2017 President’s Winter Letter

Dear Fellow MVCC Members,

Happy New Year and welcome to another exciting year for Mountain View Country Club!  Thank you all for your continued support, enthusiasm and involvement in the Club, especially those who volunteer their time and effort to make so many of our social and sporting events possible and keep our maintenance, administrative and housekeeping expenses to a minimum.  We are in the process of planning a range of exciting and enjoyable golf, tennis and social activities for the coming season.  If you would like to participate in those efforts (or even organize an event yourself!), please do let us know.

This year, many of you will be receiving your dues notice and this letter in separate emails.  This reflects our continuing efforts to reduce costs—by eliminating physical mailings we save several hundred dollars.  In most cases, we have used the email address shown on your 2016 dues notice (or, for our Dual and Family members, the first email address shown on that notice).  If you would prefer that we use a different email address in the future, please amend the field “Email for Dues Notice” on your invoice.   If you (or, in the case of Family and Dual members, your spouse or partner) do not receive your dues notice by February 15, please notify Janet Showers Patterson at [email protected] .  Please also remember the significant penalty for paying late (after April 1). 

Once again this year, members may elect to include one or more additional options with their dues payments.   Please consider these options when you pay your dues:

• A voluntary contribution as a “Friend of Mountain View”:  Each year, these voluntary additional contributions are a significant factor in our ability to maintain our programs and facilities, while holding down future dues increases.  We hope you will consider a contribution of $100 or more but very much appreciate your continued generosity at any level you believe is appropriate!
• Golf Storage and Range Package: golf club storage[1] and unlimited driving range balls, all at a cost of $125 per person (Dual and Family members can select this option for one, some or all of the persons on their membership). Motorized golf carts, pull cart rentals, lessons, and other Pro Shop items will continue to be charged separately during the season.
• GHIN annual handicap index fee ($25) for those who wish to maintain a USGA “GHIN” handicap index through MVCC. Benefits include bi-monthly Vermont Golf Association newsletters and access to the on-line GHIN mobile app, which allows you to directly enter your scores from both Mountain View and other courses you play throughout the year.

In last year’s Winter Letter I described five elements of our strategy aimed at ensuring that MVCC continues to thrive and remains an important recreational and social outlet for Greensboro and the surrounding region:  membership growth, revenue improvement, expense control, strengthening capital structure and facility investment.  Following is a summary of our results on these objectives:

Membership:  In 2016 we welcomed eight new members but nevertheless saw a slight decline in our dues paying membership from 260 to 256 members.  We will continue to promote the benefits of Club membership among our wider community but please remember that our success, and the level of your dues in future years, significantly depends on each of you recruiting new members from among your family, friends and acquaintances.  Please let us know of potential Club members!

Revenues:  In 2016, dues increases and voluntary contributions by our members, as well as a 12.5% increase in non-member (guest and visitor) playing fees, resulted in an 8.4% increase in income, allowing us to achieve accounting break even for the first time in several years.  We currently are planning marketing efforts aimed at increasing the number our members, guests and visitors. 

Expenses:  Our expenses increased in 2016 by 6.6%, principally due to one-off timing differences that pushed the recognition of some payroll expenses from 2015 to 2016.  We expect the overall increase in our expenses from 2014 to 2017 to average less than 1.5% per year, and cost control will continue to be a major focus during the coming season.

Capital Structure:  We remain essentially debt-free, having pre-funded our $19,000 in remaining long-term obligations (all of which relate to pre-paid dues).  Our restricted capital reserve and operating cash buffer mean we are well positioned to weather a significant decline in revenues or an unforeseen capital expenditure requirement. We remain very grateful to the 40% of our members who supported our recent Capital Campaign, which has raised a total of nearly $160,000 in contributions and further pledges.  For those of you who still wish to make a contribution to the Club and are able to do so, please consider adding an additional amount to your dues check.

Facility Investment:  We continue to make regular and measured investments in our course, courts and practice facilities.  Many of you have commented favorably on these improvements, which we hope will continue to attract increased usage and revenue.  We have budgeted $37,000 in capital expenditures for 2017, comprising golf course maintenance equipment, upgrades to our tennis fencing, foundation and window work on our maintenance buildings and the replacement of two older golf carts.

Our achievements during 2016 would have been impossible without the efforts of our outstanding staff, in particular Steve Parker as Greens Superintendent, Jim Dayton as resident PGA Professional and Pro Shop head, and Laura Laramee as Tennis Pro.  We look forward to welcoming Steve, Jim and Laura back in 2017 and working with them to provide our members with an outstanding set of golf and tennis offerings.  More on these in early May!

In coming weeks we will be updating the Club Calendar with the time and date for specific events and activities (see: https://mvccvt.com/club-calendar/master/).   We also will continue to update you via email as the year progresses.  In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call me at 501-226-5682, or email me at [email protected].

Best regards,

Mike Kreider

President

[1]  Includes one storage option per person: clubs, pull cart, battery cart or locker.