Hi Vista Friends,
We are proud to announce the start of a new eating group called “Fine Dining”. There is a detailed article about the new venture a little further on in this newsletter. (page 6) Possibly on a quarterly basis we will eat at an upscale restaurant (with prices to match) somewhere in northern San Diego county. This dining experience may be a lunch, brunch or dinner depending on the hostess’s preference. Spouses and significant others are welcome to join us. Our aim is to have an exceptional meal with exceptional service and ambiance and enjoy it with our Vista Friends.
On a very different note, We need to share with you what a difficult process it was recently as we struggled to establish a 2017/2018 operating budget. It is no surprise that, for a variety of reasons, our membership continues to decline which means, in turn, our operating revenue is diminished. We have had to make a couple of very, very difficult decisions just to make ends meet in the coming year.
We are taking just under $1,000 from our checking account and applying it to the operating budget. Wehave never had to do this before and it diminishes our liquidity cushion, but the unacceptable alternative was to reduce some of the things we enjoy most in our group.
Secondly, we will be charging a separate annual fee to those who receive the newsletter by mail. We understand that some of you do not own a computer while others of you do not wish to print out the newsletter using your own paper and ink. The painful reality is that Vista Friends can no long afford to carry this cost for these members. We know some of you are thinking you dues must cover this cost, but the sad fact is that none of this cost is covered by dues and members who receive the newsletter electronically are actually carrying the paper newsletter cost which benefits only about 15% of our membership. Annually the cost for each member receiving a paper copy of the newsletter is $33. The board and the budget committee have tried to look at this from many different ways but it always boiled down to making this difficult decision. At the August coffee the board will welcome your input and then at the August board meeting a decision will be made concerning the specifics of this new assessment.
We wish we had better financial news but the plain fact is without making these hard choices the ongoing viability of Vista Friends and Newcomers is at stake.
With kindest regards, Janet & Trudy