Hello to all in our Clearwater Beach community! The 2023 season is off to a great start after an unusually and unforgettably glorious Memorial Day weekend! And we have more good news to report:

BEACH EXPERIENCE:
First, we are delighted to announce that we will have lifeguards this season! Thanks to volunteer Jon Tarbet, we have a fine staff of youngsters. And our members Roey Ficaro, Nancy Labiner, Sooyoung Choi, and Doreen Green have volunteered to collaborate to supervise the lifeguarding squad, which will operate from a single lifeguard stand on the west beach.

Thanks to directors Fred Kleinsteuber, Kurt Miller, and Ken Neary, the beach displays a fresh covering of sand which we dredged from our channel last December; we have brand new swim ropes and buoys and a refurbished swim raft; and our vintage sun shed has been renovated. And the East Hampton Natural Resources Department has installed a protected area at mid-beach to nurture the piping plovers.

LAWN AND PLAY EXPERIENCE:
Thanks to director Michael Waltz, we have several new benches and picnic tables on the beach and along the fishing channel and a completely new set of picnic tables/ benches at the picnic area at the lawn.

Last summer’s innovation of a taco truck is now established with wide support, and you will see both Friday and Saturday taco service by different vendors. Thanks to volunteer Roey Ficaro, we will have twice-weekly yoga sessions and her periodic Women on Water (WoW) excursions. Some things need no improvement, so the ever-popular sunset-watching is simply left as is.

Volunteer Steve Sobel will again moderate his weekly Wednesday storytelling event as he has for the past four years. Seven people “telling” for seven minutes, and you’ve got an hour of midweek fun. This summer, we are excited to continue our educational and children’s programs. Please go to our website and check our mail chimp notification for these events.

MARINA EXPERIENCE:
Under the watchful eyes of Dockmaster Ken Neary, our marina shows our program of incremental seasonal replacement of pilings and landscaping touch-ups, and the electricity and water lines are checked and ready. Our boat slips are fully booked. This year more residents than ever have sought slips so, since they always get first choice, we have fewer sponsored boats. Nearly all of our paddle craft racks are rented.

COMMUNITY EXPERIENCE:
Our long-time editor of our seasonal newsletter and other communications, Gerry Giliberti, recently retired from the Board of Directors. We thank him very much for his many years of generous and fine service.
Our director Scott Sassoon promptly stepped up to take on that role, plus Scott has now expanded it significantly by substantially upgrading our website as a user experience, with digital communications and member surveys, and most recently converting our annual election process to digital.

Volunteer Roey Ficaro has now set up a Facebook page for Clearwater Beach. Please feel free to jump in and share news and events, and commentary about your experience. And while perusing this newsletter, you will note the delicious and easy recipes from our volunteer Phyllis Italiano.

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION:
We thank directors Rebecca Gordon and Scott Sassoon for launching a process to convert our financial administration to digital and online for bookkeeping, invoicing, payments, reporting, and the like. Under our long-time Treasurer and director, Edith Holmer, we expect this conversion to take place by this Fall.

OUR ANNUAL MEETING OF THE MEMBERSHIP:
Our Annual Meeting will be held on Saturday, July 29, at 10:00 a.m., at Springs Elementary School. There the membership will vote to elect eight Directors and vote to decide the inflation-compelled proposal for a membership vote to raise membership fees to $380 per year per residence from the present $330 per year.