Wabaunsee Pines Golf Course Improvement Fund

Goal: $10,000.00

Specific Need

Maintenance, upkeep and capital improvements is a constant at Wabaunsee Pines Golf Course. The course was built almost entirely by volunteers beginning in 1992 opening all 9 holes in 2011 and volunteers continue to manage and work at the course to assure continued operations.

In 2013 the board of directors created the sustaining Double Eagle Club to raise funds to hire a greenskeeper and we hired our first part time employee on March 30, 2014. We currently have one full time employee and a part-time employee during the busy summer season. Operations and maintenance of the course with necessary staff is vital to the continued success of Wabaunsee Pines.

Capital improvements at the course is another area of need at Wabaunsee Pines. We are currently trying to complete all the concrete cart paths on the course. This is a major improvement for the course and our golfers and a major expense.

This year two options are available for our donors to designate their Alma Area Foundation MATCH DAY contributions: the Cart Path Fund and/or the Employee Fund, hoping to increase donations for both of these needs.

Mission

The purpose of Wabaunsee Pines Golf Association, (WPGA) is to develop, maintain and provide a recreational facility (public, not-for-profit golf course) for the entire population of Wabaunsee County with specific interests aimed at promoting recreation for all ages.

Wabaunsee Pines Golf Association, Inc., was incorporated as a Kansas not-for-profit corporation September 15, 1993, to build, develop and operate a community golf course at Lake Wabaunsee. Volunteers have worked tirelessly since 1993 to construct a modern 9-hole golf course with irrigated greens, tees and fairways. The course was opened for play with 3-holes in 2007, 5-holes in 2008, 6-holes in 2009, 8-holes in 2010 and Wabaunsee Pines Golf Course held a grand opening golf tournament in the spring of 2011 with all 9-holes playable.

The course construction and progress was accomplished through the efforts of the 11-member Board, the Wabaunsee County communities, volunteers and cash cntributions from many businesses and individuals. The course was designed by 2 Landscape Design Grad students at the Kansas State University School of Architecture and each received 2 college grad hours for their work. The Corporation obtained water rights from the Kansas Dept. of Agriculture, Division of WaterResource to irrigate the course from Lake Wabaunsee.

The brain-child and first President of WPGA was Jerry Childers. Jerry organized and inspired 6 residents of Wabaunsee County to form the corporation and raise money to build a 9-hold public golf course at Lake Wabaunsee. The first meeting was held on Jerry's back porch in 1992 and the Corporation was formed on September, 15, 1993. A lease with the city of Eskridge was secured December 6, 1993 and water rights obtained August 6, 1996. The Mission Valley High School FFA, Ag Science students surveyed the land so the KSU grad students could design the course. Workdays on the course began in 1996 with volunteers clearing brush, picking up rocks, cutting down trees, digging ditches and laying irrigation pipe. Donations were secured, fundraisersers held, hole sponsorships, inaugural and lifetime memberships were sold for a golf course that was under construction with volunteer labor. A local resident donated a little out building for the first WPGA clubhouse (no electricity/no water), upgraded several years later with a USD 329 modular school building that they could not sell, so they gave it to WPGA if we would move it off school grounds. Tons of river silt was hauled from farm land near Wamego, 30 miles away, left over from th 1951 Kansas river flood - it was free and was used to build our first greens. A board member single handed installed the irrigation system, and another board member with a skid loader built the beautiful rock walls on the course and board members mowed the greens, tees, fairways and roughs and maintained the equipment until we hired an employee in 2014.

WPGA applied for 501c3 status in 2008, documenting 20,000 hours of volunteer work towards the completion of the physical course over the prior 14 years. WPGA received exempt status November 8, 2008, which greatly increased contributions. Prior to that all cash expenditures were financed by donations from community residents and businesses thast realized they would never have the money directly returned.

Because of the Alma Area Foundation Match Day opportunity, WPGA reaches out to our Double Eagle Club donors to further support the golf course. Even with the additional staff, the 11-member board continues to spend many hours at the course volunteering evenings, weekends and holidays when there is no staff at the course and behind the scenes with secretarial, treasurer duties, managing staff, fundraising, organizing tournaments, cleaning the clubhouse and all other duties to keep the course up and running.

Everyone of the 11-Member WPGA Board is dedicated to the success of Wabaunsee Pines Golf Course and continues to come through with volunteer hours and personal financial support to maintain and guarantee the success of the only golf course in these beautiful Flint Hills of Wabaunsee County, Kansas.