President’s Report: January 2022
Dear Members,
It is hard to believe that we ended another year and have said goodbye to 2021. The club survived another year coping with Covid 19 and the many challenges that it has bought into our lives. We have dealt with an acute labor shortage that shows no sign of relenting. We were down by as many as 12 employees at times during the year. Our Food and Beverage division has been especially hard hit. With peak season here we are doing all that we can to keep our club staffed with quality employees. If you know of anyone who is looking for a job with great benefits, good working conditions, and sign-on bonuses please let us know.
Another problem is inflation and supply shortages. Costs are rising at every operational level of the club. Many major and even everyday items have increased 7 to 10 percent. We have excellent insurance coverage for our facility and employee health insurance, but we anticipate a substantial increase for this year. Because of these conditions, the Board is considering an increase in the monthly dues just to keep pace with these issues. We will do everything in our power to make any necessary increase very reasonable.
As you are aware, SHYC is a non-tipping facility. We do have an end of the year holiday fund where members may show their appreciation by contributing to an employee holiday fund. Once again, the members were very generous in their contributions and believe me the employees were very happy and appreciated their bonuses. The bonuses greatly affect the lives of our hard working and loyal employees. The Board of Directors and I sincerely thank those who contributed to the fund.
I have had the honor of serving as President of the Sanibel Harbour Board of Directors President for 12 years. I spend more time in operations at the club than I do on my boat, and I enjoy doing it. If there is such a thing as a non-paying job that is rewarding and satisfying I have it! For many reasons the operation of the club is not easy and is very challenging.
Over this time, I have formed a close working relationship with our GM and all the assistant managers and many employees. Our managers have a combined 53 years of experience at SHYC. Four of our managers have been with the club for over 10 years! They deserve the thanks for doing a great job. Chad Edmonds is a great person and general manager and does an incredible job. Javier, Kristi, Kyle and Carol are a tremendous team that makes our club work at a 5 Star level. We are not perfect but try our best every day. They have the total support and appreciation of the Board.
December Events
Our annual Christmas and Holiday party was held on December 11th and was a great success. Approximately 90 members and guests dined on an excellent selection of appetizers, Chicken Marsala, baked Salmon, short ribs, vegetables, salad, cold buffet items and incredible desserts. As always, the food, select wines, beer and soft drinks were complimentary. I had the opportunity to visit almost all our guests and they all raved about the food and service. The Board of Directors want to sincerely thank our terrific management team, chefs, bartenders, and servers who made this night very memorable.
Our employee Christmas Party was held on December 14th. This year it was held at the HeadPinz entertainment complex in Fort Myers. Almost all of employees and their spouses attended and really enjoyed the evening. Our employees of the year were named and received their awards which include cash bonuses and large plaques. This year’s Employee of the Year honors were awarded to:
- Marina Division
- Mark Coates
- Fidel Prado-Nunez
- Food Service Division
- Kicker Brown
Board Merit Award Bonuses were also awarded to:
Clubhouse: Ryan, Sean, Gerogette, Ashley
Marina: Henry, Cesar, Travis, Yunier, Luis, Elliott, Alec, Jeremy
THURSDAY NIGHT JANUARY 13TH THE ITALIAN FEAST IS BACK!
After nearly a 2-year absence we can have our Italian Feast Buffet once again. We anticipate holding this event every month during season. As a proud Italian American and lover of great food, I take great pride in this special event that I began several years ago. If you love EXCEPTIONAL Italian cuisine this event is for you to bring great Italian food. The food is top of the line and the sauce (or as my family calls it Gravy) is a recipe that has been in my family for over 100 years. The event will be from 5-8. No reservations are required and the cost for the all you can eat buffet is only $19.99 per person.
SANIBEL SING ALONG RETURNS!
Our karaoke/sing along season began on Thursday January 6th. This event has gotten more popular every year. As usual we had a big crowd and many of the members and their guests stayed until the end of the night. The Sanibel Sing Along is our unique version of traditional karaoke. Some people like to sing solo, some dance and most just sing along to their favorite oldies. The only rule that we have is for everyone to have fun and that they did! PRIZES will be awarded throughout the night.
Our next Sing-A-long will be in early February and you will receive email notices. Join us and relive the favorite music of your youth. We thank our Board Secretary, Nick Amelio, for his kindness and generosity in providing these fun events. Nick does so much for the club and is such an asset to membership with his outstanding and broad-based business knowledge.
2021 Accomplishments
- Our new forklift “MAMA BEAR” has joined Big Daddy and Daddy’s Little Helper to ensure uninterrupted forklift service for our members. We are also reconditioning our oldest forklift. Mama Bear has been in service for 5 months. The performance has been very good, and we are pleased with the purchase.
- Adrian Boneta, our new food and beverage manager, joined us in March of last year. His performance has been exceptional in all areas. If you haven’t dined with us in a while, please give us a try. You will enjoy the difference.
- At present the marina has an occupancy rate at an all-time high. Slip prices for the larger slips are increasing to amazing levels. The monthly rents have also increased by an average of over 10% in the last year.
- In 2021 our club turned 16 years old. To keep our facility safe and up to date we needed to make some significant investment in some equipment and facility updates. The ailing fire pump had to be replaced as required by the fire marshal. We should be good for 10 more years. New fuel pumps were installed and several repairs to the underground tanks and piping were repaired or replaced. The new pumps are faster and there is an extra 90 dispenser.
- Our concrete around the barns continues to be an on-going issue. Several patches to the concrete were made. These patches are expensive to do but necessary for safety purposes.
- As we always do, extensive summer beautification and maintenance project were done. Our facility remains in very attractive and top condition. All of this adds not only to your enjoyment of the club but protects your investment.
Financials
| Cash | $184,847 |
| Accounts Receivable | $100,457 |
| Accounts Payable | $62,951 |
| Reserve | $164,914 |
| Total Reserve | $273,600 |
Social Activities
We have planned several fun runs this season where our members cruise as a group to area restaurants for a pleasant get together and lunch. It is a great way to meet other members. We have many new owners this year and we encourage you all to take advantage of this event.
Unfortunately, our first event was planned Jan. 11 and the weather did not cooperate. High winds would have made the trip uncomfortable, so we had to cancel it.
One new issue that has arisen is the availability of restaurants. Some of our favorite past destinations have become prohibitively expense and want to charge substantial docking fees. I do have a trip planned to the Boat House in Cape Coral early next month. Please send me suggestions if you have a destination that can take a large group.
The NFL playoffs begin this weekend. Enjoy them in the pleasant atmosphere of the owner’s lounge at the club while you enjoy refreshments and good food. Good luck to your favorite team!
I have always been a proponent of increasing social activities at the club. We have tried many things, some successful and some not so successful If you have any ideas to assist in this venture, please email at pmazzagatti@comcast.net and let me know!
The Board and I are dedicated to keeping SHYC a 5 Star facility. Our primary goal is making your visits to our club a happy and memorable event and of course protect your investment equity. Please let me know how we are doing.
As always, thank you all for your continued support and encouragement to the Board, management, and our staff. Please let me know if your club experience fails to meet or exceeds your expectations.
I wish you a very healthy and prosperous New Year and GOD BLESS AMERICA!
Sincerely,
Peter Mazzagatti, President