Welcome to the Tigers' Den

March President's Message

Membership has its Privileges

Tigers, as you know, from time to time I intend to use this space to let you know what the various committees of our Board of Directors is up to.  This month, I'd like to feature one of the most critical committees we have: Membership.  Our Club is blessed to have an energetic, professional leader in the person of Gary Stempinski.  Gary's only been at work since January, but already his committee's hard work is paying off with significant membership growth.  Below is his report to the Membership:

As we start the new year 2010 for the first month and a half, the Suncoast Tiger Bay Club stood at 407 members, or a 10% increase (37 member) increase since the first of the year.  Why are we gaining members? Well, let me tell the reasons why I joined the club.  First, we are a unique group that invites political and business leaders to speak at our meetings.  I like the opportunity to meet these people face to face, get to know them, and learn about what's going on in my community.  Our luncheon meetings give members a special opportunity to make new friends and enjoy networking fun.  Membership also brings the privilege of questioning guest speakers with tough and insightful questions. Each meeting a member has the chance to win the Fang & Claw Award, the coveted growling stuffed tiger.  In fact, thanks to member participation and media coverage, the Suncoast Tiger Bay Club is well known for it's probing questions and is respected throughout the entire area. Most importantly, our members learn about pertinent issues and participate in making their community a better place to live.  Like any organization our strength comes from our members and member participation.  My committee is actively greeting guests who attend programs.  They also all carry with them the great marketing materials created by our Marketing Committee last year, and of course we are engaged in the work of contacting past members who have not enewed to encourage them to return to the Den.  This is the work which will continue to make our Club the best Tiger Bay in the State!  How can you as a member help?  Attend meetings regularly and invite guests!  There's no better recruitment tool than for our guests to see what an entertaining and informative time our events can be, and with the new, higher guest lunch fee, the benefits to simply joining are even more clear.  Keep your $75.00 annual.  And, of course, if you want to volunteer to work on my committee, just approach me at any event.  You can usually find me greeting guests at the beginning of our programs.  Let's make 2010 a record membership year!  As the old slogan notes: Membership has its Privileges!

See you in the Den! 

Rob Eschenfelder

President

What’s all this about a “Fang & Claw?”

Perhaps the most appealing benefit of membership is the ability to participate in Question & Answer sessions with our speakers. The coveted "Fang & Claw Award" is presented to the member at each meeting who "slashes through pretension and prevarication" with the toughest question of the day.

Tiger Bay Member and Largo Mayor Pat Gerard (R) won the Tiger at the February 23rd luncheon held at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club for asking Mayor Bill Foster (L) about recent gunfire at a recreation center and his concern for the children at this recreation center and in the neighborhood.