GUEST columns Golf
GUEST columns Golf course a drain on Shenandoah Jacob Bacall SPECIAL TO THE CHALDEAN NEWS Shenandoah’s new Board of Directors (BOD) has begun to take the progressive steps in cutting down operating expenses and increasing revenue through an aggressive marketing campaign by promoting wedding packages, communion parties and other banquet events to meet the requests of the Chaldean, Jewish, Indian and other communities. But the club remains about million in debt. Fortunately, our membership base has increased by almost 40 percent compared to the previous year. It was very fortunate to have the unexpected and much-needed break of the bank settlement in December 2009. The current family membership picture is 736 family members who pay annual dues and an additional 36 family members “out of state,” who are exempt from paying annual dues. Nevertheless, our total membership number has decreased from 1,042 family members since August 2005. Despite the downturn of the economy, the BOD is striving to reach our longterm goal of 1,000 family members by the end of the year. The club’s fate has moved away from the edge, but is not out of trouble. The BOD are well-intended people, all with one common goal and mutual interest in their hearts and minds: to oversee, manage and direct the social aspect of the club with an 18-hole golf course and a large banquet hall facility. This is not an easy task, nor is it a simple mission to accomplish, with only volunteer time. Many challenges still exist and we are far from reaching the “safe shore of wonderland,” despite our historic and lucrative settlement with our previous lender. The breakeven point of our operating business is not reached and there remains a long list of debt, which needs to be paid soon. A perceived sense of entitlement is no longer a given right. Many things have changed locally, nationally and internationally. For us to survive we are in need of a change — and change is a fact of life. An option that has been considered was suggested by Mark Gregory, senior VP for commercial lending, at one of many meetings with Comerica Bank: that we create what is known among bankers as a “profit center.” What is the meaning of this in financial terms? According to the “Dictionary of Finance and Investment Terms” by John Downes and Jordan Elliot Goodman, a profit center exists when “each segment of a business organization is responsible for producing profit on its own.” How does this relate to the situation with Shenandoah? The term as defined above will apply to each and every department starting with the banquet hall(s), 18- hole golf course, members dining room, swimming pool and all other areas of operation. Today, golf courses almost everywhere are a financial burden and most golf courses in Oakland County are losing money despite the fact that 95 percent of their membership base is golfers and they pay significant annual dues and thousands of dollars in mandatory spending each year. At Shenandoah, we are not any different. More than 90 percent of our members at Shenandoah have never owned a set of golf clubs and less than 10 Current Financial Obligations Chaldean Iraqi American Association of Michigan (CIAAM) Debt as of 3/31/10 is approximately +/- ,000,000.00 I. Private Bank II. Bank of Michigan III. Chaldean Archdiocese IV. Shenandoah Investors, LLC (“The Rescuers”) V. Other small loans borrowed from club members throughout the troubled years (40 x ,000.00) VI. Miscellaneous refund to resigned members (if applicable) In addition to the above, we have 23 club members that have signed a personal guaranty for a total of ,000,000.00 percent are devoted golfers. But unfortunately, the 90 percent of non-golfers who are also dedicated social members are forced to carry the financial burden of the weak and fragile business of golf. The time has come to address the debate — the issue of the golf business and its consequences — head on. It is obvious that officials of West Should the golf course be sold for the good of the club? Bloomfield Township should be more concerned and worried about the future of the only public golf course in one of the most affluent towns in the state of Michigan. West Bloomfield was ranked No. 14 among top 100 best places to live in America, according to Money Magazine (Best Places to Live in the U.S., 2006). Further, the U.S. Census shows that the median family income is more than 0,000. The general membership support is essential to the eventual plan of action to include implementing cost-cutting measures where the club operation will break even and membership dues will cover our current debt, bank payment payoff and other loans and create an account for long-term renovations in the near future. Prevention is always better than the cure. Jacob Bacall is a former president of the Chaldean Iraqi American Association of Michigan and the vice chairman of the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce. Cater your next event with... NOW HIRING!!! Hurricane Grill & Wings Looking for Bartenders, Servers & Cooks Inquire at kasevin@aol.com 29852 Northwestern Highway - Southfield, MI 48034 FULL SERVICE CATERING AVAILABLE FOR ANY OCCASSION! 25148 Evergreen Southfield, MI 48075 Phone: (248) 355-2222 w w w.cafek abob.com 5285 Overland Drive San Diego, CA 92123 Phone: (858) 576-9999 10% off all catering MUST PRESENT COUPON. 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Collaboration, friendship? For the last six months, the “Building Community” sections of the Chaldean and Jewish News publications have jointly covered the two communities. This project was born out of a desire for the publishing teams of both papers to cover the common history, distinctions, business ties and collaborations between the Jewish and Chaldean communities. It was a great idea and has been a very successful project. But is it enough? Does it go far enough to explore the true relationships between our people? To be sure, there are a multitude of sincere collaborations and areas of cooperation between the communities. The leadership of both groups has developed an open dialogue and now has the infrastructure in place to work together as needed. But there is still a lack of closeness, true friendship and maybe even trust. When I interviewed Rabbi Josh Bennett from Temple Israel in the inaugural Michael G. Sarafa SPECIAL TO THE CHALDEAN NEWS issue of this joint project (April 2010), I asked him about this paradox. His response was this: “Our communities are insular.” In other words, our communities are inward. One of the definitions of “insular” is “pertaining to or constituting an island.” This is absolutely true in areas like religion and marriage, but it seems to go even further. As an example, it recently dawned on me that I have no close Jewish friends. Now there are people who are Jewish that I would call my friends and vice versa. But we never see each other or do anything together. At 44 years old, I’ve been to one bar mitzvah and one Jewish funeral, and not a single wedding. How is that possible for someone who grew up in Southfield, which, in the 1970s and ‘80s was the center of Jewish life in Michigan and one of the more important Jewish communities in the entire country? How is that possible for someone who spent a great deal of time at diverse institutions like Michigan State, the University of Pennsylvania and Wayne State Law School, and who has been active in this region for 20 years? Rabbi Bennett and I discussed these issues and agreed that we needed to do more on this front. As a start, he invited my family and me to the Passover Seder at Temple Israel. We had a great time — in spite of my 7- year-old’s opposition to the food — and were treated like family. I’m embarrassed to say that I have not seen him since, which is my fault. We talked about going to a Tigers game and having his family at Shenandoah, but it has not yet happened. The Chaldean News/Jewish News collaboration is also attempting to address these challenges and plans upcoming projects on topics including social justice, economic development, culture and education. These efforts are important and great strides should be taken to try to involve the two communities at the grassroots level. To be successful, this collaboration amongst the leadership must get pushed down to the social fabric of these two “insular” peoples. I was recently speaking to a friend of mine who’s a doctor in internal medicine. He told me that the vast majority of patients he sees with auto-immune disease (i.e., Crohn’s and colitis) are Chaldean or Jewish. I told him this makes no sense as Chaldeans hail from Iraq and most of the Jews in this area have roots in Europe. “It makes perfect sense,” he said. “You are both part of the same race. It’s absolutely genetic and you have common genes. I do not see it in non-Chaldean Iraqis. Historically, you are the same people.” Well, leave it to a couple of millennia to screw things up. 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