by
Ron Wright
| Sep 28, 2020
I don't need to tell anyone that 2020 has been an eventful year. The longer the pandemic lingers in our world, the farther away what we know as normal seems to become in our lives. While golf course tee sheets remain filled, facilities continue to suffer from lack of F&B and event revenue. This will result in more stress on facilities that were already just getting by at the start of 2020. While the places our members work are vital to their lives, this year has been even more cruel on a personal level.
First, many members and staff at their facilities have suffered personally with the COVID-19 illness itself. I know of many superintendents and staff members who have contracted the illness and some have lost their life as a result. Thankfully, we work in an environment where social distancing is easy to accomplish and fresh air is abundant. But there are other events happening this year that have caused plenty of trouble in the personal lives of many, not just our members.
Fires have ravaged large areas of the western U.S., turning families lives to ashes. Many people have lost their lives and even more have lost their homes and all of their belongings. This is nearly an annual event in many areas but this year seems especially severe. Many of our members and their crew members have lost a great deal to the fires and deserve any help they can get. Many pundits speculate on why the fires are happening so frequently and with such severity. Climate change, arson, forest management and politics are all being blamed for the infernos but maybe it's just bad luck that seems to be all too present this year.
Finally, this past month the Gulf Coast region has had four tropical systems come ashore. The damage is the most severe in the Lake Charles area of Louisiana, the coastline in Alabama and the panhandle of Florida, thanks to hurricanes Laura and Sally. Many of our members are just now getting their power restored and will be dealing with insurance claims, damage to their personal property and a giant mess at their courses. I've spoken to many of these members and they sound a little shaken with dealing with the overwhelming damage but they are driven to put it behind them. That's the way our members tend to be, tough and resilient.
As we jump into the final quarter of 2020, I hope there aren't any other unpleasant surprises in store for any of us. We're getting weary of disasters. I am ready to turn the calendar page as soon as possible to get to 2021 in the hopes of a better year for people everywhere. Be careful out there!
