President's Report Spring 2018

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Happy Spring to everyone. At the star of September the official N.S.W. snow depth is well over 2 metres (apparently it is the best reported snow depth since 2004) - with still more snow in the forecast over the next couple of weeks. Perisher has already officially extended the season to the 7th of October, I imagine Thredbo will be doing the same. 



This extends the season into the first week of the October school holidays and creates a great opportunity to get some more time in the snow.  The great news - there is still availability within the lodge for this week - take the opportunity to get some more skiing in while the snow is good and the days are a little longer and more pleasant.

With spring arriving, it is time to start planning about activities for the warmer parts of the year.  Jindabyne and the Snowy Mountains offer many activities for the warmer months and summer provides a great opportunity to enjoy the location of the lodge and the spectacular views that it affords out over the lake and surrounding area.  Previous committees have invested significant effort into equipping the lodge for summer - with projects like the deck, and the evaporative cooling upstairs, take the opportunity to get some time away and enjoy the lodge and everything that Jindabyne and the area has to offer.

While major works in the lodge are generally completed by tradespeople, a key part of the maintenance regime is member driven working bees.  For those who have not yet participated in a working bee - we have a couple of major ones schedule to do the season changes (summer to winter and back again.) The next major one is the post winter working bee where we will be giving the lodge a spring clean, installing shade sails, re-commissioning the evaporative cooler and generally preparing the lodge for the warmer seasons.  This will be held on the weekend of the 13th of October.  Working bees are a great chance to network with others in the lodge, learn a little more about how the lodge works and contribute to the wellbeing of the club.  Participation in a working bee will get you free accommodation for the weekend, club funded and organised lunch and dinner on Saturday, and a free accommodation vouchers to the value of $80 for adult members and their adult guests.  If you can make it, jump on to the website and book a room for the weekend using the “Working Bee” rate (will make it a free booking.  All you need to bring is yourself and your breakfast - the committee will sort everything else.  Working bees are also a great opportunity to engage with the committee around the future direction of the club and the lodge.

As part of our preparation for summer, the committee is working to get the apricot tree professionally pruned to maximise its fruit bearing potential this year.

As you have hopefully seen on the website, we have a new small dining table.  The committee made the decision to replace the original small table with one which would fit in better, both physically and aesthetically with a replacement table.  Thank you to Simon Matthews for his work and dedication with the design and construction of the new table.  I can confirm that the table was tested with beer, wine and scotch during the ski season and performed admirably in all three tests.

Sad news that our Office Manager, Kim Dunnet has tendered her resignation from the position.  Kim has been a magnificent support to the club for the last ten years and will be sadly missed from her role.  Kim has indicated that she will work our her current agreement to assist with the transition of a new office manager.  This role is critical to the smooth operation of RASCAL, supporting the membership by providing coordination over all bookings and providing critical supporting to the committee.  I personally would like to thank Kim for her assistance to me moving into my current role, without her support I would have drowned. However, Kim's planned departure has created a new job for the committee - to recruit and appoint a new Office Manager.  For those not aware, Office Manager is a paid position.  If you are interested in considering the role, or know someone who is interested please feel free to reach out to me and I can share more information.

As I mentioned at the pre-season event, I really want to promote the community side of RASCAL.  Each time I have had a stay at the lodge I have either met new people, or strengthened relationships with members who I have previously met.  This to me is a highlight of the communal living and a part of RASCAL that I really love. Do you know someone who you believe would enjoy being part of the RASCAL community?  There are opportunities to bring new members into the club, either as summer - or full members.  Check the RASCAL website for full details, or please feel free to reach out to myself or any of the other committee members with any queries.

Finally - I encourage everyone to get involved in the club, with the committee and at the lodge.  Use opportunities like pre-season events and working bees to network.  Do you have a view on how we can position RASCAL for the
future - talk to a committee member, or would you consider standing for a position on the committee next year to allow you to drive it?  And finally the lodge - make sure that it is somewhere that we can be proud of. Keep the communal areas clean and tidy, empty a bin, sweep or mop the kitchen floor, vacuum the
living room, top up the toilet paper and paper towels and don’t forget to give your room a vacuum before you leave at the end of your stay.

Last but not least Rascal would also like to welcome our new members Matthew Honeycombe, Michael Jackson, Chelsea Jackson and Georgia Sadler.

Enjoy the rest of the ski season, hope to see a few faces at the working bee.

Colin McLean - President