April 2023 Newsletter

April 2023

2023 BOG OFFICERS

President Stephen Frick, Jr

President Elect Joshua Kennedy

Immediate Past President Cary Helton

Secretary Christine McGill

Treasurer Mandy Gast

CLUB MANAGEMENT

General Manager Brett Curley, CCM brett curley@sjccjax com

Assistant General Manager Stephen Whitson stephen.whitson@sjccjax.com

Chief Financial Officer Brian Nay brian nay@sjccjax com

Member Billing Cydnie Forrest cydnie forrest@sjccjax com

Director of Membership Sales Jessica Payne jessica payne@sjccjax com

Activities Manager Savannah Shettler savannah shettler@sjccjax com

Executive Chef Brian Obermeyer brian obermeyer@sjccjax com

Director of Catering.....................Brittany Williams brittany williams@sjccjax com

Food & Beverage Manager...................Julian Hardy julian.hardy@sjccjax.com

Superintendent......................Clayton Estes, GCGS sjccgcm@sjccjax.com

Director of Golf...............................Todd Bork, PGA todd.bork@sjccjax.com

Head Golf Professional Josh Wolfe, PGA josh wolfe@sjccjax com

Director of Tennis Marie Waller

marie waller@sjccjax com

Director of Fitness & Aquatics Chase Chenoweth chase chenoweth@sjccjax com

HOURS OF OPERATION

Clubhouse

Tuesday & Sunday- 10:00am to 6:00pm

Wednesday-Saturday- 10:00am-9:00pm

Monday- Clubhouse Closed

Donald Ross Dining Room

Tuesday & Sunday- 11:00am-3:00pm

Wednesday-Saturday- 11:00am-3:00pm & 5:00pm-9:00pm

*Bar service will continue one hour past food service

Tuesday & Sunday the bar closes at 6:00pm

Monday- Dining Closed

Men's Lounge

Tuesday-Sunday- 10:00am-4:00pm

Closed Monday

Golf Course & Practice Facilities

Tuesday-Sunday- 8:00am to Dusk

Closed Monday

Golf Shop

Tuesday-Sunday- 7:00am-6:00pm

Closed Monday

Tennis Pro Shop

Monday-Friday- 8:00am-7:00pm

Saturday- 8:00am-5:00pm

Sunday- 10:00am-5:00pm

Fitness Center

Monday-Friday- 5:00am-8:30pm

Saturday- 8:00am-6:00pm

Sunday- 10:00am-5:00pm

Cubs Corner

Monday-Friday- 8:00am-1:00pm and 3:30pm-7:00pm

Saturday- 8:00am-1:00pm

Kids Club Dinner- Fridays- 6:00pm-10:00pm, Reservations Required

FROM THE PRESIDENT

As we move into the month of April, we have several exciting events and activities to look forward to at the Club. I wanted to take a moment to update you on what's coming up.

First, I want to remind everyone that our annual Easter Egg Hunt will take place on Saturday, April 8. This is always a popular event, and we encourage families to come out and participate in the fun. We will have 3 egg hunts broken down by age and the Easter Bunny will be there along with a professional photographer to take pictures. If you haven’t signed up already, head over to the mobile app and register.

On Easter Sunday, April 9, we will be hosting our annual Easter Brunch This is a wonderful opportunity for members to come together and enjoy a delicious meal with family and friends Chef Brian and his team have a special menu prepared and we look forward to seeing everyone there

I’m excited to announce that Chef Brian and our Assistant GM, Stephen Whitson, have been busy working on expanding our lunch and dinner offerings We heard your feedback about providing more variety, more often To answer the bell, the menu will now change quarterly with the seasons, and you will see some small changes in between to reflect Club favorites You can expect the changes to feature local, seasonal ingredients and an emphasis will be placed on elevating our casual dining and shareable plates. Look for the updated menu following Easter!

Later in the month, we will be holding our Club Championship, which is always a highlight of the golf season. This is a great opportunity to test your skills against some of the best golfers at the Club. We have multiple divisions for both men and women and we encourage all members to sign up and enjoy the rare opportunity to putt them all out!

We look forward to our Social & Entertainment committee, in conjunction with our professional staff, to continue the path of engaging events. The Pool season is just around the corner, and you will see new event experiences and saltwater pool enhancement that will keep the good times rolling throughout the Summer

FOOD & BEVERAGE EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES

REGISTER HERE >

SUNDAY // APRIL 9

Easter Brunch

10:30am - 2:30pm

$60+ | Adult

CLUB COMFORT

THURSDAY'S

$25 | Meal

April 6

Beef Stroganoff

April 13

Lemon Chicken

Picatta

WEDNESDAY // APRIL 12

$25+ | Child (Ages 3-12) Register Here > Floral Design Class

5:30pm - 7:30pm

April 20

Pasta Bolognese

April 27

WEDNESDAY // APRIL 19

$75+ | Person Register Here > Pizza & Movie Night 5:00pm - 8:00pm

$30+ | Child Register Here >

Blackened Chicken

Alfredo

GOLF NEWS AND EVENTS

April is here and two of our favorite events come along with it, The Masters and The 2023 Club Championship! Aaron Fitzpatrick will look to defend his title at the end of the month against a field full of great players If you haven’t yet, be sure to sign up for the club championship which will be held April 28th, 29th and 30th

Congratulations to our Senior Member Guests Champions Tony Sullivan and Robert Tartaglia who carded rounds of 62 – 64 to take the overall championship! What a great weekend for golf and fellowship it was as we had 53 teams battle for the title after a slight rain delay on Saturday afternoon

April 15

DIVOT FILLING PARTY

May 4

LION'S PRIDE MEN'S MEMBER GUEST

May 11 to 13

MEMBERS IN WAITING VS MEMBERS WHO WAITED

May 20

LADIES OPERATION 36

Ongoing

Kelley Slay and Mark Taylor defended their short game championship gross title and Nancy Hanna and Tonia Yazgi took home to title of Net Champions. As a reminder the MGA Ryder cup has been rescheduled for Saturday April 15th, the course will be closed until 4:30pm that day, if you ’ re looking to play elsewhere call the golf shop for potential reciprocals

PresentedBy:

The golf course will be closed Friday, May 12 and 13. Please inquire with the golf shop regarding reciprocal Club play.

April 1995: During a luncheon interview with Mike Dawes, Rufus Dowell, Tom Tierney and Nick Clark (with a cameo appearance by Tom Kavanaugh), I noticed the ladies seated around us, eating lunch in their lace brimmed hats and flowing summer dresses. This was old Florida. Not the city, but the Club, the people, the culture. I knew I had found a home and a family Through the many years of my tenure, I have witnessed changes and transitions, but the one constant has always been family Staff and Club, children born and now grown to bare their own Those that have gone before us, the history so often forgotten as time marches on receiving a “Jimmy Plant” letter (those that have one will know what I mean); round table lunches in the grill with Tucker, Montney, Schellenberg, Hocker and Neil and soaking up their words of age and wisdom; the Tierney newsletter articles; the pump on 18 to drain the property after a couple days of rain right before the October Member/Guest; the large red maple on the right side of 3 green that no one ever noticed was gone; the ladies’ groups, their etiquette and care for the course; Rosemary Barnwell berating the men to keep those carts on the path; MGA Q&A sessions in the grill; candy season with the ladies PBRs and rainbows, lunch at bistro #4, late afternoons with shadows long and a warm southern breeze. History…

I have seen and lived over 10,000 sunrises here at San Jose Country Club; many I have photographed to share with the ones I love so they may also witness the beauty of morning in my garden With each sunrise, a new day a new challenge, a new triumph, a new failure Such is life, as Mother Nature and Earth are rarely kind or forgiving

With every sunrise, there is a sunset. My sunset is at hand and I would be remiss not to sincerely thank Judy Dubose, Mike Dawes, Rufus Dowell, Tom Tierney, Nick Clark, Don Beaver and Jack Brooks (rest in peace Sir) for taking a chance and believing in an old Florida boy I tip my hat farewell to those who have made me feel like family for all these years Over the coming months, I hope to see you all enjoying my garden as I have for so many years

Clayton Estes, CGCS Superintendent

TENNIS NEWS AND EVENTS

MONDAY MEN'S NIGHTS

April 10 - Register Here >

MAUI JIM SUNGLASSES SALE!

30% off (In stock) Maui Jim Sungalsses

LADIES INTRO TO TENNIS

April 28 - June 2

Friday Moring

10:30 – 11:30

6 Week Program: April 28-June 2

$150 | 6 Weeks

$30 | Daily

Learn the basics of tennis and get ready to play matches.

Week 1: Forehands

Week 2: Backhands

Week 3: Volleys & Overheads

Week 4: Serves

Weeks 5 & 6: Learn how to score & match play

Register Here >

PICKLEBALL CLINICS

Pickleball clinics will be postponed until the courts are complete Karin is still available for individual lessons

2023 MEMBER-GUEST WEEKEND SPECTATOR PASS

Member Spouse or Guest Spouse Package Registration$100

(Non-Spouse) Family or Friends Package Registration$125

All beverages included

Individual Meals:

Ladies Night (Tuesday) - $25

Thursday Evening (EXO) - $40 Adults - $15/Kids

Breakfast - $10

Lunch - $20

Saturday Evening Courtside Party - $40

FITNESS & AQUATICS

By now many of you will have likely already heard the bittersweet news that is forcing me to fight back tears as I write this article Sadly, my current chapter with San Jose is coming to a close

When I started at San Jose as a lifeguard in May of 2003, I was just wrapping up my junior year at Mandarin High I had no idea at the time, but my professional career path was already set! Over the years I advanced within the Club and loved coming to work every day (especially because it rarely ever felt like work!) As the years passed, I drug my feet through college at UNF while maintaining full-time employment and advancing at the Club from Lifeguard to Personal Trainer, then Interim Director, Assistant Director, and finally Director in 2013 It was clear to me from pretty early on that I loved San Jose, but I wasn’t always sure that being your Director of Fitness & Aquatics (as much as I do sincerely enjoy it) was my final destination

One of the many things I love about the members of San Jose is that so many of you champion the advancement of our staff! That being the case, myself as well as quite a few other staff members over the years have fielded compliments from time to time whereby members would confide their confidence and desire for each of us to lead the Club as the General Manager one day The consistent and unwavering support that so many of you have expressed to me eventually started to take root and got me thinking seriously about whether or not I really did have what it takes to run this Club (and whether or not that is really what I wanted)

As we went through our last General Manager search in late 2020, I decided it was what I wanted and now was the time to throw my name in the hat I figured that at a minimum I’d be a stopgap to make sure that the next GM at least couldn’t be any worse than me I wasn’t sure how it would go, but per San Jose usual, the support I received from our members, staff, and Board of Governors was overwhelming! Through that process I realized I was close, but I wasn’t quite ready I was however clear on what I needed to work on and my confidence was bolstered by our amazing Board and then new General Manager who both made a steadfast commitment to furthering my education and credentials for the purpose of preparing me to realize my ambition of becoming a successful General Manager in the future (which I always thought would be at San Jose one day)

Thanks to the incredible support I’ve received every step of the way from everyone here at the Club, my goal of leading a private club as a General Manager has finally come to fruition I am happy, sad, excited, and humbled to share that I have accepted an opportunity with The Beachwalk Club in St John’s County to become their new General Manager/COO

San Jose has been my morning commute for nearly 20 of my 37 years on this Earth SJCC is where I’ve grown up, it’s where I’ve met many of my closest friends, where I’ve made a lifetime of amazing memories, where I’ve been privileged to be a part of some of the most significant life events both happy and sad in many of your lives, and if ever I get asked where home is, San Jose Country Club is what I think of first Words cannot express what an impact this Club and it’s members have had in my life Love, appreciation, gratitude, doesn’t begin to quantify what I feel for this amazing Club It has truly been the privilege of a lifetime to serve all of you This isn’t goodbye, it's just farewell for now!

Our Assistant Director Mhardy Moralita will be the Acting Interim Director starting April 15th and he’s excited to help lead our Fitness and Aquatics operations going forward We have an amazing and well tenured team here in Fitness, so I know I’m leaving you in very capable hands! My last official day will be Friday April 14th; please feel free to stop by my office anytime through that date if you need anything or just to tell me not to let the door hit me on the way out haha!

Sincerely,

Chase Chenoweth

EVENT PHOTOS