With summer upon us at Holly Lake, we have been blessed with enough rain to keep everything green. Things are looking good, but it keeps the staff very busy, especially in the maintenance department where mowing is an everyday occurrence. We have one individual, Bode Hudson, who takes great pride in the mowing and always strives to make the easements look well manicured. The maintenance department has also been working aggressively on the roads. Presently, we have completed a large section of Greenbriar and another section of Holly Trail East. They have also completed several ancillary roads. The road crew is also repainting all the street signs around the ranch. This will be somewhat of a lengthy process but should be done by October. The paving that has received the most attention is the parking lot in front of the lodge. It has been in dire need of repair and is now in tip top condition. Soon, we will have landscaping completed in the two islands in the parking lot. Also the summer brings the opening of the pools. The cleaning of the pools is another task that falls to the maintenance department. Robert Gibson and Johnny Morris have the unenviable job of ensuring that the pools are crystal clear and I commend them for their diligence. Thankfully, we do not have to clean the lakes; however, much work has been done around them to ensure they look good including tilling of the beaches and painting of the picnic tables. Several other maintenance projects have been completed including the tennis court. The number two tennis court has had a complete make over. The court has been resurfaced and repainted and looks great. All the lights have been serviced with several ballasts being replaced. All four courts are well lit for night play. Also, the putt-putt course on the west side has been repainted as well as repairs on the many of the holes. Finally, over 150 stumps were removed on the ranch including over 100 on the golf course.

At the Golf Course several projects were completed. The driving range now has elevated target greens to allow for better visibility. In the process of that job the driving range was leveled out. With this job complete, the association along with the MGA will soon be buying a new ball picker to allow for better pick up of range balls. Golf Maintenance recently purchased another piece of equipment, an aerifier, which aerifies the course quicker with less disturbance to the surface of the greens. We have already aerified three times this year. This will pay off in healthier greens now and in the future. Golf maintenance completed one last project and that was the installation of a catch basin between the 6 and 7 greens. This will prevent erosion.

At the Pro Shop, the golf marshal, Gene Patton, will be enforcing rules established by the greens committee. A new rule that was established was the use of the golf course at night. A privilege that annual golf members have is the use of the course after 6PM for no charge. All other property owners and guests will have to pay twenty dollars. The golf marshal will be patrolling in the evenings to ensure this rule is followed. Also, the pro shop is now equipped with a new handicapping called the Gin System thanks to the MGA. The system will go on line sometime in October.

It has been a very busy and productive three months at Holly Lake Ranch. We have hired two new employees to replace Billy and Missy Coyle. It was a long and deliberate process to replace these two outstanding individuals but I do believe we were successful. Dave Grover has taken over for Billy Coyle in the Maintenance Department and is an outstanding addition to the Ranch. His skills in carpentry and knowledge in heavy equipment have been invaluable. Under his guidance, the maintenance department has completed many tasks to include the renovation of the 19th Hole restaurant, the covering of the pool equipment, maintenance of the roads and drainage issues and the installation of the lights at the front gates. Also two new pieces of equipment have been purchased for the roads department. They are a dump truck and heavy duty trailer. I would also like to congratulate Gary Gibson, who was promoted to the position of assistant maintenance supervisor.

Golf Maintenance has been keeping busy under the supervision of Clayton Wood. They removed the old retaining wall at the restaurant and replaced it with keystone brick which was an incredible upgrade. They also replaced the sod on the #8 green and tore out and replaced the path at the #8 tee box. The over seeding was very successful over the winter but it is now dying off and the summer grass is beginning to fill in. It will be about a two-month process for the summer grass to fully come in, so bear with us. Poanna weed has been successful sprayed for and is under control as well as the fairy ring that has been dogging the golf maintenance team for two years. An aerifier was recently approved to be purchased by the Board of Directors and it is now on order. This new piece of equipment will allow the department to perform aerification much quicker and with much less disturbance to the greens. Soon, the guys will begin work on the drainage problem between holes #6 and #7.

I want to commend the security department for their work on the theft of our golf flags. Last month several of our golf flags disappeared from the golf course. The security department was able to determine who the perpetrators were and brought them before the disciplinary committee. They were found guilty and have been banned from the ranch for one year. The reason I share this story, is to let everyone know how seriously we take these types of situations. So please make sure, you know where your kids are, Security is watching. On a high note, the security department recently purchased a new defibrillator. Now both Security vehicles are equipped with this state of the art equipment in order to safe lives. The Board of Directors also approved the purchase of a new Security vehicle. The department was in dire need of this replacement due to the heavy mileage put on these vehicles. It was also equipped with a new radar gun, so please slow down. The guys do not like giving out tickets.

At the Pro Shop, two changes are occurring. First, a new handicapping system is being implemented. The equipment has been purchased and is waiting to be installed by the company. Also beginning on April 15, the new golf Marshall began watching the golf course. His name is Gene Patton and his job is to ensure rules are followed. Please give him the respect he deserves as he does his job. I would also like to recognize Carl Worley, our golf professional, who recently won the prestigious Pro/Pro NTPGA golf tournament. The results of the tournament were not only in the Tyler Paper but also in the Dallas Morning News reflecting well on Holly Lake Ranch.

The election of the 2008 Board of Directors was completed on December 1. John and Mary Ott volunteered to tally the votes. They were assisted by John and Alice Darby, John Sloan, Clyde Johnson, Jim Armstrong, Gerry Meek, Pat Schmear, Mike Dunham, Suzie Pollard, Bill Orreander and Richard Barnes. Thanks to each of you. Over 675 votes were cast resulting in the re-election of Bill Beggs and John Sparks for two-year terms, and they will rejoin Larry Bowman and Jeanette Sterner to comprise of your “B” Board of Directors. Congratulations to all four of you. I look forward to a prosperous year working alongside of these individuals.

Plans for 2008 are already in the works waiting on the new Boards approval. Some of these projects include the continuation of road paving, renovation of the restaurant, restocking of lake Greenbriar, purchasing of a defibrillator, renovation of the section 3 bathhouse, re-doing the drainage on the driving range, replacing the retaining wall around the restaurant, the building of new tee boxes on the #1, #6, and #9 holes and the purchasing of new exercise equipment.

I want to recognize several homeowners who have volunteered their time to better Holly Lake Ranch. The first group is the Architectural Control Committee. They are the ones that ensure standards are complied with in new home construction and renovation. Their names are Chuck Davis, Bill Fingerlie and Bit McCrary. I would also like to recognize Jay Blint and the Holly Lake Fire Department who control the Brush Dump and without whose service the Brush Dump would not be open; Julie Fleming who was responsible for the beautiful Christmas decorations around the ranch; Kelly Kendrick for his efforts in the pool room; Ed and Ilene Casper for the outstanding Website we all enjoy and Belinda Flowers for her E Mail report; Rik Van Heyst for his assistance on road repairs; Garland Ford for all he does on the tennis courts; Jeriann Bayley for her poolside landscaping; Kay Sloan for her work at the pools and Stan Ross for his efforts at the fitness center. I personally would like to thank them and tell them how much they are appreciated.

What a summer we have had. With all the rain and lack of 100 degree days, I feel like we skipped the summer season. Even though it was relatively cool, the pools were very active. We had relatively few problems and this can be traced back to the untiring effort of Kay Sloan who ran the pools for the association. The pools remained open until September 30 for the water aerobics and lap classes.

The Fore Seasons had a busy summer with Dutch settling into his new position. He held a very successful “Welcome Party” which was well attended by many of you. There was complimentary food and drink including prime rib. Dutch has also implemented a very successful buffet on Wednesday which coincides with hamburger night. This has been very successful giving all of you a choice of food on this night. Finally, a Birthday night has been established. If it is your birthday during the month, you are invited to the restaurant to enjoy a complimentary meal. All these promotions led to a successful July. I am sure most of you have noticed the beautiful directional signage as well as the sign on the side of the building. It has really added to the exterior look and helps people find the restaurant. The signage was donated by Silverleaf. The waterfall is now operational and it also looks great.

The golf maintenance department has also been kept busy with mowing due to all the rain. Clayton Wood, our superintendent, became very popular by lowering the grass level of the roughs and widening of the fairways. Golf maintenance replaced one of the irrigation pumps. These pumps are getting old and they will all need to be replaced soon. The guys are also doing repair work on the exterior fence around the golf course. A special thanks goes out to Jim and Judy Ruderer who donated a couch to the Golf Maintenance Department.

At Security, two of our officers completed the Emergency Care Attendant Class. They were Scott Fenlaw and Daniel Miller. J. D Hodson went a step further and became an EMT. Congratulations to all three. Their dedication to learning will help them serve you better. Brian South is continuing his Concealed Handgun classes which have become very popular. If you are interested in this class, you can call Brian at 903-769-2164.

The maintenance department has also been very busy mowing and repairing drainage problems around the ranch. They also repaired the door at the fitness center and replaced the dock at Holly Lake. The road crew has been active filling pot holes. We are in the process of a major pot hole repair program. If there are any specific pot holes that need attention, we have a new pot hole policy. All you have to do is come to the Admin Office and fill out a work order form. At that point, it will be scheduled for repair.