Golf club shareholders meet

Author: Frank Matys

Date: Nov 20, 2009

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Frank Matys

Couchiching Golf and Country Club shareholders will learn of the board’s new business plan by mail in the near future and another meeting will be held to vote on recommendations.

ORILLIA: The Couchiching Golf and Country Club is working to dig itself out of a financial rough as it struggles to overcome a mounting debt.
About 125 people attended a two-and-a-half hour special meeting Thursday night, with the majority of shareholders present indicating a desire to hold onto the historic course, located in a north-end Orillia neighbourhood.
The money-troubled club already carries a debt of about $500,000, and requires another $100,000 to sustain operations until April, when the course reopens and begins generating revenue again.
The club’s board of directors in a letter to shareholders prior to the meeting described the situation as a “financial crisis.”
About 35 people at the meeting indicated a willingness to contribute $1,000 each to the cause, though the specifics of such an arrangement remained unclear, were the club to pursue that as an option.
The board of directors is additionally contemplating hikes to membership fees, food/bar prices and power-cart rentals to boost revenues.
Reducing staff was mentioned as a potential cost saver.
Also under consideration is a proposal to levy a $250 per-member assessment, with the funds to be placed on a ‘smart card’ that could be used for purchases in the bar, dining room or pro shop.
Elsewhere, the board will investigate changing the current bylaws to allow for the sale of another 500 shares to raise the half-million dollars needed to clear club’s existing debt.
Doing so would require approval by a two-thirds majority vote.
In a letter to shareholders prior to the meeting, the board said the bank was “not willing to support us in the short term,” and wanted the debt repaid within 10 years.
Shareholders will learn of the board’s new business plan by mail in the near future, and another meeting will be held to vote on recommendations.
The board also intends to re-approach the bank with ideas for new sources of revenue, while efforts are made to secure funding from other sources to help eliminate the debt.