February TOM TOM

SAHALEE Country Club

THE SAHALEE TEAM

LEADERSHIP TEAM

LESLIE LUDLOW GENERAL MANAGER/COO LESLIE@SAHALEE.COM

BRYAN NICHOLSON DIRECTOR OF GOLF BRYAN@SAHALEE.COM

CHARLIE SCHAUWECKER AGRONOMY DIRECTOR

CHARLIE.SAHALEE@GMAIL.COM

JUSTIN KEENER CLUBHOUSE OPERATIONS DIRECTOR JUSTINK@SAHALEE.COM

SIEMON SLAGTER FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING DIRECTOR SIEMON@SAHALEE.COM

ADRIAN SIBUG CULINARY DIRECTOR/EXECUTIVE CHEF ADRIAN@SAHALEE.COM

ALEXA MENDOZA FOOD AND BEVERAGE MANAGER ALEXA@SAHALEE COM

LAURIE COLEMAN ACCOUNTING ADMINISTRATOR LAURIE@SAHALEE COM

RYAN BENZEL PGA DIRECTOR OF INSTRUCTION RYAN BENZEL@SAHALEE COM

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

SCOTT HEYDON - PRESIDENT

TYLER DION - VICE PRESIDENT

MARYLE TRACY - SECRETARY

TOM DIMECO - TREASURER

MIKE DENTON

BILL BONNELL

NORMAN CHEUK

KIM SHEK

PETER ZOBRIST

COMMITTEE CHAIRS

BRIAN SELBY - GOLF

WHITNEY FRYKMAN - GREENS

BRETT VANDENBERG - FINANCE

MARCIA MARTIN - HOUSE

JAY KIRSCHENMAN - MEMBERSHIP

JEANNE LINK - RULES AND HANDICAP

BEAU CLINE - JUNIOR GOLF

TYLER DION - CHAMPIONSHIP

JULIANNA KIRSCHENMAN - SOCIAL

ROB JESKE - MEN'S DIVISION

MARCIA MCAFEE - WOMEN'S DIVISION

The Sahalee family warmly welcomes

President's Message from Scott

With all the activity in January, we skipped our January Tom Tom. This month’s edition is a combined edition of both January and February.Given the ground to cover, I’ll provide a bullet-point approach for brevity.

First, I thought I’d give a quick breakdown of our current governance model Each year, three new Directors are elected to the Board. The Board (comprised of 9 Directors) acts in the best interests of the membership to drive strategy, governance, financial direction, and the future of the club. One of our functions is to appoint Chairs for each Sahalee Committee. By design of our bylaws, committees govern their areas of responsibility, and make recommendations to the Board for consideration and an ultimate decision. It’s an approach that is designed to be a ‘representative’ form of governance, where Board members and Committees represent the membership at large

Because this letter represents two months’ of activity, I think you will see just how much work has gone on so far between the committees and the Board. We try hard to communicate all our activities:

December Past Business

Board approved selections for Sahalee’s 2023 Officers:

Vice President: Mr Tyler Dion; Treasurer: Mr Tom DiMeco; Secretary: Ms Maryle Tracy

Approved the Golf Committee’s golf calendar recommendation which has now been shared with all members. In total, we have the same number of SMD / SWD events as 2022. There are a few additional outside events including Sahalee hosting the MLB All-Star Golf Outing (July 10th) and the Seattle Player’s Championship (Sept 9th and 10th). Both should be lots of fun.

Directionally approved an update to the Sahalee on-course dress code Language and communications to be finalized by Director of Golf, Mr Nicholson

Approved Greens Committee recommendation around the alteration to the front-left bunker on one North. This work is just now being completed and the water’s edge looks stunning!

Approved a recommendation from the Golf Committee to change the “draw process” for the Men’s Invitational. This included two aspects:

Provide each membership class a pro-rata portion of the available potential spots The Men’s Division and Board wanted to enhance the value of Proprietary memberships

Enhance the odds of being selected based on club participation (e.g., tenure, prior year’s SMD participation). The BOD suggested the Golf Committee consider additional factors such as volunteer service on this second aspect.

·hanks to valuable input from members, we decided to post potential bylaw changes for an open comment period. More to come this spring on the recommended changes

Approved the 2023 operating budget as recommended from the Finance Committee

As we closed out 2022, it came to the Board’s attention that there were a few members who were kindly serving on Committees but had also placed their name on the “to leave” list. While the Board appreciates the volunteer time and contributions, we felt there could be potential conflicts of interest if a member was making important recommendations to the Board and was also in the process of leaving Sahalee. Thus, the BOD approved a policy whereby Committee Members cannot concurrently be on the ‘For Sale’ list and serve as a member or Chair of a Committee Individual conversations have taken place to inform any affected members

President's Message from Scott

January Past Business

The BOD held its annual retreat with Sahalee’s Leadership team. The focus was on long-term strategy including our approach to membership, which is a critical component of future success. The membership topic is a system with a lot of interconnected parts. Significant analysis and information were prepared before the retreat to enable a fact-based discussion surrounding adding value to the Proprietary members while possibly adding new membership categories. Because it is a complex system that touches many facets of Sahalee’s Committee governance, the BOD felt it was prudent to develop a comprehensive set of ideas that could then be shared with Committees The Committees will take this information as a starting point to explore and make independent recommendations back to the BOD.

The BOD approved recommendations for Committee Chairs and Board Liaisons for 2023. I want to thank all Sahalee’s volunteers, past and present, for dedicating so much time and passion to these endeavors. The Committee structure is vital to the Club’s future. These Committee Chairs play a vital role in representing all Sahalee Members.

The BOD approved updates to the 2023 Golf Calendar, filling a placeholder event on the calendar with a US Kids Junior Golf Tour event. We also added an outside event for KPMG (the company).Our expectation is that in addition to supporting the game of golf, Sahalee will use the kids’ event to introduce players and parents to the fantastic golf development programs Sahalee membership offers.

Future Business

The Board’s primary focus over the next two months will be reviewing Committee recommendations around membership strategy. Additionally, we will continue to move forward with bylaw changes based on received member feedback. Because these changes are complicated, we plan to host a member Open Forum to share the strategy and gather more input.

Additionally, the Board has given direction on our long-term strategy developed during our January retreat to David LaRocque, who chairs the Long-Range Planning Committee Over the coming months the LRPC will develop a draft strategy that will consider Sahalee’s position in the current market as well as how we compare with other top-tier clubs across the US. Throughout the year, the Sahalee 2030 Plan draft will be developed by the LRPC and Board. We look forward to creating this strategy and socializing it with Members for input before implementing it.

As always, feel free to reach out to me if you have any thoughts or questions.

Sincerely,

Scott Heydon Club President

Welcome

New Team Members

Deann Anderson DIRECTOR OF MEMBERSHIP DEANN@SAHALEE.COM

Deann Anderson is a graduate of Washington State University She entered the Membership field 14 years ago. With a lot of dedication and commitment, Deann quickly gained success and grew Membership during her time at The Columbia Tower Club (6 years) and The Club at Snoqualmie Ridge (8 years) Notable achievements for her membership success include a 2-time National Award of Excellence, Club 100 Best of Sales Leaders, President’s Club, and Ring of Honor Recipient, to name a few. Before entering the field of Membership, she managed Kid Biz Talent Agency, the top kid’s talent agency at the time in the Pacific Northwest As a top Booking Agent in the Seattle area, Deann landed numerous talents in major motion pictures, national commercials, radio spots, print ads, and many more exciting projects. In her spare time, she enjoys time with family, watching movies, and loves outdoor activities (corn hole and golf are among her favorites) A fun fact about Deann is that she has an identical twin sister Denise, a built-in best friend, and a perfect shopping buddy! Deann is excited that her path led her to Sahalee Country Club and is honored to work with a fantastic team!

Vinny Cucinelli DIRECTOR OF FACILITIES VINNY@SAHALEE.COM

Vinny comes to Sahalee with over 20 years of private club experience and extensive expertise in maintaining buildings and equipment He spent the majority of his career at Columbia Athletic Clubs where he ran multiple departments and was tasked with the development of programming and training of front end and instructional staff, as well as keeping the facilities needs in order He most recently spent the last 2 years at The Club at Snoqualmie Ridge as their Facilities Director overseeing all of the maintenance needs of the Club and the direct driver of the Club’s capital projects throughout multiple areas of the Club and property. From the rooftop to the basement, structural repairs to new lighting, it is his goal to make improvements that create a more enjoyable place for our membership As most of you have seen, Vinny has already made an impact on our second home here at Sahalee! Vinny is known to visit his favorite local bakery on his way to go fishing on weekends. Vinny values his family time with his wife Jenn and their two adventurous boys!

Sarah Frantz

DIRECTOR OF EVENTS & COMMUNICATIONS SARAH@SAHALEE COM

Sarah Frantz is a dedicated event guru who successfully creates memorable experiences while maintaining high service standards A graduate of South Seattle College, Sarah holds an Associate and Bachelor's degree in Hospitality Management Directly after graduation, Sarah started her career working in events, specifically in VIP clients for Trophy Cupcakes and then for 5-star Hotels including the Pan Pacific Hotel in Seattle. Sarah ventured into the tasty world of bakeries and managed clients as a Special Orders and Events Assistant at Trophy Cupcakes Sarah continued to blossom in events as the Private Events Coordinator and later the Member Events Manager at The Club at Snoqualmie Ridge. Adept at multitasking, marketing, project management, and communication, she looks forward to serving our members and team. Sarah is passionate about traveling the globe, with her favorite places including Ireland, Scotland, and Norway Most recently, she enjoyed a trip to Greece! When Sarah isn't traveling, she plans local excursions with her husband Justin and friends.

SahaleehasbeennamedaPlatinumClub for2023-2024.Thisawardisgivetothe top150CountryClubsinthenation!

2023 Golf Calendar

FEBRUARY

2/25 SOCIAL GOLF INDOOR PUTTING TOURNAMENT

MARCH

3/18 SMD FROSTBITE OPEN

3/24 HUSKY DAY (MEN'S & WOMEN'S)-SPC PREVIEW

APRIL

4/5 MASTERS PAR 3 TOURNAMENT (MEN'S & WOMEN'S)

4/23 LINKS & DRINKS KICKOFF-TWILIGHT SOCIAL GOLF 4/25 SWD SEASON OPENER

MAY

JUNE

Letter From Bryan Nicholson, PGA Director of Golf

With this being my first letter for 2023, I want to take a moment to wish all the members that I have not yet seen, a very Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a safe, healthy, and energizing holiday season. As we look ahead into this upcoming year, what an exciting time to be a member of the Sahalee community! Fresh on the heels of the electrifying announcement of the 2024 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, I’m excited to be working with our Sahalee Board and leadership to continue building our brand as the best of the Northwest!

I’ll begin this month by sharing that I recently returned from Orlando, Florida and the annual PGA Merchandise Show This annual gathering of the industry spans almost 70 years, and I recently did the count and discovered that I’ve attended nearly 20 of these gatherings! (Time flies, doesn’t it?) The Orange County Convention center was robust with vendors and attendees from around the globe My biggest takeaway from the Show, and in conversation with many peers from around the country, is that our game is in a very healthy place. Spurred by the “COVID” effect, our industry experienced record growth, and a renewed enthusiasm for the game we all love. Our challenge as an industry is perpetuating that momentum and taking the game to new heights. While many facilities may not be able to take on more rounds of golf (Sahalee did 46k rounds in 2020) we can certainly continue building the momentum of introducing the game to more people, and focusing on renewed ways to create social experiences that focus on my 3 “F’s” fun, friends, and family!My time in Orlando was spent sourcing vendors for products to improve our operation from the practice tee to the bag drop area and our locker room spaces. Additionally, I spent time putting together some of our fall (July – December) golf shop merchandise plan – and sourced several tournament prizes and gifts. I always come away from the Orlando Show was renewed vigor for the industry I’m passionate about, and 2023 was elevated with an exclamation point!

The start of 2023 will bring some staffing changes to my team that I would like to take a moment to share In January, Assistant Golf Professional Justin Sturdy announced that he had accepted the top Assistant Professional position at Waccabuc CC, an hour outside New York City Justin will be tasked with running the tournament operations and assisting with the junior golf programming at Waccabuc My goal as the Director of Golf is to prepare my team for the challenges and skills to be successful in our industry While it’s bittersweet for all of us when this happens, I am both excited and proud of Justin, as this is a big step in his career as a PGA professional Justin’s final day at Sahalee will be Friday, February 17 I am working on the search to replace Justin, and there will be some big shoes to fill on the tournament operations side

Speaking of searches, I am excited to announce that I recently concluded a lengthy search to identify our next Head Golf Professional of Sahalee. As many of you might recall, Jacob Lippold left our team in early August to pursue outside endeavors away from golf. Since then, I have been working both regionally and nationally to find the best fit for our team and Club culture. I am delighted to announce that Caleb Kraus, Head Golf Professional from The Club at Snoqualmie Ridge, checked all of the boxes and will be joining our team as the next Head Golf Professional at Sahalee! A Washington native, and graduate of Washington State University, Caleb has been recognized by the Western Washington Chapter PGA as Golf Professional of the Year on two occasions. Having spent the entirety of his career in the Greater Seattle Area, PNW golf is in the fabric of his DNA. Throughout the process, Caleb excelled in communicating his desire to help build our great team culture and sharing our collective pursuit of building the best of the Northwest for the Sahalee membership I am thrilled to have Caleb as part of our team, and we look forward to his arrival at the end of the month

Our 2023 Golf Event schedule has been released, and I am excited for all the excitement it will bring We also bring back the Sahalee Player’s Championship in September, and I’m excited by the work that our SPC Committee has already undertaken There will be much more to discuss on the SPC, but I really want to thank the leadership of our Golf Committee, led by Chairman Brian Selby, in continuing to pursue participation across the board in all of our club golf events We achieved 75% participation from the membership in at least one golf event in ’22, and we are striving for 80% here in ’23 Overall, our goal as a team working with the Golf Committee is to encourage opportunities for participation in events by offering a wide assortment and balance of golf events that focus on fun, member engagement, promote camaraderie, as well as competition

I am going to throw my golf instructor hat on for a moment and encourage everyone to think about how to improve and play better golf in ’23. One of my personal goals this offseason was to continue my education on understanding the changing evolution of speed in the game of golf. Today’s modern game is focusing on building better athletes at the highest levels. The key is transferring that knowledge and applying it to work with the recreational club golfer. I can share that the teams at the Titleist Performance Institute, and 2020 PGA Teacher of the Year Mark Blackburn have provided me some valuable insight that I’m looking forward to implementing. If you are curious, or committed to making some significant improvement in your game, please come talk with our team. We can help you to enjoy better golf and to play your best. This upcoming year, we will have several group clinic opportunities, and next month I’ll talk about our Sahalee Ravens Junior Golf Program.

I’ll leave you this month by letting the membership know that we are actively working on a comprehensive “Sahalee Golf Guide” that will contain all the information for the new season, including instructional programming, tournament & event calendars, junior golf programming, retail programming, and other exciting pieces of information We will share this with the membership in March!

Here’s to a great 2023 season, and we look forward to serving you!

Fairways and Greens, Bryan

Lessons with Ryan Benzel

LessonRates

SingleLesson:$100 Seriesof3:$285

Seriesof5:$450 PlayingLesson:$225

JuniorLesson:$75

AvailableTuesday-Saturday

206-683-0025cell

ryan.benzel@sahalee.com

2016WesternWAChapter

PGATeacheroftheYear

2021GRAATop100GrowthoftheGameTeachingProfessional

INDOOR PUTTING DRILL WITH RYAN

Aces, Eagles and Great Shots

Benjamin Cohen had an eagle on 9 East on January 7th!He holed out from 164 yards with an 8 iron. Congrats to Ben!

Age Shoot for Seiji Yamamoto with a 75 on Jan 26th, what an amazing performance!

HOURS OF OPERATION Member Inspired Events and Meetups

Have you ever wanted to learn to play Mahjong?

Please join us and learn one of the worlds oldest games It’s never too late to learn something new We start with lunch at 11:30 on Wednesdays followed by Mahjong

Contact Patricia Domine at 425-241-8506 or p domine@hotmail com to RSVP or for more information

Call for Committee Members

Have you ever thought about serving on a Committee?

Since 1969 Sahalee has been self-governed for members by members The major strength of a committee is its ability to represent a cross section of the club For this reason, both certificate holders and spouses of Certificate holders are encouraged to volunteer Please understand that by volunteering for a committee you are making a commitment to attend regular monthly meetings and be a team player while demonstrating a willingness to take on related assignments

Be on the lookout for an email with all the details but in the meantime; email Sarah at Sarah@Sahalee com for more information!

A Note from our SWD Captain

What a winter this has been! With our unprecedented snow and ice, those of you who play golf this time of year have been forced to hibernate. Now that the weather has become “Pacific Northwest Normal”, I hope you’ll get back out on the links with friends and your game doesn’t get too rusty.

Thanks to Sue Ursino, Saturday Golf is in full swing – it’s for ladies of all abilities to play a casual game and have fun together. It’s an easy way to some new ladies, play with friends and enjoy the camaraderie of golf; there are no competitions. Sue is a wealth of knowledge and she’s happy to answer questions as you go. When you want to join in the fun or have questions how this works, contact her at sursino@comcast.net.

Some helpful seminars for SWD members are about to start! Scheduling these on Saturday mornings, our goal is to be inclusive of women whose work or parenting schedules don’t allow participation during the weekdays. These sessions are valuable for everyone, regardless of golf capabilities. There’s always something to learn. This information will be new to some of us and a refresher for others. Mark your calendars and consider staying for lunch afterwards with your friends!

Feb 4, 9-11 – The Rich History of Sahalee, presented by Sue Ursino

Mar 4, 9-11 - How to Play YOUR Best Golf, presented by Sue Ursino

April 1, 9-11- Pace of Play Tips & “Ready Golf”, presented by Michelle Hood

May 6, 9-11 - The Mental Side of Golf, Pro Shop

June 3, 9-11 - Match Play Strategies, presented by Sue Ursino

Your Board has been working diligently addressing the survey results and you’ll see some exciting changes when the season starts I emailed the survey results to all SWD members; if you missed it, let me know so I can resend it, marcia.mcafee@comcast.net. If you have any questions or have ideas to share or discuss, please email me. Even though I’m in the CA desert for the winter, I’m actively working on SWD business.

Sue Ursino and Fatima Siddiqui have assumed the responsibilities of our Hospitality committee, following our much-appreciated efforts of the last few years of Barb Johnson and Anita Nishikawa All new members and any lady who wants help “fitting in” will be offered a Golf Buddy to guide, give an understanding of our competitions, casual golf and introduce her around. We need YOU to offer to be a Golf Buddy if you are friendly and want to make our group better and more inclusive! Please contact Sue Ursino, sursino@comcast.net or 425392-2056

The golf calendar has been finalized, and Bryan Nicholson has already emailed many of the event dates Last year three of our four major tournaments were combined with the men’s division. Based on your feedback, only two are combined this year: the Club Championship and the Senior Club Championship. As a new member of the Golf Committee, I now understand how challenging it is to plan events! Here are dates to add to your 2023 calendars:

Tuesday, April 25: Season Opener

Friday, May 12: Women’s Swing Day (new event!)

Friday, June 9: Spring Field Day

Tuesday, June 27: President’s Cup

Friday-Saturday, July 7-8: Senior Club Championship (combined)

Thursday-Friday, July 13-14: Invitational

Thursday-Friday, August 3-4: Member-Member

Friday-Sunday, August 11-13: Club Championship (combined)

Tuesday, August 29: Fall Field Day

Tuesday, September 26: Casual Guest Day

More details are to come but for now, just add these dates to your calendar, making them a priority. Don’t sign up for an event or weekly competitions? One of the things we hear SO often as a reason not to sign up for competitions and/or tournaments is "I'm not good enough, I wouldn't win anyway, and I don’t fit in" Our survey confirmed those comments. Well, I have news for you – you DO fit in! We currently have 107 members, 4 who have not yet established a handicap. Of the 103 members who have a handicap, here’s who is playing:

Handicap +1 through 10: 13 members

Handicap 11 through 19: 15 members

Handicap 20 through 29: 43 members

Handicap 30 through 43: 32 members

The top players are in the minority! 28 members have handicaps less than 20 and 75 have handicaps 20 or higher See, you DO fit in! If you’re unfamiliar with our system, the games or simply need some help meeting ladies, reach out to enjoy the benefits of a Golf Buddy. Contact Sue Ursino, sursino@comcast.net.

We encourage women to participate in our weekly games. Think of it as just another opportunity to play golf and meet new people, and don’t let the “side game” be a distraction You are not required to participate in the weekly competition; you can simply join a group for a round of golf. Only want to play 9 holes? That’s okay too. And, while we may think everyone who participates is a scratch golfer, you can see that approximately 2/3 of the SWD members sport a handicap of 20 or higher. Regardless of your handicap, we all just want to play golf and have fun.

Going forward into our regular golf season, we will strive to make SWD more friendly, inviting casual play and spruce up our Tuesday and Friday-Saturday competitions for variety!

Marcia McAfee SWD Captain

SPC Update

The Sahalee Players Championship (SPC) is the Men’s College event that Sahalee will be hosting on an annual basis starting in September 2023 Co-Hosted by UW Men’s Golf and Sahalee, the SPC will be one of the best fields in College Golf, showcasing the beauty and pure golf course that Sahalee is. The expected field includes Arizona, Arizona State, Duke, Illinois, Oklahoma State, Pepperdine, Stanford, Texas, USC, Wake Forest, and Washington

Tournament Update – Countdown to September 2023

The exact dates are September 8th – 10th, 2023. The 8th (Friday) will be the official practice round for the teams, the 9th (Saturday) will be a 36-hole competition day, and the 10th (Sunday) will be the final 18-hole competition day. Here is a summary of the latest updates:

Workshop with UW - Our Committee leaders and members of the UW Men’s Golf Program and Athletic Department had a very productive planning session held on January 20th It was good to get the two groups together to meet and share how we will divide and conquer all the activities leading up to the tournament

Sponsorship Update

Sponsorship discussions continue with two key corporate partners, and we hope to make any announcements in the next 30 days Chris Grusz, Bryan Nicholson, and others have been very active over the past several months to confirm our corporate partners, whose contributions will help support, market, and promote both Sahalee and the SPC If you or your company (or any company you know) are interested in Sponsorship opportunities with the SPC - please contact Chris Grusz

Volunteers – The mass volunteer call will come in March when we kick off the SPC planning season with a golf event at Sahalee (see below). We will need: Walking Scorers, Standard Bearers, ForeCaddies, and hosts, as well as select opportunities for host housing. For general Volunteer questions or interest, please contact Kim Shek, and for Housing questions, please contact Jeannine Gibson.

Team Hosts - Each team participating in the tournament will be assigned a Team Host. This is not necessarily a Host for housing, but more like a single point of contact for coaches and players to interact with directly about anything to do with Sahalee, the tournament, or the area. Kent Martin is heading up this team, so please contact Kent if you are interested in being a Team Host. 2024 Update– Success for the SPC is driven by the quality of field that we attract to play at the tournament. For future success, we must really succeed in 2023, but given the busy schedules and rapid development of the college golf game, we must start our recruiting of teams for 2024 already! We are off to a great start in this endeavor, as we have already received commitments from Florida, North Carolina, and USC We expect more to come in the next few weeks as dates for other events in 2024 start to firm up

Upcoming SPC Golf Event

Please mark your calendars for Friday, March 24th! Bryan and the Golf Committee have approved a new event on the schedule where Sahalee members will be paired up with members of the UW team for a friendly and fun competition The goal is to educate everyone on the SPC, and for all members and UW players to make connections All this is to help the SPC succeed better We hope to see you at Sahalee on March 24th!

UW Men’s Golf Update

As I write this, the UW Men’s Golf team are playing their first competitive round of the 2023 Spring Season. The Huskies will play several tournament leading up to the Pac 12 Conference tournament at Stanford in April, followed by NCAA Regionals with the culmination being the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk in Scottsdale. The best way to follow the Huskies and all college golf is at Golfstat (www.golfstat.com)

Thanks for reading and hope to see you all at the event in March and volunteering with the SPC.

Sincerely,

Kevin White SPC Tournament Chair

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