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JAGA MEETING MINUTES AMELIA ISLAND PLANTATION AUGUST 18, 2009 OFFICERS IN ATTENDANCE: Jim Edwards, Bob Streightiff, Joe Power, Gary Owensby, Barney Poston, Jerry Kay, Tom Tierney and Lee Crowe. CALL TO ORDER: Pres. Jim Edwards called the meeting to order at 10:30 a.m. INTRODUCTION OF CLUB PRO: Pres. Jim thanked Bob Bolin, director from Amelia Island Plantation, for helping set up this meeting. Jim introduced Bob Kessinger, Director of Sports Events. Mr. Kessinger welcomed us to Amelia Island Plantation and was sure we would enjoy our golf and lunch experience. We will be playing the Amelia River course, which he said was in very good condition. MOMENT OF SILENCE: Pres. Jim asked for us to remember our troops and those directors who are unable to be with us due to illness. INTRODUCTION OF DIRECTORS AND GUESTS: Joe Carriero, head pro. at NAS Jax. explained how to expedite the process of procuring a pass to the naval air station for next month’s meeting. He said the deadline for sending in the paper work would be Sept. 5. George Halvorsen introduced the girls’ junior champion, Katelyn Price, and her mother to the group. TREASURER’S REPORT: Jerry Kay reported we have $29,515.59. Of that, $4,333.57 is core money, or operating cash. SECRETARY’S REPORT: Gary Owensby made 2 corrections to last month’s minutes. First, Lee Crowe gave the blessing, not Don Barker; and secondly, Hidden Hills was mentioned in an incomplete sentence, which was a typing error, or editing error. That brings the total errors to 5. Last month’s minutes were accepted and seconded. VICE PRES. TOURNAMENTS: Joe Power asked Barney Poston to give report on the Father-Son Tournament. Barney said it was one of their most successful, with an estimated $1,299 earned for the scholarship fund. Barney also said this was his last year at the helm for the Father-Son Tournament, and was passing the baton to someone else. Next, Lee Crowe reported that he had to cancel the 2-man at Hidden Hills, due to lack of entries. He said he would probably not schedule any tournaments in the summer of next year. Lee asked for a good turnout for the Bill Black Memorial Tourn. Special guest host this year will be Tom Tierney. Next, Joe called on Bob Streightiff to report on the JAGA City Amateur. Bob reported that they ended up with 79 players. The event has grown in the last few years. Duke Butler IV, the winner, did something John Upton, Gen Mgr. at Palencia, said would not happen, break par. Duke has served as an advisor to Bob in how to make the tournament better. Bob presented the scholarship fund with a $500 check as proceeds from the tournament. Bob thanked the volunteers for their help, Al Levine for scoring, Florida Golf Central magazine for their article and Miles King and his wife for their financial contribution. Duke Butler IV gave a critique of the tournament, saying it was on a par with national amateur events. He thanked JAGA and said he was impressed to see all those white shirts out there working. Bob presented Duke with his framed scorecard. VICE PRES. ADMINISTRATION: Bob Streightiff reminded us of our next meeting, which is Sept. 15 at NAS Jax. After that, we meet at Magnolia Point on Oct. 20. All of our meetings have been booked for next year. WEBMASTER’S REPORT: Barney Poston said we had a little problem with reservations this month, but, it is working ok now. SCHOLARSHIP COMM. Tom Tierney said this is a busy season for the scholarship committee with sending checks out to students. He reported that he still had a few students who haven’t sent in their grades. OLD BUSINESS: Ed Witten said he would have shirts available at our next meeting. NEW BUSINESS: We have a board meeting tomorrow at Queen’s Harbour. GUEST SPEAKER: Bob Bolin introduced our guest speaker, Mr. Richard Goldman, Sr. Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer for Amelia Island Plantation. Mr. Goldman spent 10 years in the advertising business before joining Amelia Island Plantation. He is the 2008-2009 Chairman for the Visit Florida First Coast of Golf Committee. Amelia Island Plantation has 4 golf courses, and Mr. Goldman said what distinguishes them from other resorts is their care of the environment, their employees and their guests. “The golf traveler helps support us. What is happening in the travel business and golf travel is: (1) We project recovery may be ahead of schedule. We may have bottomed out. (2) Not among the positives is consumer confidence. They have a fear of spending. Unemployment has gone from 5.6% to 9.7% in one year. Retail spending was down in July.” He said travel is down 3.5% , but, spending is down 12%. The consumer is bargain hunting. He said they have lowered prices, which helps. “ However, groups pay the majority of our bills. This business is off 15% nationally. The travel business is in bad shape. Revenue per available room is down 20% and projected to be off another 4% in 2010.” Mr. Goldman said the plus is better deals for customers. Therefore. some of the local organizations are staying local, which helps. But, he said they are losing $40 per room, although that is relatively good. To put this in perspective, the consumer index is down 2%, while the travel index is down 9%, according to Dr. Susan Cook, in charge of research at the U.S. Travel Association. New information about golf travel concerning a survey taken between Dec. 08 and June 09 of 36,000 golfers who played 29 rounds per year with an average index of 13, found that 2/3 of the survey group planned to play more golf. Mr. Goldman said golfers are important travelers because:
Furthermore, important factors in deciding on a destination are:
Golfers plan their trips 31/2 months in advance and book 11/2 months in advance, according to the Consumer Insights Group On Golf Travel. Further research shows that in Florida, the most popular destinations are Orlando, N.E. Florida and the Panhandle area, in that order. Rankings in quality of experience show the Naples area as #1 and our area as #4. As for ranking the vacation golf experience, our area ranked #1. Question: Fred Seely asked what impact the TPC has on Amelia Island Plantation, as well as other area major events. Answer: The Florida-Georgia game is very important, as well as the Gator Bowl, depending on who is playing. The TPC does now; however, it did not at first. President Jim thanked Mr. Goldman and presented him with a set of commemorative glasses. PAIRINGS COORDINATOR: Russ Hamilton reminded us that all putts are to be holed out; no “that’s good” stuff.. BLESSING FOR LUNCH: Don Barker gave the blessing. MEETING ADJOURNED: On time Submitted by your humble secretary, Gary Owensby |
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