The Board Speaks

The Board Speaks!

Board of Directors Meeting Notes, December 10, 2024

A message from the President - New Weekly Meeting Venue!

I wanted to send a quick note to give those of you who weren't at the meeting this week an update on our search for a new venue.

When we found out that Franchetti's was closing we immediately formed a team to help us find a new location.  The team was led by Peter Hoberg and included Tom Eakin, Bonny Landers, Merle Hayes, Rob Sanville, Stacy Andress-Drucker and me.  I can't thank all of these people enough for jumping right in and finding some location alternatives.

The committee came up with 15 variables that included must-have (e.g. parking) and nice-to-have needs.  Among the needs was the opportunity to continue to supply the breakfast as we do now versus moving to a catered breakfast.  They also gathered venue ideas from the club members, our board and past presidents and ended up with 38 venue options to research.  From that list the team narrowed it down to 10 that we thought could possibly work for our club.   

The team went out and visited each location, gathered cost information and made sure we understood the pros and cons of each site.  From this effort, 3 venues were identified as strong options which included Chops Teen Center, Bennett Valley Golf Course and Epicenter.  The main difference was that BV Golf Course and Epicenter were a catered breakfast which would increase the cost, and Chops Teen Center would allow us to continue with our current breakfast model and cost.

At the board meeting on Tuesday, December 10, 2024, Peter Hoberg recommended to the board moving to Chops Teen Center.  After further discussion, the majority of the board supported the recommendation.  On Thursday, December 12, 2024, I presented the recommendation to the club and opened it up for discussion.  There were very few questions and great support for the idea.  Some of the key reasons for choosing Chops were:

•central location

•able to keep the same model and keep the costs similar to what they are now

•ability to make the transition relatively easily

•we would be supporting a nonprofit in the area and through our weekly rent provide them with committed revenue.

Breakfast service would continue to be provided by club volunteers and would be similar in quality to what we have been doing.

Our next step is to finalize the decision with a board vote which will take place this week. Then we will finalize agreements and plan the transition details to prepare for our first meeting on January 9, 2025.