A NOTE FROM JEFF Hello Rats!The end of year activities are soon upon us! Coming up we have the fall cleanup day, the AGM, and finally...the Holiday Party! (see more below) This will be my last year as Chief Rat, marking roughly 6 years of time on the board as both Body and Chief Rat. Unfortunately, I'm finding it difficult to find enough time to make it downtown as much as I would like (we bought our first house in Port Perry 2.5 years ago). It's been my honor to serve on the exec for Water Rats. Sailing offered me a world of friendship and opportunity and I am happy that I've done my best to ensure others can enjoy that same pleasure. It's been my pleasure to work with the rest of the board at rats, they are an incredible group, with many differing opinions but one thing in common, they all love the club. We've taken a number of steps to clean up, improve and modernize operations at rats. We have new lockers, new paddle racks, a beautifully painted deck with shade, a more secure and easier to manage lock system, a new power boat, new safety equipment (including a defibrillator), accessibility improvements to the beach area, a cleaner site (due to the cleanup/sale of 20+ derelict/unclaimed trailers and boats), and many more efforts behind the scenes.  On top of it all, it's great to see an increasingly active membership showing up to BBQ, regatta, group paddle and general events. Good job Rats!  There are a lot of great people that work hard to keep rats going strong, while I can't mention them all, I do want to highlight one such person individually. This person is always putting effort into the little things (and the big things) that aren't necessarily glamorous, but always necessary. Thank you Bruce, for the amount of care and effort you put into everything you do for rats.   Looking forward to seeing everyone at the AGM and Holiday Party.  Most of our exec is willing to run for another year, but as always, ALL positions are open to anyone who is nominated and receives the most votes. Below is a quick overview of the positions, everyone is planning to return unless noted otherwise. Shona - Paddle Rat Annette - Web Rat David - Paper Rat  Chris - Dinghy Rat Ray - Race Rat - Would happily step aside for someone else to step up, but would run again. Michael - Body Rat Walburga - Party Rat Gord - Money Rat  Norm Lamb - Past Rat Jeff - Chief Rat - Not planning to run again. If anyone would like to run for a position, and would like more information, or the opportunity to introduce themselves formally to the membership, please reach out so we can assist! FALL CLEANUP: DATE CHANGE Due to the unseasonably warm weather, we are pushing the date of our fall cleanup back by one week as the leaves have yet to fall from the trees. This will now happen on November 2 (rain date November 3). Please bring rakes and gloves. Check at the clubhouse for priority tasks.  We need 3-4 people with wet suits to go into the water to help take out the boat. We also need 10 volunteers for lunch prep. (2 to get groceries, 3 for kitchen prep, 3 to run the BBQ and 2 for clean up). Contact Barbara if you can help with the food preparation. AGM: NOVEMBER 17 Our AGM will be on November 17 at 2 pm. We’ll be meeting in person at the clubhouse. Please plan to attend if you are able. More to follow soon. BUY TICKETS TO OUR HOLIDAY PARTY NOV 30 Join us for some seasonal cheer! We'll have music, a buffet dinner, drinks and (maybe) Santa! The event will be held at The Keating Channel Bar and cost $49.50. Buy tickets here. AND DON’T FORGET… Remember to submit your volunteer hours by the end of the year. Please log them here on our website. MISSING A NEWSLETTER? Visit our website to get caught up on club news.