2023 member Survey Results - Board Response - Summary

The Board would like to thank the members who responded and contributed their opinions and ideas through the survey - your responses have been invaluable and will guide the Club with its endeavours to provide better experiences for its members and improve the Clubs' facilities. The survey results are quite lengthy.

Firstly, it was pleasing to see how much you value our wonderful team here at the Club and the work the Board is doing to progress the Club. It is also pleasing to see that many of the Club's traditional social events remain popular with members and your suggestions for capital improvements serve to validate the discussions and actions taken by the board over several months, and in some cases years.

With the pandemic behind us the Board embarked on an exciting new approach to events and many of your suggestions for improving membership offerings, our social media presence, and other suggestions, particularly around the changes you would like to see, have been part of ongoing discussions over the past year.

Respondents comments were varied and, in some instances, only one or two for a particular area.  A total of 79 members responded.

The summary below has addressed the following key areas :

·         Improving Membership Offerings.

·         Events that the membership would like to see in 2023.

·         Communications & social media.

·         Building & Accommodation.

·         Suggested changes.

Improving Membership Offerings – comments

In regard to providing more information about Club operations to new and existing members, the Board has already developed an A-Z  "Guide for Members", several aspects of which already appear on the Clubs’ public webpage. Other aspects will be available to members through a dedicated Login. Club operations will also be addressed with new members at the upcoming New Members evening.

As many of you would be aware, the decision at a previous AGM …….to have a “partnership’ with Pastorale was seen as a means to preserve the Club’s viability while also offering members a variety of food choices and quality dining. Since this arrangement the Executive have worked closely with Pastorale to present the comments and  concerns of the membership in an effort to find a balance that appeals to the majority of members.

The type and variety of events and functions, cost of meals/value for money have all formed part of our ongoing Executive Meetings with Pastorale over the past three years. Several changes have been implemented however the Board also recognises that there is still much more work to be done in the area. Respondents expressed a desire for more affordable menu choices, with details of the menu and prices provided.

Respondents to the survey also expressed a desire for the Club to offer a more relaxed style of dining (coffee sandwich) and hold events that are more welcoming for members without a partner.

The Clubs has taken steps over the past few years to improve the wine quality and selection of wines. Most notably DJ Pieroway brought her expertise to the table with new and interesting selections and following her departure, the Board has formed another partnership with Vino & Vinyl with the express aim of offering quality and affordable wines to our membership.

Other comments included in response to this section: access to the squash courts and booking system; membership discounts for accommodation; better dress standards, and changes to weekend trading and along with other aspects of the survey have been subject to further discussion by the Board.

Events that the membership would like to see in 2023

The traditional events such as the French Night, luncheons, and theme nights remain popular. This year the Board instigated the Thursday Night ladies nights which have a different theme, together with guest speakers. Interest was expressed in having more events with a variety of musicians – indoor, outdoor and with good food and music. Several months of planning came to fruition with the highly successful Singing Sixties Sensations held earlier in the year.

The Board has reintroduced the Club’s Social Committee to assist with planning a calendar of events that cater for a broad cross-section of your membership. Your suggestions for events will form part of this committees role.

It is hoped that our recent partnering with Nick from Vino & Vinyl will bring with it some exciting wines – a continuation of the fine work from the Club’s former sommelier, DJ Pieroway.

The Club has re-established its connection with the Australian Defence Force which was evident at their recent event and this is gaining momentum again.

Communications & social media.

Your suggestions for improving the Club’s social media presence are appreciated. The Club’s weekly newsletter is a great source of information about Club activities and upcoming events and we have now added some interest stories about individual members – their lives, achievements, milestones.  The Club’s webpage is also a wonderful source of information and is coming together nicely – a work in progress.

Building & Accommodation

The upgrade and enhancement of your Club is a standing agenda item at our monthly meetings, along with the Club’s Strategic Plan which is under development.

Over many years the Club has appreciated the efforts of our talented members to bring their ideas for enhancements to the table.

The utilisation of the Squash Courts formed part of the responses.

The Board has been actively pursuing several options for funding, including several Grant applications. Certainly, upgrades to infrastructure is a priority and the challenge for the Board is how to fund some significant changes.

Our plans and the challenges and hurdles were discussed at the AGM. The bottom line is improving our income stream through increased membership and attendances at events.

Suggested Changes

There were several suggestions for changes to the way the Club processes accounts, membership cards and EFT facilities. These were discussed at the AGM.