combined with the
addition of a great new club manager, Steve Mestan. Steve comes to us from a strong background in restaurant
and bar management from his prior business, Ralph’s Steakhouse. Steve is greatly supported in this role by his wife,
Cathy. Growing up on
Delavan
Lake
, Steve had his first X boat
delivered by Buddy Melges in the early 1950’s. Steve also sailed
C boats and E boats, and currently owns an MC. The entire Board
is very pleased to have Steve Mestan as our new manager. He has outstanding food and beverage experience along
with significant management expertise to deliver a well run DLYC
operation for 2008 and beyond.
It has been my pleasure to work with a great
group of volunteers again this winter to improve the middle room
at the DLYC. Greg
Gifford and Pat Maher have spent significant hours helping me
with a great transformation of that middle area of the
clubhouse. I hope
you enjoy the enhanced space when you attend many of our
exciting events this summer.
Speaking
of exciting events, please watch for updates about the new
“Commodores End of Season Party” scheduled for Saturday evening
on Labor Day weekend. It is planned to be a very special change for the entire
DLYC membership to enjoy and remember for the rest of the year.
As
the sailing season begins our commodore, Josh Funderberg, will
be focused on our DLYC home lake racing programs along with the
preparation for some great regattas hosted at the DLYC this
season. The ILYA
Class “E” Invitational is hosted at the DLYC on the 50th anniversary of the NCESA and the first year of its official
conversion to an “Asymmetrical Class”. What is very special about that is that the asymmetrical
configuration started as a radical experiment on Delavan in 2002
contrary to the wishes of the national fleet. Today that national fleet has completely adopted what we
started on Delavan. The other regattas hosted at the DLYC for 2008 include the “C”
Worlds and the DLYC “E” Asymmetrical Fall Regatta.
I
am very impressed by the results of the current DLYC Board of
Directors across many committees and special projects. We have continued to see increasing membership, increased
participation in DLYC sailing, improving operational
infrastructure, appropriate capital improvements and an overall
enhanced momentum for the future of the Delavan Lake Yacht Club.
On behalf of the entire DLYC Board of
Directors I wish you all a great summer at the DLYC.
Sincerely,
Tim
O’Keefe |
|
DLYC Commodore's
Message
Welcome back everyone,
I’d like to start by thanking Dave Everhart
for his service to the club the past two years. Dave oversaw
several regattas in his tenure, including the 2007 X Inland,
which brought the club over four hundred sailors, parents, and
guests. The regatta committee of Jana Cain, Wendy Lutrell, Heidi
Buddig, and Ann Poole all deserve our thanks and appreciation
for doing such a spectacular job on putting on a fantastic
regatta. Thank you Dave and all that helped with all the sailing
events last season.
Working with me this year are a couple of
greatly devoted members. Pulling a double duty as Vice Commodore
and Chief Judge again this year is Ed Clair Jr. Continuing his
dedication to the DLYC Larry Kmiecik will remain our official
scorer.
Along with the X Inland last year we held two
fall regattas. The very popular C Worlds that was attended by
more than thirty competitors. Larry Kmiecik did a super job as
PRO for this event, getting in all five races in with some
tricky wind conditions. We also held the first ever Asymmetrical
E open regatta. This was an amazingly successful regatta. There
were thirty-two Asymmetrical rigs, and one symmetrical rig to
take the line. The regatta saw boats from eleven different lakes
coming from six different states. Mark and Connie Hetzler put
together a great regatta, and wonderful steak dinner that had
everybody singing the praises of DLYC.
Saturday mornings will see a change at the
starting line this year. The C fleet has voted to sail in the
morning, in hopes of seeing some more favorable conditions, and
avoiding all the afternoon motor boat chop. With three fleets on
the line all the support you can offer to the Race Committee is
greatly appreciated. Also DLYC will use the radios for all the
fleets excluding the X fleet, as the ILYA prohibit there use in
this fleet. This year the Race Committee will call the starting
sequence, recalls, restarts, and changes to the course, all over
the radio. This will allow better communication with the
competitors and the Race Committee in the event of foul weather
and dangerous conditions.
This year we see the return of the Inland
Lake Yachting Association (ILYA) E Invitational, an honor we’ve
not had since 1962. This will be a great regatta, with most of
the competitors sailing the Asymmetrical design. The National
Class E Scow Association (NCESA) voted last fall to move the
entire fleet to the new design, which got it’s start right here
at DLYC, November 4, 2001. Our current President, Tim O’Keefe,
met with several of the E fleet members, E boat model in hand to
demonstrate and discuss the asymmetrical design. They all agreed
and voted to convert the DLYC E fleet to the new design. As a
result of that vote, Tim’s leadership and dedication to the E
boat and sailing, the rest of the NCESA and the ILYA have
followed DLYC’s lead. Thank you Tim for not only your dedication
to the E fleet, but your support of all of our fleets, and for
the countless hours you’ve donated to the remodeling of the club
so that all our members have more enjoyment this summer.
We are moving the Commodores Ball in a new
direction this year, bringing back the band and the black tie.
For years I have talked with members on how to make the last
party of the year the best of the year. We are starting by
moving it up a day to Saturday, instead of the traditional
Sunday. This will hopefully make it easier for more of you to
attend. We will have a sit down meal with table service and
great food. Also there will be shortened awards ceremony, and a
live band under the tent for music and dancing by the lake. With
a black tie optional, this promises to be the classiest party of
the year. The club is looking great and so should you. Please
join me in supporting the club and enjoying this new end of
season gala.
A happy sailing season to all.
Joshua H. Funderburg |
