I hope all had a great weekend. First of all, I will have a post later today or tomorrow on some recent topics that came up over the weekend and that I wanted to opine on.
In the meantime I did receive a letter to The Dayton Observer earlier today, and I wanted to post that letter. Thank you to the author of this e-mail. The e-mail I received is as follows:
One Day Challenge: What can I do to positively assist in the success of the Dayton Golf Course or what positive suggestions do I have to promote the success of the Dayton Golf Course? Agree or disagree with the city owning the golf course there is one fact we all can agree on; The City of Dayton owns the golf course, it's currently open for business and advertised to remain open for business for the 2009 golf season.
Regardless if you feel the vote was fair or not, regardless if you agree with the information that has been presented, regardless of what council members you agree or disagree with, regardless if you think it will fail; the golf course is going forward for the 2009 golf season. All the taxpayers' in Dayton money is on the line. We need to get the best return on our money possible.
I'm challenging everyone for 1 day to be positive and promote success. I'm not asking you to change your view point.
I'm not asking you to turn your head from potentially damaging information or actions. I'm not asking you not to challenge information presented to you.
Many of you have said "I just want the golf course to break even." OK, what suggestions do you have for that to happen? What actions will you take for that to happen?
What can YOU do or suggest. No "well, if so and so did this, then I can do that." I'm not asking so and so, I'm asking you. No excuses for why you feel entitled to be negative. I'm not asking you to get on board with ownership of the golf course.
I'm asking for the best return on our money this year for a golf course that by all current indications WILL be owned and operated by the city for the 2009 golf season.
Come on samadamslite, come on daytonflyer, come on Al, come on all you anonymous posters; I want to hear from you.
Can Dayton pull together in conflict for 1 day in the spirit of success and prosperity?
Thank you for posting. I'll start. What can I do to help the golf course succeed or what suggestions do I have for success.
ReplyDeleteMy family eats out quite a bit, we could eat there once every couple weeks. I already shop for medications and groceries locally; I can add eating locally. There's probably some other local shops I can visit more often too.
I can go ahead and buy my membership that I was planning to buy anyway. I usually do that late but why not get going.
I have family and friends that golf from other communities. I'll invite them over to golf rather than going out to eat or for drinks. This is probably more fun and productive anyway.
Suggestions:
How many of us have these huge family gatherings for birthdays and holidays that overflow our homes? Have them out there. I've done this with my extended family in other towns at places with party rooms and kitchens. It's fabulous!
Anyone having their graduation parties out there? Might be a great spot!
When the Parks and Rec board meets, can they mail out or have a yearly report available for city taxpayers? If some people could see this in comparison to a business plan, it may make them more comfortable.
Can we have some sort of campaign or initiative to promote the golf course? T-shirts, celebrations, a tournament? Might be fun and get some people on board.
Come on. Take the challenge. Be positive for 1 day. The stakes are low, what do you have to lose? I'm not asking you to change your opinon, I'm asking you to help us all get the best return on our money for this year. Warning though, positive behaior can be contagious and addicting!
"Positive" part of post: Have golf lessons, helps get youth involved with the course. Advertising is something the course really needs to concentrate. Not just locally in the review, but also with fliers all of the surrounding area telling people of events. Also for a cheaper alternative make the reports available online. Buying locally is always a good idea.
ReplyDeleteUndetermined part of post: Look at leasing options. I think you also have to deeply look at raising out of town memberships by at least a small amount over in town memberships (that also should be considered raising by some amount).
"Negative" part of post: Nothing against a lot of the suggestions, but many people can't afford doing some of those things repeatedly or it simply doesn't make sense for them. For graduation parties/events the city offers cheaper alternatives than the clubhouse. Also for people who don't golf they aren't going to buy memberships or host mini gatherings out there.
Nice job emailer, and taxpayer!!
ReplyDeleteIf everyone in town went out to the golfcourse say once a week, have a pop, tea, lemonade, beer, cocktail, sandwich, just imagine the revenue we could pull in.
If you golf, find a partner and come out for mens' league nite on Thursdays. We always have fun, usually play some bestball after league, hang out at the clubhouse, play cards, and shoot the breeze. Even if you don't golf you can still come hang out. Some of your friends might be there, if not, come out and make some new ones.
Womens night is Tuesday, they play golf games, hangout, and have a good time. And again if you don't golf come out anyway, you might just have fun.
Come sit on the deck, sunsets are pretty awesome out there. No better view in town. Deer, fox, birds, you can see them all on the deck.
You don't have to spend a fortune, just come on out and have some fun. Bring the kids out, have a sandwich, take them across the road to the park, let them work off some excess energy, make it a family tradition.
Just because golf is not your thing, you can still have some fun at the clubhouse.
As the email stated it's YOUR/MY money at stake here, let's see if WE can all pull it together.
How about it Dayton can we put aside our differences and see if WE can make some money. We might even find our opinions aren't that far apart.
Think about it. Al
Flyer, I wasn't leaving you out you posted as I was typing mine. You have some good suggestions. I've thought the same about advertising. And I think that's something the board will look hard at.
ReplyDeleteAl
I believe releasing all of the financial records from the past year would help resolve some issues that people have with the golf course. Specifically, a line item budget (if there was a line item budget) of what was spent and where, current inventories, etc. so to clear the air of what was spend and what was brought in. I would also say that the need for a financial statement release of year to date should happen in July. This would give the community an estimate on how good the course is doing. One could think of this as a quarterly earnings report of a corporation to its shareholders. The key here is transparency.
ReplyDeleteNext, the course has to determine a way to induce more people to buy memberships or spend time there and this might be through early-bird discounts on memberships or drink specials. This kind of leads into the need for advertising, which was discussed above. Also, the course could have a reduced greens fee on mornings that are not so popular, say Mondays from 8 am - 11 am 25% off the normal price (just an example).
Just to tie into my first point, I would say that the Rec Board should look into having a community meeting once every month. This would give the Rec Board the opportunity to state the reasons why the Board made a decision one way or another. Also, the community should have the opportunity to ask questions of the board.
The author of the letter is to be commended for some good ideas. Positive attitudes do help some times. I for one do not golf and eat out very little. Right now I have to watch the cash flow very closely. I will however say I hope that membership does increase and the community in general can help this succeed. An advertising campaign might very well help. I do very much agree with our moderator, Dayton Observer that complete financial records and a line by line budget would be a good thing. Let the chips fall where they may. With that said, good luck to the golf course and may our community benefit from having it.
ReplyDeleteToday I feel good and feel energized after reading these posts. We really aren't that far apart. Some sayings come to mind, "Cooler heads will prevail. You can't make peace when you're planning for war. It's not what you say but how you say it." Today I have hope the City of Dayton can pull together in the face of opposition.
ReplyDeleteAnother couple ideas I had:
Family night on Wednesday. That's traditionally a church night during the school year so it's a natural choice. Let everyone golf even if they are alone. Just plan events to attract families. (Golfers can plan to be just a little more patient with the little ones and teenagers that night.) You can even plan events that don't have to do with golf.
Another idea; cheap live entertainment. Is there a band looking for a little exposure? Give them the cover charge and the golf course keep the bar and restraunt revenue. These don't all have to be "Rockin" bands either, attract music or entertainment at different times for different age groups.
I have a history with some other communities. People plan graduations, anniversary parties and birthday parties at the club houses all the time who are not members and not golfers. It's a new concept for Dayton but it will catch on.
How about a "Think Positive" campaign for the golf course or entire city this year? Do some fund raising and team building throughout the city. What a better theme than that in such a tough time for all.
If we can get together on this hot topic for 1 day, what other less explosive issues can the city takle if we think positive; if only for 1 day?
Excuse all my typos, spelling and grammer errors. Wish my spellcheck worked on here!