THE PRESIDENT’S LETTER

Dear Members,

As spring blossoms around us, it is also time for the end of our Board term. I want to express my gratitude for your support during another busy year at the Club. The Board and committees have worked diligently with management to ensure the smooth operation and success of the Club. They have been instrumental in addressing various challenges and overseeing important decisions, from The Lounge upgrade and Quilchena Patio renovation to the approval of Associate Member applications and facility schedules, as well as our annual year-end audit.

The Ad Hoc Membership Committee has been no exception. Over the past eight months, the Committee tackled issues related to member usage and the capacity of the facilities after the Board closed the new member waitlist last April. The Club engaged an outside consultant to conduct a member demographic and occupancy study to assess these issues and provide a forecast of the Club's future headcount based on our current active membership and waitlisted members. As a result of the study and the consultant's and Ad-Hoc Committee's recommendation, the Board agreed that the waitlist should remain closed until January 15, 2024. Additionally, the Board will establish a yearly cap on new member applications with the help of the Finance Committee and management. The Board also agreed to cap the number of new member applications at 36 for 2024. The Committee will reconvene in June to further its discussion regarding implementing a total member headcount and the process by which to manage the new member applications.

I want to acknowledge the efforts of the Ad-Hoc CEO Selection Committee, who have been working closely with an external recruiting firm to conduct a comprehensive interview process to identify the best-suited candidate for the CEO role. We anticipate concluding the process by early May as we prepare to bid farewell to Brent this fall.

I also want to acknowledge our outgoing directors, David Cunningham and Elliott Lipsey, for their commitment and service to the Club. David Cunningham was a member of the Finance Committee for six years before joining the Board. We could always rely on David to scour the Club's monthly financial statements and ask the tough questions to keep our finance team on their toes. Elliott Lipsey has a combined total of six years on the Board, sharing his extensive knowledge of club governance and business operations. We thank them both for their dedication and service to the Club.

I encourage you to attend our Annual General Meeting on Thursday, April 20, at 6:00 pm in the Strathcona Room, where we will report on the Club's financial and operational performance over the past year and introduce our new directors and executive team.

Now on to the fun stuff, be sure to turn to pages 20-22 so you don't miss out on all the great Food and Beverage events taking place this spring, including the Mother's Day Brunch, Rock It Man all inclusive party, Raise the Roof patio party, and more. Every event makes for an opportunity for great times at the Club.

In our tribute on page 16, we celebrate Club member and professional tennis player Rebecca Marino's remarkable accomplishments in tennis, including her impressive return to the Top 100 in the WTA rankings. Her unwavering determination, tenacity, and powerful serve genuinely exemplify what it means to be a "Member of Excellence."

I wish you all the best in the last few months of programs, and I hope to see you at one of my favourite events of the year, the Canada Day Pancake Breakfast, on July 1.

Warm regards,

Jeff Thorsteinson Club President president@arbutusclub.com