Dear Glenbrook Club Members and Families:
We hope you enjoyed another wonderful summer season at the Glenbrook Club during a year that has been anything but normal. Reflecting early planning and excellent implementation by our General Manager, Thomas Tenorio, and his team, we opened on schedule and operated successfully and safely throughout the season.
Thanks to your support and patronage, our Club is vibrant and thriving. Despite the changes necessitated by the pandemic to our operations, programs, and policies – including reducing Clubhouse capacity by 50% – the Club set several new records in 2020, from restaurant revenue to golf rounds to new members.
We share with you below some highlights of 2020, our new off-season golf course usage policy, the results of the recent survey on the long-range plan, and projects that we will be working on in the coming months.
Financial Results
We are on pace for improved financial performance for 2020, exceeding budget and meeting our newly-adopted standard of financial sustainability as measured by positive net cash flow. Results for 2020 reflect flat member annual dues, as the Board decided in March to postpone a planned dues increase because of the uncertainty at the time about the ability to open and operate the Club fully during the health crisis.
- For the year ending December 31, 2020, we expect to report:
- Total revenue higher than budget and higher than in 2019.
- An increase in restaurant and bar revenue, despite operating at 50% capacity and for fewer days (we opened later in June than in 2019 and had an unplanned COVID-19-related closure in August).
- Improved restaurant margins, reflecting better cost control, inventory management, and pricing, and offsetting COVID-19-related expenses.
- A substantially smaller net operating loss than in 2019, excluding income from membership transfer fees, which will result in a small positive net cash flow after depreciation, a non-cash expense.
Membership
We welcomed a record 18 new members in 2020 – 17 Glenbrook resident members and one non-resident member – bringing total membership to 269. We believe the strong interest in the Club reflects the quality of our facilities and offerings and the fact that it is a central gathering place for our community.
Golf and New Off-Season Golf Course Usage Policy
We are very pleased with the management and results of our golf program, thanks in large part to our new Head Golf Pro, Rick Vaughan, Superintendent Kay Berntson, and Assistant Superintendent Denim Inman. From member rounds and merchandise sales to participation in clinics and lessons, all areas of golf were up this year, and the condition of the course was never better. During the winter and spring, we refurbished three bunkers on holes 2, 7, and 9 and last month began work on the bunker on hole 3.
In October, we completed a complex emergency repair to the Club’s decades-old irrigation pump system in the lake, working closely with TRPA and the US Army Corps of Engineers. As part of this project, we also removed nearly 800 linear feet of abandoned irrigation pipes from the lake.
The Board recently approved a formal golf course off-season usage policy that we ask all members to read and adhere to. The new policy is also posted on the Club website.
Off-Season Golf Course Usage Policy
After the Golf Shop closes for the season:
- Members may play on the course and use private golf carts until the first snowfall.
- Use of the driving range is not permitted.
- Maintenance of the course has priority – members must play around work areas and holes that are closed for improvements.
After the first snowfall:
- No golf carts or motorized recreational equipment or vehicles of any type are allowed on the course.
- Activities such as walking, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing are allowed on the course at members’ own risk.
- Members are not allowed on the greens or the pond between the 1st and 2nd fairways.
Long-Range Planning
As you know, the Board and the Long-Range Planning Committee have been working on a long-range plan to help frame the Club’s vision and address financial, facilities, and other issues that are important to the Club’s future. We emailed you a draft of that plan in September and since then have hosted two virtual ‘town hall’ meetings and distributed an anonymous online member survey. About 40 members participated in the town hall meetings and 204 individuals completed the survey. The survey results are linked here.
Our Long-Range Planning Committee is now revising the draft plan to reflect member input from the meetings and survey. We will distribute the revised plan to all members for review before submitting it to the Board for final approval in January 2021. A big thanks to the Long-Range Planning Committee and its Chair, John Deane, and to all members who provided input.
Policies on Renters of Member Homes
In January 2020, our membership voted on the continued use of the Club by renters of member homes. 83%, or 202 members, voted – 151 voted “Yes” for the continued use of the Club by eligible registered renters of member homes, and 61 voted “No.”
After the vote, the Board approved a usage fee of $150 per week for renters of member homes who want to use Club facilities, as well as several other policies and restrictions. These steps were in addition to the policies implemented in 2019 and, taken together, we believe are working well to ensure that renters who use the Club are properly registered and contribute to operating costs — and that our members come first.
Board Development
In August, we thanked Randall Bolten for his six years of service to the Board and especially for his recent work as Treasurer, which has contributed to the Club’s improved financial reporting and results.
Our membership elected two new Directors to the Board in August – DD Felton and Nick Leahy:
- DD and her husband, Paul, are full-time residents of Glenbrook. DD was instrumental to the formation of our Club and brings deep knowledge of our Club and community, as well as financial and Board governance expertise. DD is chairing our Membership Committee and is also on the Finance Committee.
- Nick is currently a full-time resident of Glenbrook with his wife, Emily, and two young sons. Nick works for Apple in communications management and has been responsible for much of Apple’s store-level COVID response. Nick is chairing our Communications and Member Relations Committee and is also on the Golf Committee.
We expect to have one or two open positions on the Board for a three-year term that will begin in August 2021. If you are interested in serving or would like to recommend someone to be considered by the Nominating Committee, please submit their name to cecebaise@gmail.com by May 30, 2021.
With Gratitude
None of this would be possible without our amazing Glenbrook Club team. This past summer, we benefitted from a team that included a record number of member children and grandchildren and returning key employees, all under the continued leadership of our dedicated General Manager, Thomas Tenorio.
I would also like to thank my fellow Board members for their hard work to make the Glenbrook Club an even better place for all of us to enjoy.
Please feel free to contact me at fieldanderson@gmail.com, or any Board member, if you have questions, comments, or suggestions.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving.
Best,
Nancy
Nancy Field
President, Board of Directors
P.S. I hope you find this Slide Show of Summer 2020 full of fond memories.