2014 HIGHLIGHTS AND 2015 FOCUS

EXECUTIVE BOARD

OFFICERS

COMMODORE
Glen Osberg

VICE COMMODORE Gerald Kutz

REAR COMMODORE
Howard Halstrom

SECRETARY
Justin Byczek

TREASURER
Tom Lochtefeld

FINANCIAL SECRETARY
Peter Fitzpatrick

 

COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN

FLEET CAPTAIN Brian Lovegrove

RACKS & LOCKERS
Rob Komminsk

HOUSE & GROUNDS
Todd Scallen

ENTERTAINMENT
Marty Milewski

MEMBERSHIP
John Keena

COMMUNITY
RELATIONS
Paul Johnson

ADVISING OFFICERS

PAST COMMODORE
Dave Dever

PAST COMMODORE
John Keena

Dear Members,  

Happy holidays and trust you all had an enjoyable boating season.  That said, as I did at the Annual Meeting, the following is a recap of 2014 highlights and our focus for 2015. 

RECONSTRUCTION/IMPROVEMENTS

We are back to ‘pre-Sandy’ conditions and made a number of improvements  throughout  the season: New deck and 3 season room, created a room for the Darien Police Marine Division and The Harbor Master, new refrigerator, ice & soda machines, fish weigh station, and new tables and chairs, doubling our seating capacity. We also painted the Clubhouse and have stained the deck since closing.  Before year end we plan to replace the front locker room door and repair the gas dock aluminum ramp.  Our focus for 2015 will be to totally replace "E" dock, increase dock lighting, install uniform hose holders, align & cap off all pilings, and finalize our  gas tank replacement strategy. 

EXECUTIVE BOARD AND COMMITTEE CHANGES

We backfilled one Committee, and one Board member, created one new position, and welcomed one new elected member to the Board this year.

  • Appointed Justin Byczek as Secretary.
  • Appointed Todd Scallen as House & Grounds Chairperson.
  • Created the Community Relations Chairperson position and appointed Paul Johnson.
  • Peter Fitzpatrick was elected Fiancial Secretary.

      I would like to extend a special thanks to Charlie Crawley past Secretary, Art Morris past House and Grounds Chairman, and Marty Milewski past Financial Secretary for their service to the club and a job well done. 

CLUB STAFFING

As you know, Jim Baker retired, (although still pitches in when he can) and Bill Lowitz became the new manager.  Bill did a terrific job managing the club's operations during the rebuilding of the club house this spring and summer. 

LAUNCH SERVICE

We had a complement of qualified launch operators enabling the DBC to run our service from dawn to dusk 7 days a week during the peak season and 40 members took advantage of this opportunity.  The launch service is an excellent way to get started boating while you are waiting for a slip at the DBC.

RECOGNITION

Link Jewett, who was the DBC representative to the Coastal Commission, for 20 years was recognized for all his many contributions.   As a result, our First Selectwoman, Jamie Stevenson, declared September 5th as ‘Link Jewett Day’.  We also paid tribute to Scott McNiven, who retired after 9 years as head of the Darien Police Marine Division and was replaced by Dan Ehret.  Additionally, we recognized Phil Raymond, Bill Nolte, and Jim Baker as Honorary DBC Members.

MEMBERSHIP

Membership now stands at 736 and is growing at approximately 5 members per month. 

COMMUNICATIONS

Community Relations  Chairman, Paul Johnson has done an excellent start up job, and some of his accomplishments include:

  • Signing up over half the membership to Facebook.
  • Publishing several articles on DBC events in the local media including:

                     -Veterans Day for VFW Vets
                 -Swim Across America
                 -Boat Camp
                 -Kept the membership informed through the monthly newsletters contributions. 

In November an opinion survey was sent to the membership, the results of which may be accessed on the DBC website, please click on the "Current and Past Newsletters" to view.  Overall the results were very positive, but we have identified a number of ways that we can better communicate and make club facilities more accessible for more members... more to come soon. 

FISHING CONTEST

We restarted the ‘Fishing Contest’ this year and of the 12 first and second place winners, ($500 in cash prizes), 8 of the winners were under 21 years of age which is exactly what we are trying to encourage. 

NEW COMMITTEE

Joe Lopiano, (long time club member and former Executive Board Member), chaired a committee comprised of 1 Board Member  and several club members and developed ‘Porch Rules’ which were approved and posted at the Club. 

JOB DESCRIPTIONS

All the Dock staff job descriptions were rewritten/updated to include Club Manager, dockmaster, launch operators,  and dock staff. 

DOCK EXPANSION

The plans for A & B Dock expansion have been approved by the Army Corp of Engineers.  During  Q1 of 2015 we will have an "All Hands" meeting to develop the next steps to include: costs, needed approvals, and financing.  This effort will be driven by our new House & Grounds Chairman, Todd Scallen.

FOCUS AREAS FOR 2015

  1. Continue  to improve the physical Club and grounds.
  2. ‘Next Steps’ for A & B Dock expansion.
  3. Continue to promote access to our coastal waters for our ever growing membership.
  4. Plan for new gas tank and potential dredging.
  5. And last but not least is "Volunteering", which is the backbone of this Club.

I would like to thank you for all your support  this year, and on behalf of the Executive Board and Club staff, have a safe and enjoyable Holiday Season. 

Glen Osberg 

Commodore