Golf board seeks direction

MEEKER | In the final tournament of the season, the Meeker Golf Course is played backwards, which is followed a dinner and the annual membership meeting. This year three directors were elected and the board asked for direction on how to proceed. Tim and Kym Bevin of Fruita were the best couple to play the course in reverse, beating locals Larin Crase and Danielle Feola by three shots in a field of six couples. Local club champion Lex Collins teamed up with Kyle Hooks to shoot a 33 and win the two-man team competition. Sam Etheridge and Greg Ackerman tied with David Arnold and Billy Stewart for second place behind Collins and Crooks. Etheridge, along with Clint Chappell, were newly elected to the golf board and incumbent Jim Joy was re-elected to the board, joining president Pat Walsh, Kurt Blunt and Doc Watson. Research produced approximately 400 stockholders, of which approximately 25 percent are deceased and no addresses were available for about 50 members but letters were sent to those remaining, asking for direction. The letter offered three options and asked shareholders to respond by Dec. 31, prioritizing the direction they would like to pursue. The first option was to keep the Meeker Golf Course private and increase the fees to members willing to pay to keep the course private. The second option was to keep operating the same, scrambling to raise money to operate and the third option was to work out a solution with the ERBM Recreation and Parks District. All the options would take time to complete and the Meeker Golf Course would still need to raise funds to open in 2017. ERBM executive director Sean Von Roenn was invited to speak at the meeting and said he was thankful for the opportunity. Von Roenn said his board has met with the golf board, discussed the options and while they are interested in preserving golf in Meeker, they would like to have a total transfer of ownership to do so. Von Roenn said the district’s goal would be to “run the amenity well as a golf course, in a sustainable way.” After Von Roenn spoke, Meeker Golf Course manager Becky Ridings thanked the board and many members who helped her the past two seasons. Ridings offered to manage the course again next year.