Member Survey.
The online Member Survey is ready for you, here:
https://us5.list-manage.com/survey?u=45d8837822c7fde7b18c42217&id=1b35de54b0&e=1b7a1f1eb3
Please, please invest the few minutes it takes to complete the survey. Your feedback is critical for us to run the club in a manner that best reflects what you want your tennis experience at STC to be for 2024 and beyond.
Please only fill out the survey if you plan to renew your membership in 2024. If you are not planning on being a member but wish to provide feedback, please email that to me directly.
Please only one survey per member. If you have a family membership, both adults may complete the survey.
If you have questions or concerns that you would like to discuss privately, you may contact me directly at 508-500-4121 or dsmith9.stc@gmail.com.
Website.
I cannot apologize enough for the state of the website. If you’ve gone to our website, you’ve undoubtedly run into a message that says: “Warning: Potential Security Risk Ahead.” We had been having problems with our previous hosting provider and had already made the decision to transfer the site to a new host. And then this happened, and we lost all access to the site. We are currently unable to even transfer the sharontennisclub.org website name to a new provider – we are basically locked in limbo.
We have registered a new domain name: sharontennisclub.com (the only difference is that it ends in .com instead of .org). If you go there, you will see a “Coming Soon” page. We are currently building a new site, which we have to do from scratch. If and when we regain access to the .org domain name, we will pick one to use with the new site and will automatically forward the other one. It’s all a bit of a mess right now, but we are working hard to resolve it. The good news is that our new site will have a new look and some long-awaited updates, including the ability to pay dues by credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or bank account direct debit, as well as PayPal. Also, you will be able to pay guest fees online.
We are also planning to test an application called “yourcourts” for registering/enrolling members in club activities and events. Karen Brenner has graciously agreed to pilot the application with her doubles group. If this goes well, we will gradually roll the app out to other groups, as well as using it for tournament enrollment. It also has a built-in Meet-A-Match function that should be much better than our old system.
Spring Haircut.
We are hard at work getting the club ready for you. A late-winter walk-through reinforced what was already apparent: I need a haircut and the club needed tree work. A large tree had come down in the parking lot, narrowly missing the fence on court 1, and another large branch had come down, damaging the fence on court 5. A close inspection revealed that it has been far too long since tree work was done at the club and the risk of additional damage was significant. We have brought in a tree company to help us by removing or pruning back dead trees and branches hanging over the courts and parking lot. This is critical for your safety and the safety of our facilities. It will also substantially reduce the amount of debris on the courts and should improve ball visibility, particularly in the fall, when the leaves are changing. We are also cutting back the brush that has encroached on the perimeter of the courts and around the parking lot.
All of this will help the courts to “breathe”, and should help them to dry somewhat more quickly after a rain. (None of this should reduce the amount of shade on the courts.) Unfortunately the large maple at the very front corner of court 1 was diseased and had to come down. While this tree shed a large amount of leaves and debris on court 1 (bad) it also cast some shade on the picnic area (good), so we have mixed feelings about losing it. We are refreshing the picnic area a bit, and will research ways of providing more shade for that space and the “grandstand”. In the past we’ve tried fixed and temporary canopies with varied success.
The brush clearing has also enabled us to reclaim some overgrown parking space and should make it easier to maneuver in the parking lot.
So that’s the news for the beginning of March. Please complete the survey. I will keep you posted on the website progress – we should have something usable, if not complete, soon. And, most importantly, I will keep you posted on our progress getting the courts open as soon as possible. And don’t lose your checkbook – we will be collecting dues in April.
Looking forward to seeing you on the courts soon,
Dan Smith
President