Meeting came to order at 6:00 PM.

Board Members Present;  Al Cusson,  Paul Resetarits, 
Rick Frechette,  Kieran Curtis, Mike Sapere, Tom Kirby, Phil Richards, Ed Murphy, John Sawka , Rick Owen.
Also present were Casey Morris and Gary Deveaux

Motion to approve minutes: A motion to approve the January minutes was  made by Ed Murphy, seconded by John Sawka. The motion passed unanimously.

In the absence of Bob Steben, I agreed to take the meeting minutes. I apologize in advance for any shortcomings.
Professionals Report: Casey indicated he would like to propose starting week day events for anyone who would like to participate. These would not count as men’s club events towards your 10 round minimum but offer prizes for those looking to play during the week.
He discussed offering separate pools for skins/kickers/and CTP. Also discussed was the possibility of having 1or 2 mixed scotch events during the season.
A new fleet of carts will be in for the 2007 season.

Membership Communications: Rick indicated that past member Lou Desario may want to rejoin Topstone. Lou had left to join Manchester CC. Lou was a past Board Member for the Men’s Club.
Rick Owen read a memo from past member Gene Flynn, who is retiring from golf at the highest Ameteur ranks available at Topstone. He wished to thank the board.

Membership Report: As of the meeting date we have 170 members registered. This consisted of 162 returning and 8 new. Based on past history, we were running about 70 registrations behind previous years for the same time period.
It was agreed to strike out the question. “Will you be over 50 by….. Date” on the Membership registration form.

Tournament Committee:  The schedule was complete except for the dates for the Interclub matches. These dates would be set by month end to allow for the schedule to go to print in time for the banquet.
Also discussed were a variation of 4 Ball formats to add some new tournaments to the schedule. Suggested was a Progressive format in which every six holes, a combination of the low, low 2, and low 3 scores would comprise the team score for the hole. This format keeps every one in the foursome involved in the hole rather than picking up.

Web Page Administration:  Phil Richards: Our account has been switched to Go Daddy as the host of our website. Phil has entered into a contract with a significant cost reduction. We will have a 3 year agreement for $125 total for the 3 years. There will be no change to the URL. The transfer should be complete by end of February.
The web page has also been updated.
    
Handicap and Rules:  No Report.
 
Treasurers Report: Ed Murphy provided a report using an average membership of 355 members. The report is only preliminary until we have a better definition of the total membership. Expenses will need to be reviewed throughout the year to match with the final membership numbers so as not to run the similar deficit intentionally administered in 2006.

Superintendent Report: Gary Deveaux graciously attended the meeting. Items to be addressed this season include replacement of the 150 yard bushes with vertical standards in mid fairway. Sand in the bunkers will be replenished with a possible lowering of some of the high face bunkers as was completed on 18 last season. The cart path to the rear of 14 green will also be repaired.
Discussion was held regarding the play from blue tees, or the movement of blues up or whites back. Gary and the ownership needs to be concerned with the public play behind the men’s club but will review the movement of the tees providing more variety of lengths.
Opening day for the course will be in the March 15th time frame depending on the whims of mother nature.

Communications: Advertisement  for membership has been place in the South Windsor Life for the February, March and April issues. We will be indicating “No Waiting List”.
Bag tags for new members are available from our last purchase.
The web site is seeing a considerable amount of traffic.

New Business: John Sawka has taken care of the spring banquet at Maneeley’s scheduled for March 14th. The menu was discussed including some alternatives for new items this year. We need to remember to take out any trash/cardboard we bring in this year to avoid a considerable fee. As always, board members need to arrive early to help out at the registration table.
We will also have a guest speaker, Ian Baxter, from the First Tee Program to speak at the banquet.

Paul Resetarits proposed a motion to allow each member to once a year bring a friend to any of our tournament events excluding trophy events. This was seconded by Al Cusson. Discussion ensued regarding the payout to members, entry fee for guests, and the policing or tracking of who has brought their one Wild Card Guest for the year. The motion was passed but need s further discussion regarding the control of tracking guests.

A second motion was proposed by Phil Richards to set the tournament entry fee for guests entering our events at $10. As we pay out over $7 per person, it seemed prudent to have the guests fee sufficient to cover the costs of payout. The motion passed with 1 in opposition.
Mike Sapere agreed to organize the raffle for the banquet. There has been ongoing discussion regarding the make-up of the raffle prizes; one large versus several smaller significant prizes to attract ticket sales. Mike will meet with Casey to put the package together. This will probably be discussed further at the March meeting.

Next Meeting: 3/7/07 6pm at the South Windsor Community Center in the conference room.
  
Meeting Adjourned: 8:30