PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE | DAVID WILKS
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Thanks very much to all of you who have reached out individually and in groups to express questions, concerns and ideas about the project that you have read about since last Spring. Your interest in and concern for the Club are much appreciated. Given the attention that the whole idea has generated, this seems like a good time to review the manner in which capital projects large and small are devised, vetted, considered and approved. I can then show you where the irrigation and North Course ideas stand in that process. Almost every improvement that the Club does is approved by the Board, but originates as an idea at the committee level. We have eight standing committees: Golf; Grounds; Racquets, Swim & Fitness; Finance; House; Personnel; Membership; and Membership Development. Each is chaired by a member of the Board’s Executive Committee. Anyone can serve on a committee and I encourage you to volunteer on a committee of your choice. It is interesting work and you can make a real difference at the Club. Your ideas will be heard and discussed and many will be implemented. Once a committee feels that a project or initiative is worth pursuing, it is then elevated to the Executive Committee. But for larger projects, the Executive Committee does not immediately take definitive action. A lot of homework, research and consultation happen first. For example, the new tennis building was under discussion for years before it was put to a vote. Figuring out where it should go, what it should look like, whether we need it, whether anyone will use it -- all that was labored over while determining how much it would cost. And then there was a process for getting approval from the Executive Committee and, ultimately, the Board. A lot of plans and drawings wound up in the trash can before the Club settled on the wonderful facility we now have. All that took several years. Same thing with the kitchen overhaul, the clubhouse renovation and every other big improvement we have made. It is not an accident that our Club is so fantastic. That brings us to the work that is now under consideration. Our Grounds Department and Grounds Committee identified a looming problem with our irrigation system long before Mr. Urbanski took the reins. You will remember that our system serves the entire property: both golf courses, all the tennis courts and everything around the clubhouse. It is one unified system and when you replace part of it, you must replace all of it. Our system has outlived its expected life by a long way and its manufacturer is out of business. Replacement components only become available when other clubs replace their systems. Our system will simply not last much longer, so we have to replace it. These systems are not off-the-shelf products, of course. Ours must be designed for the unique needs of our facility, which is beyond the expertise of anyone on our staff or in our membership. We have, therefore, engaged the foremost consultant in the business, Paul Roche, to help us select and customize the right system for us. Paul does not sell irrigation systems, so he has no skin in the game. We pay him for his independent advice. His work is ongoing and we have not yet settled on exactly what is best for our Club in terms of both cost and effectiveness. Parallel to that work, many of our members, including past presidents, have long believed that the North Course needs some work. Number 18 is not what it should be. The tenth green is a terror. The cart paths are not what they should be at a Club of our stature. The list goes on and has been catalogued here before. That being the case, the thinking was that if we are putting in a new irrigation system, should we not consider updating the North Course at the same time so that we don’t have to come back and re-configure the irrigation system sometime down the road? It made perfect sense to look into what that would entail. So, we engaged Andrew Green, another professional at the top of his game, to show us what the North Course could be if he were to breathe new life into it, while making it accessible and enjoyable for every golfer at every skill level. We formed ad hoc committees to work with Andrew through all his ideas. While the concept has been discussed over several presidencies, this process got underway during President Riegel’s leadership. And she started it off the right way. Her initial committee did its job well and sent Andrew back to the drawing board over and over when his designs did not seem to make improvements commensurate with their expected cost and disruption to the Club. One design, as you know, involved our leasing property from Winterthur. We ultimately rejected that idea, because we were uncomfortable saddling the Club with the associated evergreen expense (even though the design was, admittedly, pretty great).
David E. Wilks - President Adam G. Landis - Vice President David D. Wilkinson - Treasurer Thomas A. Beck - Secretary
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
1
Made with FlippingBook Digital Proposal Creator