For everyone who couldn't make it to Saturday's general meeting, here's a straightforward recap of what we covered.
What TPL Social Club Actually Is
Before getting into the recap, it's worth pausing on this, because we know it still confuses people. TPL Social Club is a separate Maine nonprofit, distinct from the lodge itself. Its whole purpose is to preserve and support the culture, the facilities, the wilderness, and the community of Twin Ponds Lodge. It's the thing that funds projects like the Campers Kitchen and this year's lawn chairs and bier garden furniture, and it's the thing behind a lot of the programming you experience when you're here. Everyone signs off on this in the membership agreement when they join, but let's be honest, that's usually the moment before someone's actually part of this place, and a lot of it goes right over their heads at the time. So consider this the version that actually sinks in: this club exists because this community is worth protecting on purpose, not just enjoying by accident.
That matters this weekend in particular, because Anniversary Weekend isn't just about Roberto and I taking over the lodge back in 2022. That same day, July 17, 2022, is also the day TPL Social Club came into existence. So this was the club's fourth birthday as much as it was ours.
State of the Club
We've had 313 new members join TPL Social Club this year. Last year's fundraising push finished out the Campers Kitchen project, and this year we're focused on a new goal.
Money Talk
Our fundraising goal for the season is $10,000, going toward new lawn chairs and furniture for the Bier Garden, Twin Ponds Lodge is paying for and installing new shade structures. Before this weekend we were sitting around $5,600. The silent auction alone brought in another $2,000 over the weekend, which puts us close to 80% of the way to goal. We'll keep the updates coming as the season continues.
The Vote
We put one item to the membership for a vote: adding a designated outdoor smoking and drinking area, already approved by our liquor licensing board. It passed unanimously.
Community Standards
We took a few minutes to go back over the basics of how this place works. The First Commandment: don't be a cunt, respect everyone's privacy, respect everyone's boundaries, be kind. We don't run on a long list of rules — we run on trust, and on removing people who can't meet that basic standard rather than writing new rules for everyone else.
Mr. TPL
Saturday night we crowned this year's Mr. TPL. All three candidates brought it, and it was a genuinely close race — the votes were spread nearly evenly across all three, and Paul B.'s win came down to just a handful of votes.
One of this year's candidates, Maverick, is a trans man. We've got a number of trans members here, trans men are men, they qualify for membership like anyone else, and around here they're not "trans members," they're just members, equal to everybody else. What we will say is that we loved watching Maverick feel comfortable enough to put himself out there, run a real campaign, and go for it. He earned a strong showing of votes right alongside the other two.
Congrats to Paul B. on the win, and a genuine thank you to all three candidates for running, for making the whole thing fun, and for being good sports about it from start to finish.
That's the recap. If you were there Saturday, thanks for showing up and participating. If you weren't, we hope to see you at the next one.
