Chairman's Message
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WINTER 2007 • VOL 17 NO 4 Chairman’s Message For KemperSports, 2007 was another year of growth, sound financial performance, staff advancement in support of our expansion, and contributions to the communities in which we operate. So by all our high qualitative and quantitative standards it was another year to be grateful for and proud of. Every staff member receiving this edition of Inside The Ropes knows that we all work hard as individuals and as an organization to excel in our fields of expertise, to serve our clients with intensity and insight, and to act with integrity and consideration in all we do. We know if we accomplish that year in and year out, we will be successful. And, that’s what drove our success in 2007. For the past several years, I have used this space to recount the accomplishments of the year, featuring awards, ratings and rankings our clients and their properties have achieved. Since those activities have been covered so fully in these pages throughout the year, I’m going to use this little space for a different purpose this year. But I do want underscore that during the course of 2007 golf properties in the KemperSports portfolio received an unprecedented amount of accolades and acclaim. I know what great sense of importance we all assign to what I believe is an unparalleled record of acknowledgements this past year. So instead of revisiting the record, I want to thank the extended KemperSports and KemperLesnik community, comprised of golf, marketing and public relations clients, hundreds of thousands of golf patrons who played in excess of 2,000,000 rounds this year, our valued suppliers, consultants and services companies, and, of course our entire staff, now more than 4,000 strong. You are an “extended family” that together comprises an admirable and constructive force in the marketplace and in the communities in which you operate. This is the right time of year to take a moment to reflect on the fact that striving to be a model organization, respected by all, is in itself the definition of success for us. I want to encourage everyone to remain positive, productive and once again “on top of our game” during 2008. During this past year the prosperity which has lifted many business sectors, including the businesses allied to our core golf business, such as the real estate development, recreation and entertainment, travel and tourism, and the consumer and B to B marketing industries, have all benefited from a rising tide. A number of these businesses have encountered economic difficulty in recent months portending a somewhat less robust economy in these sectors in the coming year. But we remain optimistic and we will continue to build our franchises and our clients’ franchises both in golf and in the broader market segments some of our clients compete in. We have built these operations consistently since 2000 when the golf market began to stagnate and we will continue to achieve it in the somewhat uncertain uncharted times ahead. We enter the New Year with optimism, excitement and confidence. I know I represent the feelings of the entire KemperSports community when I say we love our work, we’re passionate about it every day. That’s why when we reach this time of year, we have a great deal to be thankful for. And we are. Happy Holidays to one and all on behalf of myself, Steve and Josh. Steve Lesnik KemperSports Facilities Recognized with National Honors Golfweek: Top 50 Courses GOLF Opened in the Past ThreeYears Magazine: Top Ten New Courses You Can Play Three facilities managed by KemperSports ranked among GOLF Magazine’s “Top 10 New Courses You Can Play,” a list of the best new public- y e l d access golf courses opened in a r B 2007. Chambers Bay (right) n e d i earned the title of “Best New A The top two spots on Golfweek’s latest “Best New Courses” ranking, f o Course of the Year” on the y s comprising the top courses opened in the past three calendar years e t annual list. Butterfield Trail r u (2005-07), were awarded to facilities managed by KemperSports. Opened o Golf Club , a Tom Fazio design c o in June 2005, the Bandon Trails (above) course at Bandon Dunes Golf t o that debuted in June, and h Resort in southern Oregon ranked No. 1 overall; Chambers Bay , fresh P The Crossings at Carlsbad , a off a June 2007 debut in western Washington, was the top-ranked daily-fee/municipal course and ranked No. 2 overall. Greg Nash design that opened in August, also achieved top-10 honors from GOLF Magazine. Golfweek’s “Best New Courses” list is derived from the efforts of a nationwide team comprising more than 450 raters nationwide. Golfweek “Chambers Bay earns the greatest compliment it’s possible to bestow on described Bandon Trails, a Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw-designed layout, a new course: By the time your caddie replaces the flag at 18, all you can as “...a site that transitions from windswept dunes to meadowland to think about is repeating the journey,” said Joe Passov, GOLF Magazine’s wooded Northwest inland terrain and back to dunes.” contributing course-ranking editor. Golf Digest: America’s Golf Inc.: Development of theYear Best New Courses Monarch Dunes Golf Club (left) in Nipomo, Calif., and Sand Creek Station (below) in Newton, Kan., were two of the 10 courses named to Golf Digest’s list of “America’s Best New Courses” in the category of public courses under $75. Photo courtesy of Aiden Bradley The publication’s annual survey is conducted by a panel of more than 800 golfers who considered nominees that opened between May 1, 2006, and April 30, 2007. Designed by Damian Pascuzzo with consultation from Steve Pate, Monarch Dunes celebrated its grand opening to the public in May 2006; Golf Inc. named Chambers Bay and Vellano Country Club (above) winners Sand Creek Station, a Jeffrey Brauer-crafted layout, followed with of the publication’s “Development of the Year” contest, honoring the best a July 2006 debut. new golf properties developed throughout the U.S. and internationally in 2007. Golf Inc.’s judges rated the finalists in each division on how successfully the development team fulfilled its vision, the golf course routing and course aesthetics and amenities. One Golf Inc. judge said of Chambers Bay, winner of the Daily Fee category, “It’s a county deal and a reclamation, and it’s neat they could do something like that. They’re giving back to the game….” Located in Chino Hills, Calif., Vellano Country Club topped Golf Inc.’s Private Club category with a Greg Norman-designed 18-hole layout that opened in February. “I thought they did a great job achieving their vision, and the routing and aesthetics were excellent, too,” said another of the judges. Courtesy of Visual Memories, Inc. 2 Leading Central Florida Brunswick Forest Names Home Developer Selects KemperSports as Manager KemperSports to Manage of Cape Fear National Brunswick Forest LLC has retained KemperSports as manager of Cape Fear Venetian Bay Country Club National, a 27-hole private golf club that is being developed five miles south of historic downtown Wilmington in southeast North Carolina. The first 18 holes of Cape Fear National are slated to open in spring of 2009 followed by an additional nine holes in spring 2010. Cape Fear National will serve as a foundation of Brunswick Forest, a 4,500-acre master-planned coastal community. Steering design of the golf course is Tim Cate, a local architect with an extensive portfolio of Carolina courses. Cape Fear National’s dramatic layout will wind through an undulating landscape laden with mature cypress, pine, maple, oak and magnolia trees. Preserved wetlands, lakes and rolling meadows will also aesthetically enhance the nature-inspired golf retreat. “We are thrilled to be a part of such a dynamic project,” said Steve Skinner, president and COO of KemperSports, which will also provide pre- development consulting in addition to operations management of Cape Fear National. “Among our goals is to provide the first-class service and course conditions that will establish Cape Fear National as one of the leading golf clubs in the Carolinas.” Complementing the golf course will be a finely appointed clubhouse, The Johnson Group, one of Central Florida’s leading custom featuring spacious banquet and meeting rooms for golf and social activities, homebuilders, has selected KemperSports to manage the newly a golf shop, locker rooms, and bar and grill. Development plans also include constructed Venetian Bay Country Club in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., a state-of-the-art wellness center, lush community gardens, landscaped situated just 20 minutes south of Daytona Beach. KemperSports’ parks and preserves, and miles of walking and biking trails. In addition, management services will extend beyond the golf course to Venetian Bay’s Brunswick Forest will offer The River Club, a center for boating and fishing forthcoming beach and swim club as well as a tennis complex. activities, and a commercial village along Ocean Highway for easy access to Venetian Bay Country Club, scheduled to open in early 2008, will serve as a shops, restaurants, entertainment and professional services. cornerstone of the 1,800-home, Mediterranean-themed Venetian Bay master-planned community being developed by The Johnson Group. Designed by Lloyd Clifton, the founding member of Florida-based Clifton, Ezell & Clifton Golf Design Group, the par-72 golf course features mature woodlands, strategically placed bunkers, water features and hollows. “We look forward to our partnership with KemperSports,” said Jerry Johnson, senior president and CEO of The Johnson Group, developers of premier communities for nearly 30 years.