october 2011 - Encinal Yacht Club

OCTOBER 2011
SOUNDINGS
ENCINAL YACHT CLUB
From the President
“Reluctantly, we are in-
Wheel Chair Regatta
Photos
creasing membership
dues. ―
Page 3-4
Page 14-15
Junior Sailing News
From the House
“drop in my office an-
“some changes this year
ytime and say hello or
introduce yourself. ―
to our Commodores
Ball‖
Page 7
Page 10-11
Photo by Rod Kidd
Photo by
Tina Sheck
EYC Photo Contest
Submit your best
photos to the
2011 Soundings
Photography
Competition
Best entries will be published
monthly in the new
Soundings.
Oktoberfest pages 12 and 13
See Page 20 for details...
ENCINAL YACHT CLUB · 1251 PACIFIC MARINA · ALAMEDA · CA · 94501 · 510.522.3272
OCTOBER 2011
2
SOUNDINGS
2011 Board of Directors
President
Vice President
Treasurer
Commodore
Vice Commodore
Director
Director
Director
Director
Lew Lippard
Tony Shaffer
Chris James
Tom Wondolleck
Victor Early
Peter Aschwanden
Paul Delle Cese
Dan Hayes
Anita Mahoney
Committee Chairpersons
Membership
Finance
Boat Yard
Building & Grounds
House
Youth
Cruise Captains
Information Technology
Long Range Planning
Nominating
Chris James
Charles Eddy
Peter Aschwanden
Dan Hayes
Anita Mahoney
Paul Delle Cese
Stu & Julie Hill
Darrell Powell-Ford
Carol Blackburn
Michael Sheck
Appointed Officers
Port Captain
Small Boat Captain
Power Boat Fleet Captain
Committee Boat
Member Liaison
Club Counsel
Soundings Editor
Web Master
Club Historians
Michael Byroads
Michael Andrews
Christopher Hanson
Chuck Wetteroth
Vern Bendsen
Christopher Hanson
Nicki Powell-Ford
Don Ahrens
Debra Early
Heidi Benson
Marguerite Lawry
Linda Bendsen
Fred Rutledge
Tony Shaffer
Charles Hodgkins
Rodney Pimentel
Jennifer Rader
NCPCA Delegate
PICYA Delegates
Staff Commodore
Junior Staff Commodore
Secretary
Encinal Yacht Club
Established 1890
1251 Pacific Marina
Alameda, CA 94501
Office (510) 522-3272
Bar (510) 865-1303
Fax (510) 865-8630
www.encinal.org
Policies
SOUNDINGS will be published monthly. Submissions
will be handled with reasonable care, but no liability is
assumed for them. All articles are subject to editing for
content and space consideration.
PERMISSIONS: Material in this publication may not be
reproduced in any form without written permission directed to the Editor.
DEADLINE: Articles and photographs are due by the
20h of the month prior to publication. Late submissions
cannot be assured of publication. Articles may be
dropped off or faxed to the Club, or emailed to
the Editor at both soundingseditor@encinal.org and mrsnicki@hotmail.com
Office Hours
Staff
General Manager
Junior Sailing Director
Office Administrator
Bar Manager
Assistant Administrator
Bookkeeper
Caterer
Tuesday—Sunday .................................................................. 9:00am – 5:00 pm
Rene de Vos
Andrew Nelson
Jessica Matamoros
Mireille von Trapp-Hall
Lisa Schoenfeld
Virginia Hamilton
Manny Rodriquez
Dining Room
Thursday - Saturday .................................. Lunch Service 11:30am – 2:00pm
Thursday - Saturday ................................................Dinner 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
First Thursday (Buffet) – .......................................Dinner 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Sunday ................................................................. Brunch 12:00pm – 2:00 pm
Sunday ....................................................................Dinner 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Bar Hours
Wednesday (special menu available) ............................... 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Thursday – Saturday ........................................................ 12:00pm – 10:00 pm
Sunday ................................................................................ 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
ENCINAL YACHT CLUB · 1251 PACIFIC MARINA · ALAMEDA · CA · 94501 · 510.522.3272
OCTOBER 2011
3
SOUNDINGS
FROM THE
PRESIDENT...
Lew Lippard
The bar stools are now in place in the bar, completing the final step in the bar renovation. They
are beautiful, very comfortable and definitely add to the overall effect of the bar. Soren Hansen
has done a great job with all of this.
As stated last month, the conversion of our accounting system is continuing. We are getting our
regular monthly financial reports. Don Ahrens, the Web Master, has begun the implementation
of the “Member’s Only” area and we should have this facility up and running soon. This is a very
important feature of the system as it will provide a means of communicating information to the
membership so they will have a better understanding of the Club operations, Board of Director’s
actions and other information of interest to members. You will be notified when this facility will
be available to you. Information regarding how to access it will be provided at that time.
The big news, in case you haven’t already heard, is that we have a new General Manager, Rene de
Vos. Rene brings us extensive experience working in Social Clubs. He starts on Friday, September 30th. We look forward to working with him. Stop by the Club, introduce yourself and get to
know him.
The other big news is that the By-Laws revisions were overwhelmingly passed. This means the
Annual Meeting date now has some flexibility and is set this year for November 12th and will be
combined with a Change of Watch event. We are now in the process of preparing the details for
this event. When the details have been completed, you will be notified what time the Annual
Meeting will start and the agenda for the evening. The Annual Meeting change has been made to
allow more members to participate and we look forward to a large turnout. Because of the timing,
the Commodore’s Ball will not be held this year, but will resume next year in October.
Regarding the Governance By-Laws revision, Mike Scheck, the Nominating Committee Chairman, was able to quickly respond to the changes made in this revision and provide us with an excellent slate of Officers and Directors for the coming year.
Less pleasant news relates to our finances. Our operating expenses have had the normal inflationary increases that come with the passage of time. Even though the economy has been in the doldrums since 2007, the inflationary pressure has not been kept at bay, and we have experienced
operating expense increases across the board, with some extraordinary increases in certain areas,
most notably Health Insurance.
At the same time, as you are well aware, we have not had an increase in membership dues for four
years. How have we been able to do this? A number of dedicated volunteers have donated time,
energy and money toward maintaining and enhancing the Club operations.
Continued on page 4
ENCINAL
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OCTOBER 2011
4
SOUNDINGS
From the President cont….
Additionally, the Officers, Directors
and some key Committees have employed exceptional and prudent
management of the resources available to the Club. That said, we have
come to the place where these actions can no longer cover the increase in expenses.
Reluctantly, we are increasing membership dues. We have deferred this
as long as possible. Effective November 1st, the membership dues
will be increased by 5%. You will receive the new schedule in your next
monthly statement.
While we are on the subject of the
Club finances, we are in the process
of preparing some adjustments in
the Maintenance Trust Assessment.
We will have a meeting with the
membership to explain in detail the
adjustments we are asking the membership to support, and an explanation for these changes.
Notice
Change in Membership Fees
Current Fee Schedule
Membership Class
Annual
Fee
Due
s
Regular
Corinthian, Jr Sailing
Corinthian, new
Honorary
Racing
Junior
Business
Non-Resident
Service
Cruising, 1st yr
Cruising, Subs yr
1,000
-75
---300
-----
----150
---50
280
150
--
--
Associate
Mortgage
Maintenance
Trust
Fund
115
55
55
-82
15
115
51
61
---
15
15
15
----15
----
11
11
11
-11
-11
11
----
--
--
--
Effective November 1, 2011, the following membership
fees will be in effect:
Membership
Class
Regular
Corinthian, Jr
Sailing
Corinthian, new
Honorary
Racing
Junior
Business
Non-Resident
Service
Cruising, 1st yr
Cruising, Subs
Yr
Associate
ENCINAL
Assessments
One
time
Initiation
Fee
One
time
Initiation
Fee
Annual Fee
1,000
--
120
15
11
-75
---300
----
---150
---50
280
57
57
-86
15
120
53
64
--
15
15
----15
---
11
11
-11
-11
11
---
---
150
--
---
---
---
Due
s
Assessments
YACHT
OCTOBER 2011
5
SOUNDINGS
FROM THE BRIDGE...
Tom Wondolleck
Thank you very much to Margot Brown for hosting the 15th annual PICYA Wheelchair Regatta in
September. In recognition for Margot’s tireless efforts in planning and executing this event for the
past 15 years, it has been renamed in The Margot Brown Wheelchair Regatta. Congratulations Margot. Also, thanks to all of the volunteers who helped make this day a great experience for those confined to wheelchairs.
The weather was beautiful
but winds light for this
year’s Commodores Cup. I
would like to thank Chris
Golian and Susan
Jacquelin for running a
great race, as well as, Don
Arhens, Rich Pipkin, Dina
Folkman and Victory Early for participating. This
is a fun club race and I
encourage more of you to
come out next year and
challenge Victor in a good
old sailboat race.
On other racing fronts,
congratulations to Kame
Photos by Aaron Lee
Richards and team for placing first place in the Express 37 fleet at this year’s Big Boat
Series.
We are changing things up a little this year. It was suggested that we make the
Annual Change of Watch/Membership Meeting a broader club event and encourage more of the membership to come and attend the “changing of the guard” followed by an informal club party. This year the Change of Watch will be held on
Saturday November 12th. Included with the usual meeting, change of watch and
brief speeches will be the presentation of the Yachtman of the Year, The Dan
Flemming award for “best on race committee”, The Dick Crossen award for outContinued on page 6
ENCINAL
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OCTOBER 2011
6
SOUNDINGS
From the Bridge continued...
standing contributor to the club
and the Hal Wondolleck award
for exceptional committee chair.
You’re probably thinking,
“aren’t these awards usually presented at the Commodores
Ball?” Well you are correct.
This year we are going to try this
format in lieu of the ball, but do
not worry, the ball will be back
next year in its full glory. So
come to the Change of Watch and enjoy the post presentation party at
your club! Further details from House Director Anita Mahoney will be
coming as the event draws near.
The major races of 2011 are behind us and we are now working on the
2012 race schedule. Please let me or Vice Commodore Victor Early know
(commodore@encinal.org or vicecommodore@encinal.org) if you are interested in joining our race
management team in 2012. We will be having a STEM (Second Thursday of Every Month) presentation on October 13th at 7:30 PM in the dining room. Our guest speaker will be Nancy Erley who led
two voyages from Seattle around the world aboard her Orca 38 sailboat, Tethys. Come on down for
dinner, a drink and enjoy Nancy’s talk.
See you on the water!
Tom
Photos by Aaron Lee
ENCINAL
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OCTOBER 2011
7
SOUNDINGS
FROM THE
HOUSE DIRECTOR...
Anita Mahoney
Hello Everyone and Welcome to Fall
Halloween is this month with Thanksgiving and Christmas around the corner. Our club activities are
just beginning to get into the party season. There are plenty of activities at the club so make sure you
look at your Signal Flag or the Soundings for our upcoming events.
Remember EYC for your holiday parties. Let us do the cooking. It is also a great time of year to come
down to the club and enjoy the many friendships around the fire with a nice glass of wine or special
drink from the bar.
MNF has begun. Come down to the club and watch the game on our flat screen TV’s and enjoy a dinner
prepared by one of our member chefs. No reservations required. Just bring an appetizer.
Dust off those costumes for a Halloween Celebration at MNF on Monday, October 31st and also our
Kids Pumpkin Carving on Thursday, Oct. 27th.
There have also been some changes this year to our Commodores Ball. In lieu of this event we will be
having the Annual Meeting and Change of Watch celebration on November 12th. This will be a casual
event combined with our meeting and awards presentations followed by dinner and dancing. More details to follow. I encourage all members to come down to the club and enjoy this event. Remember to
bring your boat and stay for the weekend. It will be fun time!!!! The Commodore’s Ball will be rescheduled for next year.
Along with all the club events the house continues to improve its service to our members. The success
of our club depends on you and we value your thoughts and comments. Remember this is a volunteer
club so everything does take a little longer. We are always looking for volunteers to help.
Remember prospective new members just don’t knock at our door. Please invite your friends, family
and neighbors to come down to the club and see what a great place it is. Take advantage of our New
Member Promotion.
Let’s make our club a place you want to come to that is Friendly and Affordable and fun for everyone.
Let’s have a great month. I look forward to seeing everyone around the house very soon.
Thank you for your support.
Anita
ENCINAL
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OCTOBER 2011
8
SOUNDINGS
MEMBERSHIP NEWS...
Chris James
As the season slowly draws to a close, it is important to recognize the accomplishments of the Encinal
Yacht Club Membership Committee. We have attended two boat shows, Summer Sailstace, held one open
house event, run a total of five membership promotions, and have had a Membership table at a every major event held at the club.
Through September we have added 66 new members to our ranks. We are continuing to lose members as
this painful economy continues to drag on, but even with resignations, we have had a net increase of 26
members so far this year.
It is important to note that since we started running membership promotions in the spring of 2010 we
have added over 117 new members. Net of resignations 30% of our membership has been a member of
EYC two years or less.
Fall/Winter Membership Incentive Promotion
Due to the success of the Summer Membership Incentive Program we have decided to run a Fall /Winter
Membership Promotion. Effective September, and through the month of December, we will give members a free month of dues for each new member (Limited to Regular, Racing, & Corinthian Memberships)
they refer and get approved by the Board of Directors. In addition we are waiving the initiation fee for all
applicants throughout the duration of the promotion
In order to receive the free month of dues referring members must print their name on the top of each application submitted. Completed applications need to be received in the EYC office no later than December
31, 2011.
Please note this program applies to all EYC Members, if you are a “First Year” Member you still qualify for
the Referral Incentive, you just cannot be the applicants sponsor. As written in the EYC By Laws, sponsors need to be a member of EYC for at least one year.
Please join me in welcoming our
newest members:
Racing Membership
Scott & Nicole Koch
Torin & Judy Knorr
Remember, when you see a member
with “First Year on their name
badge, please introduce yourself
and welcome them to EYC.
ENCINAL
As usual, all applicants need to be interviewed, applications signed,
posted for 10 days in the EYC office, and approved at the monthly
Board Meeting held on the third Thursday of the month. Your credit or credits will be issued on your monthly statement the month following Board of Directors approval of the member.
See you around the club!
Chris
YACHT
OCTOBER 2011
9
SOUNDINGS
INTRODUCING THE
GENERAL MANASGER...
Rene de Vos
As your new General Manager, I take great pride and pleasure in introducing myself to the members of the
Encinal Yacht Club. I would like to express my sincere gratitude
to President Lew Lippard, Vice President Tony Shaffer and the
Board of Directors for their confidence and ongoing support. I
would also like to thank the club’s membership and staff for their
well wishes and kind welcome. It will be a great pleasure to manage this beautiful facility and I am ready and eager to serve you
and this wonderful club for many years to come.
It is my goal to provide you with a memorable and top-notch leisure experience, culinary experience or special event. When
speaking with people about this position, they often comment on
the need for “visibility” and “good people skills”. People often
conclude that I must enjoy the hospitality industry. They are right;
it is deeply gratifying to work at a place where you can celebrate
life’s important milestones, share a meal and enjoy nautical activities with both old and new friends. These
occasions are what make the club an integral part of your lives. My goal is to provide an atmosphere at Encinal Yacht Club where you will view the club as an extension of your own home.
The nature of club management makes it intensely “people-oriented” and that is a great deal of fun. But
there are many other factors that go into creating a well-run club. It is our job to see beyond the day-to-day
operations and activities of the club and manage the million dollar business that it is. In my professional
club career and as a member of the Club Managers Association of America, I have developed expertise in
fiscal prudence, including forecasting cash flow, budgeting, audits, administering compensation and benefits
and developing and executing a long term strategic plan for the club. This is your club and we will ensure
the small details and processes that make the club runs smoothly on a daily basis are in place and effective.
It is every Club Manager’s hope that the membership, working in unison with the Board, will supply the vision for the club while the manager remains responsible for implementing the overall strategy and achieving
that vision.
The Encinal Yacht Club team hopes to provide you with a positive club experience, fulfill our obligations
and responsibilities while at the same time maintaining the integrity of club operations.
Your support is very much appreciated and I look forward to meeting each and every one of you and to implementing your vision for the Encinal Yacht Club’s future success.
See you at the Club!
Rene de Vos
ENCINAL
YACHT
OCTOBER 2011
10
SOUNDINGS
INTRODUCING THE
JUNIOR SAILING DIRECTOR...
Andrew Nelson
It's now my second week on the job here at EYC, and
I'm starting to get somewhat settled in. I've had a
chance to meet lots of members and parents this past
week and I've felt very welcomed so far. I'm really excited to be a part of the Encinal family.
I grew up in Tacoma, Washington (just south of Seattle) and started racing with my dad at a young age on
the Cal 40 "White Squall." It wasn't until I was almost
in high school that I got in a dinghy, but I was hooked
pretty quickly. However we didn't have high school
sailing in our area, so I bought a 14' double-handed
"C-Lark" and did a lot of "trial and error" learning after school (most of which my mom was not
aware of and never heard about). Having survived
many escapades on Puget Sound, I went on to sail for
Western Washington University (Lee Laney's alma
mater). Located in Bellingham, WA, and nestled between the San Juan Islands and the Cascade Mountains, it provided a picturesque setting for studying
and sailing. I sailed all four years, and was team captain my junior and senior year. We had a very
competitive team during those
years, and I was lucky to have some
great mentors including Lee Laney,
who came back and coached
us occasionally. During my summers It appears that the new kevlar mainsail for
I coached for Tacoma Yacht Club,
the Aphrodite 101 "TORRID" was accidently
serving as their race team coach and
sold at the flea market in early summer. It
senior instructor three summers.
would be next to impossible to modify to fit
Coaching sailing, working at the
YMCA, and volunteering for Big
another vessel and the foundation needs the
Brothers/Big Sisters solidified my
sail to include with the sale of this vessesl If
decision to pursue a teaching deyou have any information please contact
gree. I spent this past school year
doing my student teaching at a mid- Mike Gorman 510-457-6552. A buy back or
dle school back home, where I
reward could be arranged.
taught 7th/8th grade Social Studies
and Language Arts. It was tough to
NOTICE MISSING SAIL
ENCINAL
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OCTOBER 2011
11
SOUNDINGS
EYC JUNIOR SAILING
RAISE THE FLAG 2011 FUNDRAISER
Encinal Junior Sailing would like to thank all the donors this year
who contributed to Raise the Flag! We are very excited to announce we raised $28,863!
We cannot thank you for your generous donations. We have already ordered 3 new Club FJ’s and have plans to purchase more
boats.
Thank you!
leave college sailing behind, so I also spent a good number of weekends coaching the University
of Puget Sound Sailing Team and helping to run races and clinics in the Northwest, including
doing race committee for Women's College Nationals at the Gorge this spring. My past two
summers have been spent in Newport Beach, where I was the head double-handed coach at Balboa Yacht Club. When I'm not coaching sailing, I'm probably sailing. I still have a huge soft spot
for Cal 40's and have done quite a bit of offshore sailing with "California Girl" in recent
years, including racing around Vancouver Island this June and several epic runs up the Washington coast. I have also been active in the Etchells and Melges 24 fleets back home, as well as
racing double-handed on my buddy's Olson 30 in longer races. I've outgrown the FJ and Laser
and now want to focus most of my energy on Finn sailing. Working with youth has been a real
passion of mine, as has sailing, so the opportunity to combine the two at Encinal is a real dream
opportunity.
Our high school season is just getting underway and so far we had a great couple of finishes at
the first regatta of the year. There will be plenty of junior sailing activity around here this fall
with high school practices and Opti/Oppi sailing starting up in early October. Aside from weekend classes we'll also have drop ins every Wednesday for Optis and every Thursday
for FJ's/420's starting September 28th/29th. I look forward to getting to meet all
of you. Feel free to drop in my office anytime and say hello or introduce yourself.
ENCINAL
YACHT
OCTOBER 2011
12
SOUNDINGS
Oktoberfest
Thanks to everyone for making the 6th annual Oktoberfest, hosted by
Irmgard and Mark Bernhard, a huge success. More than 165 people
attended this years event. Excellent food, wonderful entertainment
and good friends.
Cheers ! Prost!
ENCINAL
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OCTOBER 2011
13
SOUNDINGS
Photos by Nicki Powell-Ford
ENCINAL
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OCTOBER 2011
14
SOUNDINGS
Margot Brown Wheelchair Regatta
Photos by Tony Shaffer
ENCINAL
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OCTOBER 2011
15
SOUNDINGS
Photos by Tony Shaffer
Photo by Lisa Schoenfeld
ENCINAL
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OCTOBER 2011
16
SOUNDINGS
Friday Twilight Races
Photos by Fred Fago
ENCINAL
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OCTOBER 2011
17
SOUNDINGS
News from your new Wine Committee!
Recently a new Wine Committee was created under the guidance of the House Director and Board of Directors. Our purpose is to make the entire wine experience at
the club more enjoyable for members. We are looking at the current wine inventory
to see what members like and what isn’t selling. We’re also making sure our wines
are stored properly and equally important, is making sure that a wine list, including
descriptions, is available to diners when ordering food.
You may have seen our wine survey in the Signal Flag. Thank you to those who
provided feedback. We had a total of 31 respondents who told us the following:
74% enjoy Cabernet followed by 65% who enjoy Chardonnay
87% spend their money on premium wines (vs 22% on house wine)
54% would typically pay $8 for a glass of white wine followed by 22% typically spend $6
39% would typically pay $10 for a glass of red wine, closed followed by 32% would pay $8
55% would spend $21 to $35 for a bottle of red or white wine
84% don’t buy Sparkling wine, however comments noted that if the selection were better they would be
more willing to buy Sparkling wine
52% drink wine at every visit to their Club, while 32% only occasionally drink wine at the club and
22% drink wine only with dinner
Various comments were received and several commenting on their displeasure over the non member
pricing. **Newsflash from the Board – non member pricing has been removed altogether!
If you haven’t participated in the wine survey and would like to, please follow this link to provide your
feedback.
The link for the survey is:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CTKX5D9
Committee members are: Rich Haddock, Cathy Erbland, Karen
Brunelle, John Becket, Keith Rarick, Penny McCullagh
We’ll keep you posted on further survey results. If you have feedback
you’d like to share in person, let’s have a glass of wine at your Club
and share ideas!
ENCINAL
YACHT
OCTOBER 2011
18
SOUNDINGS
Encinal Yacht Club 2011 Cruising Calendar
Date
Cruise Name/
Location
Leader
Oct 8-9
Circle Raft up
Jeff and Adrienne Rodgers
October 22-23
China Camp
Dave and Susan Sherrill
November 5-6
Berkeley
Karen and Mark Brunelle
December 2
Cruising Award Dinner
Stu and Julie Hill
WHERE IS THE BURGEE?!
Paramour in Desolation Sound
Photo by Stu Hill
ENCINAL
YACHT
OCTOBER 2011
19
SOUNDINGS
Meet You at the Dock!
Join us for our first high flying
circus act presented by “La
Loupiote!” They will be preforming on Saturday October 1 and
Sunday October 2 with show
times of 11am and 1pm for both
days. Guests of all ages will enjoy a show from the high flying
acrobatic family as they transform their sailboat into a spectacular array with talented and
choreographed grace and
strength. This is a show you will
not want to miss out on!
OCTOBER 2011
For more info and events,
check out our calendar!
October 1 and 2
“La Loupiote”
October 3, 10, 17, 24 31
Monday Night Football
October 14
Second Friday
Kids Movie Night
October 8-9
Family Pumpkin Carving
Circle Raft Up
Thursday, October 27
Thursday October 27
Kids Pumpkin Carving
6:30
Halloween Celebration at
MNF
October 31
November 12
Change of Watch Celebration
Club provides pumpkins, please bring your
own tools
RSVP at the Office
Photo by Steve Smolinsk
ENCINAL
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OCTOBER 2011
20
SOUNDINGS
George Harbor
CONGRATUALTIONS – ANNEKE DURY
OUR OCTOBER PHOTO OF THE MONTH WINNER!
ONLY ONE MORE MONTH
Every month one photo will be selected and featured in our “photo of the month” section. The winning submitter will receive a gift certificate
that can be redeemed in the dining room ($50 value). Photos used elsewhere in Soundings or on the Encinal Web Site will receive attribution
in the caption. Email submissions in a high resolution JPG, PNG or TIF file to PhotoContest@Encinal.org. Deadline is the 20th day of the
month.
July Winner:
RJ Pimentel
ENCINAL
August Winner:
September
Nicki PowellFord
Winner
Ernie Stock
YACHT