The Time Has Come

First of all, I apologize for having not posted for such a long time. The sudden turn of events in my life the last 12 days have had me in a tailspin....so here goes...

After much soul searching and praying, Phil and I have decided to accept an offer of a position for the two of us as Directors of Tennis at Tarpon Cove Yacht and Racquet Club in Naples, Fl. Our last day at Hidden Dunes will be August 10, with a start date in Naples of September 1.

Long story short, we were not unhappy at Hidden Dunes and by no means were we even looking for another job. This came to us. Phil's nephew, David Macdonald, owns a company (Escalante Golf) that buys primarily golf clubs that are in financial trouble, fixes them up, gets them back in the black, then either sells or maintains them. Tennis can sometimes be a part of some of these properties. Tarpon Cove is a property that Escalante acquired about 5 or 6 years ago.
About 12 days ago, David called to say that the pro at Tarpon Cove had left and did Phil and I have any interest in taking the position. In addition to running Tarpon Cove, Escalante has just acquired an additional property, Spanish Wells, which is a golf and tennis club. The tennis at Spanish Wells needs work on the courts and the programs. It would be our duties to oversee the refurbishing of the Spanish Wells facility then "marrying" the two programs together to have continuity between the to clubs. We were intrigued, and went to Naples for a couple of days to get a feel of the possibility. Escalante offered us an unbelievable compensation package, and we decided the time was right to leave Hidden Dunes and accept the offer in Naples. I have been at Hidden Dunes for 26 1/2 years. That is a long time to be in one place, in one position, especially in this business. I had that deep down, in your gut feeling that this was an opportunity that we needed to take advantage of.

We are very excited about the new challenges that lie ahead. Phil and I are looking forward to working together and building a new program at Tarpon Cove and Spanish Wells using the same brand of service that has made Hidden Dunes so successful. Leaving the many wonderful relationships that have been cultivated through the years is the most difficult part of making this decision.

I will continue my blog, and hope that our many Hidden Dunes friends will follow our new lives. Both of our health issues are much improved. My ablation must have really taken care of my afib and flutter issues, because even through all this stress, I continue to feel good. Phil's rehab on his shoulder is progressing. He has about 2 more weeks in the sling, and his physical therapy is going well. He is anxious for quicker healing, but completely understands he must bide his time and listen to the doctors, and his body.

We have so much to do, in so little time, but I will try post and keep everyone up to date.....