Winners have been named in Vital Communities’ first-ever Upper Valley High Communications Competition: Forrest Mattern for Print PSA, Ashley Fogg won for Television PSA, and Nate Guarino won for Radio PSA. All hail from Hartford and are seniors in the Hartford Area Career and Technology Center’s Media Arts program taught by Felicia Allard. Their public service announcements support Local First Alliance, a program of Vital Communities, answering the question: Why is it cool to shop at locally owned businesses?

“We are thrilled to have been a part of this process and were overwhelmed by the submissions,” said Mundy Wilson Piper, owner of Chippers, which will help promote the winning print PSA. “It was an amazing and inspiring collaboration between the students, Local First Alliance, and the school.”

“Students had the opportunity to work with industry professionals from King Arthur Flour, Co-op Food Stores, and WPTZ, which inspired creativity and some very valuable portfolio work,” added Vital Communities’ Local First Alliance Administrator Emily Gardner.

The winning submissions are available at vitalcommunities.org/localfirst.

Submissions from 13 students were evaluated and winners selected by the Local First Alliance Steering Committee. The winning print PSA will run in the Valley News and on the side of a Chippers truck, and the winning radio PSA will run on Great Eastern Radio stations. Each winning artist received a $150 cash award courtesy of Lake Sunapee Bank, Ledyard National Bank, and Mascoma Savings Bank. The winning television PSA will run on WPTZ, and the winner received an iPad courtesy of Systems Plus Computers.

It was raining when we touched down in Shannon, County Clare, Ireland after the overnight flight from Boston. A quick trip through customs and we were on our way to the rental car.

“Just remember to go left at the roundabout,” said my wife Jo as I reprogrammed my brain for driving on the left side of the road for the 30-minute trip to our first stop in Ennis, County Clare.
Ennis, with its charming streets and busy shops, seemed like the perfect place to begin our seven-day Irish golfing adventure in early May.

After breakfast and a short nap at the Old Ground Hotel (140 Euro/$190 per night with breakfast), we drove over winding country roads to East Clare Golf Club for our first round.

Joined by Quechee friends Chris Mendelsohn and Denette Pollock, we went searching for the pro shop to pay our greens fee (20 euro/$28 each) and play away.

By the third hole we had rain gear on, off and on again as showers and winds swept the 6,700-yard parkland course. Finally we saw blue skies as we strolled up the 18th fairway.

Dinner that night was at Knox’s, a local Ennis pub that rated four stars on TripAdvisor. We fought off jet lag and made plans for our next day at Doonbeg, 25 miles up the coast.

Doonbeg/Doonbeg Golf Club – Designed by Greg Norman, Doonbeg Golf Club opened in 2002 amid much fanfare. But even this luxury seaside resort could not weather the 2008 financial crisis.

Earlier this year, the property’s U.S. owners declared bankruptcy. The filing opened the way for Donald Trump to buy the 400-acre club and Lodge for 15 million euro or roughly $22 million.

Out on the course, restoration was underway following a freak winter storm. The par three sixth hole was washed out to sea by the high winds and 30-foot waves that caused massive erosion and damaged several other holes along this coastal links.

Accommodations at Doonbeg are five star with spacious rooms, king beds and radiant heat. Our package price, including golf, lodging and breakfast was 395 euro/$537 per couple.

Doolin/Lahinch – Friday morning dawned sunny and windy, setting the stage for our day at Lahinch Golf Club. Designed in 1892 by old Tom Morris, Lahinch (135 euro/$184 each) it is among the Top 50 courses in the world.

An experienced caddy at the venerable links can be a good investment. Our caddy, Hughey, was especially helpful on quirky blind shots like the one over the massive Klondyke dune on the par five fourth hole.

After golf we headed to Doolin for dinner at McGann’s, a classic Irish pub along the Aille River. Our innkeeper at the Blackberry Lodge (75 euro/$103 per night with breakfast) suggested we arrive early. Dinner was fresh Caesar salad followed by tasty lamb shank. Locals packed the tables by nine for the music and the “craic” (fun).

Ballyconneely, Connemara – Saturday dawned gloomy. The forecast was for rain, wind and more rain during our 102-mile drive northwest. With the ever changing weather, Chris and I headed for the golf course (60 Euro/$81 each) while Jo and Denette opted for lunch and sightseeing in Clifden, about nine miles away.

Connemara Championship Golf Links (60 euro/$81) is about stark beauty and stunning contrasts. Flat and rocky, the downwind opening holes seem easy. The illusion starts to fade by the fourth hole and evaporates at the eighth, a 449-yard brute into the prevailing wind that Bubba Watson might not reach in two.

The par 37 back nine of Connemara works inland through high dunes and exposed plateaus before turning toward the ocean and a back-to-back par five finish. With the wind gusting to 40 mph, we needed four good shots to reach the elevated green at the 475-yard 17th.

Westport – This bustling town is the perfect place for a day off from golf. We spent two nights at the Boulevard Guesthouse (75 euro/$102 per night with breakfast) and enjoyed the riverfront view.

Our Sunday plans called for breakfast, followed by cycling on the Great Western Greenway, a 42-kilometer (25-mile) bike trail from the village of Achill back to Westport with coastal views of Clew Bay. We rented bikes (21 euro/$28 each) from the helpful staff at Clew Bay Adventures and dodged a few raindrops along the way.

Westport offers a number of fine restaurants (I recommend trying Sage) and pubs on every corner, including Matt Moran’s, where U2’s Bono sits in with the locals from time to time.

Belmullet/Carne – With our rest day over, we drove 53 miles from Westport to Belmullet on Monday morning to Carne Golf Links. The sky was blue and the sun was shining when we arrived on the first tee, a dogleg right that measures 365 yards to an uphill green.

Carne Golf Links (55 euro/$75 each) was the final project of Irish course designer Eddie Hackett. Many believe it to be his best work. Situated in the dunes overlooking Blacksod Bay, Carne is off the beaten path, but well worth the journey north.

“Carne is absolutely brilliant,” notes golf writer Tom Coyne. “Front nine, back nine, every hole, every hill, every inch of the place is simply special.”

Enniscrone/Enniscrone Golf Club – After fish and chips at Fun Bobby’s Bistro, we drove to the seaside town of Enniscrone with its horseshoe shaped beach and panoramic views.

We arrived in time for tea at the Seasons Lodge Guest House (90 euro/$122 per night with breakfast) owned by Dermot and Alanna O’Regan. A short walk along the beach led us to town where we snapped sunset photos of Killala Bay before dinner at Ait Eile, the restaurant downstairs from Gilroy’s Pub.

Tuesday morning we woke to sunshine and headed to the course energized by Dermot’s full Irish breakfast. Originally a nine-hole layout, Enniscrone (50 euro/$68 each) is a stunning seaside links that snakes up, down and through massive dunes. Putting rather than chipping is often the best play around the greens.

Homeward – From Enniscrone we drove south, savoring the countryside down to Galway. From there it was back to Ennis and the Old Ground Hotel for our final night. We dined on fish and chips at the Poet’s Bar and settled our bets with a final Guinness, a fitting end to a golfer’s dream journey.

If you go – Travel mid-week if possible. Fly AerLingus from New York or Boston. Book tee times online and make sure to inquire about cancellation policies.

Rental Cars – Rent a car large enough for your clubs and luggage. Make sure to ask for an automatic transmission and take a GPS with Ireland maps. Driving on the left side of the twisting roads is challenging enough. Park the car at night and walk to dinner.

Rental Car Insurance – Check with your credit card company to see about coverage. Insurance is expensive – about $50 per day at the rental counter – but worth the price when considering the cost of repairs.

Caddies – The better known courses (Lahinch/Doonbeg) have experienced caddies. Other courses will arrange for caddies in advance. Rates are 50 euro to 60 euro per bag ($68, $81) including tip. Caddies can help, but may try to take over your game. Buying a course guide for five euro is an acceptable alternative.

Golf Carts – Walking is one of the pleasures of Irish golf. Very few golfers ride in buggies (power carts), which are forbidden at Lahinch. Push carts (trolleys) are available for rent by golfers who opt not to carry their own bags.

“If you want to find me on Wednesdays, you can come to the hospital [Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center] between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. I’ll be there, playing piano,” says Quechee’s Bill Emerson. “When I retired I had two goals, to play golf and to play piano.”

Emerson learned to play the piano by ear. His first venture into playing music was in college with a ukulele. He then began to experiment with the piano, and was a quick study. “There was always a piano inside of the frat houses. And when I was in the Navy, there were two pianos on the ship. One in the enlisted men’s quarters and one in the officers’, and I had a lot of free time while we were sailing to Korea and back.”

After his retirement in 1986, he took lessons from two excellent jazz pianists. He learned to read music, after 40 years of playing by ear. He spends most mornings practicing, which he enjoys.

“The hospital gig is my pride and joy,” he says, “but it all started at the Powerhouse Mall. In 1986, after I retired, my wife and I went on vacation. When we came back to Logan airport, someone had smashed the window of our car in the parking garage and stolen the radio. So I went to get it replaced at Car Sounds (now the Electronic Superstore in Lebanon), and they said it would take a couple of hours. So I went over to the Powerhouse Mall to wait, and there was this guy in a tuxedo playing the piano. I thought ‘I can do that!’ and I wrote a letter to Bayne Stevenson (the owner of the Powerhouse Mall). They gave me an audition, and I was in!”

In addition to volunteering at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, Bill also plays professional gigs at events and at places like the Canoe Club in Hanover, the Woodstock Inn, and Wheelock Terrace, to which he was headed after the hospital. He favors classic easy jazz—Gershwin, Cole Porter, the cream of the ’20s, ’30s and ’40s. He loves seeing new generations falling under the spell of these great tunes. He laughs, “It’s great when some kid says ‘Will you play “The Way You Look Tonight” at my wedding?’

In August 1995, Debbie Marcus and her husband Chet Marcus, both Massachusetts natives, were taking their two children to camp in Rutland, Vermont when they passed through Quechee.

“Wow, isn’t this beautiful?” the Marcus’s had said to each other as they took in the mountainous scenery and the stretches of golf courses—Chet is an avid golfer.

By November 1995, the Marcus’s decided to purchase a condo in Quechee. Since the two still own and run their business, Marcus Financial Advisors, in Gloucester, Massachusetts, they have been splitting their time between Quechee and Gloucester for 19 years. The Marcus’ son, Jonathan, will be taking over the family business so that the pair can retire to Vermont full time in a couple of years.

When I meet with Marcus at her beautiful home in Quechee—she and her husband still own their condo but now rent it out—she seems completely in her element. Her house is nestled in the valley with a magnificent view of the mountains, and she sits peacefully in her chair outside taking it all in. Marcus, a big Grateful Dead fan as she later tells me, is an experienced hiker and adventurer who has been on hundreds of hikes, so my first question for her is easy: How did she become so interested in hiking when she grew up by the ocean in Massachusetts?

“Well, for the Quechee community, there’s golf and tennis, and the social life is well established around those things, but I don’t play golf and I don’t play tennis. And my kids are grown, so I really needed to find something to do that I could be as passionate about. And I have,” she says. “I think in another life I had to have grown up in the mountains.”

Ever since she was a child when her parents took her fishing, boating and clamming, she’s always loved being outdoors, so hiking was naturally alluring to her. Still new to the area, she decided to slowly ease into hiking by parking her car and going for hikes alone along the Appalachian Trail. In 2002 and 2003, she joined the Green Mountain Club (GMC) and the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) and really started to find her place and meet other hikers.

“I met people in the GMC and found that there is a real social network … of people who are a variety of ages. That kind of opened things up for me; to hike with other people and enjoy the experience with them. I wasn’t in the woods by myself anymore,” she says.

Since then, Marcus has set numerous goals and met them all. One of her greatest accomplishments was hiking all of New Hampshire’s 48 peaks—mountains that are at least 4,000 feet above sea level—which she completed in five years. Her next goal is to finish hiking all of New England’s 67 mountains with peaks of at least 4,000 feet.

“There are five in the state of Vermont, and I’ll have completed those by the end of the summer,” she says. “The rest are in Maine. That’s next summer’s quest.”

Another goal that she set was to become credentialed as a trip leader. After hiking Mt. Adams in New Hampshire alone years ago and experiencing some unplanned, dangerous weather conditions, she decided to seek out more training to be better prepared. In 2010, she went through the proper steps to become credentialed as a trip leader for AMC NH and is now qualified to lead hiking groups on trips in three seasons: spring, summer and fall. She is also certified in solo and advanced wilderness first aid.

“We guide trip participants on some of the most rigorous terrain with some of the most amazing weather conditions you can have on the East Coast. It’s a lot of fun now that I’ve been doing it for a couple of years,” she says.

In addition to leading hiking groups and going on her own organized backpacking trips—when I met with her, she was preparing to hike the Long Trail—Marcus also finds time to volunteer as a trip leader. She leads hiking trips for kids ranging from ages 3 to 15 and their families, and also leads a beginner’s hike for women.

“It’s just such a pleasure … just to see them soaking everything up about the experience,” she says.
Of the hundreds of hikes Marcus has gone on, she has a hard time choosing a favorite. But she has always enjoyed ridge-walking along the Franconia Ridge in New Hampshire or the gap between Mt. Ellen and Mt. Abraham in Vermont. And Camel’s Hump in Vermont is one of the best hikes you can go on in New England, she says.

For Marcus, the physical activity is satisfying, but it’s the rush she feels when she reaches a mountain’s summit that is really gratifying for her.

“I do love a view,” she says. “There’s this great feeling of accomplishment when you’ve struggled to climb and finally get to the top, and to just look out there, you think ‘This is worth it. This is worth the struggle and the temporary pain.’ It feels great to be up there.”

But one of the greatest joys Marcus has experienced through her hiking adventures has been able to share the exhilaration of a hike with others and be able to connect with friends and other people. She has developed several close friendships locally as a result of her trips. She’s even a part of a hiking partner’s upcoming wedding.

“You find your group of people. That’s how I found out where I fit in here,” she says. “It’s not uncommon for us to turn to each other [on a hike] and say ‘We’re just so lucky to be here.’ That’s the prevailing feeling,” she says.

John Ferney will miss the challenges of the past several years as president of the Quechee Lakes Landowner’s Association (QLLA) Board of Trustees. His term ended in July 2014 and for the first time in many years, Ferney does not hold a formal position in QLLA governance.

Over the years, Ferney has been a member of the Nominating Committee, the Greens Committee, the Finance & Audit Committee and chairman of the Golf Committee. He was elected to the Board of Trustees in 2008, served as treasurer for two years, and another two years as president. Ferney spoke with the Quechee Times about his experiences.

“We all come here for the setting and facilities, but we stay for the people and the community. It has been a pleasure to serve the people of Quechee as a Trustee,” he said.

Ferney grew up in Walpole, MA, as the middle of five children. He was brought up with a strong sense of community and giving back is considered a family tradition. Both he and his wife, Gail, are true supporters of the Quechee community and the Upper Valley.

The Ferneys bought land and built their home in Quechee in 1988. They lived with their three sons in Westford, MA, at that time and spent a lot of time in New Hampshire on the weekends. When friends introduced them to Quechee, they found the place that they wanted to be—location, beauty, golf, skiing—it had everything that this active family was looking for!

A graduate of Boston College with a BS and an MBA, Ferney began working at the Raytheon Company in 1966. He was with the Missile Systems Division for most of his career, and retired in 2001 as a vice president of Raytheon Aircraft in Wichita, Kansas.

Upon retirement, the Ferneys headed back East to become full-time Vermont residents. John immediately put his professional skills to work for QLLA, first serving on committees and then at the board level. He also joined the Board of Headrest, Inc.—a non-profit organization based in Lebanon, NH, that provides addiction and crisis support services—and is currently the vice president.

Ferney said he has always loved numbers and approaches life from a financial perspective, making decisions based on an analytical framework of value. He naturally incorporates multiple perspectives—community, organizational, personal, etc.—into this equation to successfully come up with a balance.

Challenges during his tenure as president

Two major external challenges included the recession and Tropical Storm Irene. The recession caused the real estate market in Quechee to nose-dive, services and amenities were underutilized, and people just weren’t here, he explained. The situation was exacerbated when Tropical Storm Irene’s devastation required active crisis management.

Thanks to hard work by all, QLLA was able to recover from Irene with no additional financial assessment to the members and with a solid plan in place for managing such risks in the future.
Ferney believes that in some ways Irene was a hidden blessing in that it brought the community closer together. The challenges and successes actually, “increased the trust between club management, the board and the membership. Everyone shared in the recovery and the pride of making it through a major crisis,” he said.

Among the internal challenges, he mentioned the inactivity of the current Quechee Lakes Development Company, the decline in golf revenues and the aging out of Quechee members. Strong leadership and management were critical during the storm and the recession, and still are.

When the club found itself without a general manager (GM) in 2013, John took on the dual role of club president and interim general manager including overseeing the search for a new GM. Tim Lewis joined QLLA as GM and chief operating officer in September 2013. John says that hiring Tim was one of the best things the board did in his six years. He thinks that QLLA now “has a very strong management team to bring it into the future successfully.”

QLLA’s future

Some of the programs and initiatives that have already begun are key to QLLA’s future explained Ferney. They include better communication, improved marketing, a strong capital plan and increasing the value of membership.

In the area of communication, quarterly member forums, Q-Notes and periodic email updates are in place. In addition, regular meetings of Quechee’s condominium associations’ presidents were initiated to discuss topics of common interest.

In order to attract new members and get the QLLA name out, a marketing coordinator was hired and the website updated. Ferney is excited about the implementation of the Certified Quechee Rental Program. This program aims to assist renters in finding a “quality” Quechee vacation. Potential buyers often first rent and a poor rental experience creates a poor perception of Quechee.

A strong capital plan reassures both current and new members that the infrastructure is maintained and enhanced.

With the exception of golf and skiing, all amenities are now included in the base dues, encouraging the use of amenities and providing more value to those dues. This initiative, along with improved food & beverage service and several golf initiatives, has resulted in a more lively and actively used club already.

He doesn’t offer any particular advice to the incoming president – just the vision that Quechee Lakes should not continue to be the best-kept secret in Vermont. “There will always be differing opinions and challenges in a club this diverse, but I’m confident that QLLA is in a strong position to meet them,” he said.

Ferney won’t have a problem filling his newfound free time. He serves on the board of Headrest, he loves to ski, and he and Gail have five grandchildren spread out across Connecticut, New York and South Carolina to visit, and Quechee has two beautiful golf courses just calling his name.