Winter 2013 TBA Newsletter

November 27, 2013

President's Message

Another summer is over, and the winter months are already fast approaching. Although the weather last summer was not as warm as some of us would have liked, it was nice enough to ensure excellent event participation by all our members and their families. 2013 saw the rejuvenation of our children’s program with new ideas and innovations resulting in stronger attendance and the continuation of our progressive tennis on the courts. Both of which we will continue to build on again next year.

We participated in 2013 in the Federation of Tiny Township Shoreline Association (FOTTSA) in our attempt to make our voice heard in the deliberations regarding water levels of Georgian Bay. Later on in this newsletter you will see a report from John Philpott, our representative on this Association, on our progress to date. We plan on continuing our participation in 2014.

The Association also purchased a used storage shed/container that is inconspicuously located adjacent to the washroom building, behind the club house that will dramatically help in storing and protecting some of our valuable assets.

I am pleased to announce that our financial position has improved since last year and that we have been able to save some money this year and replenish our GIC which we have had to use in the last few years. As always, we are looking at all of our expenses and revenues. We will be trying to reduce expenses where we possibly can, and where necessary, we will be increasing some of our program fees to help offset the increased costs that have affected our operation.

As you all know, it is not our mandate to make money but to financially support all of the programs that our residents have come to expect and enjoy. The increases will be minimal, but are necessary, if we are to continue to function as a premier association that our area demands. One new item the TBA executive team has agreed to, in order to help with our funding situation, is to recruit a new executive for the position of Sponsorship Director. The duties attached to this new role will be to solicit funding through local merchants and contractors who wish to advertise in our roster and on our website. Anyone interested in joining us please send us a note via the web or give me a call personally (705-533-9993).

Since our last AGM, we have written to the Township of Tiny regarding the safety of West Shore road. You will find a copy of the letter in this newsletter. To date we have not heard back, however, we will keep you up to date of any new developments. And now … to next year! I cannot make any weather predictions for 2014 but only hope that it will be a warm and gorgeous summer! Nonetheless, the summer will unfold in its usual consistent, comforting way with many new faces, revitalized programs and events for all, and I look forward to everyone’s continued support for the coming year. We always want to hear from you, so drop us a line at www.thunderbeach.org with your thoughts, comments and/or suggestions so that the TBA can continue to improve and meet the needs of our fellow members. On behalf of the TBA executive, I would like to wish you and yours a safe and enjoyable holiday season and a very happy 2014.

Louise O’Connor President

Treasurers Report

This summer was a very successful summer for The Thunder Beach Association from a financial and social point of view. All events went well and were profitable as were the Kids Camp and the TBA clothing sales. We renovated the Clubhouse and purchased “the shed” for extra storage purposes. As you recall last year we were not as successful. This led me having to ”borrow” from the GIC at the beginning of this year 2013. As a result of all our efforts I am happy to report that we are able to “pay back” the $10,000.00 to the GIC and add $5,000.00 more from this year’s profits! Last year we reviewed the membership fees. Those new fees were implemented this year. The executive has reviewed the tennis fee structure this year and new fees will be put into place for the summer of 2014. All tennis fees will now be kept separate from the membership fees and put into a separate “tennis fund”. Other changes include payment of memberships before May 16th 2014. To be included in the roster, payment has to be made at this cut-off date in order for a proper turnaround and to receive the booklet by the beginning of the summer. You will be able to renew your 2014 TBA membership online early in the new year and we will notify you when this becomes available. We appreciate you paying through the website it makes life simpler for you. However, if you prefer to send a cheque please make your payment to the Thunder Beach Association, and mail it to: Anne Hardcastle-Roebuck 33 Glenrose Ave Toronto, ON M4T 1K3. Anne Hardcastle-Roebuck Treasurer

Children’s Program Update

2013 was a great year at Camp! A heartfelt thanks to all of our 2013 staff and CITs for their energy and hard work. Special recognition and appreciation goes to veteran Head Counselor Courtney Jones for stewarding our staff and campers through a fun-filled, action packed summer of programming. Small changes to programming favorites such as Tennis, field trips, Carnival and Movie nights, and the expansion of game and craft options during junior and senior sports camp reinvigorated our program for the enjoyment of campers and staff alike. Changes to sign-in procedures, payment structures and program scheduling were well received and will most likely carry forward into next summer. As always, suggestions from parents and campers would be appreciated. Attention parents and teens - it’s application time again! Applications for staff and CIT positions for Summer 2014 are now available on line, and the official deadline for submission is Friday, February 7th. We are seeking potential candidates for Head Counselor, Senior Counselor, Tennis Coordinator, Counselor and CIT positions. Fewer positions may be available so we encourage interested candidates to apply in a thoughtful and timely fashion. Please note that late applications (those received after Midnight on Friday, February 7th) will not be considered. Download the applications here:

2014 Counsellor Application | 2014 CIT Application

If you have any questions regarding the application process, please refer to the Thunder Beach website or contact Michelle Morneau at michelle.morneau@hotmail.com Michelle Morneau Children’s Program Director

2013 Tennis Season May Be Over...The Planning For 2014 Has Started!

All Ducharme Semi-Final! Thunder Beach saw some of its best Tennis yet this past summer! The successes were not just on the court but we saw an increase in memberships, attendance on the courts and attendance at Adult Drop In. Our tennis program continues to show a positive return for the Thunder Beach Association. With all of this in mind let’s review our winners this past summer and say CONGRATS to all for giving us some great tennis to watch. The annual tournaments were a lot of fun, highlighted by some particularly suspenseful matches and new winners! Let’s congratulate our 2013 TBA Tennis champions:

Men’s Doubles – Trevor Aristotle and Ed Flannigan over Matthew and Blake DuCharme
Woman’s Doubles – Teresa Morneau and Patti Hebbes over Anne Saundercook and Christine Lundy
Mixed Doubles – Teresa Morneau and Doug Jones over Rick Green and Christine Lundy

Remember you must be a TBA member in order to be a TBA tennis member – you can register on-line at our website throughout the 2014 season. You must be a tennis member to participate in adult tennis tournaments. Shoe tags will be made available again next season and must be worn when you are on the courts. The Children’s program will continue to teach and use the Tennis Canada Progressive Tennis Program. We have purchased equipment for this program – the program works and kids will grow to love the game. We are asking all members to look after the courts and court equipment. Example: Rollers should be hung up on the fence – if they are not, please take the time to hang them. Pick up garbage and use garbage bin provided. All of these small things add up to a better appearance to complement the efforts of everyone. As we all know, we certainly do not want to lose any of our present momentum, therefore, we have to start looking at a 3 to 5 year plan to ensure we keep our courts in tip top shape for the increased usage. This is never an inexpensive investment. We need to look at how and when we resurface the courts and the cost of which it will take to do this. We have already had the courts looked at and we have been advised that we will need to do some repairs and resurfacing. In 2014, you will see that we have increased our membership rates. After some long and hard thinking we looked at what we were charging and tried to balance out where it most made sense. This will allow us to put funds away through this increase to execute our strategy on resurfacing the courts. I also look to our present membership on other ideas that could potentially assist us in getting there sooner rather than later. I value your opinions. Should you have any ideas or feedback for next season, please let us know at matt.ducharme@sympatico.ca. Donations alert: TBA is on the prowl for items to spruce up the courts, such as picnic tables, hoppers, used rackets or umbrellas. Let us know if you can assist. See you on the courts. Matt DuCharme Vice President

“Oops” – A Brief Note on the 2013 TBA Roster

A great joy of our association, Is the TBA Roster and all its information, In need of a tennis partner or a babysitter?, Well, that good ol’ Roster is better than Facebook or Twitter; Of course, a special moment each and every year, Is opening the Roster just to check and peer, That your name is there in black and white, “Wait a minute, my address isn’t right?!??” “And my son’s name isn’t Butcher, that’s our pet, and I’m married to Bruce, not Brian LaVollette” “How can this be with mistakes in the Roster? Is this the right book, or some cheap imposter?” Last year’s Roster had errors, we admit its true, So we would like to apologize to all of you, And let you know that we’re righting the ship, Correcting the errors, and fixing the glitch, Sign up on the website for the next big summer, And the Roster will be a success and not such a bummer. - Written by John Philpott on behalf of the TBA Executives

Social Update

The summer 2013 events were a great success with a dynamic DJ, live music, delicious food and unparalleled company. Lets keep the momentum going with another fabulous season. Tickets will be available to be purchased online in early 2014. You are encouraged to buy your tickets when signing up for your membership to ensure that you do not miss out. Please save the date for the following three events:

Lobsterfest: Saturday, June 28th
Beachball Dinner/Dance: Saturday, August 2nd
End of Summer/Golf Dinner/Dance: Saturday, August 16th

A Warm Welcome: This year, we welcome two members of our community to act as our social committee, in conjunction with myself. Ashley Koets (Jones) and Courtney Jones promise to bring their artistic flare and love of a great party to contribute to the organization of and creative vision for our Thunder Beach events. I look forward to collaborating as we move forward with the planning of the 2014 events. Feedback from the community is welcomed and encouraged, you can reach me at lauralogaridis@gmail.com. Laura Logaridis Social Director

Golf News

Golf is a day spent in a round of strenuous idleness. - William Wordsworth 72 golfers turned up for the annual Thunder Beach Association Golf Tournament at Midland Golf & Country Club. It was a picture perfect day for golf with sunshine, clear skies and a steady breeze with the temperature hovering around 26 degrees. Despite the heat, the Macdonald boys’ team which included Colin, Mark, Brendon and Mike came out swinging and moved to 2013’s best overall foursome with an impressive PGA score of -11. After a great day on the linx, would-be golfers and dinner guests turned up at the clubhouse and were treated to a gourmet dinner prepared by local catering company Cravings. After dinner, the celebration continued with a live performance by the band ‘Kitty & the Boys’, with high energy, crowd pleasing, front woman singer and Thunder Beach’s own Angela Penfound-Wilson. At the end of the evening, the tireless crowd cheered on and encouraged the band to continue playing. A special thanks to our beer, wine and cigar sponsors which include: Steam Whistle Brewing Company, Peller Estates and the Mumbacho Cigar Company. I would also like to thank all those who volunteered to make the event such a success, in particular, event organizer, Louise O’Connor, registration and goodwill ambassadors, Sara Lankshear and Tom Macdonald, event support staff Paul Northcott, Lee Hornberger and Laura Logaridis. The beautiful flower centre pieces were donated by Fresh by Leanne. Prizes were donated by Cabin Boy, Todd McCarthy and Patrick Lundy which included: an outdoor cushion set, a pair of Blue Jay tickets and a set of golf clubs. We had 18 hole sponsors which included: Bayfield House Retirement Lodge Fred Burton – Portfolio Management Corporation Sabin Charlebois – Charlebois Excavating & Trucking Paul Lennard – Donway Ford Tom Macdonald – Goodmans LLP Christine & Al Magee – Sleep Country Bruce Mann – Henderson Trnasport TimBr Mart Todd McCarthy – Flaherty Dow Elliott & McCarthy Jeanne McIsaac – Re/Max Georgian bay Realty Ltd. Brokerage Frank & Helen Morneau Jeff Neil Howard Robinson – Robinson Pontiac Cam Smellie – Stone Tree Robert Smith – The Smith Group David Wilcox – Wilcox Law Office Paul Wilson – Busy Bee Taxi Earle Graham- Lakeland Irrigation Thank you to all who participated. Your continued support and generosity is greatly appreciated. We are actively seeking out golf prizes for this year’s 2014 golf tournament. Keep this in mind, company promo items, golf paraphernalia, tickets to events, prizes of any type are sought and encouraged! Finally, the golf tournament is all teed up for Saturday, August 16th, 2014 at Midland Golf and Country Club. Please get your four-some together and come on out for a swinging good time. David Northcott Past President

Thunder Beach Association Storage Unit

We are happy to say we have purchased a second-hand metal storage unit. It is in very good shape and provides a significant improvement to storage capability. We were able to acquire this unit for $2,400.00 which would normally cost $5,000.00. The unit comes equipped with electrical wiring and shelving. In order to install it, we had haulage and excavating charges of $677.44 and $ 900 in labour charges. The unit has been put into place behind the clubhouse and will be a great solution to some of our storage issues. So far we have received $1,500.00 in donations from you. Thanks to everyone who contributed to date. We continue to look for donations to cover the full cost. Please send any donations to our Treasurer: Anne Hardcastle-Roebuck 33 Glenrose Avenue Toronto ON M4T1K3 . Susan Inrig Property Director

FOTTSA Update

The Thunder Beach Association is a member of the Federation of Tiny Township Shoreline Associations (“FOTTSA”), which is an association of shoreline associations in Tiny Township. FOTTSA is highly engaged in municipal issues that affects all seasonal taxpayers. To ensure that you remain informed, all Thunder Beach Association members are encouraged to read the Tiny Cottager newsletter and the additional municipal updates which can be found at tinycottager.org (the FOTTSA website) and www.tiny.ca (the Tiny Township website. Here are a few highlights regarding recent developments in Tiny.

Septage

Tiny continues to re-evaluate how to tackle the issue of septage disposal. This is in response to the Ministry of Environment’s plan to eventually ban all untreated septage. Currently, some of Tiny’s septage is sent to disposal facilities, while the remainder is spread on the fields of consenting landowners. The Township retained R.J. Burnside & Associates (“Burnside”) to undertake an environmental study on the preferred options. The recommendation of Burnside is the construction of a septage treatment facility and reedbeds - for natural composting - within the Township. At this point, potential sites for these facilities are being canvassed. This remains a major issue in terms of where it will be located and what the costs for taxpayers will be. Further information on this issue can be found at tinycottager.org and tiny.org.

Water Levels

On July 6, 2013, FOTTSA co-hosted an information session on the Water Level’s issue along with Restore our Water International (“ROWI”). The event was well attended. Roger Gauthier, Chair of ROWI and a retired Senior Hydrologist from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers provided a presentation demonstrating how the deepening and widening of the St. Clair River is a major contributor to the continuing decline in the water levels in Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. There were also presentations on the environmental impact of the increasingly low water levels by Dr. Pat Chow Fraser from McMaster University and Mary Muter, from the Great Lakes section of the Sierra Club. As noted by Mr. Gauthier, the International Joint Commission – the bi-national body with jurisdiction over the issue – has changed its position since last summer and now recommends restoring the water levels through the installation of sill structures in the St. Clair River. The focus now is on pressuring the U.S. and Canadian governments to follow these recommendations. More information on how to support this effort can be found at www.restoreourwater.com. Other organizations involved in the water levels issues include Georgian Bay Forever (www.georgianbayforever.org) and Stop the Drop (www.stopthedrop.ca).

Parking

The Township continues to review its policies regarding parking near shoreline areas, as issues regarding access for fire trucks and other emergency vehicles have arisen. This issue will likely be addressed at future Township council meetings. John Philpott Vice President

Sympathies

Relaying sad news that Gord Chapple's Mother, Marjorie, passed away on Sunday, October 13th at the age of 86. A full obituary was posted in the found in the Globe and Mail, Thursday, October 16th edition.

Road Safety Letter to Tiny Township

As a result of our last AGM the following letter has been sent to Tiny Township on behalf of the TBA. November 18, 2013 Township of Tiny Attention: Hank Blom 130 Balm Beach Road West Tiny, Ontario L0L 2J0 Subject: Road Safety Dear Mr. Blom On behalf of the members and the Board of The Thunder Beach Association I am asking the Township of Tiny to work with us to drastically improve the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and motor vehicle operators who use West Shore Drive in Thunder Beach. We have regularly observed two major factors that create serious concern for safety on this road; speeding and the design of the curve in front of 101 West Shore Drive. Regarding speeding, it is not uncommon to see motor vehicles travelling along this road at speeds of over 60 kilometers per hour, some estimated to be at or even in excess of 80 km per hour. The posted speed limit is 40 km per hour. A contributing factor to this situation is, in our opinion, that there are too few posted limit signs and that those that are there are often partially obscured by foliage. We ask you to consider additional signage and to enlist the OPP in additional speed control efforts along this route. Anecdotal observation would tell us that the offenders are both the residents and the commercial vehicles that regularly use the road. Our second safety issue is with a dangerous curve in front of 101 West Shore Drive. The design of the curve, the lack of visibility around the curve, the speeding factor and the laissez-faire attitude of many of the summer visitors who walk and cycle on this road are a combination of factors that we feel are precursors to the potential of a very serious traffic event at this location. In the summer, the danger with walkers and cyclists is evident. In the winter, there has been more than one car forced into the ditch on the west side of the road by vehicles heading north. We appreciate you considering undertaking a full evaluation of this location. We will be glad to work with you on any recommendations you have. As part of this evaluation, we recommend that you consider the installation of a speed bump in the north bound lane approaching this corner. We look forward to hearing from you on this important safety matter in the very near future. Sincerely, Louise O’Connor TBA President

2014 TBA membership renewal will be available early in the new year.
All members will be notified.