An online campaign for tax-deductible donations to an Employee Assistance Fund for staff affected by the February 17th blaze, which caused a total loss of the Bloomfield Hills, Mich.’s historic 100-year-old clubhouse, has been created by ClubsHelp, the foundation originally formed to support front-line workers in the early days of the pandemic. In partnership with the National Club Association, and with ClubsHelp making an initial $5,000 donation and pledging to match the first $15,000 of outside donations, the fund had already raised over $22,000 just five days after the fire. In a special Zoom call arranged by the NCA, Oakland Hills GM/COO Christine Pooler expressed how “thankful and grateful” she and everyone at the club were for the outpouring of support received from the worldwide club community. “We will rebuild and move forward, and be stronger than ever,” Pooler said. “And a big source of that strength will come from how our friends in the club world are filling our cup.”
ClubsHelp, the 501(c)(3) foundation that was originally formed to help support front-line workers in the early days of the pandemic (https://clubandresortbusiness.com/spring-brook-cc-launches-nationwide-effort-to-help-hospitals/), has now partnered with the National Club Association (NCA) to create an Employee Assistance Fund to support staff affected by the fire on February 17th that destroyed the historic clubhouse at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. (https://clubandresortbusiness.com/oakland-hills-cc-looks-for-bright-spots-in-fires-aftermath/).
An online campaign for tax-deductible donations (https://donate.helpclubshelp.org/ohccfund/Campaign/Details) that was established by ClubsHelp and has been promoted by the NCA had raised over $22,000 as of the morning of February 22nd. ClubsHelp made an initial $5,000 donation and has pledged to match funds up to first $15,000 of outside donations.
At a luncheon held by NCA and sponsored by Jonas Club Software on February 21st during the Club Management Association of America World Conference in San Diego, those in attendance received an update on the Oakland Hills situation via Zoom from General Manager/Chief Operating Officer Christine Pooler.
Responding to questions asked by NCA President/CEO Henry Wallmeyer, and with members of her staff and the Oakland Hills Board gathered around her in operating space made available to the club by Barton Malow, a local construction company, Pooler expressed how “thankful and grateful” she and everyone at the club were for the outpouring of support they have received from those in the club community from throughout the U.S. and the world. “I think I’ve been sent every emoji I can imagine,” she said.
Pooler and her team have already begun the rebuilding process, including “calling on our friends in the club world who have had similar experiences and can help us learn from them so we can use best practices in taking the next steps,” she reported.
She also expressed appreciation for efforts extended by the United States Golf Association, which recently awarded the 2031 and 2042 Women’s Opens to the club, in arranging to provide assistance for building a temporary pavilion on the property to complement Oakland Hill’s tennis facility, which has served as a site for temporary structures during major tournaments and was not damaged in the fire.
Pooler also commended a team of responding firefighters who quickly marshalled a crew to help salvage many of the valuable historic artifacts, trophies and other memorabilia housed in the 100-year-old Oakland Hills clubhouse.
“Our team is resilient and we will get through this,” Pooler said. “We will rebuild and move forward, and be stronger than ever. And a big source of that strength will come from how our friends in the club world are filling up our cup, for which we are truly and tremendously appreciative and grateful.”
The Detroit News reported on February 21st that while Oakland Hills continues to have discussions with its insurance provider, club President Rick Palmer said the membership is now operating on the belief that the historic clubhouse is a “total loss.”
A likely complete rebuild will take at least two golf seasons and the plan is to replicate the white, stately, pillared clubhouse that opened 100 years ago, the News reported.
Palmer had no estimate on the cost, the News reported. A renovation in 1999 and 2000 cost more than $16 million, and a complete rebuild would cost much more. But the membership believes the clubhouse was fully insured, Palmer said and the club, which held an emergency board meeting over the weekend, had begun the process of interviewing architects.
“We are confident about our future,” Palmer said in a Zoom press conference with local and national reporters on the morning of the 21st. The club is confident it will “come back stronger than ever,” he added.
A cause of the fire still has not been determined, and the investigation remains ongoing, the Newsreported. Fire investigators with the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office are assisting the Bloomfield Township fire marshal to determine the fire’s cause and origin.
About 25 Oakland Hills workers were in the building or on the grounds when the fire broke out, plus a contractor overseeing a veranda construction project, Palmer said.
Club officials now are working out of Barton Malow’s Southfield offices, and are assessing what temporary structures can be created on-site to get the membership through the next couple seasons.
Palmer also expressed appreciation for the assistance received from several country clubs in the area that have reached out to Oakland Hills and offered their dining and social facilities, as well as locker space, and for the employee assistance efforts led by the ClubsHelp Foundation and the National Club Association. “I can’t single one [club] out because they’ve all been great,” Palmer said.
During peak golf season, the News reported, Oakland Hills has about 300 employees; off-season, there are about 25.
Oakland Hills is now working with other facilities on moving big events such as banquets and weddings that won’t be able to take place at Oakland Hills for at least the next two years, Palmer said. But its golf operations won’t be significantly interrupted, because the golf course operations and golf maintenance facilities weren’t damaged by the fire, he noted.
“We are convinced we will be as strong as ever,” Palmer said.
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