Dear Members,
The most significant event to occur in Toowoomba for many years was the January flood.
Many members and clients of the club were directly affected in the worst possible ways. The club itself suffered only minor damage losing a race meeting during this period due to a burst pipe. The Cushion Track proved a boon during this time with the club being able to provide the only Saturday race meeting one week during January. On a very sad note we lost the Chief Steward James Perry in the flooding in the Lockyer Valley. The club has donated (on behalf of the members) to the appeal set up for his children’s future education.
During the past 12 months I have had the pleasure of working with a group of dedicated committee men who have honoured their commitment to serve the club to the best of their capacity. It makes me very proud to be chairman of this dedicated group who serve the club very well indeed. I take this opportunity to congratulate each and every one of them I have worked with.
Last year I promised this committee would work to return the club to profitability and increase the membership. Many hurdles have been overcome in the pursuit of those commitments but I can proudly report we have done just that. Both goals have been achieved.
Norm Pankhurst and Dr John Morgan have chosen to retire from the committee. With regret I have had to reluctantly accept their decisions but I am happy to report that Dr Morgan has agreed to remain the club Doctor and Norm is a life member and we will still get to enjoy his company at the races.
There is always a silver lining and therefore I welcome new committee members Kent Woodford and Greg Wagner who will bring new skills to the committee and therefore the club.
Committee Decisions and Achievements
One of the first decisions the committee made, which has proven monumental, was to replace the catering arrangement we had with an external provider with our own staff. We have far better control and flexibility now, and are able to make decisions in this area that benefit the club.
Many will have noticed we have a chef in the member’s area that is providing excellent meals and serving 50 to 70 patrons on most Saturday nights.
Apart from the annual audit of the club finances, RQL ordered three other audits during the period from May 2010 to June 2011. We have also been subject to a State Government inspired inquiry and apart from a few procedural errors we have come through the examinations without incident. The 2010 committee has implemented many of the procedures suggested by Deloitte’s in a procedural audit ordered by RQL in May 2010.
I doubt any other race club in Australia has had the scrutiny we have had, but as we on the committee have said over and over, “keep looking we have nothing to hide”. To all those members who have asked who is paying, I can only say it is NOT the club wasting industry funds.
In March 2011 RQL offered to enter into an equity deal with the Club. The committee examined the offer in the limited time we were allowed and rejected it on several grounds on behalf of the members. The biggest reason was a lack of seed funding from RQL. There are many who say that this decision has caused much of the angst we have suffered, but never the less the committee made the decision in the best interests of the club.
We now have a deed (IN THIS HAND) which definitively guarantees that the funds for the Cushion Track redevelopment were a GRANT. Much angst was felt and legal fees expended in the pursuit of the facts but ultimately justice was served. The deed will be held in the safe for future committees so the club can rest assured we will not have to worry about this issue again.
This committee had to repay large debts of around $800K that were in the most part incurred by past administrations of the club (in particular the extension shute at the 400m and maintenance of the Cushion Track since the redevelopment). The absence of proper documentation or explanation meant that the current committee had little choice but to pay what we considered were very excessive charges and fees for the services the club was receiving.
The club is now in charge of the maintenance of the cushion track for a much lower cost than the charges RQL was imposing on us. Inspections by the manufacturer of the track show that the quality of the track is being maintained to specifications. We have also purchased our own tractors and machinery which had been previously leased from RQL without any proper documentation. The cost savings are substantial.
One of the first tasks undertaken by the new committee in October 2010 was to examine business practices and staffing levels at the club. Substantial savings were made in both areas and the process continues. The next committee will continue with the implementation of more efficient business practices throughout the club until all areas have been brought up to modern standards.
The administration in the office is benefiting from recruiting staff with specific skills to run accounting and debtor and creditor control as well as staff possessing communication and media skills.
I take this opportunity to thank and congratulate Aaron Clancy who has worked above and beyond what could have reasonably been expected of a staff member. He has shown extreme loyalty to me, the committee, and to the club as a whole, and has been placed under the same unfair scrutiny we all have. We could not have asked for a better CEO and, as I have watched his development over the past 12 months, I am excited about what he can achieve for the club over the next 12 months.
The implementation of track fees and a horse usage accountability system has resulted in increased revenue for the club from the users of those facilities. This was a long overdue initiative and has resulted in the club being able to charge all trainers on an equal level. New charging rules and collection guidelines were introduced subsequently, which are more efficient and fairer to all users and the club.
As all members are aware, the committee took the drastic step of calling a Special General Meeting to remove Mr Burke as a member of the committee. As Chairman, I agonised over the decision for several weeks but eventually it became apparent that the only way to resolve an ongoing situation was to call on the members to adjudicate. Unfortunately, RQL issued a directive for us not to proceed with this course of action until after the results of the investigation, inspired by Mr Burke’s complaints to the Office of Racing, have been finalised. The committee will make any necessary decisions on this matter very soon after the new committee is confirmed.
At a meeting in October 2010 the committee unanimously decided to replace the club’s Catering sub-contractor and run our catering with internally employed staff. There were several reasons for our decision and we considered all aspects of this important area, and are sure we made the correct decision for the future of the club. Unfortunately the decision has resulted in litigation by the former caterer ( Wendy Blain Catering) who is seeking damages against the club for $260,000 and costs. Contrary to committee confidentiality, a copy of the Minutes of that October meeting has been given to Mrs Blain’s legal team. Investigations into this serious breach of committee confidentiality are continuing. Also, after Ms Blain threatened to commence litigation against the club, Neville Stewart provided a statement to Ms Blain’s legal team claiming that he gave Mrs Blain a verbal contract for a fixed term of 3 years. Mr Stewart’s statement has helped Mrs Blain’s case. This is an ongoing saga, and we will report to the members as the outcome becomes clearer.
It has become obvious over the past year that the club’s rules are out of date. The committee has therefore decided to propose to the members that the existing rules be replaced with a modern version which will better serve the club into the future.
I am sure 2011 will be a far easier year for the Committee. We have withstood everything which has been thrown at us and I am sure this has made us a strong and focused group who will serve the club well in the forthcoming year.
Regards
Bob Frappell
TTC Chairman of Committee
