President's report

On behalf of the Board, I am pleased to submit to members for your approval the 64th Annual Report for the year ending 31st December 2021 of Wentworthville Leagues Club.

2021 has been another challenging year for us as a club with yet another prolonged government imposed Covid shutdown, this time for over 3 months, really testing our resolve and determination. Despite this longer shutdown and ongoing staff shortages the club still managed to deliver a $6m profit before tax, generate over $14m in cash from operations and reduce debt by $21m which is an overall outstanding result given the situation.

Our balance sheet remains strong with members funds continuing to grow, up by another $9m, to $134m, in total placing us in a very enviable position. The 2022 Annual General Meeting will be held on Sunday 22 May in the Blaxland Room, Level 1 Wenty Events at 10.00am and I look forward to seeing as many members as possible at this meeting where the Board and I will report on both our strong financial growth and further updates on the next exciting chapters for Wenty Leagues.

2022 will be a year of great celebration for our club as it is our 60th anniversary. From our humble beginnings of the first licensed club oping in March 1962, to a club now boasting over 70,000 Members and recently completing a $120million Master Plan. Wenty Leagues Club remains at the forefront of innovation, passion, and vision for what our members want to see from their club. We are proud of our long and consistent commitment to our community over the many decades. We look forward to celebrating this achievement, along with many Member Promotions and Events to mark our milestone anniversary.

I hope this is the last time that I ever have to mention Covid, but it would be remiss if me to report on 2021 without recapping what we have been through as a club, employer, and a community.

The second lock down came out of the blue when it was announced on Saturday 26 June by the then Premier Gladys Berejiklian again within hours we had to clear members from the club, clear the club of perishable stock, clean the premises in preparation for a closure without any idea of a reopening date and contact staff and inform them of the closure with the limited information we had. For 15 weeks we continually updated staff and members with the information received from the New South Wales government via electronic messaging in phone calls to make sure they knew that we were working hard to make sure they were OK, and we would be ready to open once the government lifted restrictions.

Once we were allowed to open on Monday 11 October we did so with heavy trade and density restrictions, but our members still returned in large numbers to show their continued support for the club. On behalf of the club, I want to thank the members for the patience and support for our staff thoughout this period.

To our staff members that have returned, we cannot thank you enough for all your hard work since the reopening as it is your hard work and dedication that makes Wenty Leagues the club we are.

To conclude, I would like to thank my fellow Board Members for the highly professional manner they conduct themselves as directors and their continued support and dedication to Wenty Leagues, throughout yet another incredibly challenging and demanding year. I also thank the management team, led by CEO Glenn Kovacs for their hard work throughout another Covid interrupted year and extend my thanks to the support of the families of the Board and Management Team for their understanding and patience in what has not been an easy time for all.

Finally, to you the members, a huge thank you for your support of our club. Your patience, understanding and above all your loyalty to our club has been unwavering. Without our members, there is no Wenty Leagues, so again our greatest appreciation.