A group of residents created Friends of the Country Club of Mount Dora, which has brought neighbors together to save the club and encourage new memberships. Since the endeavor began, the club has gained 266 new members, and about 65 residents donated nearly $15,000 to update the clubhouse.
Residents of the Country Club of Mount Dora (Fla.) jumped into action when they got wind that their golf course was in jeopardy, the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel reported.
After learning in January from the club owners that the golf course could close due to a lack of funds for improvements and maintenance, residents decided to create the Friends of the Country Club of Mount Dora, which now has 81 members and has brought neighbors together to save and improve the golf course and country club as well as encourage new memberships and enhance the beauty of the 25-year-old community, the Sentinel reported.
Since the endeavor began, the club has gained 266 new members. About 65 residents donated nearly $15,000 to purchase new dining-room chairs, repaint the exterior and interior of the clubhouse, install new awnings and benches, add a new walkway and plant colorful landscaping, the Sentinel reported.
Manager Susan Teston Welsh said the results of the group’s efforts have been astounding and with so many new members at the club, there is no fear of the golf course closing anytime soon, the Sentinel reported.
“We now have more than 400 members and had more events last summer than in the history of the club!”
Currently, the group’s funds have been targeted toward resurfacing the clubhouse’s swimming pool, installing more awnings and continuing golf course and tennis-court improvements, the Sentinel reported.
“After hearing about so many golf courses closing in South Florida, we said, ‘No, we are not going to let our golf course close, the clubhouse be torn down, and houses built where fairways and greens once stood—not in our community,'” said Daniel O’Flaherty, Friends of the Country Club of Mount Dora president. “And through the immense effort of so many of our residents, it is startling how different everything already looks…It has been a complete turnaround.”
The aesthetics of the country club have improved, O’Flaherty said, as has enthusiasm for the development, the Sentinel reported.
“I love this community and raising funds was important, but extending that personal invitation to come to club events and get involved seems to have uplifted everyone, and so many have made new friends because of it,” O’Flaherty said. “Many may have lost their husbands or wives or might have felt uninvited and had not been to the clubhouse in a long time, and it has all sprung to new life with friends reaching out to each other.”
The clubhouse dining room is open to the public for lunch and on some evenings, the golf course is open to the public by reservation and anyone can become a member of the club regardless of where they live to enjoy events such as trivia night, Bingo and Bridge. Clubs such as the community’s garden and women’s organizations also are open to non-residents, the Sentinel reported.
“We have so much fun and have wanted to reach out to more communities in our area who may not know we are here and that we offer so much for everyone,” said Friends member Norm Wagner. “We knew at the beginning of the year we needed to act fast. The clubhouse is the center of our community, and since we got organized it has been a win-win for everyone.”
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