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300 Girdle Road, East Aurora, NY 14052 716-652-6800 www.eastauroracc.com

Message from the President: December, 2017

The month of December is finally upon us. I do not know of another month that brings with it the finality of the end of the golf season and calendar year and the anticipation of a new year with new opportunities and challenges.

I want to say that it has been my honor and pleasure to serve as your President this year.

I would like to take this opportunity to recognize and thank all the Past Presidents and Board Members for their service, commitment and efforts for making the East Aurora Country Club what it is today in this our 101st year of storied existence. With your contributions you set the foundation for future Boards to build from and continue the legacy of the East Aurora Country Club.

This year’s Board of Directors, because of their knowledge, understanding and dedication made my job as President both satisfying and rewarding. Doug Marky, Vice President, Vince Rowland, Treasurer, Dick Hillegas, Secretary, John Holder, John McKenna, Dave Finn, Jay Hoagland and Frank Trzepkpowski’s participation, resolve and counsel allowed for an open exchange of ideas and opinions that allowed our Board meetings to be positive and productive which led to successful decision making. Thank you for your support.

I would like to congratulate and welcome to the Board our new Directors, Rick Dean, Matt Hasselback and Mark Melas. You will be a great addition to the team.

The East Aurora Country Club is fortunate to have a strong and dedicated Management team of Drew Thompson, our Golf Course Superintendent, and his staff and Dave Jones, our Golf Pro-fessional, with Kevin, Brandon and staff. Their dedication and work ethic are par none and every decision that they make are for the betterment of our Club.

Continued on page 2

East Aurora Country Club Member Newsletter—December, 2017

Board of Directors

Rudy Ruschmann

President

Human Resources

Doug Marky

Vice President

House Chairman

Human Resource Chair

Vince Rowland

Treasurer

Grounds Chairman

Finance Co-Chair

Dick Hillegas

Secretary

Grounds Co-Chair

Membership

John Holder

Membership Chairman

John McKenna

Golf Chairman

Finance

Jay Hoagland

Golf Co-Chair

Dave Finn

Finance

Frank Trzepkowski

House Co-Chair

Upcoming Events (Reservations Required)

Dec. 2nd Breakfast with Santa

Dec. 7th Clubhouse Closed for Mulligans Christmas Party

Dec. 9th Social Bowling Dinner

Dec. 16th General House Meeting & Festivus Dinner

Dec. 21st Clubhouse closed for Grounds Party

Dec. 23rd Kitchen 11-4 (Bar Menu) Closes at 5pm for Private Party

Dec. 31st NYE Dinner 5-8pm

Club Hours

Sunday—Closed

Monday—Closed

Tuesday—Closed

Wednesday—Wine Down 4-8

Thursday—Dinner 4-8

Friday 11-8

Saturday 11-8

EXCEPTIONS TO THE POSTED

HOURS WILL BE COMMUNICATED

VIA CLUBSTER OR EMAIL.

EACC NEWS

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Message from the President—Continued from Page 1

This year one of our major challenges was the loss of our House Manager, George Mintzer, after 7 years of service to EACC. I know we all wish George all the success in his new venture. With George’s untimely resignation, the Board approached Chef Steve, Frankie and Pat and asked them to fill the void during the busiest time of our season. I want to personally recognize and thank them and their staff for accepting the challenge to handle all the requirements of the House as a team and delivering as expected.

I would like to thank Sally Hess, for over 40 years of faithful service and imparting her knowledge and history of our Club, and with Rae Hoxsie for effectively managing the day-to-day office administrative functions.

All the women of EACC play an important and active role in the success of our Club. We are fortunate to have a Women’s Board, with this year’s President Jenn Dean, that is visible and involved, and over the years their contributions have been immeasurable.

Our Club has an active membership who is always willing to donate their time and efforts to assist with projects that need to be built, repaired or painted or in the case of the IJM committee showcase EACC to the rest of the world. Your support and involvement as members has always been the catalyst for our Club’s success, thank you to all for your involvement.

This year the Board took the opportunity to reinvest into the Club by completing Capital Projects and Implementing Phase 1 of the golf course Master Plan that were identified and outlined by prior Boards. The visibility of these improvements brought a positive atmosphere to our Club and definitely impacted our ability to recruit new members.

I am humbled to have been able to serve as your President this year, however it is because of the gentle-men that I served with on this year’s Board and the Membership who supported me that deserve the recognition for a successful 2017.

Once again, thank you to all who attended the President’s Ball. I hope that you enjoyed the evening.

Finally, don’t forget that our Annual Membership meeting will be held on Saturday, December 16 at 12:00 PM, noon. Hope to see you there.

Wishing you a Joyous and Safe Holiday Season.

Rudy Ruschmann, President

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News from the Golf Shop:

In stark contrast to the awesome October weather, November proved to be a more typical WNY start to the winter season. Although, looking back over the last 3 years, I suppose we’ve been pretty lucky with our recent shoulder outdoor sporting months.

Here’s to an early spring!

With spring in mind, we’ve been working hard on completing a thoughtful 2018 golf calendar. I think you will be impressed with the new events as well as the continued traditional EACC favorites. It is my goal to have the calendar on the website as early as December 15th to allow individuals to plan their year out well in advance of the golf season.

A few highlights moving into the 2018 season are the addition of a Junior/Senior formatted tournament. The goal of this event is to pair some of our veteran members with some of our newly established members. We are shooting for a May date with the hopes of allowing our newer members an opportunity to gain even greater familiarity with fellow members. We are also excited to announce that we are adding a Ladies Senior Club Championship. We are going to follow along the same structure and weekend as the Men’s. (More Details to Follow) Our social golf calendar will once again be highlighted with fun and laid back formats placed on Friday evenings throughout the season. We’ve also added a couple more structured and themed social Saturday’s. Who wouldn’t want to have a fiesta on the green?

I’m thoroughly excited to announce that we have established reciprocal relationships with two premier area facilities. The Saturn Club in downtown Buffalo, and The Cherry Hill Country Club in Forte Erie, Canada. I’m sure the opportunities will be embraced and enjoyed by members of both facilities. (www.saturnclub.org) (www.cherryhillclub.ca)

I’ve fielded many questions surrounding the date and timing of the Christmas Sale. I’m going to offer 2 oppor-tunities this year to take advantage of some great savings. The first will be Wednesday, December 13th from 4:00-7:00, and the second will be on Saturday, December 16th from 10:00-? (In conjunction with the annual meeting)

I will have everything in stock marked down a minimum of 40%!!! It’s a great opportunity to find some last minute deals for your favorite golfers!! I will be sending more information in the coming days.

Thank you again from Kevin, Brandon, and Myself. We truly appreciate being a part or the EACC family!!

Merry Christmas!

David Jones, PGA

Support the Club and the Newsletter by submitting articles and pictures to:

Judy Smith at: dajusmith@roadrunner.com

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Clubhouse News

Season’s Greetings Everyone!

December is almost here and with that the holiday season is upon us! Please see the Upcoming Events section for days & times we will not be open due to Holiday bookings. Also, don’t forget you can check the online calendar, as it will be updated regularly.

This year, we will be hosting a Festivus Dinner on Saturday, December 16th from 5pm-8pm. There will be live music from our own Diane Sullivan, an Ugly Sweater contest, drink specials, and more! A detailed event flyer will be forthcoming, so be sure to keep an eye out!

Thank you all for a wonderful season! Warmest wishes from our EACC family to yours and we’ll see you next year!

Chef Steve, Francesca, and Patrick -Your Clubhouse Team-

Grounds With Drew

The last few weeks have really put the brakes on the golfing season with some substantial rainfall. We received a little under 9” of rain over a 6-day period in late October that we have been trying to recover from. We had significant flooding in the 11th, 12th, 14th, and 18th fairways that we have only recently been able to get back down to normal levels. This has influenced our ability to get out late season applications to control winter disease. Through some creative thinking and hard work, we have completed these applications and have our fingers crossed that they will be successful. Overall, we have about a half an acre of turf that was affected. In the grand scheme of things this is just a small area that we are hoping will be a non-issue.

The Grounds department Holiday Open House is set to take place on December 21st from 1-7 pm. We hope to have a great turnout this year and look forward to seeing you all. Please stop and check out the maintenance facility and enjoy some holiday cheer. It should be another great event and, as always, it’s free!!

See you at the Party!

Drew Thompson, CGCS

Homemade Christmas Cookies

Are available for $7.95/dozen

Please contact Chef Steve at 652-6800 ext. 3 to place your order!

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Back by popular demand

EAST AURORA COUNTRY CLUB’S

3RD ANNUAL

2017 HOLIDAY LOTTERY

** $100 per ticket for a chance to win

one or more of a dozen great prizes!

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Grand Prize – FREE 2018 MEMBERSHIP!!!

($5000 in dues credits applied to single or multiple seasons, depending on category)

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2nd Prize – Season Cart Pass plus $500 in House Credit

3rd Prize – Season Cart Pass or $500 in House Credit

4th Prize – (3 ea.) - $250 in House Credit

5th Prize – (6 ea.) - $100 Pro Shop Credit

Limited Time Offer – Purchase Deadline December 31ST, 2017

PRIZE DRAWING TO BE HELD ON NEW YEAR’S EVE

See Patrick or Frankie to Purchase Your Tickets!!!

(House Charge Only)

** NEW THIS YEAR!!!

SECOND TICKET JUST $75 AND

INCLUDES A FREE 2018 GUEST PASS

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18 HOLE GOLF NEWS

The 18 Hole League wishes everyone a Very Merry Christmas and a Prosperous, Healthy New Year.

Rita Szczerbowski- 18 Hole Chairperson

Women’s 9-Hole League: December 2017

Happy Holidays to everyone! Our 9 hole group will be holding our Holiday Dinner at the club on

November 30th to celebrate the season. We send our sincere appreciation to Frankie, Chef Steve,

Patrick and clubhouse staff for making this an enjoyable event.

We would like to extend an invitation to the women of EACC to consider joining our league in

2018. We start in early April and run through the end of September. We play 9 holes with different

foursome match ups each week, often rotating between the front and back 9. We have special game

days, tournament play, and the opportunity to play at other courses with other leagues. This league

is a great way to improve your game and meet some fantastic women from our club. If you have

any questions or want to learn more about the 9 Hole League, please contact Caryn Bartnik or Lisa

Bonaventura.

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Associate Board Newsletter

December, 2017

Hello everyone!

It’s hard to believe that this is the last newsletter for the 2017 season. I just want to take this moment to thank

the current Women’s Board members:

Each one of these Ladies has volunteered their time to help improve our club and I appreciate all their efforts.

Thank you very much!

Emily Obrist, Jody Marshall, Debbie Kane, LuAnn Burghardt, Amy Wagstaff, Jill Ervin, Cathy Melas,

Caryn Bartnik, and Charmaine Kaes.

We especially thank Debbie Kane and Amy Wagstaff. Their three year term is up and they will be missed.

Incoming for the 2018 season will be Kathy Lentz and Maria McCabe.

Also, the new 18 hole representative will be Rita Szczerbowski.

Our group is looking forward to getting to know you all.

Ladies, while you are visiting the club please take a look in the lounge area and you should notice some new

fixtures above the mirror. Also, in the ladies lounge: 5 new LED recessed trims attached to a dimmer.

Installed for us by our very own Paul Dugas. All to assist you while doing any minor touch ups that may be

needed in the lounge area. It’s just an added touch that the Woman’s Board added. I hope you enjoy.

Our board is once again sponsoring The Giving tree from now through December 19th. It will be benefitting

the Family Justice Center. Our club’s generosity will help aid women and children in need. If you are having

trouble thinking of what to put under the tree – please feel free to review ideas that are printed on the

ornaments hanging on the Giving Tree. Any donations are greatly appreciated.

Don’t forget Breakfast with Santa – Saturday Dec, 2nd.

It’s been a fast, fun and merry year!

Jennifer Dean

Associate Board President

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IJM Update

December, 2017 It is difficult to believe that 2017 is coming to a close. It has been a fantastic year at EACC and the IJM Committee is looking forward to hosting another successful tournament in 2018. We held our first planning meeting a few weeks ago and we are excited to get things moving. One of the items discussed at our meeting was communicating the financial results of the IJM to the EACC membership. We typically do this at the member meeting in December but it was pointed out that many of our members are already basking in the Florida sun and are not at the meeting. So for the benefit of those who will not be at our General Membership meeting in December, here is some basic information. The IJM took in approximately $91,000 in revenue for 2017. This was down slightly from the $95,000 received in 2016. As far as where the money goes, the House received over $45,000 for meal and beverage service during the week. Additionally the club received $1,300 for the IJM Qualifier along with a $10,000 capital contribution; which offset the cost of the forward tee project. Additionally the IJM spent $13,000 in the Golf Shop for Ham Am and IJM Player tee gifts, committee shirts, sponsor gifts and Ham Am Prizes. Other significant expenditures include Martyn Printing (program book, bracket sheets, sponsor brochure, etc.), tent rental, trophies and security. For the past five years, the IJM has spent approximately $230,000 in the House and has made $51,000 in capital contributions to the Club. The capital contributions substantially funded the forward tee project. All of this of course could not be accomplished without the support of the membership—both at the sponsor level and at the committee level. The members of EACC are what make this event such a great success and benefit to the club. We look forward to continuing this tradition in 2018. Best wishes to all for a safe and happy holiday season.

Jeff Kamien Tournament Director

MULLIGANS

Our Golf Chairman Phil Kadet reported to us at a recent meeting that 2017 provided a very good

weather year for our Friday golf games. We were able to play on 25 of the 29 weeks available to us this

year. And, we turned in 632 rounds on those 25 Fridays. On nearly all of those days either David Jones or

one of his associates, Kevin Galek or Brandon Kaempffe, addressed our group on various matters. We’ve

been very pleased to have had them appear at our meetings and have very much appreciated the guidance

and information they provided.

Finally, as we approach the end of November we look forward to our Annual Christmas Party to be held

at the Club on Thursday evening December 7th. As of this date we have 73 Mulligans, wives, and guests

booked for the event. Under the direction of 2nd Veep John Hasselback we anticipate a grand evening of

music and good cheer.

And so we wish all Club members from the Mulligans a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and

Healthy 2018!

Jim Aston, Mulligans Secretary & Historian

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EACC Social Bowling

Come join us for some fun and socializing. Get to know other club members.

Bowling is open to everyone, members, guests, couples or singles.

You can bowl one month, two months or every month, you pick the dates.

Bowling is at the 11th Frame (formerly known as Victoria Lanes),

206 Main St. East Aurora at 4:00 PM.

On the following dates:

Saturday, December 9

Saturday, January 13

Saturday February 10

Saturday March 10

Dinner, if you are interested, will be at the club following bowling.

To sign up for December, please email jack0602@aol.com by Saturday, December 2nd.

If you need further information please contact:

Jack & Mary Hinners (662-4706)