We are extending the deadline for the payment of your membership dues until Sunday, March 14th. This is your FINAL opportunity to respond!

Loyalty, Generosity, and Hope are just some of the feelings we get when members respond to the annual payment of membership dues, especially this year. To those who have responded, we are grateful. To those who have not, please respond!

With a membership of 852, all but 113 have responded! The responses so far include 26 resignations for various reasons. We have also had 17 members pass away. Won't you please respond by March 14th? You snooze, you lose.

Payments made be made by cash, check, or credit card (Mastercard, Discover, Visa). You may mail them to the Club, drop your envelope with them in the mail slot at the front door, or e-mail them to gerry5vfa@yahoo.com or ziggyii@comcast.net.
Membership renewal forms were mailed to you and are also available at www.Gerry5.com/library under Member Documents.
Remember you have three options:
1- Pay your dues - you remain a member in good standing with all Club privileges
2 - Resign - A resignation lets you maintain good standing with the Club. When you decide you want to rejoin, you simply pay your dues to regain all Club privileges.
3 - No response - you will be "read out" and no longer a member in good standing, losing all Club privileges. In order to become a member in good standing again once "read out", you have to file an application with sponsors and go through the voting process again. You will also be charged the additional application fee.

Please let us hear from you!
A special thank you to those members who have include donations with their membership renewals. These are greatly appreciated and will be used as designated or in the area of greatest need if no designation.

Direct questions to Art Dodge @ 978-998-0441 or Kathy Tankersley Bernier @ 978-741-4712.
Thank you for your understanding!   

SPREAD THE WORD - Know a member who doesn't have email or use social media, please let them know that we are now OPEN!

 
Thank you to everyone who donated blood or helped organize the drive held on Feb 4th at the Gerry.

The American Red Cross reports 74 donors, 73 pints, and 5 first-time donors.
Thank you to Arlyne Campbell and Janet Brings  for coordinating the Drive.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!  

Next Drive at the Gerry is June 3rd
 

 
 

ANNOUNCEMENT

Effective January 2, 2021, we will welcome David Kasoff as our Treasurer. We will also say farewell to Dennis Nelson in this position.
Early 2020, Dennis informed the Board that he was resigning his appointment as Treasurer after nine years of faithful service at the end of the year. The Board started the search for an interested and qualified replacement. After months of searching and vetting, Dennis brought David to us as the most qualified party. The Board voted to appoint Dave as Treasurer starting in 2021 at the November 11th Board of Directors meeting.

Welcome aboard Dave!!
Dave is a long-time member and brings with him a wealth of financial knowledge and skills that are a perfect fit for the Gerry. The transition will be effective tomorrow (Jan 1, 2021).
Please welcome Dave to his new position.

THANK YOU DENNIS!
We must take this opportunity to thank Dennis for his service these past nine years. Through good times and bad, his shrewd financial skills and sage advice have kept us going and in the black. It hasn't been easy at times. We dealt with renovations to the Club, general maintenance (some of which bordered on major), investment management in our best interest, a major loss of revenue, and now the impact of the COVID-19 restrictions. Two little words don't seem like enough. If you see Dennis around the Club, thank him.

The following is the text from the thank you letter from the Marblehead Food Pantry for our 2020 Holiday Donation.

"On behalf of all of us t the Marblehead Food Pantry, I want to thank you so much for your thoughtfulness in again holding a Holiday Food Drive to benefit our Pantry and for the generosity and variety of the donations that were collected. The items were very helpful and most appreciated, as they helped re-fill our shelves after our busy holiday season.
These have been a challenging several months for our Pantry, with the pandemic's altering the way we distribute food to our clients, per Board of Health guidelines, and with the increase in numbers t our Pantry due to the resulting severe economic downturn. Last year around the Holidays we were seeing about 60 households per week, and it grew to 80-90 this year, either through their coming to us or through many home deliveries being made to those who can't get out. Yoou trully helped to make a difference in the lives of those in our community who are struggling during these difficult times.
With gratitude for your thoughtful, generous, and ongoing support, we wish you all a safe, healthy, and hopeful New Year.
Sincerely, Janet Fitch Parker, Food Pantry Director

A special thank you to Julie and Tom Cashman for organizing and coordinating this effort!  
 

 
 

Donations have been made in memory of those members and family members who has passed since March 2020. The list of recent passages with a short obituary are featured below in the Passages section.

REMINDER! The Sick Committee (Joan Champlin) makes a memorial donation for any member who passes. We also do so for a member's spouse, mother, father, or children. Please inform Joan Champlin of any passings that occur so we may make a donation from the Gerry to the decedent's chosen charity or to the Angel Fund.