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March 2009 State of the Association Address
Now we proceed to the business portion of our meeting where you, the OGA Directors will be voting on the Executive Committee’s actions.
Many of you (and your club members) may only be thinking about the dues increase and you are wondering why are we raising dues, and why so much?
One issue we regularly face is that so many view the OGA as no more than a Handicap Service….but we are far more than that.
On your tables is a two page flyer that lists all the tangible benefits and services that the Oregon Golf Association provides to individual golfers as well as golf community in general.
On one side of that page is a list of FREE services provided to your member clubs or to your golf courses. Many of these services are obligations we have, by contract, as part of our license with the United States Golf Association.
While some of you may be thinking… “Well I don’t need this, or I will not use that” -- these are all vital programs that the OGA needs to provide to ensure the vitality of the game of golf in our region.
Now, I must be honest with you and let you know that IN THIS ECONOMY, the Oregon Golf Association IS like many organizations.
WE ARE FACING significant financial problems, BUT we can not and will not hide from the fact that a large portion of our issues are due to the difficulties we have in regards to the profitability of the golf course.
You, our OGA Directors, voted in the late 80’s to have your Association own and operate a golf course. You also voted in the 90’s to allocate funds necessary to build the course itself as well as the clubhouse.
In hindsight, yes -- mistakes have been made. But that is the past and we need to look toward the future.
We have a solid staff including our CEO Barb Trammell, her chief of staff, Mike Whiles -- as well as the rest of our dedicated team. We are moving in the right direction to improve our business.
It should not be under-emphasized, many businesses are having trouble. We have been caught up in the downturn in the economy. LIKE MANY, we are trapped in the lending crunch and have now been put in a compromising situation by our bank. Because better terms are presently not available, we quickly had to make the best deal possible in order to keep our doors open.
I think people understand that businesses rely on short-term credit. We simply had to make this arrangement in order to secure what was necessary to get us through the next few months.
That said, we started this process many months ago and simply did not want to increase dues just for the sake of raising dues.
We looked at what other neighboring associations charge and what they provide. We learned that our dues have been significantly lower than our neighbors for years. But that alone was not what we considered.
We wanted this increase to have an immediate return on value for you with new added benefits that make your membership even more worthwhile. i believe we provide that.
Sure, the increase in dues will help us meet our financial obligations in both the short- and long-term.
We have a plan and there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Again, I must stress that Barb, Mike and the rest of our staff is making great efforts to right the ship, working harder…….doing more with less………all to improve our business. Your Executive Committee is also on top of it……..providing oversight, assisting the OGA Staff wherever and whenever we are needed.
Finally, we need to be absolutely clear with you, our OGA Directors the consequences of not ratifying the dues increase. The life of the association depends on this vote.
At no time was this ever a frivolous decision. It was the best solution under the circumstances that would allow us to still operate, providing you with the benefits, services and customer service you have come to expect.
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