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Happy New Year to the Multi-Lakes community.  As we head into 2023 with a new cast of characters — including me — added to the show, I want to thank those who have paved the way for us.

Many thanks to Larry Gray for his two years as President, and to Pat Regan. And to Sam Mullins, who bravely jumped back into the arena as Vice President, and to all of the other officers and directors who have served over the last few years in the face of the challenges brought on by Covid.

A lot of businesses and organizations didn’t survive, but we’re still here, and those people deserve our gratitude for their efforts to make that happen. Special thanks go to Jim Howie and Doc Johnson for their many years of hard work and dedication in demanding offices. Thanks also to the chairpersons and volunteers without whom this place would grind to a halt.  I also want to welcome our incoming officers and directors, and I am looking forward to working with you and the rest of the Board going forward.

As for this year, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that we are heading into it with no outstanding debt and are quite a ways above sea level financially. Given the decline in revenues over the shutdown periods, that we have recovered to that extent was unexpected and welcome news.

Still, we are facing a lot of challenges, perhaps first and foremost the decline in membership from the glory days of being at full capacity with a waiting list; and the fact that so many of our members are seniors. To my understanding, that is an issue facing many private clubs, and it is one for which I don’t have a ready solution, but all of us who care about the club need to think about it for its future. We may not all be here in 20 or 30 years, but I want Multi-Lakes to be.

For right now, however, let’s continue to enjoy what we have — all of the friendships and fun that our great club has to offer.

~ Mike Fergestrom