An Update From The VCC Master Board
The Villages at Country Creek 2023-2024 season is promising to be a very exciting season. The weather has been exceptionally pleasant without any inclement weather, although our area could benefit from additional rainfall. The VCC ground crews and all our wonderful volunteers continue to keep our community looking refreshed. Still, there’s always work to be done.
In November, the Master Board passed the 2024 Master Association budget. The increase in quarterly dues amounted to $101 for each of the 966 residents. The statements for the first quarter of the year indicating the new amount of $1,147 were mailed in December. The 2024 Operating Budget and 2024 Budget Summary by Department are available on the Villages at Country Creek secure website.
On December 4th, the vote for the material alteration of the Clubhouse took place by the residents. This was a tremendous turnout and may have been the largest voter turnout for any issue that has taken place at VCC. The Master Board thanks all residents who participated, and also the election committee for their time.
The results of the Community vote were:
Total number of Votes = 714
In order to pass, a 2/3 majority (per established VCC bylaws) of 714 = 476
Total Yes Votes = 371
Total No Votes = 343
The Master Board and the majority of the VCC residents agree that the clubhouse needs work. We have been gathering
From The Food And Beverage Manager
By Debra Kortea
In order to enhance your time here at the Villages at Country Creek, listed below are the following rules and tips for the upcoming season:
• Tips for a Smoother Season at the Club–To ensure proper service and help us manage staffing levels, please make a reservation for lunch or dinner. This will help us guarantee timely and efficient service to all our members.
• New Dress Code Guidelines–Our House Committee has recently established a new dress code, which has been posted in the bar and lobby areas for your convenience.
CCLGA News
By Karlene Reilly
Our Christmas Golf
Scramble started at 8am on a cold morning which was reminiscent of being up north. We had a chance to wear our bright winter outer clothing as we started to play golf. A special game was organized where we all had an opportunity to try our golf skills while playing half the time from the “white tees.” We were all pleased to have a long hitter in our group. It warmed up by noon time and we could then sport our red and green golf attire as we enjoyed a wonderful lunch of a warm turkey cheese melt with cranberry relish and tomatoes followed by delicious cookies with a candy treat. It was a highlight of the Christmas season for our golfers.
Please ensure you and your guests comply with the new guidelines to avoid any confusion. We want all our members to feel comfortable and avoid any discomfort due to denied service or entrance.
• Event Reservations and Membership–When making a reservation for an event, please have your member names and numbers ready. Going forward, all events will be charged the morning of the event, so please notify the office beforehand. During the season, events are member-only due to limited seating.
Thank you in advance for your support.
Our CCLGA/MGA Invitational will be held on Thursday, January 25th. This year there will be a Scramble format, which will be followed by an Italian lasagne luncheon. During the luncheon the winners of the event will be announced and a special golf remembrance will be given to each of the men who participated. We are sure that all will enjoy the Italian feast.
Another annual event held on January 15 will be the New Members breakfast.
information and receiving input from residents. The Master Board encourages all residents to participate in this information gathering effort.
Current considerations include removal and replacement of carpet in the meeting rooms. The carpeting would be replaced with the same vinyl plank tile that is in the pro shop. The primary consideration for upstairs is consulting with an acoustical expert to formulate a plan to overhaul our acoustics. Additionally, procuring a sound system that will work well, along with the acoustical changes that will be required, is necessary.
Let’s Enjoy our community!
Your Board
Sharon Pfaff, Donna Mazzeo, Daisy Blair, Jo LeBoeuf
Santa and his Elf
Kathy McElroy, Trudy Traynor, Denise Giovannetti
Ladies’ Tennis Travel
By Margaret Farmar
Country Creek’s 3.0
BERT (Bonita Estero Rail Trail) Update
By Margaret Farmar BERT (Bonita
Estero Rail Trail) is a rail corridor that will be a 15-mile long by 130 foot wide trail that will run from Alico Road to Bonita Beach Road. Over 20 of the local communities are in favor of this project seeing the need for a safe walking, running and cycling experience for their residents. The City of Bonita Springs, Village of Estero and the Lee County MPO unanimously approved the proposed trail several months ago.
“The first thing that has to happen is that we get a negotiated deal so Lee County can purchase the rail corridor,” said President Deb Orton of Friends of BERT. The negotiations for the County with the Seminole Gulf Railway are being handled by The Trust for Public Lands.
BERT will be part of “Connect Lee,” joining The John Yarbrough Linear Park Trail which is being developed all the way up to the Lee and Charlotte County lines. This will give Lee County 42 miles of trails away from traffic and not on any busy roads.
In July, Senate Bill 106 was passed. It was put forward by Senator Passidomo and signed by the governor, doubling the amount for the SUN Trail Network budget to $50 million dollars a year.
BERT is an all-volunteer organization with over 2,000 members. It was established in September 2022. If you want more information, go to: https:// bonitaesterorailtrail.com.
“Those Pesky Holiday Calories”
CCMGA News
By Dan Chelenza
It’s a brand new year! Let’s make it a great one here at VCC! There are many tournaments to choose from throughout the rest of the season. Elmer Rawson Match play will be played through the month of February. The Chuck Hunkins MGA Championship will be played in March. There are also all of the Friday games, not to mention the scrambles on Thursdays and Saturdays. Looking forward to seeing you on the course!
Tennis Notes
By Larry Brush
Tennis players representing the Villages at Country Creek will be competing in a variety of leagues this winter season. The men plan for a 2.5 team playing on Friday, a 3.0 team playing on Thursday, and a 6.0, 70 plus team playing on Monday. These teams are in the Bonita League.
The ladies compete in the 3.0 over 50 Sunshine league, which started in November. They completed the fall season on top of the league with a record of 14 courts won and one lost in 5 matches. Amazing performance!
The ladies will also have a 3.0/3.5 team in the Bon-Ero league playing on Thursday, starting in January. About half of the matches are scheduled at home and the rest away. A schedule will be posted on the bulletin boards. Spectators are welcome.
The VCC Tennis Committee met on Monday, Dec 11. Items discussed were the 2024 Tennis Ball, the 2024 Nominating/Election committee, and the review of the tennis bylaws. The Tennis Ball is scheduled for March 12, 2024 at the VCC clubhouse. Phil Riskin and Ron Wicks have agreed to co-chair the event and a save-the-date notice is in this edition of the Villager. Details will follow. Please consider volunteering to help out.
The Nominating/Election committee has been formed and will be accepting the names of members interested in serving on the Tennis Committee. The term is for 2 years starting after the annual meeting in 2024 and running into 2026. The Nominating/ Election committee consists of Grant Longley, Joan Blaschke, Roe Brush, John Stefl and Phyllis Bonini. Please contact one of them with your interest in serving on the Tennis Committee. Their names will be posted on the bulletin boards.
The Tennis Committee reviewed the current bylaws to consider the need for updating. It was determined that there are no substantial changes required, although some clarification may be in order. For example, the statements in the bylaws about morning maintenance and watering are no longer needed due to underground watering and evening maintenance. The sign-up sheets will be posted every week, not just from October to May as stated in the bylaws.
Courts will continue to be reserved only up to a week in advance. The use of the sign-up sheet is recommended if you are looking to play on a certain court, at a certain time or a certain day. Otherwise, existing open-court rules continue to apply. With respect to tennis guests, the bylaws are clear that one resident can have one tennis guest. The bylaws define a tennis guest as one guest invited to play with a resident at a particular date and time. A house guest is a non-member visiting a member’s home and has the same access as the member.
Save The Date–15th Annual Tennis & Pickleball Dinner Dance
By Phillip Riskin
Save the date and join your Country Creek tennis & pickleball friends for an evening of dining, dancing and fun on Tuesday, March 12, 2024 . You will also
have an opportunity to win money in our 50/50 raffles (share the wealth). Details to follow in the coming months.
Volunteers Plan Golf Outing
By Ron Williams
The VCC Volunteers are planning a golf outing in 2024. The date is March 16 with an 8am scramble/dinner shotgun start, and a 1pm golf-only shotgun start. The price for residents for the golf/dinner is $60 per person in the morning and $33 per person for golf only in the afternoon. Social hour begins at 4:45pm with music playing until 8:30pm. Payment is to be made by credit card or member card in the Pro Shop starting February 15, 2024.
CCLGA News from page 1
The club officers will attend and review our golfing rules and present each guest with a “Brag Tag” for their golf bag so that they can display their “birdie pins.”
The Ladies annual charity golf event theme “Play it Forward” is Thursday, February 15. Sue Waldera, the CCLGA chairperson, along with a group of volunteers, is organizing a fun and special day! This year we are supporting “FK Your Diet” helping those in need, mainly kids in foster care.
There are various opportunities if you would like to help support the event:
Please encourage your club, organization, committee or individuals to become a tee sponsor with a tax deductible donation payable to VCC Volunteers, Inc. Sponsorships are $300-Platinum, $200-Gold or $100-Silver. Forms will be available in the Pro Shop starting mid-February, or you can ask any volunteer.
Mulligans, red tees, drop zones, and a cash board will be available prior to the start of each session. Prizes will be awarded to the top teams as well as closest to the pin for ladies and men.
This annual event is to raise money for equipment needed for new projects or repairs to improve and enhance our community. The volunteers deeply appreciate the support all of you have given us in the past and we will do our best to serve you in the future.
• Sponsor a hole (groups or individuals)
• Donate a gift basket, prize or gift certificate
Thank you to those who have already made a donation. Your generosity is greatly appreciated! If you have any questions regarding donations, please contact (651) 295-3212 or email james2v17@yahoo.com.
As we begin the New Year, we can be thankful for our many blessings which include the opportunity to play golf with friends on our lovely golf course. We encourage all women golfers to consider participating in our league. We now have 161 members. You can see us having a great time each Tuesday and Thursday morning. Besides having fun, there is an opportunity to win “prize money” from our Pro Shop.
Sam Lewin and Stan Slingerland, Ravis Prueitt Champions
ladies tennis travel team went undefeated in the fall Sunshine league. They were 5-0, losing only 1 out of 15 courts.
Thanks to Captain Sylvia Allen for hosting our Disco Dancing celebration.
Marion Malone, Margaret Farmar, Joan Blaschke, Roe Brush, Co-Captain Marge Piorkowski, Maureen Bieling, and Sylvia Allen. Missing from the picture is Sandi Barber.
River Oaks Preserve, 9541 Broadway
Ave E, Estero, Florida
By Marlene Rodak
On any Sunday or Tuesday morning, a dozen or more volunteers begin arriving at 9am to spend a few hours at River Oaks Preserve in Estero. Some have been volunteering with The Coccoloba Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society for years, others for a few months. They arrive and get right to work. For “newbies,” there are introductions and a tour of the property. Generally, they work with other volunteers to learn about Florida native plants, invasive exotics, and wildlife. When ready, they will choose projects to manage on their own.
Julia longwing butterflies. Adding just a few native plants to any yard or community can create a wildlife habitat.
Since the purchase of River Oaks Preserve by the Village of Estero, many new friendships have developed. Naturalists and people who care about the planet are kind, interesting, and fun. Nursery visitors and volunteers bond over a shared interest in native landscaping. FGCU students bring their parents to see projects and meet their supervisors. Volunteers bring their children to work alongside–whether those children are 12 or 52. They all learn while sharing laughs and enjoying the outdoors.
Care Bears
By Karen Dougherty
Over the last sixteen months, Coccoloba Chapter volunteers have supervised the removal of exotic species, established electrical service, activated an old well and installed a partially solarpowered irrigation system, established a native plant nursery, and added a bathroom. They also planted hundreds of native plants to create demonstration gardens and restore habitat. All this was accomplished with unpaid volunteer effort and financial support by the Village of Estero.
River Oaks Preserve has a now-thriving population of threatened gopher tortoises. With the exotics removed, tortoises can maneuver easily to feast on various plants they find delicious. Recently, a group of Florida Gulf Coast University Civic Engagement students “adopted” a gopher tortoise burrow. They weeded, installed many new forage plants around the burrow, and watered until plants were established. One plant was so appreciated that it was regularly eaten to the ground! By the project’s end, the resident tortoise comfortably sunned itself on the apron of its burrow as it seemingly supervised the students’ work.
Bunnies, birds, butterflies, bobcats (one male is regularly captured by security cameras) and other wildlife also inhabit the Preserve. We are introducing fabulous native groundcovers, shrubs, and trees to support them and attract new species. Native flora and fauna have co-evolved. For instance, by planting coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens), you may see cardinals eating berries or hummingbirds nectaring. By planting corkystem passionflower (Passiflora suberosa), you can attract gulf fritillary, zebra longwing, and possibly
River Oaks Preserve is a peaceful, relaxing sliver of Old Florida right in your backyard. Feel free to visit on Sundays or Tuesdays between 9 and 1, when the native plant nursery is open and staffed with friendly volunteers. River Oaks is also available for private events such as field trips or community workdays. Visit www.FNPSCoccoloba.org for more information.
Care Bears is a VCC community-wide service provided by volunteers. Thanks to the VCC men volunteers, we now have a wonderful spacious storage area for our medical equipment. To clarify our purpose, we loan, for temporary use, many forms of medical equipment to VCC residents ONLY. Contact us year-round and we can provide you with a wheelchair, commode, shower chair, regular or seated walker, cane, knee scooter or crutches. Although we have a cute name (Care Bears), we DO NOT provide any baby items (furniture or supplies) since we have no safe place to store such items. Bonita Babies (239-910-4428) is a good resource for renting items for children or try our VCC FaceBook page for requests on borrowing for your visitors. Please contact Karen Dougherty (217-220-0626) or Patrick Rosselli (216-832-5832) for any requests you may have.
VCC Golf Cart Parade And Luminary Night
By Margaret Farmar
Creativity was on display this season by the 23 festively decorated golf carts. These daylight photos taken at the staging area do not do justice to the spectacular light show that passed down our streets after dark. It was only enhanced by the candy strewn along the way. The children that were lucky enough to be enjoying the show had a blast gathering up the many pieces tossed out by the “elves” on the carts.
Having the route and schedule posted ahead of time ensured as many people as possible were able to watch. Great job, Faith Bauer, and thanks for another successful holiday parade in our Village!
In spite of the windy conditions, our streets were lit up by all the luminary bags filled and distributed by the many volunteers. Last but not least a very big THANK YOU to all of the hosts and hostesses of the “block parties” and everyone who brought all the delicious food.
Rachel, Caroline, Thomas, Workers at the Preserve
Community Information At Your Fingertips
By Judy Lieske
Did you know you can find out what’s going on in the VCC Community simply by turning on your TV? You can see upcoming events, rules, regulations, golf schedules, GM Weekly Happenings, Master and HOA Boards, Committee Chairmen, and Creekside Menus. You can also see all golf and clubhouse events, important messages from the board and office on your TV!! It’s that simple! See how below:
For Community information at your fingertips, just follow these steps!
1. Press MENU or the LEFT ARROW on your Fision remote.
2. Scroll down with your ARROW buttons and make a selection from the left menu,
Press OK/SELECT
1. HOME
2. CLUBHOUSE
3. GOVERNANCE
4. RECREATION
5. SOCIAL GROUPS
6. Messages
7. Calendar
3. Press OK/SELECT
To access the SUB TITLES across the top of the main category, use the top of the Small Black Circle around the ‘OK’ button. Press OK when the subtitle is underlined in red and navigate through that section. Use the right side of the Small Black Circle to move back and forth. The Small Black Circle will also allow you to go back by pressing the left side. Push the exit button twice under the menu button–to return to regular TV. To download the Fision App on your phone, please email directions to VCChotwiretv@gmail.com or pick up a flyer outside the administration office in the mail slots. For more information, suggestions, or something you would like to see on the TV, email VCChotwiretv@gmail.com.
Easy Shrimp Spread
By Lois Christensen
Ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons grated sweet onion (or very finely chopped)
1 teaspoon horseradish (preferably the fresh refrigerated kind)
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
8 ounces very small shrimp, chopped and drained (I use the precooked, deveined frozen shrimp)
1 green onion, thinly sliced
Instructions:
1. Using a hand-held electric mixer, beat cream cheese and mayonnaise until creamy and smooth.
2. Mix in onion, horseradish and garlic salt.
3. Set aside a few shrimp. Chop the rest and stir into cream cheese mixture.
4. Transfer mixture to a serving bowl. Sprinkle the setaside whole shrimp and the green onions on top. Chill for at least one hour before serving.
Serve with your favorite crackers or toasted baguette. Cut fresh vegetables are great for a low carb option.
Contacting The Staff
Sharon Pisanchyn - gm@vccgolfclub.com
Jessica Bryant - om@vccgolfclub.com
Debra Kortea - fbmanager@vccgolfclub.com
Christa Burris - admin@vccgolfclub.com
John Alfuth - johna@vccgolfclub.com
Contacting the Master Board vccmasterboard@vccgolfclub.com
Luminary Night On Andiron Place
By Sandra Page
Mindy Metz hosted the party on Andiron Place. According to my records this is the 19th year that VCC has displayed the luminary bags. Despite the weatherman’s report, the wind died down right about
In Memoriam
Marie Evans
Marie Evans of Estero, Florida passed peacefully in her home on 12/11/23 surrounded by family after a battle with cancer.
Marie Frances Bellus was born in New Haven, CT to Henry Bellus and Susan Durso Bellus. She was vice president of her class at Wilbur Cross High School ’54 before going on to Nursing School at St. Raphaels where she became head surgical OR nurse. She also resided in North Haven, CT as well as Amherst, NY.
She is predeceased by her husband Carl Edward Evans and survived by her sisters, Henrietta Carfora and Barbara Sizemore, along with children Kathryn, Karl, and Jon Evans, Susan Schellhas, and four grandchildren, 6 nieces and nephews, 9 great nieces and nephews, as well as many wonderful friends.
Marie was very generous with her time and activities. She volunteered for many organizations and participated in activity groups including the Red Hats. She headed the 9 hole golf league and started her local Country Creek Book Club. She gardened with the “dead headers,” and regularly played Wii Bowling, bocce and cards with her community friends. She was also a member of the Bonita Springs Shell Club. She
loved to garden, paint, and play the piano. She enjoyed music and dancing at Sock Hops, parties and family events.
At her request, instead of a funeral, there will be a memorial celebration of her life at a future date where friends and family can celebrate their fondest memories of her with merriment. She also requested that in lieu of flowers, a donation be made to the Michael J. Fox Parkinson’s Research Foundation.
Robert Passwater
Robert “Bob” Passwater, 84 years old, passed away on Dec. 6, 2023 at Florida Gulf Coast Hospital. Formerly of Ft. Wayne, Indiana, he was a resident of Villages at Country Creek since 2004.
His career started as a high school history teacher in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. He then became a high school Assistant Principal. He finished his career by being promoted to Manager of Maintenance and Operations for all of Ft. Wayne Community Schools, which included 52 schools and buildings.
Bob and his wife Nancy enjoyed sport fishing, ice fishing, and traveling. They retired to their Big Long Lake home in Indiana prior to moving to Country Creek. Over his life he loved their 4 Golden Retrievers, and “Bailey” continues to live with Nancy on Blacksmith Forge. Bob was an avid reader of history and fiction, and could frequently be seen enjoying a book on his lanai.
Funeral services were held in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.
sunset. Andiron Place has many new residents, and the party was a perfect way to welcome them to the neighborhood. Food was also collected for Interfaith of Estero.