Dear current, past & future Belden Club Seattle members,
I hope this email finds you well and prospering in the aftermath of a challenging few years, and I hope you’ll take a few moments to read below about the state of our club and our plans for the future.
If you’re familiar with our organization, you know it is a smaller, more intimate group of professionals from the real estate, construction, and design fields who enjoy the opportunity to converse with one another in a relaxed atmosphere. From lunch presentations with 30-40 fellow professionals, to tours of many of our region’s most notable projects, Belden Club Seattle is unique in its relatively small size while offering full-size events and activities. Additionally, our organization is comprised of a significant number of senior leaders in our industry, allowing all members to network and develop relationships with key decision makers.
You might also be aware that we’re a volunteer-run organization, and as such we occasionally are susceptible to events in which the volunteers’ professional lives take precedence over the Club; a pandemic would qualify as such an event. While the past two years have been challenging and resulted in a significant drop-off in Belden Club events, several current and past Belden Club officers have been meeting recently to outline a plan for re-engaging and resuming a full slate of events.
Beginning this month, Belden Club Seattle will resume our project tours, with one in October, and another in November, followed by a holiday social in December (dates/times forthcoming very shortly). As we move into 2023, we will begin a quarterly rotation of lunches (January), tours (February), and happy hours (March), and continue that rotation for the year, with the probable addition of a “day of service” and perhaps a summer social event. We believe that this slight tweak to our meeting cadence will help us resume activities, and provide predictability so we can better serve our members.
Regarding dues, considering the challenges of the past 2 years, we will not be charging anything for the upcoming 2022 events mentioned above. Further, we will not ask for 2023 dues until we have re-established some continuity in our operations; it is our expectation we will ask for 2023 dues to be paid by 3/31/2023. The amount has yet to be determined but will not be more than it has been in the past.
Wrapping up, I and the other past Belden Club officers who’ve been meeting lately sincerely hope you will join us for the upcoming events, and further, that you will invite others in your organization or field to attend with you. As a volunteer organization, part of our rebuilding/resumption of events needs to include finding the next group of potential Belden Club officers and leaders. Thank you and we look forward to seeing you soon!
Scott Lindley
2023 Belden Club President