President’s Message for May 2019
A sure sign of spring at the Ranch: Member-volunteers were
out in force the weekend of April 13 – 14, helping our
management and staff prepare the Campground for the new
camping season.
above had to leave the work party for much of Saturday to
attend meetings, the bulk of the work was left to five
members. Tom Ames, Tom Costigan, Mike Cramer, Sue
Schymanski, and Jim Treadaway worked tirelessly to
complete the job. They were very positive, and completely
committed to accomplishing the work — and much of the
work was very physical. Al Lifsey’s log splitter was a huge
contribution to the project. Tom, Tom, Sue and Mike did the
heavy lifting of cutting logs, loading and unloading the
splitter, and stacking the split logs in neat stacks. I drove
through the campground after the work was done and
counted 20 stacks of logs (and I may have missed a couple).
Jim Treadaway was a ‘work machine’ on the manual reach
saw, trimming branches in excess of 20' off the ground in
many cases. Tom Costigan and Mike Cramer skillfully cut
many logs with chainsaws. Bottom line... these five members
were the engine of this project.
Special recognition is due to a lineup of “MVPs” who came
together to make this work party a success.
Board members: Mark Smith and Tim Chambers took the
initiative to plan and prepare a volunteer work party to trim
low hanging tree branches over campsite pads and cut dead
or leaning trees close to campsites. Al Lifsey hauled his
personally owned heavy duty log splitter to the Ranch. The
downed tree limbs and trunks were cut to firewood lengths,
split, and stacked at several spots throughout the
campground convenient for campers to retrieve for their
enjoyment. Stumps and brush were hauled away for disposal.
This year’s campers will begin the season with a clean, orderly,
and well provisioned campground.
An important note to our members: prior to this work party
the Board received three bids from contractors to perform
this work. The LOWEST bid was $16,000!! Not only did
these volunteers save the Ranch’s Operating budget this
expense, but none of the volunteers even submitted
reimbursement claims for the gasoline and chain oil they used
over two long days of work – everything was donated!
Management: Brian Rogers, our Assistant GM, acting on
behalf of Eric (who was on a well-deserved vacation)
coordinated the efforts of staff departments to support the
requirements Mark and Tim identified. Brian’s support was
a key factor in the work party’s success.
Staff: Matt Reilly and Lanny Cotner skillfully operated the
heavy equipment, hauling debris and stumps away. The on-
ground execution of this work party would not have been
completed without their support. Chef Nick Burleigh
provided a delicious lunch that received high praise from
our member-volunteers. The Ranch is fortunate to have
employees of this caliber supporting our volunteer efforts. Final comment: Everyone who participated in this project
finished with a feeling of pride, and a sense of
accomplishment for a job well done on behalf of our Club.
These members and staff embody the spirit of our Mission
Statement and are a model for the rest of us.
Member Volunteers: Speaking of volunteers, five of our
members deserve recognition for the special effort they put
forth to complete this work. Because the Directors mentioned Respectfully,
Ray Karbon
On behalf of all CCR members, thank you, one and all!
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