FOX VALLEY GOLF CLUB
2014 ANNUAL STOCKHOLDERS MEETING MINUTES
THURSDAY DECEMBER 11, 2014
6:00PM HELD AT THE CLUB:
CALL TO ORDER:
The meeting was called to order by Vice-President Jamie Loehnis at 6:05pm. A moment of
silence was observed for deceased past member Dorothy Mengarelli. A quorum was declared by
secretary, Ed Bekx.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
The minutes of the December 18, 2013 annual meeting were posted and a motion to accept was
made by Harry VanLith with a second by Josh Hounsell. Motion carried.
CANDIDATES FOR THE BOARD:
Vice-President Loehnis announced the candidates running for the Board of Directors and
thanked them for running. The two candidates are Josh Hounsell and Jon Wittman. A motion
was made to dispense with the formal vote and accept the two candidates to fill the positions on
the board. This was seconded and motion carried.
2014 Annual President’s Report
FVGC Members:
Being unable to attend the annual meeting, I am having the President’s message sent out early as
to not waste time having to be read at the meeting. The other reports from the committees will
detail the past year’s success. What follows is a more general thanks.
It has been a learning experience being on the Board and to me, all learning is fun. However,
after being on the Board a number of years, the learning for myself has become limited. It’s time
for new blood and the ideas and enthusiasm that comes with the new.
The Fox is in good hands from the Board to the employee partners to the Membership, my
thanks go out to all.

Monica Renkens-for her work on the events committee creating new fun events and also
for her years of planting and taking care of the flowers.

Jeff Maulick-as Building Committee Chair, for the time consuming but analytical work
on the parking lot to get it right at the best value.

Jamie Loehnis-for his work on personnel and being a great logical voice in finding
sensible ground.

Ed Bekx-as secretary for being a sounding board for ideas with knowledge of how/why
past Boards made their decisions.

Rich Scott-for his detailed reports and keeping us focused on eliminating our long term
debt in 8 years.

Dan Haak-for working with Scott Bushman in making our course the best conditioned
course there is.

Mike Zimmer-our newest Board member, for his enthusiasm on getting the Fox Future
Fund up and running.

Dan Coffey-for originally working with Dick Rasmussen, our past bar and dining
chairman. It is because of Dick and Dan that the restaurant went from a six figure loss to
not only making a profit, but also increased the quality and enjoyment.
There were past Board members I would like to thank, but quite frankly with being on the
Board a number of years, they would be too numerous to list. I will say that every one of
us did what we feel is best for the long term interest of the Membership and they all
deserve our thanks.
Thanks also to the employees and especially, the department heads.



Jason Haack in the Golf Shop-for giving us excellent merchandise and for making every
day at The Fox fun.

Mark Coniff-for his excellent chef abilities and continuing a high quality and fun dining
experience.

Steve Nockerts-for continuing to have a profitable bar and restaurant and for tying all of
the operations together to make The Fox enjoyable for members and guests alike.

Scott Bushman-words can not describe the work that he has done through the years.
Everyone who has played The Fox knows the course speaks for itself as to how good a
job he does.
What these people do, given what they have to work with, is truly amazing!
A special thanks goes out to my bride, Patty. She is one reason the Fox is successful today.
Last but not least, you, the Members, with your time, investment and ideas have made The Fox
one of the best entertainment venues and golfing values around. Sometimes, it may take a little
longer for a project, but the money saved and pride we can take is well worth it. Over the last
two years, the volunteer help of cleaning up after the storm, installing new bridges and other
help, our savings is close to $100,000.
As we approach our 70th anniversary of the club and the 50th anniversary of the club being at it's
current location in 2016, The Fox is in good hands. There is definitely a great buzz going on at
The Fox and we no doubt will be building on that using the experience of the seasoned and the
enthusiasm of the new.
See you in the rough (If I see you in the fairway, one of us are on the wrong hole).
Thanks again to all.
Doug West
President
2014 Golf Professional Report:
2014 Annual Meeting: Golf Professional Report
Thank you to members and their guests who supported and participated in the various
tournaments, weekly events and other golf opportunities presented this season. This is an
essential part of what helps make Fox Valley Golf Club such as special place. Promotion of
weekly contests and the utilization of BlueGolf Tournament Manager this season again triggered
solid participation levels, healthy payouts/club revenue and a general buzz around the club. We
will strive to deliver more of the same during the 2015 golf season.
I would like to thank Steve Nockerts and the Board of Directors for granting me the opportunity
to be your PGA Professional. Many thanks to the membership of Fox Valley Golf Club for all of
the kind words and generosity during my fourth season at the club. Thank you to our golf staff
for all of the effort during the season. None of this could happen without the top notch grooming
Scott Bushman and his crew delivers daily for member and guest play alike… thank you
gentlemen. It was another neat year (that went by too fast) and a lot of fun. Thank you all once
again!!
A snapshot comparison of rounds of golf for 2014 versus 2013 is listed below. The 2014 round
count was down a bit in comparison to 2013. Both seasons started in late April. Any early start in
2015 would be very helpful for business.
Rounds of Golf
2014: 12,857
2013: 13,202
The Junior Golf Program participation was similar to last season as roughly 30 junior golfers
participated in the 6-week program. We’d like to thank the parents, grandparents and families
that helped out during camp and for coordinating transportation. The future of the game and the
club will be determined by junior golf participation and programs that promote an enjoyable golf
experience. Please spread the word to family and friends.
This off-season I will be working with vendors, researching product and developing a buying
plan that will continue to bring added value to the membership and club. Member input is
invaluable in this process. Please contact me if exposed to a product line that could succeed at
The Fox. Our pricing structure in 2014 granted members and guests the best deals in the business
on current product. This strategy will continue next season… YOUR GOLF SHOP, meaning
YOUR PROFITS!! It is truly is a no-brainer to shop The Fox for your golfing needs.
Thank you for your patronage and participation. Have a great Holiday Season and please keep in
touch during the off-season.
Respectfully Submitted,
Jason Haack
PGA Professional
[email protected]
2014 Greens and Grounds Annual Report
-First things first, I wish to extend a big thank you to many people who helped take care of the
course this year. Scott and his crew did a great job. Monica Renkens and Gary VerVoort took
care of the flower beds. Dick Ohme for the bridge design and helping to arrange the installation.
Also, Jon Bauman and Steve Van Rooy for helping with the demo and installation of the new
bridges after the course closed.
-The bridges have been installed, the railings will go on in early spring, unless we happen to get
a warm up and time would allow them to go on sooner. Thanks again to members who helped
with the process as well as those who helped by donating financially.
-On the course this year, sand was added to all of the bunkers throughout the year, and that has
been completed. Also, all of the stumps have been ground out and those areas reseeded and
filled back in very well as the year went on.
This fall, we began talking about the emerald ash borer beetle. The beetle has now been found in
Outagamie, Brown, Winnebago, and Calumet counties, so the potential threat to the ash trees is
getting closer. A subcommittee was formed with Jon Wittman who brought a lot of this
information forward after seeing some devastation first hand. First thing we’ll be looking at in
spring is marking all of the ash trees on the course with a green ribbon, and some of the other
sick trees that might need to be addressed. Once we can see how the trees might impact the
course, we’ll decide what to treat and what to remove and replant with other trees.
Respectfully,
Dan Haak Committee Chair
2014 Bar and Dining Annual Report
Shortly after the start of the 2014 fiscal year, our Bar Manager, Ryan Heubner, decided to pursue
a new career and returned to school. Upon his departure, we made a strategic realignment in our
Bar and Dining operations to consolidate our kitchen and wait staff under Head Cook Mark
Coniff, who took on the title of Food Operations Manager. His new role includes supervising the
wait staff and creating seamless service between the kitchen and dining areas.
Tina Kucksdorf, who joined our staff as a bartender in the fall of 2013, took on the additional
duties of Head Bartender, which included responsibilities for product ordering, inventory control
and staffing. Tina stepped into a tough situation and did an admirable job on behalf of the club.
She moved on to a new career in the fall of 2014 and we wish her luck in her new venture. We
are currently looking at a couple of different options in terms of how we will structure the bar
operations going forward.
The winter of 2013-14 was one of the coldest and most brutal on record, which negatively
impacted our off-season business on Thursday and Friday night. A cold, wet spring meant a
later-than-normal start to the golf season, which didn't help things either. The summer, however,
turned out to be very nice, with very few rain days. Thanks to the support of our fantastic
Members and the focus of our employees on delivering outstanding service, the combined bar
and dining operations produced a profit for the club.
Our Friday night dinner business continues to grow, which is a testament to the quality of food
Chef Mark is delivering and to the service our dedicated staff delivers for our Members and
Guests. We've also seen consistent growth for our special events, such as the New Years Eve
celebration and our Mother’s Day and Easter brunches.
As a leadership group, we continue to evolve our menu offerings and keep a keen eye on all bar
and dining product costs in order to strike a proper balance between delivering great value to our
Members and Guests while being fiscally responsible to the club and the Member/Owners.
Going forward, we feel there is an opportunity to develop an alternative revenue stream for the
club by promoting the clubhouse facility for business meetings, parties, showers, and events of
all kinds. We have a beautiful venue and plenty of capacity to add events to our clubhouse
schedule.
Special thanks to all those Members who support the Club through their patronage of our bar and
dining facility. Your support makes a positive impact on the club's bottom line and helps create
the energy and camaraderie that's such a big part of being a Member at The Fox. For those who
haven't been out for a Friday dinner, this is an open invitation to come and find out what you are
missing—I guarantee you won't be disappointed!
Respectfully Submitted,
Steve Nockerts
Director of Operations
2014 Golf Activities Committee Annual Report
The Golf Activities committee is responsible for planning the activities that are open to the
members. The committee works closely with the Pro shop to set the dates for these events and
for those events that are part of Women’s day and Men’s day.
The events that were open to both men and women this year were:
Derby Day
Memorial Day Best Ball
Parent/Sibling Golf Tournament
July 4th event
He/She Scramble
Mr./Mrs. Club Championship
Corn Roast/Battle of the Sexes
Club and Class
Night Golf
3-person Tough Day Scramble
If there is an event that you would like to see added to the calendar, or if you would like to serve
on the committee, please let Jason or myself know!
See you in Spring!
Monica Renkens
2014 Building Committee Annual Report
Committee Members: Jeff Maulick
2014 Projects:

Converted Maintenance Shop furnace from L.P. Gas to Natural gas. Significant savings
expected to be recognized in the winter of 2014 and beyond.

We have begun the process of reconstructing the existing parking lot. We have
contracted N.E. Asphalt to do the topographical engineering which also includes
changing the elevations and size of the existing parking lot. This will ensure proper
drainage and longevity of the new parking lot. The driveway entrance on the east side of
the parking lot will be moved to the West, which will also assist with better drainage of
the parking lot. Existing culverts on both driveways will also be replaced as they have
severely deteriorated.

Identifying the current intermittent pungent smell that exists in both the dining and bar
areas. We have contractors that believe they have identified where the odor is coming
from. We expect to have proposal to remediate the problem in the near future.
2014 Personnel Committee Annual Report
Committee members: Jamie Loehnis-Chair; Doug West; Rich Scott
It was another successful year from a personnel perspective at the Fox under the leadership of
our Club Operations Manager, Steve Nockerts. Steve worked closely with the department heads,
Jason in the Pro-Shop, Tina with the bar staff and Mark in the kitchen. From the course
perspective, Scott once again did an outstanding job; especially worth noting, without a key staff,
right hand staff member for much of the season.
While we will never be able to please all the people, all the time, our staff worked very hard to
provide great customer service. In most areas this was achieved. When there were concerns
raised, Steve and the related staff addressed those items in a timely manner and corrections were
made when appropriate. Fortunately for the membership, this did not happen much at all this
year.
For 2015, Steve will be focusing more of his efforts at increasing the utilization of our facilities
for various outings and/or meetings and events in order to increase more revenues for the club.
He will be doing this with an eye on not disrupting the service to the members. We have great
facilities here at the Fox and we need to market those more aggressively for the financial health
of the club.
I want to thank all our staff for providing excellent, dedicated service to our membership and we
look forward to another year of success.
Submitted by:
Jamie Loehnis
Personnel Committee Chair
2014 Policy and Bylaw Updates
The following are policy updates which were approved by the board in 2014.
E. LIMITED SENIOR
This individual membership is available to anyone over the age of 65 as of the first of the year.
This is a weekday membership. Play anytime on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. The member
must tee off by 11:30am on Wednesday and Thursday. No play is allowed on weekends or
holidays except those holidays that fall on weekdays. They have no voting rights unless the
member was previously under a stockholder category and has retained their share of stock to
remain a stockholder.
F. LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP
This stockholder membership has limited availability. The membership is a regular family
membership with all the benefits of a family membership. The lifetime benefit will be assigned
to only one individual in the family but will cover current immediate family members. Full
details of this membership are covered under a separate policy.
EMPLOYEE GOLF PRIVILEGES
Golf
Employees are permitted to play complimentary golf (walking) when course traffic is minimal
with permission from the Director of Golf or PGA Professional, who will set-up the tee-time
request.
Golf Carts
Golf carts may be utilized for play, but walking is encouraged for health benefits. If opting to use
a golf cart, you must be off the golf course prior to the last member using a golf cart or member
storing a golf bag in the bag room.
Practice Privileges
Practice privileges do not include the use of the driving range tee area. Practice balls may be hit
from a designated location not on the tee area when range traffic is minimal with permission
from the Director of Golf or PGA Professional. The practice putting green and short game area
may be used during minimal traffic periods with permission as well.
Notes
Employees, who golf, use golf carts or use the practice areas must adhere to all rules and
protocol of the club, as would any member. Failure to follow protocol and/or behavior
unbecoming of the game when utilizing the facility will not be tolerated and privileges will be
revoked.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF RETIRING DIRECTORS:
Vice-President Loehnis thanked retiring president Doug West for his countless hours of service
to the club. Doug and his wife Patti went above and beyond to make sure our club was solvent
through some tough times. Working together their love and support of the club helped make the
Fox all it is today. Thank you, Doug and Patti. Loehnis also acknowledged retiring board
member Jeff Maulick for all his time on the board. Jeff will continue to help with the parking lot
project which he has overseen since the beginning. Thank you, Jeff.
2014 ANNUAL TREASURER’S REPORT:
Fox Valley Golf Club Annual Report
October 31, 2014
Rich Scott, Treasurer
Fox Valley Golf Club
Overall Revenues
Revenues for the year totaled $969,970 for fiscal 2014 which was down from $990,136 for fiscal
2013. The breakdown of fiscal 2014 to 2013 was as follows:
Dues
Bar
Dining
Cart Rental
Pro Shop Sales
Green Fees & Driving Range
Bag Storage
Locker Rental
Cart Storage
Miscellaneous Income
Interest Income
Initiation Fees & Stock
2014
2013
$395,468
$162,563
$106,958
$ 87,311
$ 86,736
$106,770
$ 5,812
$ 3,835
$ 2,868
$ 11,376(a)
$
73
$
200(b)
$419,565
$150,614
$ 97,424
$ 87,296
$ 90,464
$ 98,925
$ 7,274
$ 4,620
$ 3,570
$ 30,129(a)
$
112
$
143(b)
(a) Miscellaneous Income is composed mostly of gratuities, cash short and over, fixed assets
sales, rebates, handicap, hall rental, rent income and other minor miscellaneous income.
However in 2013 and additional amount of $15,175 was raised for the memorial for Don
Pederson our former Treasurer who passed away in 2013.
(b) Initiation and stock fees were a net positive in 2014 because we added stock fees for
members who joined in 2014. This number is reported on a net basis as we did receive
the stock fees for incoming members but we had to refund some initial stock fees which
is reflected in our equity section for the club.
Observations with regard to revenue for 2014:
The dues amount for 2014 decreased by about $24,000 from 2013. We have a number of
reasons for the reduction. We had a reduced amount of members that we attracted to the buddy
program in which we added new members at 75% of the dues amount for 2014 for the various
dues categories. We had an influx of younger members who pay a reduced rate from the older
and full members we lost during the year. We have also had members switching to lesser
memberships from a full regular membership. Finally we had some members move to the
business membership where their amounts are included in green fees, bar and dining and cart
fees. Therefore going forward we have to again concentrate on improving our membership.
The bar and dining revenue increased about $21,500 in 2014. We had a stable kitchen staff for
2014 and bar staff did well after Ryan moved onto to a new career at the end of 2013. Our
margins in the dining area took a step forward as we came in at around 54.25% versus 59.8% in
2013. We need to specifically targeted this area for improvement in 2015 and try to reach that
50% margin in this area since this is a crucial area and directly affects the club’s profitability.
The bar area of the club from a margin standpoint was almost identical to last year and has been
very consistent over the past 6 years. We have good consistency in the bar area, and total bar
revenue was up almost $12,000 or over 8% over last year. Hopefully we will see an increase in
bar revenue next year as membership grows or we add events to bolster this area of the club.
When we combine the bar and dining operation as one unit for fiscal 2014, we had a net profit of
$19,566. We had a loss last year of $7,473. We generated a profit in 2012 of $18,000. In 2011,
we had a net loss of $19,800. We need to target this area for growth in 2015 and hopefully
increase the profit in 2015.
Green Fees increased by $7,000. This can be directly related to the business membership green
fees and increase in green fees from outside events being booked at the golf club. Our cart
revenue was almost identical to last year at $87,300.
The club has operated the pro shop for four years. In 2014 we generated $86,700 of sales versus
about $90,500 in sales in 2013. With cost of sales running $62,600, we generated a net profit on
merchandise sales of $21,100 in 2014 compared to $22,200 in the prior year. This is another
area of the club where we it could lead to an increase in revenue and profit. I hope we can
continue to hopefully increase sales and profitability in the future in the pro shop.
The other revenue amounts are minor compared to those highlighted above and you can see
those in the revenue detail above.
Course Operations:
We define course operations as items that directly relate to golf course play and would be needed
to run the golf course operations. These would encompass the departments we call Course, Pro
Shop, Club House, and Administration.
Course Operation Revenue:
The comparative revenue breakdown of 2014 to fiscal 2013 was as follows:
Dues
Cart Rental
Green Fees & Driving Range
Pro Shop Sales
Bag Storage
Locker Rental
Cart Storage
Handicap Income
Interest Income
Initiation Fees & Stock
2014
2013
$395,468
$ 87,311
$106,770
$ 86,736
$ 5,812
$ 3,835
$ 2,868
$ 1,360
$
73
$
200
$419,565
$ 87,296
$ 98,975
$ 90,464
$ 7,274
$ 4,620
$ 3,570
$ 1,550
$
112
$
143
Total Course Operation Revenue
$ 690,433
$ 713,569
The revenue in this area comes from dues, green fees, locker rental, bag storage, cart storage,
cart rental income, initiation or entry fees, and some miscellaneous revenue.
Course Operation Expenses:
2014
2013
Course Operations & Labor
Pro Shop Operations
Club House
Administration
$384,542
$201,400
$ 49,911
$147,514
$371,780
$205,310
$ 53,834
$149,564
Total Course Operation Expenses
$783,367
$780,488
Expenses related to course operations for fiscal 2014 were $783,367, and therefore were almost
identical in total to last years. Therefore we had a net loss on the course operations of $92,934 in
2014 versus a loss in 2013 of $66,919. We last had a profit of $27,300 in 2012 in this area. We
need to make the course operations area a profit center for the club in the future or at least be
break even. Weather definitely has an impact on this area of the club as we had a very nice
profit in this area in 2012. The late opening in 2013 had an effect on the course operations area
and again in 2014. As you can see above the dues revenue has a very big impact on course
operations. If we would have had dues revenue similar to 2012 of around $500,000 we would
have shown a profit in this area for the club. For 2015, this must be an area where we need to
focus our attention on to bring this area into at least a breakeven operation.
Dues Revenue:
Dues revenue is generated by the members and the related categories of members. At the end of
October 2014, we had the following membership numbers by category.
Membership as of
October 31
Membership Type
2014
42
41
4
19
13
2
11
2
3
69
7
Family
Individual & Special
Family-special
Senior
Senior - Restricted
Junior & Intermediate-family
Junior & Intermediate-single
Clergy
Non-resident
Business Card
Student
Total
213
2013
54
43
4
15
13
3
10
2
3
56
4
207
Cart Revenue and Expenses:
For members who may not know this, the electric carts are owned by the club. We have had
questions in the past on the financial performance of the carts.
Cart Revenue
Depreciation Expense
Cart Rental Expense
Cart Storage Expense
Cart Maintenance Expense
Utilities Charge Carts
Net Profit
2014
2013
$ 87,311
$ 18,900
$ 2,345
$ 1,000
$ 2,350
$ 2,209
$ 60,507
$87,296
$18,900
$ 1,995
$ 1,000
$ 2,729
$ 1,995
$60,677
We purchased a new cart fleet in June of 2012. With this new cart fleet, this should allow us to
continue to provide very nice carts to the members and outside events that use our course over
the next five years when we would look at replacing these carts again. We bought the carts in
2012 with member notes of about $70,000 and the sale of our old fleet of carts for $28,000.
Bar and Dining:
The club operates a bar and restaurant for its members and also for outings. The operational
results for 2013 for the bar and restaurant were as follows:
Bar:
2014
2013
Bar Revenue
Cost of Beverages & Supplies
Labor Bar
Operating Expenses
$162,563
$ 51,952
$ 38,537
$ 18,654
$150,614
$ 48,049
$ 48,103
$ 20,484
Net Profit
$ 53,420
$ 33,978
The total bar revenue for fiscal 2014 increased $11,922. This was about a 8% increase over the
prior year. The cost of our beverages as it relates to sales for 2014 was approximately 31.96%
compared to 31.0% in 2013. Labor in the bar area when comparing 2014 to 2013 was down by
$9,566. Operating expenses were almost identical for the two year period in the bar area.
Dining:
2014
2013
Dining Revenue
Cost of Food
Labor Dining
Operating Expenses
$106,958
$ 58,026
$ 57,748
$ 25,038
$
$
$
$
Net Loss
$ 33,854
$ 41,451
97,424
58,232
54,006
26,637
The total dining revenue for fiscal 2014 was up $9,522. This is a 9.8% increase in dining
revenue from 2013. The cost of our food as it relates to sales for 2014 was 54.3% compared to
59.8% in 2013. We targeted 50% as our goal for 2014, so we moved forward a little in 2014 and
hopefully we can get to the goal of 50% like we did in 2012. Labor costs were up from 2013,
but not significantly as we brought back a host position in 2014 on Friday’s. Operating expenses
were fairly consistent with the prior year and no one item stood out to explain the increase in
2014 other than normal increases we might see from year to year.
The bar and dining area of the club prior to 2009 was an extreme drain on the club where the loss
after combining the bar with dining was in the $80,000 range. In 2011 we had a net loss of
$19,787 which mostly was caused by the poor margins related to the cost of food. In 2012, we
obviously focused on this area of the club because it is crucial to our club’s profitability, and we
had a net profit when combining bar and dining of $18,059. In 2013, we had a loss of $7,473,
which was really caused by not hitting our margins on food and then a decrease in revenue in the
bar. In 2014 we made great strides and our net profit was $19,566. I think we have this area in
good shape because of the changes we made in our business model. We must continue to work
on this area of the club in the future to at least keep bar and dining as a small profit center for the
club.
Summary:
In summary, Fox Valley Golf Club had a year that saw increases in our bar and dining
profitability, but continued issues on the course operations side of our operation. We need to
increase the dues revenue of the club to operate that part of the club on at least a breakeven basis
going forward. We have continued to pay our debt obligations and are moving forward to a
more positive outlook for 2015. Hopefully the economy will continue on an upward direction
and with our changes in how we have run the club over the past few years we can move forward
to greater profitability. When we look at the results of operations in total we end up with a Net
Loss for fiscal 2013 as follows:
2014
2013
Net Profit (Loss) from Course Operations
Net Profit (Loss) from Dining
Net Income from Bar
Net Miscellaneous and Equipment Sales
$ (92,934)
$ (33,854)
$ 53,420
$ 4,838
$(66,919)
$(41,451)
$ 33,978
$ 23,965
Net Income (Loss) for Fox Valley Golf Club
$ (68,530)
($50,427)
Note: Net loss in 2011 was $25,929 and in 2012 we had a net profit of $77,784.
Debt of the Club
Our current financial institution is the Business Lending Group backed by Fox Communities
Credit Union and we have a line of credit with a maximum capacity of $250,000. In addition,
we had a mortgage note of $650,000 starting in February of 2013. The mortgage note comes due
February 10, 2018. The line of credit has to be renewed each year in February.
The current payment on our mortgage is approximately $6,600 per month at a current interest
rate of 3.75%. The interest rate is a locked in for five years. The current rate on our line of
credit is 3.25% and also is a floating rate based upon prime. From a debt stand point, we are
very lucky to have a very low interest rate environment, and we made a decision to lock in the
rate for five years in anticipation of rising interest rate environment in the next few years. As of
October 31, 2014 we had an outstanding balance on the line of credit of $37,000 and our
mortgage had a balance of $557,637. As of October 31, 2013 we had a balance on the line of
credit of $-0- and the mortgage balance was $613,494. We paid off $55,856 on the mortgage in
2014, but we increased the line of credit by $37,000. Our member notes have decreased by
$15,895, to just over $151,400 outstanding to members. The cart loans from members of $70,000
stayed the same as last year as members on those notes were paid interest only. We did take out
a note for the purchase of a new tractor for the golf course through PNC Bank as part of that
purchase and we have one more installment in January of 2015 to pay that loan off. Overall
when you look at total debt with regard to mortgage, line of credit, tractor loan and member
loans we decreased our debt by about $50,700. I expect in 2015 we will see a decrease on debt
for the club as we have in the past five years. We have paid down quite a bit of debt in the last
five years. On October 31, 2008 we had debt to the bank and members of $1,228,624. On
October 31, 2014 we are now down to $762,073. That’s a $466,551 decrease in that six year
period.
Final Thoughts
We had the perfect situation in 2012. The weather was fantastic, we opened early, had
wonderful outings, and the club prospered because of it in 2012. We had everything go right in
2012 and that doesn’t happen often. Then in 2013, we had a late opening and struggled with
membership numbers and revenue. We had the same situation in 2014 as we did in 2013. We
have our costs under control and we had put ourselves in a good situation from a debt stand point
to continue to move the club forward as we have during the last six years. We have
accomplished quite a bit in the last six years in spite of some of the worse economic times this
country has ever seen. Six years ago the board and officers of the club were faced with difficult
decisions that would affect the future of The Fox. If many of you remember my first time to
address the membership was to a packed house and we laid out the plan to move the club
forward and put The Fox in a better position financially despite terrible economic times and
members who left because they didn’t believe in the plan we needed to put forward. Six years
ago we revised our business model, and now we can see the measurable benefits of putting that
plan in place. That should make you feel very proud as members of this club that we were able
to pull through those economic times and make progress while other golf clubs went out of
business or basically held serve. In the last six years we moved forward.
We have now also come up with new alternative financing for the future with the Lifetime
Membership campaign where we raised about $200,000 to help the club with some major
improvements we need to make. We have also started a new program called the Fox Future
Fund spread headed by Mike Zimmer as we look to keep the future of our club bright. The key
to 2015 is increasing the dues and course operations revenue to help make that area of our club
become breakeven and eventually a profitable operation.
Now we need to continue to make progress for the next five years. The key to keep moving the
club forward is to make sure we continue to attract members to the club, keep our costs in line,
and continue patronage in the club at the pro shop, bar and restaurant. What you spend in those
areas of the club has a direct impact on how we do financially as a club. To those who have
continually supported those areas of the club, I thank you. For those of you who have not taken
advantage of what the club has to offer in the pro shop, and bar and dining, I ask you to look at
increasing your partronage of the club because the pay back is tremendous to the profitability
and sustainability of the club. Weather plays a significant factor in the success of the club, and
we weren’t as lucky this year with the weather as we were in 2012. Let’s pray for an early
spring and excellent weather in 2015 as well, and I look forward to another great golf season at
The Fox.
OLD BUSINESS:
None
NEW BUSINESS:
Mike Zimmer discussed the new Lifetime membership and how it impacts the club. He
also discussed the Fox Future Fund and how this project will be an ongoing effort to make the
club a better place through projects that can be done without adding debt to the club.
MOTION TO ADJOURN:
A motion to adjourn was made by Josh Hounsell with a second by John Bauman. M/C.
Respectfully submitted,
Edward Bekx
Secretary to the Board of Directors
Fox Valley Golf Club