PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE | David E. Wilks
Several of you have asked very good questions about our new initiative to establish a separate line item on our member invoices for capital dues. You will recall that this is not any sort of new assessment; we have included an amount to cover routine capital expenses in our regular dues calculations all along. We simply kept operating dues and capital raising together in a single figure and budgeted accordingly. With the growth of the Club’s asset base, our traditional goal of generating a million dollars or so out of our operations is simply inadequate to maintain the Club at the level of quality that we expect. Rather than continuing our dependence on operational success to fund our capital needs, we think it is more responsible to bill capital dues separately and to dedicate those funds solely to routine capital spending. Since we are disconnecting operating dues from capital dues going forward, our operating dues will almost certainly be less than the dues we currently pay. We must, however, increase the capital we raise, so the total combined dues starting in January will be higher than we pay this year. As I have mentioned previously, this is not something we want to do; this is not something we can do if we feel like it; this is something that we need to do. And if we don’t do it now, it will only get harder to do in the future. The members I have spoken to about this have understood the new arrangement and the reasons for it. If you still have doubts, questions, criticisms, concerns or anything else to say, please do feel free to send me a note or give me a call. You can also, of course, contact any Board member who will be happy to discuss this with you. One thing we cannot do is predict the amounts we will be paying next year in either category of dues. The annual budgeting process is underway and will be finalized at the November Board meeting. The new dues figures will be announced at the Meeting of Shareholders on November 21, which, as always, I encourage you to attend. It is important, I believe, for every member to know why our dues fluctuate as they do and what the drivers are behind our budgeting. None of us needs to be reminded that the price of everything has increased considerably of late. The increases hit us in every area of both operations and capital spending. But the biggest increases are in the cost of staffing our Club. One statistic in particular stands out to me as an illustration of what is happening. In 2019, the low end of our pay scale was $10 per hour. Today, that same position commands a wage of $17 per hour. Our managers are very skilled at running our Club efficiently and as cost-effectively as possible. But some things are not negotiable. Our Club would not be Wilmington Country Club without the service and amenities that it offers and we will not compromise on quality.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS David E. Wilks President Adam G. Landis Vice President David D. Wilkinson Treasurer Thomas A. Beck Secretary Class of 2024 David E. Wilks Rachel W. Heinle Douglas D. Herrmann Jennifer J. Hopkins Adam G. Landis Jonathan N. Saunders Pamela S. Tikellis David D. Wilkinson James R. Selsor, Jr. Class of 2025 Thomas A. Beck Zachary L. Chipman Robert W. Friz Lisa A. Schmidt Meghan A. Adams Stephen J. Crifasi, Jr. Andrew J. Podolsky Becky Allen George “Tripp” Way, III Honorary Directors Gary W. Ferguson Melissa Riegel Advisory Directors Joseph F. Hacker, III Allen M. Terrell, Jr. John F. Porter, III
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