A survey was sent out to homeowners and social members earlier this year to find out how you feel about POA-sponsored social events at Mountain Glen. Thank you to all of you who participated! Based on the answers and suggestions you provided, we will be trying some different things this year. We know that not everyone likes change, so we have taken an "everything in moderation" approach hoping the majority of people will be happy and everyone will be good-natured about trying new things!

• We have some new caterers we're trying this year (survey results indicated you wanted more variety). Barberitos in Boone will be catering our first dinner, a make-your-own fajita bar. We will also have two catered dinners by Black Olive in Elizabethton, TN. and Kaye's Kitchen will be catering a special wine-paring dinner in late July. (FYI, Christa's Country Corner, a long time favorite, closed its doors permanently. We'll miss them!)

• People overwhelmingly responded that they like themed events and are open to variation on catered dinner and potluck themes. With this in mind, the Memorial Day event is centered around the theme of Carolina Beach Music, and there will be a Western Night again this year on June 17th. There will also be a "bring-your-best-appetizer" potluck starting at 5PM on July 12th and a Trivia Night post-dinner on July 24th.

• There will be two Saturday night dinners on June 17th and August 19th. This was requested by some survey respondents to give people who still work and only come up on weekends a chance to socialize with friends and neighbors and we thought it was a great idea!

• People asked for more variety in our musical entertainment. We will have several dinner events with a professional DJ instead of live music, where you can request the music you like. We have also purchased our own sound system so that we can have quiet background music at some dinner events and also be able to DJ our own events. This will allow everyone to hear the oldies they love and to experience a mix of genres.

• Another request was for an additional event in September. The last catered event of the season will be Monday, September 18th with live music.

• We received comments asking to know about the season's events more than one month in advance. When the new website launches, there will be a calendar that will list all planned activities for the season. Also, people wanted to be able to RSVP to events, such as potluck dinners, online, and that will be possible once the new website is up.

• Many people commented they did not like having a Monday night dinner and a Thursday night potluck dinner in the same week. This will not happen this year. However, because of the two Saturday night dinners, there will be two weeks this summer where there is a Monday night dinner, and a Saturday night dinner that counts for the activity for the following week.

• We have been mystified as to why so many people "eat and run" after dinner as this was not the norm pre-Covid. Several people suggested the musical entertainment was too loud and interfered with people's ability to converse. Weather permitting, we are going to experiment with having the after-dinner music and dancing out on the deck in hopes that this will also mitigate sound issues. We suggest when the music is outside, those whom this bothers should sit at the front of the room to be furthest away from the music.

Ronna Campbell, who is the Vice-President of the POA and the Entertainment Committee Chair, will be talking a bit more about the upcoming season and changes prior to the Monday night dinner on Memorial Day.

We will soon be launching a website created just for our Mountain Glen Community. The website will give you the convenience of having pertinent information related to our community and activities at your fingertips. Housed on the website will be such things as a Community Calendar, a Vendor Directory featuring resident recommendations (we hope you'll contribute), the POA By-Laws, the ADC Deed Restrictions, and more. The launch date will be in June and we will send out a separate email with more detailed information about the website when it launches. (Pictured is a work very much in progress.)

For men and women golfers of all levels, the 9-hole mixed golf scramble has moved to Sunday evenings.

This activity is as much game as it is golf, so both beginners and experienced players will have fun. Two dollars will be collected from each player by team captains for cash prizes.

Afterward, there is an informal gathering on the deck where players socialize, BYOB and snacks. Sign up by no later than Friday evening on the bulletin board by the Pro Shop. If you sign up, please show up. Be at the club at 4:00 PM for a prompt 4:15 PM shotgun tee off.

Officers of the WGA for the 2023 season are: (left to right) Geri Emkey-Social Committee Chair and Parliamentarian; Terri West-Tournament Committee Chair; Martha Solon-Vice-President; Beth Hill-President; Frances Allen-Treasurer; Adele Carter-Secretary. Not Pictured:Donna Rayburn-Publicity & Historian; Kay Laffoon-Membership Chair,LaVern Chittum: Sunshine Committees and Cletia Bowron-Directory.

The Mountain Glen Women's Golf Association will be opening their season on Thursday, June1st 2023. This is a change from years past, trying a different day of the week to see how it works for everyone.

Any woman with an established handicap is welcome to come and enjoy this lively group. The season will run through September 28. Membership in Mountain Glen Golf Club is not required.

There are both 18-hole and 9-hole groups that play on Thursday mornings at 9:18 AM. Members meet outside the Pro Shop at 9 AM for instructions and groupings for the day's game. There are also opportunities to play on Tuesday mornings with tee times set aside for women from 9:18 through 9:30 AM. 

Thursdays games are organized by the Tournament Committee headed by Terri West with sign-ups via email through Golf Genius. The WGA holds an annual competition for Club Champion in both 18 and 9 hole gross and net on August 3rd and 4th this year. Mountain Glen hosts an annual Ladies Invitational open to players from around the county. This year's invitational will be on September 7th. Dues for the year are $50 and cover weekly winnings in flights with gross and net winners as well as monthly luncheons and a membership directory.

For more information, contact the Membership Chair, Kay Lafoon (704) 907-4308 or lafoonkay@gmail.com.

Mountain Glen's Junior Golf Camps are very popular so plan ahead to sign your grandchildren up for this fun and educational activity! Camps will be led by golf professionals including Dave Burleson, Bill Sellers, and others. Cost is $85 per camp and participants will need to bring their own clubs.

Camps are for children ages 7-12 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9 AM to 12 PM. Dates for this year's camps are June 20-22, July 11-13, and August 1-3.

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.

All players with an established handicap are welcome to join the men’s Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday golf group. Competing as threesomes and foursomes, the group plays using a points system format (a.k.a. Stableford Scoring System). All players with an established handicap are welcomed to join. Golf starts at 9:18 am, newcomers are welcome to just show up.

Green indicates Mountain Glen sponsored events. Sign-ups for tournaments (other than those with an asterisk) are typically posted outside the pro shop prior to events.

5/24 Wayne Autry Scholarship Golf Tournament

5/27-5/28 Memorial Glen Tournament - SOLD OUT

7/4 4th of July Golf Tournament

Limited to 100 players, 8:30 shotgun start

7/22 Dogtown Wrestling Golf Tournament (night)

8/3-8/4 Ladies Club Championship

8/19 Birdies and Brews Golf Tournament

8/11-8/13 Men's Team Championship - SOLD OUT

9/7 Blue Ridge Ladies Invitational*

9/16-9/17 Fall Captain's Choice*

9/29, 9/30, 10/1 Mountain Man Senior National Amateur*

Senior Club Championship-TBD

Harry Putnum Memorial- TBD

*To download applications, visit the Mountain Glen Golf Course website. All tournaments sell out early so be sure to get your applications in as soon as possible.

Pickleball meetups have changed this year and will now be held on Wednesday evenings at 5PM. Anyone interested in pickleball is encouraged to grab their racquet and show up.

The pro shop has some pickleball equipment to borrow (racquets and balls). Both experienced and beginner players welcome!

New or experienced bridge players are welcome for casual bridge play on Wednesday mornings, starting Wednesday, June 7^th.

If you have any questions, please contact either Jan Dempster at 919-264-7428 or Sheila Blalock at 704-877-9535. Sign up sheets can be found on the bulletin board by the Pro Shop.

This month I decided to interview a year-round neighbor and friend, Betsey Baker. She and her husband, Frank Barrett moved to Mountain Glen in September 2020. Betsey can work magic making floral arrangements and taking care of plants and there’s a good reason for that. When Betsey was 57 years old and her children were in their early teens, Betsey decided to go back to school and get a degree in horticulture. “I always loved flowers, even as a small child, but it never occurred to me until then that I could turn that love into a fulltime job,” Betsey mused. 

Once she finished school, she applied for a job at the A Gardener’s Place, the garden shop at the Biltmore, where she worked for two years before moving into the floral department for the Biltmore Estate. Her responsibilities were wide and varied. At that time the Biltmore had a lot of tropical plants throughout the estate and Betsey was responsible for all of them, training others on how to care for them. She had many other responsibilities as well. Refreshing and replacing floral arrangements around the estate is an ongoing, daily job. As you can imagine, Betsey spent a lot of time floral arranging, working with all kinds of flowers. She and other team members would gather branches, leaves, and some flowers from the Biltmore grounds once a week but most flowers were purchased. With each season there were special exhibits, with the biggest being decorating the Biltmore for Christmas and Flowers on Parade in the spring. While working, Betsey also found time to volunteer at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts as an usher (and enlisted her husband, Frank, to join her). Betsey said working at the Biltmore Estate was enjoyable but also very physical and after 21 years, when the pandemic started, she decided to retire.

These days Betsey volunteers at Grandfather Mountain answering people’s questions, chatting with visitors from all over the world and taking photos of visitors (so much better than selfies). Betsey’s husband, Frank Barrett, is as outgoing and interesting as Betsey. A natural athlete, in Frank’s early career he was a crew coach (one of his sports) for Boston University and Northeastern University. He went on to other work endeavors including being a furniture and cabinet maker, and home remodeling and construction. Extroverted soul that he is, Frank would rather be working than “sitting around the house.” These days you’ll find him around the Inn at Shady Lawn, where he works as the manager. Betsey and Frank still consider themselves newlyweds, having married four years ago in Asheville, N.C. When not volunteering and working, you’ll find them engaging in cultural and nature-related activities in the area and socializing with friends. 

Mountain Glen's 4th annual Holiday Potluck Dinner was organized and co-hosted by Gail & Jon Patterson and Carrie & Rafael Salinas. A welcome new addition this year was live music and dancing. Sixty-eight people attended.

Dennis & Sheryl Ellenwood, Sherry Dye, Julie Guise, Bill & Kathy Schafer, Goose Guise, Jim Dye

Tony Wilson & Paul Harris

Bill & Alice Murphy

Dave Calvert, Johnny Campbell, Jen Calvert

Gail & Jon Patterson

Raphael & Carrie Salinas

820 Hemlock Dr.

$895,000

3,130 Sq. Ft.

Price per Sq. Ft. $286

3 bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms

Agent: Logan Martin with Proper Realty, LLC

See listing for details

May 27-28 - 10AM-5PM. Art on the Greene at the green at the Historic Banner Elk School featuring quality, hand-made arts and crafts from select regional and national artisans.

May 27-31, June 1-3 - Rhododendron Ramble 2:00-2:30. All day Rhododendron Ramble June 4. Take a short, guided stroll that highlights Grandfather Mountain’s rhododendron species and blooms. Included with admission. Learn about their history, attributes, and roles they play in the mountain’s ecological communities. Walks take approximately 20 minutes and are fit for guests of all ages – wheelchair and stroller accessible. Meet by the Butterfly Garden at the Wilson Center for Nature Discovery.  

June 2-4 - 10AM - 5PM. Toe River Arts Studio Tour. Driving tour through Mitchell and Yancey Counties will take visitors along the meandering Toe River, across its many bridges, around barns, acres of fields, and miles of forests all while visiting the talented studio artists and galleries participating.

June 9-11 - High Country Jazz Festival in various beautiful venues in both Boone and Blowing Rock.

June 10 - 2nd Annual Spruce Pine Alien Festival, starts at 9 AM. Streets will be lined with over 125 UFO and alien-related Artists & Craft Vendors featuring unique Space/Sun/Moons/Stars/Alien/Celestial and Paranormal gifts. Best Alien Costume Contest! Experience the town and the "Out of this World" Alien Decorations. 

June 10-11 - Avery County Summer Fest 9 AM-5 PM. Arts, crafts, and approved specialty/gourmet items. All vendors participating will be by invitation only through a juried process. Avery Community Center at Heritage Park, 661 Vale Road

June 14 - Animal Birthday Party. 11 AM - 3:30 PM. Celebrate the birthdays of Grandfather Mountain's animals with games, contests, crafts and surprises.

June 15-17 - Boonerang Music and Arts Festival. Downtown Boone comes alive with performances stages for music, an arts and crafts vendor market, a beer garden, food trucks, a kid zone, and silent disco in the evenings. Too many activities to list here!

June 16-25 - Ensemble Stage in Banner Elk: Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde This is a two-actor tour-de-force comedic retelling of the horror classic. Oh sure, it’s still a battle of good vs. evil. But this time around, it is done with an invigorating wit and style that will have you laughing from the opening minutes to the very end.

June 17-18 - 10AM to 5PM. Grandfather Mountain celebrates the rhododendron blooms with the 76th annual Roan Mountain Rhododendron Festival. Held in Roan Mountain State Park, located at the foot of Roan Mountain and features handmade crafts, food, and a variety of traditional music, plus an array of old-time folkway demonstrations.

June 24-July 30 - Appalachian State University An Appalachian Summer Festival is a multi- and inter-disciplinary arts festival presenting and producing programs in music, theater, dance, film, and visual arts. It is in its 39th year in 2023. Musical Artists this year include: Darius Rucker, Leslie Odom Jr., Keb' Mo' with special guest Allison Russell, John Oates, Lea Salonga, Garrick Ohlsson (piano), Apollo's Fire: The Road to Dublin, Calidore String Quartet, Strings for Peace, Eastern Festival Orchestra with Gil Shaham (violin).

June 30, July 2 - Red, White, and Blue Ridge Variety Show at Lees-McRae. A variety show with a North Carolina flair featuring music, dancing, comedy, and patriotic songs.