Head above water
Ski-boat Club gets its house in order
ONE of the iconic institutions in the area, The Port Alfred River and Ski-boat Club (Ski-boat Club), which has been in dire financial straits for some time, has taken the bull by the horns and implemented a turn-around strategy to revitalise the club and its members. Chairman of the Ski-boat Club, Richard Quinn, delivered a well-received address to members and supporters last Thursday evening at a cocktail party, where he presented the club’s intentions in the future, and the steps taken now to set the club on an even keel.
“We have moved from a situation where the management of the club was in the hands of a manager to a situation where the committee and co-opted members do the work of management themselves,” Quinn said.
Quinn went on to explain that this situation may not be sustainable, as members already had their own full-time jobs and could not be expected to work for the club every other day and over weekends.
The club has found itself in debt to SARS for more than R500 000, and to the Ndlambe Municipality for about R150 000. The new strategy takes both these debts into account and debentures have been taken by several of the members, some maturing in three years, with interest. Other members have chosen to pay membership fees for the next three, five, 10 or 20 years.
An honours board was unveiled at the meeting to honour the members who have made major contributions to the club.
The committee has also severed the operation of the kitchen and function facilities. Graham Kelbrick is now responsible for food and catering, and has been given a six-month contract which will be re-evaluated at the end of this period and modified according to what transpired and how the situation can be improved.
Likewise, the bar facilities contract has been awarded to Bongani Mbabela, and Quinn said this had been a very good move for the club.
“We have reduced bar trading hours,” Quinn said. “We cannot afford to stay open and incur the cost of the overhead in order to serve drinks to a handful of members.” He added that, while there had been a few grumbles from members, there had been no complaints, and that everything was working well.
As part of his salary package, Mbabela’s family also live in flats on the premises, and this makes opening and closing of the bar easier.
As for finances, these appear to have been in a mess for the last few years, and required the assistance of Mike Beaumont and Keith Reid to sort it out. Now, with the finances working properly once more, Quinn said that the club would never again undertake projects it could not afford, and has cancelled trade creditors, cancelled or renegotiated
contracts and sorted out its debit orders.
Overall, said Quinn, the club is now able to make a small profit each month after debts have been paid.
“I need to make this clear,” Quinn said, “That this has been achieved through organising and hosting functions. Most notable of these was the Junior Nationals.
“We have very recently had our golf day. This used to be something of a freebee for members. No more.”
The club has also reduced its staff from seven to four, but is compensating those who left or remain by re-evaluating provident funds and making certain staff members are not prejudiced.
“We are proud of our staff and are committed to their welfare and their protection from any and all forms of abuse,” Quinn said.
The club is also busy rewriting its constitution, the intention being to draft it, then workshop it and then present it to the members for their approval.
“It [all] starts and ends with our members. We are here because of fellowship, fun and laughter and, if we get a bit of fishing and boating done, so much the better.”
Quinn once again thanked all the sponsors, the committee and sub-committees and the members for their past and continued support into the future.