The Graduates of Santa Barbara Newcomers

Description and History

Updated February, 2012

 

 

March 13, 2012 is The Graduates’ tenth-year anniversary!

 

In the beginning:

 

We formed a private club at an initial meeting of fourteen graduating Santa Barbara Newcomers Club members on March 13, 2002. At that time there were also some thirty other persons who had expressed interest in such a club but could not attend the meeting. Decisions taken at the meeting included:

 

  • Club name: The Graduates
  • Mission statement:
    • To continue and extend friendships begun in the Santa Barbara Newcomers Club,
    • To continue to explore the cultural, educational, recreational and charitable opportunities in our environment, and
    • To grow in good fellowship, good citizenship and good fun!
  • Basic operating concept:
    • A volunteer organization with no paid employees
    • Informal organization with as few rules and regulations as practical
    • Membership open to those who have graduated from the Santa Barbara Newcomers Club
    • Governance by Board; annual elections, monthly board meetings
    • Communications principally by electronic means, not by paper
    • A member’s work on one activity per year results in eligibility for next-year membership

 

There has been some evolution in the details of Club operation since the beginning, but in general the mission and intent remain unchanged. Membership numbers have been most gratifying, offering evidence that The Graduates serves beneficial purposes for multiple “generations” of former Newcomers. 

 

Members at the end of:

                                                 2002    116                  2006    203                  2010    260

                                     2003    143                  2007    205                  2011    260  

                         2004    189                  2008    249                  2012    189 (Feb 1)

                                                 2005    234                  2009    251     

 

Communication and Newsletter:

 

Communication is by electronic means, although U.S. Mail will be arranged for members without electronic mail. Events are announced on the Graduates web page www.thegraduates.org and by announcements sent to the membership by the Board Membership chair. 

 

A member listing is placed in the members-only section of the web page to facilitate communication among members. Broad-scale announcements should be sent to ellen@thegraduates.org for distribution so that club spam can be minimized.

 

 

Events:

 

Each member is expected to participate in the creation or operation of at least one event per year to qualify for membership in the following year.

 

Events are open to member couples and singles, although event location restrictions may limit the number of attendees. In such cases a first-come, first-served reservation policy is followed, with a wait-list to allow for possible cancellations.

 

Events can be any legal group activity, either for Graduates only or in cooperation with SB Newcomers or other organizations. Members or groups of members are encouraged to propose unique and interesting events and to prepare a written description for use in e-mail announcements and web posting. These are scheduled on the master calendar through discussion with the Board’s Event Coordinator(s). 

 

See the web page www.thegraduates.org and the Scrapbook tab for the history of events to date. The Club has posted hundreds of events since its formation – over 50 in 2011 through September! In addition to these past-event records which provide ideas for future activities, the web page has forms to give guidance in organizing and reporting events. 

 

Most events are originated by Club members, but several larger events are initiated by the Board each year. Past examples are the Holiday Dinner Dance, Great Gatsby Dress-All-In-White Garden Party, Summer Solstice Party, Cinco de Mayo, Graduates Camp-Out and others. These events are planned so that a large proportion of Club members may attend. Live music, refreshments and food are often included in the planning. Some subsidy is often provided with Board approval, to reduce event cost per member and provide for music or other entertainment.

 

Most events are planned as break-even activities, generally with a small charge to members to cover supplies replenishment, water/soft drinks, and a gift for the host when the event is in a private home. Often, bring an appetizer or bring your own wine are part of the event, which shares food and drink costs among members who actually attend the event.

 

For the larger events, or one where the organizer desires Club sponsorship of a special feature such as live music or special food, the Board Event Coordinators must be involved at the earliest possible stage so that expenditures may be approved and lead-times accommodated. 

 

The Club has a drink responsibly policy. We recognize that our location in wine country fosters an interest and taste for good wine, and it is often available at our events. When the Club sponsors wine, we will issue drink tickets to attendees in order to control the consumption of alcohol. We will always serve food with the wine. In these ways we try to raise safety-consciousness and avoid over-consumption.

 

Finances:

 

The Graduates Treasurer maintains one account, in the name of The Graduates, which has several components. All expenditures from the account require receipts, plus approval of appropriate Board representative(s).

 

During the first few years, the Club built a reserve fund of about two years’ dues per member. In recent years, the growth of this fund has been slowed, principally by board-approved entertainment expenditures for major events. Today the fund grows as membership dues are collected, and shrinks as expenses are accrued. Overall, it grows at a rate similar to the increase in cost of the items the Club purchases during the year.

 

 The intent of the account is to:

·        Buffer the Club from natural variations in profit or loss from the individual events 

·        Permit club-subsidized value-added features such as live music, valet parking, or special food or drink at major events

·        Permit early payment of deposits for space or entertainment

·        Provide for other club-wide expenses

Account Income:

·        Dues per member individual per year

·        Graduates events which result in a profit

Account Expenses:

·        Graduate events which result in a loss

·        Maintenance of a stock of supplies for repeating events (e.g. socials)

·        Club-wide fixed expenses such as web page and domain costs, mailings

·        Club sponsorship or subsidy of major events

·        Reimbursement for “Graduates Care” supplies and mailing

·        Club liability insurance

·        Emergencies

 

Finally:

 

There are some necessary formalities in any group our size, to assure fairness of opportunity for size-limited events and to insure that income and expenses are handled properly. But The Graduates Board seeks to operate our private club with a minimum of red tape. Part of our mission, after all, is to Have Fun! 

 

The Graduates is governed by its Board, but its life blood is the positive attitudes of the members and their interest in planning and participating in the club’s activities.

 

We have been successful since 2002, and perhaps that is due to our highly diverse membership for which The Graduates serves a common purpose. The Club’s founders, nearly all of whom remain members today, are deeply pleased at the Club’s success and to see the friendships and fun which surround the informative, entertaining and worth-while events organized by members of The Graduates.