Mountain Glen Golf Club is fortunate to have the experienced and highly-qualified Tim Rominger as our new Golf Course Superintendent.

Although Tim has been a resident of Florida for much of his adult life and his wife is a Floridian, he is originally from Banner Elk and was drawn back to the area to help care for his parents and be closer to family.

From the time Tim started working at Linville Ridge Golf Course in high school, he knew he enjoyed working outdoors. He also realized that he enjoyed creating and maintaining beautiful surroundings. After high school, he spent time helping build the course at Blue Ridge Country Club before deciding to attend North Carolina University where he got his degree in Turfgrass Management. Tim then spent spent several years as the Assistant Golf Course Superintendent at Linville Ridge before moving to Florida where he spent 12 years working for a Tampa-based company building golf courses and installing irrigation systems. After that, the entrepreneurial bug bit him and he established his own landscaping business in Fort Meyers, Florida.

After 10 successful years, in 2020, family called and he came back to Avery County and joined the staff at Mountain Glen. According to Dave Burleson, Tim's in-depth knowledge of irrigation systems in particular has proven invaluable in the upkeep of the course.

Dave's enthusiasm for the entire team of grounds and maintenance staff is evident as he spoke to some of the unique challenges they face and their expertise in handling them. Whether you are a golfer or not, you have to appreciate the beauty of Mountain Glen Golf Course. If you have the chance, please congratulate Tim in his new roll and thank the entire staff for their expertise and hard work.

As you know, this is a year of experimentation based on the survey results and suggestions from residents. Since most of Mountain Glen residents may not have had the opportunity to attend one of Kaye's Kitchen's private wine-tasting dinners, we thought it would be fun to bring one to Mountain Glen.

Those of you familiar with Kaye's may not be familiar with her twice-a-month wine-tasting dinners that run from April - October. These dinners are extremely popular and sell out within a two-hour period prior to the beginning of the season. The dinners are not from Kaye's regular menu; they are more upscale and carefully planned and paired with excellent wines.

The Monday night dinner on July 31st will be 4 courses: salad, soup, entree, and dessert with wines. Reservations for this event will be limited to 50 people. Because of the limited number of reservations, we are going to require everyone to sign up via the online calendar on the website, which will go live on July 10, or by signing up at one of the Monday night dinners earlier in August.

As with all our catered dinners, if you sign up, you will be responsible for the cost of your dinner whether you attend or not.

When the new website is launched July 10th, there will be a new, convenient way to RSVP to POA social events.

1. Go to the Calendar,
2. Find the event you want to RSVP to and hover over the event name. A pop-up box will appear with an "RSVP Now" link. Click the link.
3. A page will come up with event details and a button that says "Going." Click on the "Going" button.
4. A form will come up where you can fill in your name, email address and number of guests. If it is a potluck, there will be a dropdown menu for you to indicate what you are bringing (salad, main, side, dessert).

In addition to the Men's Dog Fight that is played at noon Monday - Friday and Sunday, there is now an Early Bird Dog Fight on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays with an 8:15 check-in time. For more information contact Ken Burdine at 321-258-9042 or kenburdine@gmail.com

The MGWGA is having a great season! Any woman with an established handicap is welcome. There are both 18-hole and 9-hole groups. Please contact the Membership Chair, Kay Lafoon, (704) 907-4308, or lafoonkay@gmail.com. Our association welcomes Keiko Mulhall, our newest member! 

Thursday, June 15, the MGWGA players enjoyed the game of Salt and Pepper. The Salt consisted of the odd holes on the front nine, and the even holes on the back nine were Pepper. The players also recorded their overall score. Paula Grim won overall and had a chip-in on #4. Martha Serola won the Salt competition with a scorecard tie breaker. Cletia Bowron was the Pepper winner.

The Nines recorded odd and even holes and their total score. Lori Herter won the overall. Keiko Mulhall won the Salt (odd holes) and Pam Roth was the Pepper(even holes) winner. Another great day of fun golf at Mountain Glen! Thursday, June 22, on the other hand, was a wash-out, literally and figuratively! No one played.

Save the Date! The Blue Ridge, a ladies charity golf tournament, will be held on September 7, 2023, at Mountain Glen. The proceeds of this event will be used to assist local Avery County golf programs. The format is a 2-person Texas Scramble. Look for more information in the coming weeks in the Avery Journal and Glen Spin.

The Junior Golf Camp scheduled for June 20 & 22 were rescheduled to June 27 & 29 due to rain. Camps are for children ages 7-12 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9 AM to 12 PM. Dates for upcoming camps are July 11 & 13, and August 1 & 3. Cost is $85 per camp and participants will need to bring their own clubs.

To sign up please contact Mountain Glen Golf Shop at 828-733-5804. If you have any questions, please contact Dave Burleson, cell 919-606-1582 or email pj1324@hotmail.com, or Bill Sellers, cell 321-662-2299 or email bsellers1953@gmail.com.

Trying to get Bill Jones to talk about himself isn’t easy. Ask him a question about himself and he very quickly and naturally drifts to topics like his love of words (he studied both Greek and Hebrew) and the challenge of expressing verbally what you can see or conceptualize. “How do you describe a rainbow?” he asks rhetorically. “Preaching is an art, not a science. You are trying to express concepts and the beauty of God so that others can see it.” 

I did learn that he grew up in Asheville, his Vietnam War draft number was eight, so he enlisted in the Navy at 18 and served for two years, that he and PG won a dance contest not long after they met, and that they’ve been married for 50 years. I also know he and PG have lived in Newland for 40 years and in Mountain Glen for 32 years. But these are just little scraps along the way.

You might say Bill Jones was something of a “late bloomer.” He converted to Christianity as an adult. It was an awakening that propelled him into Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary where he received his Master of Divinity degree and on to Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary where he earned his Doctorate in Ministry. After graduation, Bill was approached by a large, well-known church in a wealthy suburb of Washington, D.C. where he could have pursued his calling. Instead, he chose Newland. In First Baptist Church Newland he saw the opportunity to take a small, local congregation and build it into a larger, more inclusive community. “The only way to truly experience God is with other people,” says Bill. “I am not interested in the institutions surrounding religion. I am open-minded and my interest is having others know the love and grace of Christ. The pursuit of knowledge is the pursuit of God. He is the essence of everything.”

Bill will be semi-retiring in September, when his son, Burke, will take over as senior pastor. I commented that I imagined being a pastor is an all-consuming and challenging vocation. “Life is painful. My ministry is to give comfort. Being on call 24/7 to deal with sickness, death, and deep emotional pain is part of that. God is love.”

Bill is looking forward to relaxing, playing more golf, and just enjoying life in general. 

The first event of the season was Monday, May 29th and fun was had by all. DJ Elliot Andrews was on hand to play Carolina beach music and oldies and people enjoyed the beach-themed props for photo opps!

Peter & Carmen Barnes, Sheila Blalock, Bob Horan, Barry Blalock

Johnny & Ronna Campbell, Anna & Mike Moody

Darlene Johnson, Elaine Floyd, Martha Solon

Back row: Judy Cuppernull, Ronna Campbell, Carrie Salinas, Betsey Baker, Roxanne Mann, Anna Moody. Front: Donna Mathis, Lee Neel, Delia Farnum

Bob & Barbara Smallback

Daniel & Lee Neel, Carrie & Raphael Salinas, Donna & Tim Mathis, Betsey Baker

There were lots of cowboy hats and boots to be seen at Western Night this year, along with boot-scooting to live music with The Collective.

625 Mountain Glen Dr.

$799,000

1,708 Sq. Ft.

Price per Sq. Ft. $468

3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms

Agent: Linda Taylor with Braswell Realty

See listing for details

820 Hemlock Dr.

$835,000

3,130 Sq. Ft.

Price per Sq. Ft. $267

3 bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms

Agent: Logan Martin with Proper Realty, LLC

See listing for details

855 Hemlock Dr. PENDING

$599,950

2,502 Sq. Ft.

Price per Sq. Ft. $240

3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms

Agent: Tom Golder with Claybank Investors

See listing for details

July 1 Beech Mountain Independence Day Celebration and Fireworks, starts at 5 PM

live music, cookout with hamburgers, hotdogs, etc. fireworks start at dusk free admission

July 1-2 Art on the Greene 10 AM - 5 PM at the green at the Historic Banner Elk School featuring quality, hand-made arts and crafts from select regional and national artisans.

July 2 Elk Park 4th of July parade will start at 5 PM on with free food, games and entertainment afterwards at Winters Town Park. Performances from Mountain Rose Band, Avery County Cloggers, and Jessi & the River Cats will start at 6 PM Fireworks at dark.

July 4 Newland’s Independence Day Celebration Day-long event, starting at 10 AM with a parade. There will be vendors and inflatables at Riverwalk from 10 AM until 4 PM. A Street Dance with food trucks will start at 6 PM and from 7 PM to 9:30 PM there will be a free concert featuring “Blaze the City,” a band from the Charlotte area. Fireworks start at 9:45 PM.

July 4 Sugar Mountain Fireworks, 6 PM - 10 PM, live music, food, and beverages at the base of the mountain, chairlift to the summit for fireworks starting at dusk

July 6 Banner Elk Concerts in the Park at Tate-Evans Park, 6:30 PM, free admission

The Extraordinnaires – Oldies, including Motown, Rock, R&B, Beach, and Top 40

July 6-9 Grandfather Mountain Highland Games Founded in 1956, the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games and Gathering of the Scottish Clans are considered America’s grandest Scottish-themed games.

July 13 Banner Elk Concerts in the Park at Tate-Evans Park, 6:30 PM, free admission

Woodie & String Pullers – Pop, Rock, Country, Indie, and Reggae

July 14-16 Avery Fine Arts Festival & Master Crafts Sugar Mountain Resort

Friday: 1PM– 5PM, Saturday: 10AM – 5PM, Sunday: 10AM – 4PM

Juried festival features an eclectic mix of handcrafted wares from fine and master crafts artisans. Photography, paintings, jewelry , sculpture, pottery, weaving, glass art, wood crafts, wood furniture, specialty candles, body care & soaps and more.

July 21-30 City of Dreadful Night Ensemble Stage Banner Elk, ticket prices vary

This twisting, turning piece of theatre is layered in suspense, mystery and is rich in noir atmosphere.