By Fred Heinecke
The annual OCWS business meeting is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 11at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom. All members are invited and this is a great opportunity to hear from the board members and committee chairs on the state of the organization.
The Board of Directors candidates will have the opportunity to speak about their qualifications and goals. Please sign-up on the website and plan on attending.
We have had another successful year at The Courtyard at the Orange County Fair. Although wine sales were down year-over-year mainly due to slow concert ticket sales and extremely hot weather, The Courtyard is still, by far, the largest fundraiser for our organization.
I am still overwhelmed by the numbers of dedicated volunteers who fill every shift, fight the parking and the crowds to work, only for the satisfaction of helping the OCWS meet its goals. The final accounting numbers are not yet in, but I expect to have a good idea for the Business Meeting.
Our 50th year seems to be melting away and this is my penultimate President’s Message. It is the right time to begin thanking some of the hard-working folks who have made the Orange County Wine Society run so smoothly and successfully over the past 11 months.
First of all, it has been a truly great honor for me to serve as your president and I want to start by thanking the board for their hard work and giving me this opportunity.
Vice-President Fran Gitsham has been a thread who connects the entire organization together. Fran is the chair of the Commercial Competition, a supervising member of the Courtyard Committee and a wealth of knowledge. I want to thank her for offering support and being a great sounding board.
Thanks to Treasurer Linda Flemins for being a crucial watchdog of the OCWS finances. She has managed our cash reserves to ensure the best returns. Linda spent an inordinate amount of time dealing with our difficult insurance issues and navigated it very successfully.
Secretary Carolyn Christian not only kept our records, but, as chair, has dedicated a great deal of time to making sure the 50th Anniversary celebration has been a resounding success. Carolyn uses her chairmanship of the Marketing Committee to make sure the OCWS is cast in a shining light on many media platforms. Many thanks for all of her efforts.
Thank you to the five other board members who do so much to make the OCWS the great organization that it is. Sue England, Chair of the Photography Committee, always steps up to fill any need. CL Keedy makes the Winery Program run smoothly and represented OCWS with flair on ABC News. John Lane makes the cataloguing system work and liaisons with the home wine group. Daniel Vlahovic puts together wonderful outings and puts in much time at The Courtyard. Don Mayer coordinates hundreds of attendees to the very, very popular Mini-Tastings.
This is only a sample of the efforts by the OCWS board members. Everyone does more than I have space to list. Thanks again to all of them and more next month.