FELLOW PAR HOPERS,

The Holidays and year-end events are behind, and we look forward to our 61^st year as Par Hopers, a club of senior men over the age of 60.  We are about to take flight on another year of fun, frolic and chasing the little ball around the course.

Welcome to Flight 2024.  We are prepared to take off.  Buckle up! Please, make sure that your “Attitude” and “Gamesmanship” are secured and locked in place as we begin taxing down the fairway.  Hit them straight, hit them long and never miss a putt.  Be sure that all self-doubt devices are turned off as you hit the first drive of the year. All the devices of negativity, unsureness, and discouragement should be put away, out of sight.  Should we lose Altitude under pressure or lack of pressure during the game, reach out to your fellow player and congratulate him (what is wrong with saying “Great Shot” or “Wow what a Putt”?).  There is nothing like encouragement or praise to make you and others feel so much better about your/their game and your/their ability.  Thoughts of how good you’ve been will automatically be activated and you will want to assist other passengers (players) by suggesting how to stand, how to aim, how to stroke, how to score (as you have).  There will be NO BAGGAGE allowed on this flight.  Forget the bad and the ugly, forgive any mistakes or thoughts that you have made or had.  The flight is cleared for TAKEOFF.  The DESTINATION is GREATNESS.

Your flight is booked and begins on Monday April 8^th and ends on Friday October 18^th.

 2023 was a terrific year because of each of you participating, having fun and making our CLUB better.  The unwavering effort, support and hard work of your Board Members (Carl Brown, Don Dillion, Terry Dullaghan, Mike Durr, Dan Ticotsky), Appointed Members (Ed Basista, Wayne Beavers, Tom Walker, Howard Warren, Ric Willer), Photographer (George Dostie) and Statistician (Tim Stubbers) made all the difference in the world.   I cannot give enough praise for the job that Tim did.  His weekly performance and compiling of data were superior.  It was my privilege to be the “cheerleader” for each of these hard-working men. We had approximately 70 of you participating every official play day.  Our membership continues to grow as more players learn about our Club (we are closing in on 100 members). All in all, we had fun, made some new friends, shared a few meals and enjoyed a few beers together.

 Two new members were elected to the Board (Bob Sunderman, Howard Warren). Both have been very active in our on-going process of making the Club better.  These new Board Members replace Terry Dullighan and Dan Ticotsky who termed out.   Although not on the Board, both Terry and Dan will continue to support our efforts.  Terry will continue as the Event Planer and Dan as the Web Master.  We appreciate their willingness to continue the work to make our Club better.  We encourage each of you to make suggestions, bring forth new ideas, and express yourself in ways that can improve what we are doing.  We will work within the scope of the Par Hoper Constitution and By-Laws and be transparent, truthful and civil to each other.  

Thank you for the honor and privilege to serve as your president,

Rob Carter