Dear Conestoga Members:
This is my first time writing to you as the newly elected President of Conestoga Country Club. I am honored in the confidence the Board of Governors (BOG) has placed in me by electing me to the position, and I am excited to be joined on the Executive Committee by Brian Donnelly (Vice President), Wes Kelso (Secretary) and Don Mowery (Treasurer). I want to thank Brian Lois and the rest of the retiring BOG members for their significant contributions to the club over the past six years. I would not be exaggerating if I said that without their leadership during a difficult period in the club’s history, the club as we know it may no longer exist! However, they left the club with a solid foundation, so the current BOG can continue to build on their success.
Before I discuss my plans for the coming year, I want to let you know about the success of our recent three-day Member-Guest. The three-day has always been the highlight of the men’s golf season, and this year’s event was truly outstanding. All I heard from the many participants was how incredible the entire experience was, from the golf course to the food to the outstanding service. To say I was incredibly proud of the golf course and the CCC employees who made this a first-class event would be an understatement! Thanks to Matt Turner and his team, the golf course never looked and played better. Robert Leeman and his golf operations team made the event run smoothly, and the food prepared by Christian Kellner and his team was delicious. The F&B team, led by Lyndsie Kulzer and Bob Williams, made sure the players remained well hydrated! All of this was quarterbacked by our GM, Jon Gehman, with the assistance of Meghan Wolf. I also want to recognize the Three-Day Committee of Jeff Gingerich, Zach Caruso, Chris Miller, Rodney Anderson, and Tom Perella for their leadership and hard work. Thank you to everyone who made this event an incredible success! Finally, congratulations to Brett Rote and Conner Sheehan for winning the tournament in a sudden death chip-off!
Getting back to our plans for this year, the main goals of the previous BOG were to improve the club’s financial outlook by increasing membership and making continuous incremental improvements to the membership experience at the club. I think we can all agree that they met and exceeded these goals. Because of their success, the new BOG can focus on more strategic goals, while continuing to attract new members and improving the membership experience.
Despite the investments and improvements over the past few years, the club is still facing many issues because of years of deferred maintenance. The A/C units are all past their useful lives and the kitchen needs new equipment. Last year, we spent over $20,000 on a new pool pump and electrical system, but as anyone who has owned a pool knows, a pool needs constant maintenance, especially when it gets heavy use like our pool does. While
we have invested significantly in new equipment for the golf course, there is other equipment that needs replacing so Matt can continue to maintain the golf course at the level that we have come to expect. Finally, we must address course infrastructure items, like the long-discussed irrigation system project and the deteriorating cart paths.
Earlier this year, Cathy Bonser, Don Mowery, and I worked with Jon Gehman on a five-year budget outline that addresses these issues, which was subsequently approved by the BOG. This budget is the beginning of the process, and the current BOG will continue to build on it over the coming year. To that end, I have asked each BOG member to work with their respective committees to help assemble a list of capital and non-capital improvements they would like the club to make in the coming years. I also am asking the membership to provide us with their ideas of what improvements they think should be made to the club. This list will be compiled by Cathy Bonser, who is chair of the BOG’s strategic planning committee, and the BOG will review and discuss the merits of the various projects with the goal of coming to the membership at a special meeting this fall with a proposed strategic plan and the cost of such plan. I know there has been chatter out there about an assessment, but until we go through the process and decide on the scope of a plan, it is not possible to determine the amount of an assessment. I am happy to report that we have received the first $175,000 ERC payment from the IRS, and we expect to receive another $375,000 over the coming months. We have put this money into a separate bank account to be used for capital projects. In addition, all future ERC payments and initiation fees from new members will be deposited into this account, which should be a good start in building a nest egg for future improvements.
There are many other goals I have for the coming year, including improving the club’s financial transparency for the membership and developing a long-term plan to address our debt with Fulton Bank. I also want to continue improving communication between the BOG and the membership, including having periodic BOG – Member Happy Hours, where the BOG can informally discuss our plans with the membership and get your feedback in real time. I will discuss these goals at a later date. In the meantime, please feel free to reach out to me if you have any suggestions or concerns.
Our next big event is our annual fireworks party on June 29th, which is always a fun time. I am looking forward to seeing everyone around the club this summer!
Best,
Chris
