The Communications Committee of your Country Club Board of Governors will be sending you articles from time to time on subjects we believe will be of interest to you as residents of April Sound.  One of the most common questions that we hear asked frequently is "What are our Social Dues used for?"

Our Social Dues help finance a number of things.  One of the most important things is our swimming pool and its programs.  Under the guidance of our Aquatic Director, Carole Stevenson, we had a great 2006 with the addition of the Cabana Bar and this year the April Sound Swim team will return along with more pool and Cabana Bar activities for the kids, adults and families.  In addition to her swimming activities, Carole conducted a day camp from June into August for kids from pre-K therough grade six which was highly successful.  We look forward to another great summer of fun.

Our Social Dues also help finance our physical fitness center.  Approximately 3,000 people per month use the facilities.  We have outstanding equipment and an outstanding personal trainer, lifestyle, and weight consultant in John Catalani.  John can help in many types of training programs.

Let’s not forget our social dues which enable us to use our dining facilities.  Under the direction of Chef Darren Reed, we have seen a steady improvment in our food and beverage department and it continues to improve.  We now have more dining hours, extended happy hour times and added specialty dining nights to our dining experiences and there are more new ideas and activities coming this year!

Thers are a few of the areas our social dues are used for and only for $52.75 a month. Did you know that some physical fitness centers charge a start-up fee of $300 plus $20 per month per person plus $25 for administration start-up fees when joining? This does not include swimming facilities or use of dining facilities.  The Y.M.C.A. charges just about the same as our dues, but again there are no dining facilities plus one must drive a good distance to their facilities.

SEEMS LIKE OUR SOCIAL DUES ARE A VERY GOOD INVESTMENT!

One other question you might hear around our community is "Do our social dues go back to Club Corp in Dallas?"  The answer is no; they stay here in our budget at April Sound.  In fact, if we did not have those dues, we would have a shortfall of about $500,000 a year in our annual budget.  This would mean reduction in programs which could possibly mean decreases in property values over a period of time.  We need social dues to maintain our quality of life in April Sound.

Over the next few months, there will be many discussions about whether we should keep our social dues in place.  Your Board of Governors support keeping our restriction in place so as to keep our social dues requirements in order to continue and improve our present programs.

So, the next time someone asks you "What do social dues do for me and my family?"  just say, Neighbor, if you have the time, I have the answers. 

Have a great day!

Howard Rozell                                                                                                                       Communications Committee