Trading Update
I am pleased to advise that the steps taken to reinvigorate gaming in our Club are moving in the right direction. The card in/card out technology is still to be introduced and that should have a further positive impact.
Winter trading has been solid, without being fantastic. As always, I urge members to come in and support our Club when the opportunity arises. All ANZ Bank covenants continue to be met and Club creditors remain in good shape.
Annual General Meeting
Thank you to those who attended the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in May 2013. The resolution relating to Life Membership was passed.
Committee Elections
The Committee elections were held in May 2013. I would like to extend my congratulations to the current Committee on being re-elected. I applaud members for their good sense in returning what is a good Committee that continues to work hard and well for the benefit of our Club. I thank all the members of the Committee for their commitment and dedication to our Club.
Life Member Luncheon
A celebratory lunch for the Life Members elected at the AGM was held in the Celebrity Room on Friday 24 May 2013. This is invariably a great occasion and was warmly appreciated by all attendees. There were many fond memories and experiences shared from their long affiliation with our Club.
The new Life Members were presented with their life member badges and a small gift to commemorate the day. It is a great honour for me to meet all of these magnificent men and women who have been loyal to our Club for forty (40) continuous years.
On behalf of all members and staff, I congratulate them and thank them for their huge contribution to our Club.
Rule Changes Proposed by 13 Members
In the last edition of the magazine I reported that the Committee received a request from thirteen (13) members pursuant to Rule 23.1 proposing a number of Rule changes be put to the membership.
Postal voting took place and a General Meeting of Members was held on Tuesday, 25 June 2013. The three (3) Rule changes proposed by the thirteen (13) members were soundly defeated. The following are the results of those resolutions:
| Total For | % For | Total Against | % Against | Informal | Total Ballot Papers | |
| Resolution 1 | 622 | 32.50 | 1,290 | 67.00 | 4 | 1,916 |
| Resolution 2 | 526 | 27.50 | 1,386 | 72.00 | 4 | 1,916 |
| Resolution 3 | 574 | 30.00 | 1,339 | 70.00 | 3 | 1,916 |
I highlight to members that these Rule changes were proposed by thirteen (13) members of a total membership of over 17,000 members which represents a percentage of less than 1% of the total membership. This is the third time that similar Rule changes have been put up in the last six (6) years at a total cost to our Club exceeding $100,000. The costs are high because of the postal ballot, but a postal ballot is appropriate to give all members the opportunity to vote on important issues affecting our Club. Members have rightly expressed their concern about the cost and the disruptive effect of these repeated Rule change proposals.
The Club is currently investigating what actions need to be taken to change the Rule that allows such a small minority of members to repeatedly cause our Club to incur such expense. At the appropriate time, the Committee will be recommending a Rule change to prevent this.
I also highlight that on the evening of 25 June 2013, only one (1) member of the thirteen (13) members bothered to attend the General Meeting which announced the results. It is noteworthy that at that General Meeting, it took 25 minutes to obtain a sufficient number of voting members to make up a quorum. If a quorum could not have been reached within 30 minutes of the allocated commencement time, then the meeting would have had to be postponed until the following week, incurring even further cost to our Club.
Airspace Development Update
A Pre-DA Application has been submitted by the City Tattersalls Club (CTC) to the Sydney City Council for review and comment from Council’s Town Planning Department. A formal written response from the Council is expected by late August 2013.
The Application included a comprehensive set of reports and drawings relating to a proposed building envelope.
It is an indicative development proposal only. The response from the Council will allow greater certainty for the market.
We will present members with a detailed update regarding the response from Council along with the next steps moving forward at the next Briefing Meeting which will be held at 6:45pm on Tuesday 27 August 2013 in the Celebrity Room.
If you are unable to attend the Members Briefing Meeting, information will be available on the Club website. I refer you to page 7 of this magazine for the Notice of the Briefing Meeting.
Boonoona Ski Lodge Bookings
Bookings at the Boonoona Ski Lodge have been very good this year, thanks to the initiatives put in place during Summer. To date, the reservations made have far exceeded those made in 2012 and, if the snow falls and stays with us for the remainder of the season, we could see a very good result for the Lodge. Unfortunately, the snow has not been kind to us so far. There are still vacancies available for some dates and I urge all Gold, Silver and Life Members who haven’t been to the Lodge before to get their booking in.
For more information see page 12-13 of this magazine or call the Customer Service Centre on 02 9267 9421.
City Tattersalls Club Race Day
On Saturday 19 October 2013, the City Tattersall’s Club is scheduled to hold its annual Race Day at Randwick Race Course.
CTC has worked closely with the Australian Turf Club (ATC) and it is pleasing to announce that we have come to an exciting agreement where CTC will own the entire race day (8 races). CTC will have naming rights for the CTC Club Cup and the CTC Lightning Handicap and intends to on-sell the remaining six (6) races to key suppliers to the Club.
Royal Randwick Racecourse has undergone a $153 million dollar re-development that will be completed in time for the 2013 Spring Carnival. This means you can enjoy the race day action of City Tattersalls Club Cup in the chic surrounds of the newly renovated grandstand.
This day will be the first time in its history that Randwick Racecourse will hold a Group 3 race at the CTC Cup Day. Our Club is privileged to be able to take advantage of this and it provides a marketing opportunity, second to none.
Our Club intends to invite an additional 100 Gold or Life members and partners to a cocktail party in the grandstand. It will be a great occasion.
Any Gold or Life members wishing to attend the function, please log onto the Club’s website from 2 September 2013 to 27 September 2013 to register your name and member number. If the total member registrations exceed the maximum available places, a lottery style draw will take place. The first 100 names drawn will be invited to the 2013 Race Day and cocktail party.
Unfortunately, we must restrict the invitation to two (2) tickets per Gold or Life member, a ticket for the member and one (1) guest.
If you miss out on the cocktail party, General Admission and Member tickets to the ATC for the day will be available. These will also be restricted to two (2) tickets per Gold or Life member.
I encourage Gold and Life members to register your interest in attending what should be a great day at the track!
Qantas Frequent Flyer Program – Restaurant Participation
Advice has been received from Qantas Loyalty that they have decided to close their existing restaurant program. Qantas Frequent Flyer points will continue to be offered until the close of business on 12 August 2013.
I urge all members who have been utilising this facility to make the most of the time left to access this service.
2014 Membership Renewals
The 2014 renewal period is almost upon us.
As a valued Gold or Life Member if you renew on line between 1 – 30 September 2013 you will receive a $50.00 dining voucher to use in either the Esperanto Dining Room or Zest Restaurant. Silver and Social Members are welcome to upgrade to a Gold membership to receive this offer. Conditions apply. Renewing your membership is easy and efficient, just go online to www.citytatts.com.au.
Normal renewal procedure for all categories of membership will occur from 1 October 2013.
Your online membership form also allows you to select if you wish to continue to receive your quarterly magazine via the hard copy post. City Tattersalls Club is dedicated to being environmentally friendly and sending the quarterly magazine electronically to members allows the Club a very efficient and cost effective tool. I encourage members to opt to receive the magazine electronically.
Club Grants 2013
I have been involved in the last several months in allocating our club’s charitable donations to the many applicants for funds under the NSW Club Grants Scheme. Our Club is donating approximately a total amount of $340,000, with $251,000 of this amount being distributed through the Local Committee. The presentation to the successful charities will take place at our Club at 11:00am on Friday 23 August 2013. All members are welcome to attend.
Further particulars of the donations can be seen on the Community page of this magazine.
Clubs NSW Chef’s Table Competition 2013 – City Tatts Wins Again!
I am very pleased to announce that our Club has once again taken the Gold Award at the Chef’s Table competition this year.
This competition is open to all registered clubs in NSW. There is a set of rules regarding the food on the menu which the Chefs must adhere to. Food Critics and Judges then narrow down all of the registered clubs entered to a final field of 15, before announcing the winner of a prestigious function, which was held this year on Monday 29 July 2013 at Canterbury League Club.
This is the third time our Club has won the Gold Award, having won previously in 2009 and 2012. The Judges said that our Chefs “ticked all the boxes” in every area and surpassed the strong competition.
I congratulate our Chefs, Ciaran Faherty and Julian Leather for their fantastic effort and extend my thanks to everyone who assisted and supported them.
Members will have the opportunity to try the award winning dishes, please refer to page 19 for full details.
Annual Planning Meeting
As happens each year, the Committee and Management will shortly hold the annual Planning Meeting. The meeting this year will take place in-house, as it did in 2012, where the key focus will be on:
- Management and strategic issues in our Club
- Airspace development
Staff Benefits
The Staff Rewards and Recognition Program occurred in July 2013 with an Afternoon Tea, Luncheon and Dinner being held for the 3+ Year, 5+ Year and 10+ Year groups.
We commend these employees for their loyalty to our Club.
Employees of the 1st Quarter 2013
The employees of the 1st Quarter 2013 have been named. The winners for the Front and Back of House quarter were:
- Front of House Mr Robert Edwards
- Back of House Mr Chris Young
I congratulate the winners and all other employees who received nominations for these awards.
Conclusion
The next few months will be critical in relation to whether our Club moves forward with the airspace development proposal. This development, should it occur, will be one of, if not the biggest initiative in our Club’s history and I encourage all members to take an interest and attend the Briefing Meeting on Tuesday 27 August 2013.
Patrick Campion
Chairman
City Tattersalls Club
