Cabin Fever
In Minnesota there is a saying called “cabin fever” which is used when a long spell of bad weather has left everyone frustrated with the fact that they can’t get out and do all the things they love doing. The longer it lasts, the more the cabin environment can take a turn for the worse as well. This year I believe there is a little cabin fever at the FFGCC waiting for warm golf weather. While there has been very little outdoor activity, the good news is that the club has had many great events and gatherings in the cabin. I hope you had a chance to enjoy many of them.
Since the last newsletter the new BOD has been installed.
First I want to thank the three departing board members; Nikki Vivacqua(Hunt), Jan Fontana and Nate Perkins for all the time and hard work they put in during their three years on the board. The club has accomplished many things during this period that would not have come to pass without their efforts.
The new BOD has also been very active during this time and I want to share who they are, and some of what we have been working so far this year. Returning members are Jim Horras, Steve Juskewycz, Jen Osby, Bob Greco, Nate Weaton and myself, Dan Sullivan. New members are Lucas Helling, Cory Larson and Tai Ward.
I will serve as president and chair of the membership committee. It’s a great honor to take the reins from Jim Horras who led the club as president the last two years. During that time the club has made tremendous progress under Jim’s leadership. Membership is critical for the survival of the club. Jim and with the assistance of Steve Juskewycz have increased our membership to over 200. To continue this momentum I have reached out to several of you to officially participate on the committee, but encourage everyone to always be sharing the many reasons to become a member of our club. We are planning a “meet and greet” for prospective new members on May 1st at 5:30. Please come and bring as many potential new members as you can.
Bob Greco is the treasurer again this year. Bob has lead the way organizing and simplifying our billing process. When fully implemented, this will save the club significantly on our costs in this area. We appreciate your flexibility while we are making these changes.
Nate Weaton will again serve as vice president and assist on several of the committees including house, facilities and membership.
Jen Osby will repeat as both club secretary and chair of the social committee. She did such a great job at both last year we couldn’t possibly replace her. Her teams organized many enjoyable and successful events last year and have already had several this year. She also has a full calendar set for the balance of the year. Highlighting this year will be our Food and Wine event scheduled for May 17th. This will include food and wine pairings by several of our member chefs. The evening will culminate with both a live and silent auction of many great items. The last Food and Wine event raised more the $70,000 for the club, and based on the items already committed we hope to repeat that number. Make sure you don’t miss this great event. You can check out all our events on our new web site www.fgacc.com and, more importantly, come and join in the fun.
Jim Horras, who lead our club for the last two years as president will take over as chair of the golf committee. He too has laid out a complete calendar of events for the summer, too many to list here. See the attached info or check out the 2014 Golf Schedule.
Steve Juskewycz will continue as chair of the house committee. Steve has successfully headed this the last few years during which both our food and wine menu have become the talk of the town. Steve has not limited his commitment to just the house, but has also been a leader in membership drive and the website redo.
Cory Larson will be in charge of facilities. There has been much discussion around what has been called “the vision” for the future of the club. The thought here is to envision what we desire our club to look like when completed, and then create the wish list needed to make this a reality and prioritize the implementation. Some of the major items talked about are creating a dining experience in addition to the 19th hole. Many have pointed out that while the 19th hole is the center of energy it’s not always the ideal dining environment. With Adam, we have one of the best chefs in the area to showcase, and a desire to have more ways to display his skills. To attract more functions and events, we plan to refurbish the great hall and add a patio overlooking the course to expand the capacity for major events.
Larry, Wendy and Ella Bentler, in honor and memory of Larry’s parents, LeRoy and Jerry, have committed to make the patio a reality. Not only are they leading the design and coordinating all the work, they are donating the entire cost of the project. This work has already begun and will be completed in time for the Food and Wine event. Make sure you thank them for their generous gift.
Lucas Helling will oversee the pool. The pool has been very active in drawing many new young families to become members since the public pool closed. We look forward to further expanding the membership of this group.
Last and certainly not least is Tai Ward. Due to his background we have created a new committee; I.T/Social Media. While you may not have noticed the updating of our computer and software systems you should have noticed the new website. Steve Juskewycz had been working on this already for several months and had laid the foundation for what we believe will be one of our major ways of communication to our members and the Fairfield community.
Warm Regards,
Dan Sullivan
President
Fairfield Golf & Country Club
www.fgacc.com
612-865-1906 (cell)
dsullivan@cir2.com