fclife march2020

MARCH 2020

HINDI FRIEDMAN had a hole-in-one on Sunday, March 1, 2020. It was on #2 of the North Course which played at 95 yards. She used a 7 iron. Flanking Hindi on the left is Beverly Halpert and on the left is Sandi Hoffman.

BARBARA (BOBBE) WIENER had a hole-in-one on, Tuesday, March 10, 2020 (ladies Color War) on hole # 5 of the South course. Playing at 101 yards into a strong wind she used a 5 wood. Celebrating with her were Joan Mopper, Debbie Hornstein Caddy Garth Evans and Sue Sternberg.

ATTILIO PETROCELLI had his hole-in-one on Monday March 16, 2020 on hole #9 of the South Course. It played at 142 yards and he used a 6 hybrid.

Page 2

March 2020 Nine Wine and Dine

The March Nine Wine and Dine was played on a Sunday afternoon this time – on March 8 – and was again a delightful afternoon – with an even higher participation of 180 golfers. There was the usual format of a step-aside scramble with everyone putting and one drive required from each golfer. Following golf and a won- derful cocktail party there was again a super buffet dinner. This time the theme was American – and maybe a little international – featuring a luscious barbeque. Thanks once more to co-chairs Susan Fuirst and Sandi Lamm and their committee for a lovely and imaginative day. And thanks again, also, to our great golf and food and beverage staffs for the wonderful work and help that is always provided. Mimi Bergel

2020 COLOR WAR by Mimi Bergel

The 2020 Ladies Golf Color War was held on Tuesday, March 10, with two teams for the tournament. In prepa- ration for the competition, there was a pairings party on Monday afternoon, March 9. Names were randomly drawn to be on either the Blue and White Team or the Pink and White Team. After that was completed, one member of each foursome randomly drew the name of the member of the golf staff to play with that foursome. The reception for the pairings event was definitely not a small cocktail party, but a delicious buffet dinner. It was a fun time. On Tuesday morning, each group played a shamble format where everyone tees off and the best drive is chosen. From that point all play their own ball throughout the hole. Two drives from each player were needed. Each team consisted of 18 holers and 9 holers. With a nice turnout and pleasant weather, it was a lovely day, especially for the

winning Pink and White Team. It was an even lovelier day for one member of the winning team – Bobbe Wiener – who made the day even more special with a Hole-in-One on #5 South. Congratula- tions to Bobbe!! And thanks to all the staff for their planning, work and help.

Page 3

2020 Second Ladies Member Guest

Mimi Bergel

“Welcome to Woodstock” – the second Ladies’ Member Guest golf tournament of the season, with the theme 50 th Anniversary of Woodstock – was played on Thursday afternoon, March 12. It was another fabulous day, with nearly 180 women and guests from 57 different clubs. Luck was with the tournament, with beautiful weather and the date, fortunately, just beating the start of so many cancellations. Remembering Woodstock, the theme was One day of Peace, Music and Golf. And it was! After an 11:30 check-in, before the ladies went out to play there was a wonderful, extensive buffet brunch, with so much to offer. Everyone received a Woodstock themed tote bag filled with a lot of gifts including a dozen golf balls, sunscreen, sun- glasses and more, and a head band of flowers a la Woodstock. A 12:45 shotgun start began the tournament. It was played in the usual step-aside scramble format – two drives required from each player – and everyone putting. There were four flights – each with a name suitable to the theme: Hard Rock, Folk Rock, Jazz Fusion and Blues Rock. One special contest was closest to the pin on separate par 3’s for a member and a guest in each flight. A great cocktail party and dinner followed golf. The delicious buffet had a great variety of dishes to offer, some of which were quite popular 50 years ago. At dinner everyone received additional gifts of white quilted golf vests and long sleeved silky golf shirts (which each recipient had the ability to choose from four options ahead of time), as well as the theme-inspired gifts of a 33 rpm record with songs of the era and CBD oil. The enjoyment of the day was increased by the amazingly creative “hippie” outfits and wigs worn by so many of the ladies and the staff. Co-chairs Robyn Rosenblatt and Shelley Parker, pictured below on next page, and their committee did a very ingenious job of planning the day. It goes without say- ing that the golf and food and beverage staffs put their usual superior effort into the day as they continue to provide wonderful planning assistance and service. High fives to all.

Page 4

Page 5

Minx Boren –

Host, FC Eco Club

Let’s GO GREEN!

THANK YOU to those of you who took on the March Eco-Challenge to pay attention to how we use energy at the club and in our homes. The April Eco-Challenge! Meet our trees. Become familiar with the tree-neighbors on our golf course.

Scientific research tells us that trees communicate with each other and with their surroundings, that they actually have a “heartbeat” and so much more. They are also LIFE GIVING partners that sequester car- bon from the atmosphere as well as provide us with oxygen, shade, beauty and companionship. The Overstory by Richard Powers, released in 2018, won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. It is a work of incredible imagination sprawling over centuries and continents – a novel about the destruction of nature and the need to preserve it. Discover the secret life of trees and develop a new respect and reverence for all that they are and all that they do. Trees communicate through their root system as explained by a Canadian scientist in an excellent Ted Talk. See https:// www.ted.com/talks/suzanne_simard_how_trees_talk_to_each_other Inspired by The Overstory , Nancy Berkley has written an article for the May/June issue of THE BOARD- ROOM magazine that serves the private golf club industry. Nancy decided to focus on the trees on our golf courses. She reached out to Wes Dillard, our Director of Golf Course Operations, for a quote or two. Wes has been at Frenchman’s for fifteen years and knows everything about our trees! Once Nancy real- ized how much Wes knew, she engaged him in a bigger project for all our members. Wes took photos of fourteen different species of trees on our golf course and has written short narratives about each one. The photo and narrative of each tree will be published in a little booklet for all our members. And each of the trees will have a marker so that our members can spot them easily. Above is a sneak peek at the cover of the new publication. A few things you can easily do. Be present to the tree LIFE all around us. Take time to touch, lean against, sit under the shade of and per- haps even talk to our trees. They make for very good company. Grab hold of the FCCC Golf Course Tree Guide and say hello to these very special neighbors. Make a personal commitment to join in this challenge! Then talk about it, TALK ABOUT IT, TALK ABOUT IT. Tell others why you are taking time to meet our local trees. Yes, this is a personal challenge and we can all make a difference. Our community has always been at the cutting edge of innovation. Here is one more way we can continue to be a leader in lifestyle awareness and appeal. It’s good for us, for our children and grandchildren, and for the Earth. Let’s do this together. Please join in the conversation . I would like to invite everyone who is interested in becoming part of the Eco Club and brainstorming together about how to Go Green at Frenchman’s Creek to contact me. Send an email to Minx@CoachMinx.com or call me at 561-624-7984. Also, feel free to just send me any ideas you have that could be worth exploring and pursuing. Thank you. AND join our next meeting at the Clubhouse on Thursday, April 9 th at 2 p.m. PLEASE RSVP to minx@coachminx.com

Page 6

FC VOLUNTEERS HELP THE LITERACY COALITION IN A NEWWAY ...AND IT WORKED and WE DID IT!

Nancy Berkley

In past years the Frenchman’s Creek Volunteer Match Program held the reading sessions in the living room or a conference room at the clubhouse and the supervisor Jeanne Heavilin from the Literacy Coalition has brought the essays over to our club . However, things were different this year and the technology of today made this project possible. Last week 16 Frenchman’s Creek members read 180 essays from adults learning English under a program of the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County. It is an Adult essay read. Each Frenchman’s reader writes a comment sheet for each essay. This year was different. Our club was closed to non residents. Special thanks to Jeanne Heavilin at the Literacy Coalition at Palm Beach County and to Pamela Rudd our Business Development Manager. They figured out how to scan the essays from Jeanne in her Boynton Beach office to our Frenchman's Creek Marketing Department. And then Pamela printed out the scans and pack- aged the essays and comment sheets in envelopes that our members picked up and returned to the valet after reading and writing reviews. All 180 essays and comments will be mailed back to the Literacy Coalition. No one had to sit together in the same room reading the essays. One of our members thought it was better to do the essays at home than at the club. hmm? Something to think about next year. What a great job!! This was an unusual question: "If you could have one special power, what would it be and why?” There were not quite as many “great” responses. Those that stood out translated the ques- tion to a power to help someone in their family or “How to make the world a better place.” Interesting most had a handle on the world of today and were motivated to do something for the good of mankind or the environment or their families. We will copy a few of the outstanding essays (without names) to use as an example in promoting our volunteer program and the Literacy Coalition. Many thanks to the Literacy Coalition Readers: Judy Tobin, Judy Jaffe, Bobbe Wiener, Patti Raber, Marie Kravecas, Donna Smolens, Carol Mendez, Barbara Stern, Norma Lippman, Joan Siegel, Lois and Larry Kleinberg, Michelle Haber, Nancy and Peter Berkley (Paula Israel wanted to participate but at the last minute could not and Andrea Finkel was getting a new knee – reporting that she is doing great!)

Page 7

Our first Christmas Bird Count ( a tradition held all over the world ) was held Christmas morn- ing. There were two participants – myself and ROBERT CHAVKIN. We surveyed the back of both the south and north courses. We were able to identify 26 species and a total of 140 birds. The commonest species were the limpkin, the mottled duck, and the white ibis. We have added 2 new birds to the Frenchman’s Creek check list bringing the total to 75 differ- ent species. The marsh wren could be heard and seen in the reeds along the 15 th hole north. A blue grey gnatcatcher was seen in the trees along 16 north. There are many more small birds that pass through during migration but are hard to see and identify. We have added a section on birds at the beach. In our initial visit to the shore we were able to identify 8 species. I have seen many more in the past, and this section will be expanded in the near future. The osprey’s have returned to their nest off the ninth tee on the south course. Many of you have already seen them. The incubation period for their eggs is approximately 5 weeks. Hopefully we will begin to see the chicks around the beginning of May. March 20 th was a good day for birding. Sighted were a pileated woodpecker and a belted kingfisher. Yesterday a red winged blackbird.

BURTON GREENBERG – resident birdwatcher

Pileated Woodpecker

Red Winged Blackbird

Belted Kingfish

Marsh Wren

Page 8

Column by Lois Stern Photography by Andrea Finkel

My name is Sammi Sandler . I'm a four month old King Charles Cavalier. My Mom, LINDA had Kelley for 14 years and never thought she could replace him ...bu t " here I am". I love my life at Frenchman's Creek. I love my Mom and my new beginnings. Every day is a brand new experience for me and I now have my "Forever Home".

To our newly elected Officers of the Board:

PRESIDENT

NORMAN BARHAM

1ST VICE PRESIDENT JEFFREY GLAZER

2ND VICE PRESIDENT JEFFREY STANFIELD

3RD VICE PRESIDENT MICHAEL AZEEZ

TREASURER JONATHAN NELSON

ASSISTANT TREASURER DIANE EXTER

SECRETARY MARTIN KRALL

To our newly elected Board Members:

Michael Azeez

Diane Exter

Stewart Friedman

Michael Gianatasio

Martin Krall

Page 9

The food truck appears on Wednes- day, March 18th. JEAN MILLIEN is at the service window and CHEF RAOUL ESPINOZA is standing in front.

Wednesday snack and beverage table outside with THELMA GRIFFITH and LAURA SALMON .

Thursday, March 19th, BERNA HOSEÑA and SANDRA HARGENRADER in en- closed beverage and snack station which used to be golf

ERGE OLIAVAR shows new addition to food truck

An OPEN SIGN!

Page 10

We are so lucky and fortunate to live here. There is no other community in Palm- Beach County who has a mini market if you need a staple or some other food product, a means to buy bulk meat, dinners for 2, 4 or more, complimentary break- fasts with only a delivery charge, full breakfasts, lunches and dinners charged and delivered to your door. Plus ancillary food items to enhance your meal. We have Mr. Goswami and his staff to thank for their vision, expertise and caring, in coming up with solutions to pressing problems. Things at Frenchman’s are happening almost as fast as the rules of the coronavirus are happening. Who else has a FOOD TRUCK fabulous, clever and ingenious idea of our chef, ERNESTO CERVANTES! The food truck—all take out of course- serves breakfasts, and lunches. Cookies, bananas, oranges, apples and other snacks are available on the table in front of the truck. All items are sealed and handled ONLY by our wait staff. And at lunch, there are times our charcoal grill is serving burgers and hot Dogs! Then in our walk up window are the staff women from our card rooms, with hot drinks, juices, water, fruit again and of course copies of the papers and crosswords. How much better could it get. Mr. Goswami and his staff who are working so hard to please us and make life tolerable in these uncertain times are to be applauded, thanked, respected and appreciated for making LEMONADE out of LEMONS!

We now have cones to keep the lunch line so many feet apart from one another and staff directing when you can proceed to the next cone– they are thinking of everything.

And how about Charles and Jean taking turns cleaning your golf shoes! Where else but at Frenchman’s.

bobbe wiener

Page 11

Frenchman’s Creek Community mourns the loss of our following member

MELVIN PARADISE who lived at 3800 Limoges Lane and was a resident since 1997. Our heartfelt sympathies to his beloved wife, Joyce and their entire family.

RAENELL GOLD who lived at 13389 Verdun Drive and was a resident since 2001. Our heartfelt sympathies to her beloved husband, “Brooksie,” and their family.

To our Members and Staff we wish you all a

Club News Staff Editor Bobbe Wiener Correspondents Mimi Bergel, Minx Boren, Shirley Goldberg, Norma Lippman, Rima Robinson, Lois Stern, Judy Tobin

Photographer Andrea Finkel

Page 12