Chairman I don't know about you, but I think the number of people visiting Southwest Florida this "Season" is significantly more than in recent memory! Grocery stores and restaurants are full...nearly all the time! Driving has been a challenge, with long lines of traffic coming onto the island in the morning and leaving the island in the afternoon. And we certainly feeling the impact at our Club! We are effectively operating at our membership cap. We have the calendar filled with member events, Club activities, and outside banquets. And getting a dining reservation at the Club can be a challenge at times. At the same time, the Club is seeing increased costs for food and other materials. Some suppliers are telling us they don't have enough staff to make timely deliveries to their customers. We are asking our own staff to work more overtime to cover staffing shortages. And the continued rise in prices for fuel, food, and essentials is adding to the stress on all our employees. I can imagine you might be wondering what are we doing at the Club to try to manage through this time? From a financial perspective, and due to the Board's and Finance Committee's leadership, we are on very sound financial footing. Our Balance Sheet is the strongest in the history of the Club. Our operating margin remains strong due to the increased membership and continuing to watch our expenses. This gives us the financial flexibility to consider some key initiatives. We have been working hard to increase our staffing levels. In the past month or so, we have added six full or part time employees to the payroll. And we are continuing to look for additional staff. We have also increased our regular complement of contracted wait staff from the staffing services we use. Unfortunately, we have also lost four full or part time employees in the same period. The
general market conditions make it financially attractive for employees to look for other jobs.
We have, in the past couple of months, introduced an employee referral bonus to help find new employees and retain them. We have recently introduced a temporary travel bonus for those employees driving longer distances to work to
Dave Everitt
help offset the higher cost of fuel. We are improving our advertising for positions to help prospective candidates understand we offer good benefits and a good working environment. And we participate in 'roundtable' discussions with other clubs in the area to make sure we are competitive in our wages and benefits. What does all this mean for our members? Our staff is working very hard to continue to provide the desired member experience. Despite everyone's best efforts, there will be times when we do not meet our own expectations of service and support. When that happens, I ask that you be tolerant and recognize the effort and commitment of those who staff our Club. Hopefully, we will see some relief as we move beyond April. But in the meantime, I would ask you to be sure to remember to say "Thank You" from time to time. I know it will be greatly
appreciated. Dave Everitt
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