wells. The club has existed for 85 years now and we, primarily the
descendants of original founding members and all new members,
must realize we have to plan for the near and far future if we want
our club and its bountiful natural and physical assets to be there
for the next 85 years.
Continued from page 12
Mary Jo Ferguson
Question 1
The role of a CCR Board member is to
represent the membership, all types of
members, in their role as a voting
member of the Board of Directors. It is
important that Board members
understand the variety of members and
their interests and investment in the
club. Board members cannot have an
agenda that favors any member group
over any other member. The uniqueness of the club that has stood
since the inception of the club is that each membership has the
same weight. Each Board member has a duty to insure that each
membership has the same level of value and benefits that have
been available for all.
The Club Manger has the important and difficult responsibility
to keep the club running on a day to day basis, the operations,
maintenance and fiscal accountability of club services, personnel
and assets. The job is huge and demanding, as the manager often
functions as the face of the club to members, potential members,
the community outside the club as well as to the BOD. The
manager is the employee of the BOD and must be accountable to
the BOD for all actions.
Members need to maintain & enjoy their membership.
Nick Schulz
1) First let’s start with the membership,
members have the most important role,
they are responsible for both enjoying all
CCR has to offer, while also holding the
management and Board accountable.
Members are the driving force, must be
listened to, and clearly understood before
any management or board decisions are
made. The manager has a unique role,
they have to manage the day to day
business operations while always being available to listen to
concerns/ideas of members. The manager must keep an open line
of communication with the membership and make sure that
decisions are made with the members in mind. The director has a
responsibility to the membership to follow the guidelines outlined
in our mission statement and bylaws. They must hold the manager
and staff accountable, directors must be a good listeners, they are
responsible for collecting all information before making a decision,
then make the best decision possible. Finally, they need to be
absolutely transparent so the membership can be fully aware of
why their board is making certain decisions. In the end all
positions must work together to make this the very best club that
they can, and protect the strong traditions here at CCR.
Question 2
The Board of Directors exists to maintain the continued
functioning of the club for all members. The challenge is that
there are a variety of levels of membership usage yet only so much
revenue from each membership certificate. The board must
explore all avenues of funding to balance the budget to continue
our facilities and activities. Doing this in a transparent and
concerned manner for the membership is also the responsibility
of the board and manager. The Board has recently moved toward
accountability of each committee function for its services. This
needs to continue across all areas as fundraising and sustainability
are a primary concern for the future. Communicating this to all
members in a responsible manner is important and the recent
efforts to do this for current issues, like the dining room alcohol
question is important. This kind of communication and
explanation for all future proposals, like campground or road
issues, is vital. I am concerned that all committee issues continue
in this manner. I would also like to see environmental issues be
addressed by reviving and seeking funding for an environmental
committee. Protecting our water resources for our drinking wells
and our recreation is an area of concern.
2) The Board of Directors over the course of a year will have many
issues come up that will need to be dealt with, we must always
keep the mission statement in mind when dealing with any issue
that may impact the club. I believe that keeping a unified
membership is very important to the forward progress of this
club. I also believe that any forward movement must be made
with much respect being paid to the rich traditions that represent
CCR, we are a conservation club and that needs to be reinforced
by the decisions made at the board level. The recreation portion
of CCR is very important but our heritage is in conservation of the
land and wildlife. I think the board needs to take a step back and
look hard at the pride and tradition that made this club great to so
many people and their families over the years and also let some of
this history guide the direction of the club.
3) To help keep a balanced budget, I think that volunteers are a
huge asset to a club like ours. There’s an abundance of talented
members that may enjoy the opportunity to help out with a project
they may specialize in if asked. We could have a directory of
members that includes their profession, these are people the ranch
should reach out to first if a job needs done, then move on to an
open bid process if needed. We should constantly be looking at
our business practices and reviewing the overall operation which
includes staffing of ranch amenities and how these amenities are
used. This process becomes even more important as we navigate
reduced revenue from historically revenue positive club sources.
All paths of cost cutting must be exhausted before the membership
is asked for dues increase, and if there is such a request there must
be cuts by the administration that would be equal to or more than
what an increase would be. The club must operate inside of its
financial means, while it may cause uncomfortable changes to be
made, in the end we have to make sure that the membership can
enjoy their investment in CCR.
Question 3
The Board of Directors has to plan for the financial future of the
club without lose of services or assets that currently exist. This is
the challenge facing the club as our revenue sources are eliminated
in certain areas. The club is a value that is unmatched anywhere
else in the state. As a private entity it is our responsibility to
support our club. All avenues of funding must be considered for
the future, but our assets also include members that are willing to
volunteer for specific tasks. While not advocating a full
cooperative, we need to explore the savings possible by increased
volunteerism, responsible fundraising, donations to committee
projects and possible increases necessary from each membership.
There is no one easy answer to this need for the club, just like
there is no longer a supplemental revenue stream from the gas
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