Monthly Message from Leslie Ludlow, GM/COO

Dear Sahalee Family,

While Mother Nature is doing her best to stave off Spring, as those of you who have been frequenting the Club have experienced, our team is going full steam ahead on kicking off the Season across Sahalee!

First and foremost, I am proud to share that we had an incredibly successful first quarter, being led by food & beverage revenues exceeding expectations by 15% over an already aggressive budget As mentioned, Mother Nature is slow to get going this spring which has impacted golf revenues, but with those revenue shortfalls Bryan, Caleb, Charlie & Pat did an incredible job of responsibly managing both labor and operating expenses to follow these revenue trends Between the fiscal management of these expenses, along with significantly better F&B management practices put in place in 2023, we are nearly $100k better than budget YTD This financial success puts us in a great position to invest back into the club and elevate your experiences at Sahalee

On the Greens & Grounds front, aerification went incredibly well and the fruits of those labors are already being enjoyed by many. Between the speed at which the course is healing and the bunkers opening last month to rave reviews, I have had multiple members approach me to share that the course is in the best condition in recent memory. You may have also noticed not only the seasonal color being installed, but also a complete revamp of the Porte Cochere landscaping as you enter the Clubhouse. Charlie’s team, in conjunction with Vinny, our Director of Facilities, are also finalizing the installation of water fill stations at the restrooms on each 9. We look forward to this great amenity on the course as the temperatures heat up (eventually)!! Needless to say, there should be no shortage of accolades to share with Charlie & his team for the incredible condition our grounds are in! Please recognize them as you see them hard at work across the Club.

In Golf Operations, Bryan’s team has been hard at work with several initiatives to push the envelope on raising the bar on your (and your guest’s) golf experiences at Sahalee. The completion of the Golf Pavilion and new Range Furniture is physically setting the tone for what to expect as the Sahalee experience. Our outside service team is taking pride in the opportunity to connect with members and have been working on customer service training. There is also a new VIP program in development that I know the team is excited to launch in the coming months.

Looking forward, there is NO shortage of opportunity to participate in golf programming The team has put together an incredible calendar of events between competitive tournaments, Pro-Am outings, social events, formalizing informal games, instruction clinics, demo days and even an exhibition in June Make sure to check the golf calendar of events to save the date for the must attend events for you and your families!

As mentioned, food & beverage is off to an incredible start this year! We have brought back so many great events as well as introduced fantastic new offerings that have been extremely popular. In the month of May, in addition to our now expanded hours of a la carte operations extending until at least 7:00 Wednesday- Sunday, we have 3 unique events in the first week of the month alone. As we look later in the month, we still have Mother’s Day Brunch, Wine Tasting, Pasta Night, and our Memorial Day BBQ to enjoy. While we are saying goodbye to Justin Keener and thank him for ten years of service, we are actively looking for a replacement that will continue the momentum that we have created in 2023 and take our F&B program to new heights into the future.

The expansions this season are not limited to services, amenities, and facilities, as we are also thrilled that the membership overwhelmingly passed the ability to create new membership categories. The interest level in joining Sahalee has been incredible just in the past week alone! We are excited to be able to truly create an internal pathway to Proprietary Membership that has never been done before at Sahalee. While there is still a lot of work to be done, the first steps have been made to put us in a positive position to not only create future Proprietary Members from within our own membership by expanding the Social membership inclusions, but also support our expanding F&B programming with the newly minted Dining Membership and further Sahalee’s brand recognition with the new National Membership.

In addition to the “word of mouth” interest the Club has relied upon for years, Deann, our Membership Director, has also created a comprehensive strategic sales plan as a part of her outreach program As a part of this plan, we have developed an exciting new referral program unlike anything ever done at the Club Our best source of new members will always be our current membership, so we wanted to truly incentivize you to bring more of your own circles into the Sahalee family The more of the incredible members like YOU that we have, the greater our Club will be! So, stay tuned for the details of the new referral program and reach out to Deann with anyone you think might be interested in any of our membership opportunities

Finally, as mentioned in past articles, we have instituted a new team member recognition program. In April, we were able to honor the Team Members of the Quarter for Q1. As a part of the program, the Leadership Team nominates and then votes on standouts for each department of Golf Course Maintenance, Golf Operations and Food & Beverage. This month we honored Grant Heilman from Golf for his constant team-first and member service mentality. Raul Hernandez was recognized in GCM for being the “King of Consistency” and constant cando attitude. Jacob Metcalf took home the prize in F&B for not only winning the first Sandwich Smackdown, but also his performance in the back of the house with teaching, mentoring and training all of the new team members who come aboard. Congratulations to each of these fantastic team members who strive to deliver excellence for all of Sahalee. If you encounter exceptional effort from anyone on our team, please let that Department Head know so that they can take that into account for the upcoming quarter’s nominations!

In closing, I truly could not be more excited about the direction in which the Club is heading. We are enjoying a financially strong start to the year, some of the best course conditions seen in a long time, absolutely incredible golf services & event offerings, ever improving & expanding food and beverage programming, expeditious movement on capital projects, development of a positive staff culture through team member recognition initiatives and, of course, fantastic new membership opportunities

What an EXCITING time to be a part of a Club with such a storied history!

It is our team’s intention to do everything within our power to ensure that during the 2023 season and beyond, we move the needle closer to our collective goal of being the premier Club in the Pacific Northwest and a place that each of you is proud to call your Country Club Home

Cheers,

Leslie L. Ludlow General Manager/COO