Willow Talk www.willow-bend.com

CONTACTSRob Richards, Food & Beverage ManagerJeffrey R. Moots, Course Superintendent

Jim Dibert, Pro Shop ManagerReservations: 419/238-0111 or 419/238-2417

Pro Shop: 419/238-1041Fax: 419/238-2250

RESTAURANT HOURS

November 2012

www.willow-bend.com

LUNCH DINNER Tuesday - Friday Monday Tuesday - Thursday 11:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Clubhouse Closed 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Sunday Sunday Friday & Saturday 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. No dinner hours 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Monday - Clubhouse Closed Saturday - No lunch hours

Friday, November 16th - Festival of TreesThursday, November 22nd - ThanksgivingSaturday, November 24th - Private Event

Clubhouse Closings

Greetings!To those Willow Bend mem-

bers I have already met, hello once again! To those I have yet to meet, I would like to intro-duce myself.

My name is Rob Richards and I am your new club man-

ager. I am very excited to be at Willow Bend and look forward to working with the amazing staff that is already in place here. I will put my best effort into making any and all of your member occasions special.

I have 23 years’ experience in the restaurant indus-try, top level as well as culinary and food sales. I invite you to stop in at the Club so I can tell you then about myself. I look forward to getting to know each of you. Being new to the team and having an “outsider’s” per-spective, I can honestly tell you without a doubt that you have the absolute best facility I have had the opportu-nity to be involved with. Be very proud to be a Willow Bend Club Member!

There are many, many great events to come and hope everyone will take an active part in helping us move forward. We are here for you - let us be part of your busy schedule.

Thanks again and I look forward to meeting every-one.

Rob

Greetings from the Pro Shop

The end of the 2012 golf season is rapidly approaching, the colors are beautiful and the cooler days of November have arrived. The golf course is in wonderful shape. Thanks to the

rains of August and September, the course has recov-ered nicely from the lack of rainfall and excessive heat this summer.

Due to frequent frosts, the new Pro Shop hours for November will be 11:00 am to 5:00 pm Tuesday through Friday, and 10:00 am to 5:00 pm Saturday and Sunday. The Pro Shop will be closed on Mondays. If the afternoon highs are 45 degrees or lower, or we have inclement weather (rain or sleet), the Pro Shop will remain closed. Under normal conditions, the course will re-main open the first few weeks of November until the pins are removed and the course is closed for the season. Once the pins are removed, no further play is permitted until the Spring of 2013 and the Pro Shop will close as well.

Members who have won or purchased gift certificates need to redeem them as soon as possible. They are set to expire November 1st but can be extended until the Pro Shop closes for the season. All items in the Pro

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Did You KnowWe offer professional catering services for your party or event. We will deliver freshly prepared food promptly and provide fast, courteous set up. Find out what else you don’t know about Willow Bend here!

Shop are currently discounted 25% to 55%! Our final sale begins November 1st and continues until the course closes sometime in November. Due to the low volume of inventory, no December Christmas sale will take place. We still have a good selection of high quality merchandise, so stop in and check out our bargains.

The Points Championship events will be modified slightly for the 2013 Season. The Calcutta will be replaced next year with a less expensive tournament with the format to be determined in the spring. The golf committee will be making the final decision for the tournament format. The point’s events were successful this year but we will be looking for methods to increase participation in a few of the 10 events. A detailed list-ing of the events along with the dates to be played will be mailed to you with your April statement. Events will be scheduled to begin the first week of May.

Our final tournament of the year, the Revenge Scramble, was played September 29. In this tourna-ment, the tees are set in challenging positions and the pins in difficult portions of the greens. The Staff Team of Jim Dibert, Andrew Bashore, Wally Grimm and Sir Charles Johnson edged the field by a one shot margin. Our team total of six under par bested the teams of Jack Brand, Larry Hoverman and Garry Grossheim, and Randy Agler, Carl Jeffery, Mark Heigel and Jim Ham-man, which both shot five under par 65’s. A fun time was had by all who participated.

In conclusion, remember to redeem your certificates before we close the course in November, as they do not carry over into the next season. I’ll be heading to Florida in November so I wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving, a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

See you in April!

Jim Dibert, Director of Golf

Superintendent’s Spot

The 2012 golf season is quickly coming to a close. It’s hard to believe that Novem-ber is almost here, but I don’t know if we will see much in the

way of fall foliage. The trees are not holding their leaves very long once they have changed color. The trees under stress have turned early and dropped their leaves. We have had three straight years of hot and dry conditions. I hope this is not a pattern that is developing as these conditions make my job a lot more challenging.

I’m hoping next season is a lot better than 2012. Between the extreme weather conditions and my health, this season was very challenging. The wind storm at the end of June was devastating. It put us behind for most of the summer. It took us over three weeks to rake up all the debris that came down. The temperatures were in the 90’s most of this time and this made the cleanup even harder. It is hard not to be overwhelmed by a storm like that and I would like to thank my staff for their effort. We tried to just chip away one rough at a time. It took a long time but we finished the job. So thanks again, Roy, Bob, and Sam. I truly appreciate your hard work and dedication. A special thanks to Mike Zedaker for cutting up the spruce tree that fell on the number 4 tee, and Bill Purmort for cleaning off the fairways on Sunday after-noon.

The heat and dry weather also took its toll on the turf. The weather started warm and dry with temperatures in the 80’s in March. The greens became hard and re-mained that way for most of the spring and early sum-mer. Then the temperatures got hotter in June and July and the greens started thinning out on the edges due to the severe stress. I was not able to spend the extra time hand watering the greens due to my health issues. The thin spots have improved, but it is a slow process.

We have started taking down some of the ash trees that have died from the ash borer. We have removed six so far and will be removing several more in the future. There are a few trees that may survive, but most of them will not. The borer seems to prefer the green ash trees and the purple ash trees seem to be spared. I don’t know if the borer will start feeding on the purple ash when the green ash are gone. Only time will tell.

Roberta is starting to plant tulip bulbs. She will be planting quite a few again this fall. We ordered 400 bulbs so there will be a lot of tulips to look at next spring. The bed on number three tee was outstanding this year. I hope you were able to enjoy it. It should be just as good next spring.

I guess that’s all I have for now. I would like to thank everyone who kept me in their prayers this past year. I am still trying to get back to normal. It’s been a long process but I’m doing better each week.

Jeff Moots, Course Superintendent

Willow Talk 3

Go Online with Willow Bend!Receive the Willow Talk via e-mail! Subscribe online at www.willow-bend.com, or contact Mary Adams at madams@central-insurance.com or 419-238-5551 ext. 2438. You can also have your name added to our e-mail list to receive monthly reminders and information on weekly and monthly specials.

Visit our page and “Like” us to receive notifications about news and events happening at Willow

Bend. It’s a great way to stay connected with what’s new at the Club and on the course!

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The Niswonger Performing Arts Center 2012 -2013 Dinner Schedule

Willow Bend will be offering dinner specials on the performance dates listed below. Reservations will be required. Each dinner will be served buffet-style with a variety of selections. Prices may vary by show.November 3rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ImaginOcean

November 23rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oak Ridge Boys Christmas

December 13th . . . . . . . . . . . . Osmond Brothers Christmas

December 22nd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shrek - The Musical

January 26th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Rippingtons

February 14th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Christopher Cross

February 16th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cirque Ziva

March 10th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bowfire

March 24th . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ernie Haase & Signature Sound

April 5th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vicki Lawrence & Mama

April 27th . . . . . . . . . . . .Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band

May 11th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .The Music of Queen

A Toast to the YWCA November 16th

Willow Bend and First Federal Savings and Loan will host a beer and wine tasting in conjunction with The Festival of Trees Silent Tree Auction.

Tickets will be available for purchase

November 1st at the YWCA as part of

the local Festival of Trees events.

NovemberBeverage, Appetizer & Dessert Features

Hot Rum Apple CiderCaptain Morgan, Apple Pucker, fresh apple cider topped with heavy cream and dusted with

cinnamon.

Almond-topped Pumpkin

Cheesecake“The name says it all.

Great cheesecake with a fall flavor.” From Chef Jean’s pastry kitchen.

Chorizo Squash Toasted RavioliRavioli stuffed with squash and chorizo sausage, rolled in

panko and parmesan cheese breading. Fried

until crispy golden brown and served with sweet Thai chili sauce. An amazing

appetizer created by Chef Dave!

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Party Planning – It’s That Time of Year!Take the stress out of your party planning! Let Willow Bend cater your events with our fabulous trays or, make it even easier by bringing your party here! Enjoy the finest food and service. You deserve to enjoy your party and we’re here to help, but our calendar is filling up fast. Call today to reserve a room or order your trays: 419-238-0111 or 419-238-2417.

Party Tray MenuCold AppetizersAssorted Cheese & Cracker tray (serves up to 25 people) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $35.00Fresh Vegetables with Dip (serves up to 25 people) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $40.00Assorted Pinwheels - Turkey & Swiss, Ham & Cheddar (50 pieces) . . . . . . . . . . . . $35.00Baked Brie with Fresh Fruit (serves up to 20-30 people) . . . . . . . . . . . . $50.00Shrimp Cocktail with Cocktail Sauce (50 pieces) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $110.00

Hot AppetizersArtichoke and Crab Dip with Tortilla Chips (serves up to 25) . . . . . . . . . . . $40.00Meatballs - Swedish, Sweet & Sour, BBQ (serves up to 50) . . . . . . . . . . . . $45.00Mexican Cheese Dip with Tortilla Chips (serves 25-30 people) . . . . . . . $40.00Shrimp Rangoon with Sweet & Sour Sauce (50 pieces) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $35.00Vegetable or Shrimp Eggrolls with Sweet & Sour Sauce (50 pieces) . . . . . . . . . . $45.00Stuffed Mushrooms (50 pieces) . . . . . . . . . . $45.00Chicken Wings - Regular or Buffalo (50 pieces) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $55.00Assorted Mini Sandwiches - Ham & Swiss, Turkey & Cheddar (50 sandwiches) . $55.00

DessertsMini Baked Brie w/Raspberry Sauce . . . . . . $45.00Chocolate Dipped Strawberries (50 pieces) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $75.00Assorted Cookies (per Dozen) . . . . . . . . . . . . $6.00

All party trays come with disposable ware, plates, napkins, and forks.