PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE | DAVID WILKS
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
David E. Wilks - President Adam G. Landis - Vice President David D. Wilkinson - Treasurer Thomas A. Beck - Secretary
In case you missed it, the below was sent by email to the entire membership on October 29, 2025. This is the culmination of an enormous amount of time and effort expended by your fellow members and our talented staff. All of them have my deep gratitude for their dedication and creativity in serving our club. All best wishes to everyone for a very Happy Thanksgiving!
CLASS OF 2025 Thomas A. Beck Robert W. Friz Lisa A. Schmidt Meghan A. Adams Stephen J. Crifasi, Jr. Andrew J. Podolsky Becky Allen George “Tripp” Way, III CLASS OF 2026 Rachel W. Heinle Douglas D. Herrmann Jennifer J. Hopkins Pamela S. Tikellis James R. Selsor Jr. David D. Wilkinson Jeffrey Ciconte Deborah J. Pittenger Honorary Directors Gary W. Ferguson Melissa Riegel Advisory Directors Joseph F. Hacker, III Allen M. Terrell, Jr. John F. Porter, III
To the Members of Wilmington Country Club:
My friends, we have concluded our investigation and resolution of two consequential undertakings in the history of our wonderful club. On October 15, 2025, the Executive Committee met and unanimously recommended that the Board should approve the replacement of our property-wide irrigation system, but that the Board should table further consideration of a renovation of our North Course. Last night, the Board of Directors met and discussed the path forward and unanimously approved the irrigation project at a cost not to exceed $11 million. The Board took no action on the North Course project and that undertaking is no longer under consideration. Over the last year and a half, both of these projects have been on your radar, communicated primarily by way of messages in the Club’s monthly Bulletin. Dozens of you have reached out to me both in support and in opposition to the North Course renovation. The Board and I are sympathetic to those of you who expressed enthusiastic support for the North Course project. We agree that the plans were exciting and would build on the Club’s long tradition of premier golfing excellence. The time, unfortunately, does not seem right for such a costly undertaking under our current circumstances. Why not? Some history and some current realities will help explain how we came to this conclusion. In 2008, the Club performed extensive renovations on the South Course. Leadership was advised and immediately recognized that when our irrigation system was ready for replacement, the North Course would be in acute need of a renovation of its own. By 2016, the Board considered a written document that recognized that, “When evaluating the status of the North Course, every component that is essential to a quality golf course has challenges.” The estimated cost of that renovation was estimated at that time to be approximately $10 million. Four years later, in 2020, the Board voted to engage Andrew Green to prepare a design for the North Course. Over the ensuing five years, a large number of your fellow members worked with Mr. Green and others to devise a plan that addresses the course’s shortcomings, while creating a golf experience that is fun and approachable for high handicappers and challenging and interesting for low handicappers. On the sixth iteration, Mr. Green came up with a design that fit the bill. Pricing work followed and a reliable estimate was achieved.
1
Made with FlippingBook - PDF hosting