Carnegie Currents: March/April 1999, Vol. XIII, No. 2
President's Note
Back on the Water!
Isn’t is grand to get back on the water and do what CLRA is all about — rowing! The Back-on-the-Water celebration on March 20 highlighted what I would pick as the second most important aspect of CLRA for me, and that is the opportunity to get to know such an interesting and nice group of people.
Our Interdependence
I’ve been thinking what a perfect and fitting metaphor rowing is for the club itself. For the club to run well, everyone needs to do their part in sync with all the others. If things are not going along as well as they should, it can’t be fixed by one or two people taking strong corrective action; instead it requires those small adjustments by everyone to set the club and clear our puddles. If anyone is late to the boathouse or no-shows, the boats can’t get out promptly, or worse, some of us get bumped. Like rowing, CLRA is a remarkably complex operation that requires each and every one of us to pull our weight. Stop that metaphor!
Boathouse Renovation
The expected construction continues to present great uncertainty and will surely call for great flexibility and understanding by all of us. We are staying in very close touch with Joe Murtaugh, who oversees our activities on behalf of the University. Some of the options that we’re investigating include:
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Keep our boats in a temporary building in or near the boathouse parking lot if possible.
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Investigate access to Mercer Lake as an alternative storage and rowing site.
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Rent boats and trailer them every day to the Kingston end of Lake Carnegie.
We should know more by the Members Meeting, scheduled for Thursday, May 13 at 7 p.m. at Lewis Thomas Labs on Washington Road, so please plan to attend for an update. Regardless of how things develop, we are determined to find a way to continue rowing and participating in regattas throughout the boathouse renovation. However, all CLRA members should be prepared for significant disruption and remain flexible as we work our way through this period.
I’m pleased to tell you that CLRA has ordered a new trailer for transporting our boats, oars and so forth to the various regattas in which we will be competing. The trailer also should increase our ability to cope with whatever lies ahead during construction. Thanks to the extensive homework of Peter Conrad and Gary Mount, the trailer is expected to be here in time for our May 15 tri-club regatta.
By-Law Revisions
The by-law review committee (Jane Borns, Tom Heebink, Deb Lemeshow, Fran McGovern, Gary Mount and Georgie Skover) presented their ideas at the March CLRA Board of Trustees meeting and we discussed this topic further at our April meeting. Special thanks are due to the committee, not only for putting in much time and effort, but also for producing such a constructive result. In particular,Fran McGovern, who does this sort of thing for a living, was invaluable. The board has concluded its deliberations and has adopted recommendations for a substantial overhaul of our by-laws. This will be a central topic at the Members Meeting.
Prior to the meeting, the recommended by-laws will be mailed to all members for review. Please come to the meeting to ask questions and provide input. The proposed new by-laws will be finalized after the meeting, and a copy will be mailed to the club membership along with a ballot for voting on the changes. So, our process will be open, but you’ll have to make some effort if you want to be fully informed and participate in the dialogue.
Survey
The membership survey response has been terrific, with approximately 50% of 1999 members responding. I was very impressed with the effort put into the responses, with narrative comments literally all over many survey forms, evidencing how much we care about CLRA. Results of the survey were discussed at the April board meeting and a summary is included in this issue of Carnegie Currents. The purposes of the survey were to get a reading on how members feel about various aspect of the club and to identify specific ideas for improving things. Clearly both objectives were achieved.
A few tidbits: One member said they didn’t race because they didn’t know their group could (ouch!). All members are encouraged to sign up for the regattas of their choice and, subject to the coaches’ assessment of their fitness and the format of the particular regatta, we try to accommodate all who sign up. So, if you have an interest in racing and feel you’re ready, sign up (consult the race schedule for sign-up deadlines). Talk to the coaches if you’re ambivalent. Another member, in assessing the board’s role, said they didn’t see how what the board does is relevant to rowing (ouch!); no swelled heads here. Only 4 of the 76 respondents said they felt they were assigned to the wrong group.
There’s a great deal more of interest and value in the survey, which we’ll review at the Members Meeting on May 13. We’ll also be discussing the results at the next board meeting on May 16 to determine possible actions we should take based on the results.
LakerOnline (www.clra.com) Ninety percent of those who completed the survey have Internet access at home or at work. While we still need to keep using our wide array of methods for getting the word out to the membership, it looks like our marvelous website, which Tom Heebink is maintaining with Derek Lustig’s help, is an important communications tool. It not only affords up-to-date information on all aspects of CLRA, but also offers easy e-mail access to Tom for your suggestions, comments, whatever. I’m nominating it as the best rowing club website in the world!
Go Lakers!