To Our Fellow Members:
Your Board of Directors would like every member to read our letter. Not out of respect for our volunteer work. Rather, out of interest in our business; from a place of love for our institution; out of a desire for community through our membership-driven organization.
Forward this letter to your spouse, parents and friends. We hold communication as a valuable asset to this club.
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In 1961, a handful of neighbors established The Swimming Hole with an obligation to create a sanctuary for family-oriented fun and a pragmatic approach to amenity. For over 60 years, our mission has been to provide a safe, simple, and nostalgic experience that remains respectful of our neighbors in the heart of Davidson.
As we enter the 2026 season, we are mindful that core beliefs—simplicity, affordability, and fellowship—are easily taken for granted. Our mission is to protect core beliefs and execute our stated mission, carrying the responsibility to perpetuate the success of the organization for generations to come.
Over the past several years, we have built new facilities and infrastructure. We have changed our structure with new board members who recognize that we are both a neighborhood pool at heart, and a corporation by necessity. To sustain our character, we must manage our club with the discipline of a modern business, and we believe we are well on our way.
Board Accountability
The complexity of our modern facility and its financial obligations requires a new era of service and accountability. In our 2025 communication, we spoke about the generational responsibility we share to ensure the pool remains a cornerstone of our neighborhood. We are not only providing strategic oversight. Each of us is now asked to be responsible for a specific piece of our business.
Each is now focused on specific operating goals—from managing vendor performance to driving robust seasonal programs. We want the volunteer hours we—and members like you—give to directly translate into increased membership value and a superior experience.
Responsibility of Membership
We have built a new pool facility. We all reimagined it together. We rebuilt it. Now what?
As we look toward the 2026 season, we believe the reimagining has just begun! Now is time for members to realize the power of 500+ families in our Town collectively shifting perspective on what it means to be a member of The Swimming Hole. Reimagining that requires your initiative.
You are vital in this collective shift on what it means to be a member-owner. Unlike a country club, where dues are paid in exchange for being served, The Swimming Hole is a member-governed organization built on a different covenant. At a country club, one might ask, ‘What is being done for me?’ At The Swimming Hole, our mission calls us to ask, ‘How can I serve?’
The “Active Club” Initiative
Your board is composed of volunteers managing the business of our corporation. The fellowship and increased activity that make our community stronger both depend on you, the member.
We need members to move beyond the sidelines and help form committees—specifically in pool activities, concessions, and social planning. For our club to remain affordable, membership must view their dues as the beginning of their commitment, not the end of it.
More specifics on finances later in the letter, but in a nut shell: Every member needs to understand that, as with any club, dues remain affordable for all as revenues through activities leverage fixed service costs.
We are seeking members to lead and participate in “opt-in” activities that drive community engagement:
- Programs: Expanding our Swim Team and Masters Swim.
- Concessions: Food & beverage service i.e. snacks, chilled waters/sodas and frozen treats
- Merchandise: Branding our institution with swag and merchandise offerings.
- Socials: Off-season events to create a vibrant, year-round community.
You are encouraged to reach out and serve as much or as little as you wish on a committee with us. Reach out at activities@swimminghole.club
Just remember, we need actual help executing; not simply more ideas and suggestions from the sidelines.
Professional Administrative Support
For the last several years, we promised an increasingly modernized administrative effort to support operations. We have now fulfilled that promise. We have engaged professional third-party administrative support; moving beyond tribal knowledge; adopting professional standard operating procedures that serve inevitable board succession; integrating technology into our daily operations. Here are the results we hope you see so far:
- Consistent Communication: Timely and professional responses to member inquiries, and a predictable cadence to website posts with email alerts has improved communication. We respectfully limit how often we fill your inbox, and with new volunteers serving in this area, we plan to finally expand into social media where members can choose their preferred level of engagement.
- Operational Continuity: A digital infrastructure that remains stable and transparent ensures the administrative tracks are laid so that future board members can focus on strategy rather than paperwork.
- Efficient Processes: Streamlined systems for billing, waitlist management, membership data, and more allow the club to function smoothly year-round.
Fiscal Responsibility & Debt Management
The Reimagine Project was the defining story of 2025—not just operationally, but financially as well. Following the capital assessment approved by membership in late 2023 and collected in 2024, a critical $1M+ investment in our property encompassing construction, architecture, engineering and site work began to improve our facilities and property in ways that will benefit members for decades to come. To fund the project and mitigate the one-time member assessment, we secured an $850,000 term loan with a 60-month tenure.
We continue to work with project vendors on contractual closeout and final projects and payments. We remain fully committed to ensuring membership receives the capital improvements in alignment with the investment asked of members, holding all parties accountable.
Stripping away one-time capital items—the 2024 assessment and initiation fees viewed as member capital contributions rather than operating income—the club’s underlying operating revenues from dues covered our core operating costs, primarily pool management. However, our business generated a net loss after depreciation and interest expense on the new loan.
As of December 31, 2025, the Swimming Hole held $351,000 in cash serving as a reserve as we complete the final phases of the capital improvement project and the vendor closeout process.
Looking ahead, we have prepared a three-year financial plan through 2028 based on stable membership sizing of 350, annual dues unchanged, and approximately 5% annual expense growth reflecting cost inflation. After final phase expenses to complete the capital project further reduce cash, additional revenue is forecasted to replenish.
As mentioned earlier, added activities programs are an important component to the forecasted revenues offsetting what would otherwise be a projected decline in cash each year as flat dues revenue is outpaced by rising expenses and debt service.
We believe the trajectory of liquidity is manageable and expected, but this will require continued stewardship and significant member participation in activities and services. We remain focused on prudent risk management and vendor costs, but importantly, we are seeking opportunities to improve free-cash flow through the programs and activities that simultaneously enhance membership value.
Now that we have a new facility, “reimagining” how programs and activities drive participation and a thriving community of members is how we steward the healthy and sustainable financial state our organization had not secured in the past. Dues should remain affordable if revenue from activity offsets costs. Capital planning for the future is now a part of the annual budgeting process, as opposed to dependence upon periodic member assessments. We remain committed to full transparency and welcome membership interactions with any financial questions or concerns.
The Board has released our 2025 Financial Statements to provide members with a transparent view of The Swimming Hole’s financial position and operating performance.
Closing
The Swimming Hole is a legacy worth protecting. May we never again allow our property or facilities to fall into disrepair. This leads to declining membership activity, which leads to declining revenues while costs continue to rise.
By completing our capital project, adding programs and activities that enhance the member experience, professionalizing our administration, and focusing on fiscal health, we are ensuring our mission and core beliefs continue to provide the simple joys of a summer afternoon.
We thank you for your continued support, your patience, and your shared commitment to this 60+ year tradition. We invite you to volunteer on a committee and become a more active member.
Board of Directors
Swimming Hole, Inc.
