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Obituaries
John Atrup Nielsen
John Atrup Nielsen has died at the age of 96 after a fall at his home. John was born on the small Danish island of “Bogø,” where, having lost his mother as a small child, and with his father a Captain in the Danish Merchant Navy, away at sea most of the time, he was brought up by his grandmother. During WWII he did not see his father for five years. After completing High School John went to Copenhagen to study at the Royal Danish Veterinary & Agricultural University from where he graduated as a veterinary surgeon shortly after the War. After some years of working as a vet, John bought his own practice. He was, by then, married to Ulla and they had two sons, Søren and Lars. However, in the 1950s, the inherited zest for travel made John sell his practice and travel to Oklahoma, US, to work in a large slaughterhouse. This was the beginning of a life lived abroad for John and his family. Working as a veterinary surgeon for FAO he went to Iraq and Somalia. He then took overseas assignments in the Danish Foreign Ministry in countries including India, Kenya and Tanzania where he was appointed Chief of the Danish Foreign Aid office, DANIDA. His last assignment was with ICRC, where he managed a large programme vaccinating cattle in South Sudan, after which, John retired with Ulla to Nairobi.
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John had two main hobbies - hunting and golf – and he was able to indulge both throughout his travels. John was a very good shot and gathered a fine collection of rare trophies from the many countries he visited. He was a keen member of the Karen Golf Club where he played right into his nineties.
John took a great interest in other people and had a fantastic memory for names and events. He was a wonderful raconteur and entertained his family and friends recounting the many exciting events he had experienced during his travels. He told them with his dry Danish humour, which was very amusing. He was a frequent visitor to the Club and would come almost daily to collect his mail and read the newspapers. He also particularly enjoyed Curry Lunch on Sundays. John was a longstanding Member of the Club and he will be missed by his many friends and the staff who knew him.
May 1924 - July 2020
He was a Member for almost 35 years. Jens O. Bang
Mike Aronson was born in Kenya after his parents moved to Nairobi from South Africa. He was a proud Kenyan citizen from Independence and never acquired a second nationality. He did his early schooling at Charterhouse in England and in 1940 he returned to Africa to finish his education at Hilton College in Durban, SA. From there he graduated from Rhodes University in Grahamstown. Mike’s parents divorced in 1943 and he returned to Nairobi to join his father, and learn the coffee trade, but after the War he changed tack and went to study law at Cambridge University. When he returned to Kenya he was appointed District Officer in Embu during the State of Emergency, and was in charge of the notorious Mwea settlement where thousands of Mau Mau freedom fighters were sent to open the modern day irrigation project. Later he was appointed Chief Lands Registrar, working in land administration both before and after Independence, and was closely involved in the rolling out of the land resettlement schemes. Later, Mike joined Kaplan & Stratton as a partner and it was in land matters that he distinguished himself. He was a member of both the Njonjo Commission on Land and also the Vice Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry into the Illegal/ Irregular Allocation of Public Land, which came to be known as the Ndung’u Commission.
Mike was married twice - his first wife Marion was American and was the Bureau Chief of ‘Newsweek’ in Nairobi. She died in 1972. Mike married Suzanne, who hailed originally from New Zealand, in 1974. He had no children of his own but ‘inherited’ two stepdaughters, Imogen and Melanie. He was a very good stepfather and was very proud of his great and great-great step grandchildren. Mike joined the Club in 1969 and became a Life Member in 2009. He was a very active and much treasured Member, never afraid to share his views on life in general and the Club in particular in a full, frank and witty manner. In that regard, Mike was a wonderful purveyor of gossip, particularly when it concerned the legal profession,
and was known by some of his closest legal colleagues as the ‘Mine of Disinformation’.
He had a very sharp mind and possessed a photographic memory. He could recollect dates and people right up to the end of his life.
Mike is survived by his stepdaughters Imogen Rumbold and Melanie Scott and nieces Valerie Botta, Sarah Culhane and nephew Nigel Mathews.
August 1935 – June 2020Diana Lettice Shaw
Diana or “Dinah”, née Kingsford was born in Nairobi in August 1935, a second child to “Tiny” and Cecily Kingsford of Togi Farm, Limuru. She attended Limuru Girls’ School, getting there and back mainly on horseback, then St. Andrews, Turi (by train) and then Kenya High School – cheerfully known as the Heifer Boma.
After school she completed Nursery Nursing training at St. Thomas’ Hostel in London, which fulfilled her lifelong love of looking after small babies and children. Dinah married Michael Shaw, in January 1959 and remained happily married to him until his death in 2015. They raised three children, Christopher, Nigel and Tessa. It was during the latter part of their time at Mweiga that Diana became the sole bread-winner of the family teaching at Nyeri Nursery School, whilst Mike was in Nairobi studying law. The family soon returned to Togi Farm and moved into the house that Tiny had built, and Diana set up her own nursery school at Brackenhurst. As well as being a devoted wife, Diana was also an able sportswoman. She and Mike made a formidable pair on the tennis court and she represented Muthaiga Club in both tennis and squash. Diana selflessly devoted her life to others, whether it was her own immediate family or other people. She headed the Limuru/Kiambu branch of the EAWL for many years and she hugely enjoyed her year as Vice National Chairman as this entailed touring Kenya and visiting other branches. She was also a member of the Benevolence Committee for many years. Diana was a key driver in the creation of Fairseat Foundation. She ensured that it became the beautiful, comfortable and happy home for the elderly that it remains today. Up until a few months before her death she was a regular visitor there and brought joy to many of the residents. After Mike died Diana became an energetic and intrepid traveler, and together with her sister Susie Alleyne, they enjoyed many safaris and adventures. Diana also devoted much of her time to preserving and enhancing the environmental aspect of her tea farm in Limuru, and planted several acres of indigenous forest which are now maturing as a fitting legacy to her life. She remained cheerful and uncomplaining to the end and will be fondly remembered for her interest and compassion for others and will be greatly missed, particularly by her children and seven beloved grandchildren. Diana was a Member of Muthaiga Club for 59 years. At an appropriate time a Memorial Service will be held for Diana in her beloved Limuru Church, of which she was a devoted supporter until her death.
Marian Slade
Marian Slade (née Frost) was born in South Africa in September 1939. She and her brother David soon moved to Kenya where their Salvation Army parents were running the Eventide Care Home, in Thika. Marian fitted in right away and saw her whole life in Kenya as one of love, commitment and utmost involvement. She enthusiastically took up Kenya citizenship at Independence along with her husband Nigel and her beloved parents-in-law, Menina and Humphrey Slade. Marian was adopted wholly by her beloved siblings-in-law; Laurie, Olwen and Kathy with her own family living so far away in Zimbabwe and South Africa. Marian remained a committed Kenyan, selflessly and unfailingly helping those less fortunate than herself. A prime example was when the US embassy was bombed by Al-Qaeda, she went immediately to see what contribution and support she could give. Marian married Nigel Slade at the Duke of York Chapel (now Lenana) in August 1961. They lived on the grounds of the Duke of York School where Nigel was Housemaster and Latin teacher. It was there, helping her husband with costumes for a school play, that she first met a young John Sibi-Okumu. In the years that followed, Marian was to become John's steadfast and proud "Mzungu mother”, a friendship that flourished for over 52 years. Marian had a formidable work ethic. Starting at East African Airways she went on to help found Bruce Travel and was elected Chair of the Kenya Association of Travel Agents, rapidly becoming a doyenne of the travel industry in Kenya. One of her more spectacular achievements was to organise an international congress in Kenya for IATA, which included a picnic excursion for delegates on a train up the Rift Valley! More recently, her touching dedication when running Fairseat and Disney retirement homes saw her giving comfort, companionship and care to many. During an airline-sponsored trip to Italy during the early 1970s, Marian met Heather Jordon, also working here in the travel industry. They became firm friends and their lasting friendship has spanned more than 50 years. Having been given the all clear from her cancer ordeal, forever brave, positive and forward-looking, sadly Marian sustained a fall at her care home in Tigoni, fracturing her hip. Though the surgery was successful, recovery proved challenging for Marian and she passed away peacefully in Nairobi Hospital in January. Her devoted niece Juliet Nightingale, “Fairy god-daughter” Tamsin Corcoran and Carer Jane Nkanya were with her. Marian was a loyal Member of MCC for almost 35 years. She will be greatly missed by everyone.
September 1939 – January 2021
September 1927 – June 2020John Malcolm Golds M. B. E.
John Malcolm Golds was born in south London in 1927, the only child of Sidney and Gladys Golds. John went to school in Croydon, but claimed he spent much of his early life in air-raid shelters. After leaving school he was accepted at Edinburgh University to study veterinary science, but this was deferred for a couple of years to give priority to soldiers returning from the war. Instead, his father who managed the Shell Oil fleet of tankers, found him a crewing opportunity. When he reached Mombasa, he travelled upcountry to stay with a friend of his grandparents, and he was soon hired as assistant manager of a 6,000-acre mixed farm. When the manager left the 20-year-old Golds took over, but the farm remained stubbornly unprofitable so John borrowed £1,000 and started a factory producing cheese and canned milk. He employed a young cheese-maker from England called Brian Cuthbert. The new company was called Doinyo Lessos Creameries and it continues to thrive today under the ownership and management of the Cuthbert family. When the Mau Mau rebellion against British rule began in 1952, a state of emergency was declared and John, together with many others, was called up for duty in the Police. He was appointed to Kiambu as District Officer, Home Guard. By 1955 John had brought security so well under control that he was made a member of the Provincial Administration in Kiambu involved in the country’s programme of land consolidation. When this came to successful completion in 1960 John was promoted to the dangerous job of District Commissioner in Wajir county, and later, Mandera and Moyale districts, where the Somali community were actively, and often violently, trying to secede and join their brethren in Somalia. In the months leading up to independence in 1963 he had to control an area the size of Great Britain with a staff of 300 and a camel corps. His beat included the 1,000-mile border with Somalia and Ethiopia, where there were frequent skirmishes. However, his efforts to maintain control were so successful that the authorities in Somalia realised that while John was in charge there would be little hope of persuading the Kenya Somali community to join up with the motherland. Consequently, there were many attempts on his life and a price was put on his head. When he found out it was only £500 John was quite disconsolate, thinking he was worth “rather more than that”. He survived this period even though his successor was assassinated shortly after John was sent on his first leave, which prompted his immediate return to Wajir where he served over the Independence period. But it was not all fire-fighting, he legalised use of the herbal stimulant miraa, established schooling for girls, many of whom were nomadic, and set up a maternity unit. After that John accepted a position with the Commonwealth Development Corporation and was appointed Comptroller for the Caribbean, covering 14 islands. By that time he was engaged to Pamela Broadhead, but she was killed in an aircraft crash near Nairobi in 1969. After that he moved to the US where he worked as financial advisor to a real estate company. John eventually retired to Watamu in Kenya in 2007. A passionate gardener he set about turning his garden into one of the finest on the Kenya Coast and was soon drawn into Chairing the coast section of the Kenya Horticultural Society. Besides organising the flower shows that he and his gardener almost always won, John also became Chairman of the Malindi Museum and Turtle Bay Beach Club, which on John’s advice introduced the concept of the “all-in” price scheme that has been widely adopted elsewhere.
As well as his garden, John was a keen sailor and he loved opera. He was a Member of Muthaiga for 62 years.
DEATHS
The Club regrets to announce the deaths of the following Members
MONTAGUE (MONTY) RUBEN on 17 June 2020 JOHN BEWERS on 8 November 2020
PETER VON CARLOWITZ on 2 August 2020 GORDON HERBERT on 22 November 2020
LESLIE DONALDSON on 4 September 2020 ANGELOS (TAC) MICHAELIDES on 24 November 2020 BRIAN LEES on 23 September 2020 HORST SCHOENEMANN on 24 November 2020
JOHN (TONY) FORT on 27 September 2020 GENERAL JOHN KOECH on 29 November 2020 JONATHAN LOW on 8 October 2020 OSCAR KANG’ORO on 8 January 2021 ALASTAIR DODS on 25 October 2020 PAUL SPENCE on 9 January 2020 MICHAEL ARONSON on 31 October 2020 MARIAN SLADE on 25 January 2021
HON. KYALE MWENDWA on 3 November 2020 HOSEA KIPLAGAT on 6 February 2021 If anyone would like to publish an obituary for a Member who has died recently, please send a tribute and photograph of the deceased to the secretariat@mcc.co.ke
CANDIDATES BEING CONSIDERED FOR MEMBERSHIP 1 FEBRUARY - 31 MARCH 2021
Proposer Candidate Category
Kibuga Kariithi Esther Kibuga Full Town Kibuga Kariithi Gitari Tirima Full (18-29) Resident Peter Kenneth Andrew Kenneth Full (18-29) Resident Peter Kenneth Andrea Kenneth Full (18-29) Resident Jackie Wathua Andrew Kiarie Full Town Kush Parmar Ayesha Patrick-Parmar Full (18-29) Resident Gerhard May Emily Thuita Full Town Richard Harney Rachel O’Brien Short Term (18-29) Resident Vijay Kantaria Adil Suleman Full Town - Deyan Suleman Junior Family Town - Micah Suleman Junior Family Town Peter Cege Paul Njoroge Full Town - Lilian Githua Full Town Peter Cege Lynette Githua Full (18-29) Resident Peter Cege Cynthia Githua Full (18-29) Resident Sebastian Wichmann Hannes Eckmayr Full (18-29) Resident Timothy Chege Jackline Nkumba Full Town Jonathan Kinisu Robert Gicho Full Town - Nellie Kinyanjui Full Town - Edward Kinyanjui Junior Family Town - John Kinyanjui Junior Family Town - Sarah Kinyanjui Under 7
SWEEPSTAKES JANUARY 2021
Prize Member Name Amount
1st Ian Rowe
2nd Haren Patel
3rd Robert Ngugi 4th Peter Mbogua 5th Gurminder Grewal
6th Edward Kiraithe
7th Nathaniel Kang’ethe 8th Simon Jones 9th Andreas Nujiten 65,895.20 32,947.60 18,827.20 18,827.20 14,120.40 9,413.60 9,413.60 9,413.60 9,413.60
SWEEPSTAKES FEBRUARY 2021
Prize Member Name
1st Ian Manson Hart
2nd Richard Kimenyi 3rd Trevor Haynes 4th James Mathenge 5th Robert Ngugi 6th Damian Davies
7th Anis Pringle 8th Edward Kiraithe
9th Charity Muya-Ngaruiya Amount
65,439.50 32,719.75 18,697.00 18,697.00 14,022.75 9,348.50 9,348.50 9,348.50 9,348.50
CANDIDATES BEING CONSIDERED FOR MEMBERSHIP 1ST MARCH TO 30TH APRIL 2021
Proposer Candidate Category
Steve Mainda Rita Thatthi Full Town - Surinder Thatthi Full Town John Morley Geoffrey Morley Full (18-29) Resident - Allison Morley Full Country Karen Gikunda Rahul Shah Full (18-29) Resident Karen Gikunda Radhika Shah Full Town Mike Eldon Jawahir Adam Full Town Mike Craig Michael Rabar Full Town - Tracie Rabar Junior Family Town - Jade Rabar Junior Family Town Thomas Mason Ravi Kohli Full Town - Jennifer Pabley-Kohli Full Town - Devan Kohli Under 7 - Yara Kohli Under 7 Joseph Muigai Andrew Kairu Full Town - Margaret Kairu Full Town Kunal Bid Frank Meifels Full Town George Kahira Benjamin Gikonyo Full Town - Sarah Gikonyo Full Town - Melissa Gikonyo Junior Family Town - Georgina Gikonyo Junior Family Town - Malaika Gikonyo Under 7 Kariuki Mbugua Rose Ougo Full Town Kariuki Mbugua Odhiambo Ougo Full (18-29) Resident Kariuki Mbugua Chiwo Ougo Full (18-29) Resident
Answers to Bird Quiz
Top Row: Tawny-flanked Prinia, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater Middle Row: Dark-capped Yellow Warbler, Red-faced Cisticola Bottom Row: Montane White-eye, Jackson's Widowbird & Kenya Rufous Sparrow
MCC reciprocates with 114 Clubs in 24 countries around the world. The Reciprocity Committee invests a great deal of time ensuring that these Clubs are worthy of our association and Members are encouraged to submit brief reports if they visit or stay at any one of them. These reports will be published for the benefit and interest of other Members who may be planning to travel overseas. For more information and contact details of reciprocating Clubs please contact the Secretary’s office.MCC reciprocates with 114 Clubs in 24 countries around the world. The Reciprocity Committee invests a great deal of time ensuring that these Clubs are worthy of our association and Members are encouraged to submitAUSTRALIA INDIA THAILAND brief reports if they visit or stay at any one of them. These reports will be published for the benefit and interestAdelaide Club Adelaide Tollygunge Club Ltd Kolkata The British Club, Bangkok Bangkok Athenaeum Club Melbourne Umed Club Jodhpur Australian Club Melbourne of other Members who may be planning to travel overseas. Melbourne Ootacamund Club Ooty, Tamil Nadu TURKEY Commonwealth Club Melbourne Club For more information and contact details of reciprocating Clubs please contact the Secretary’s office.Canberra Melbourne Secunderabad Club Secunderabad Bangalore Club Bangalore Buyuk Kulup Cercle d’Orient Istanbul Queensland Club Brisbane UK AUSTRALIA Royal Automobile Club of Australia Sydney INDIA continuedIRELAND UK Adelaide Club Adelaide Athenaeum Club Melbourne Australian Club Melbourne Melbourne Commonwealth Club Canberra Royal Automobile Club of Victoria Melbourne Tattersall’s Club Brisbane Tasmanian Club Hobart Union, University & Schools Club Sydney Secunderabad Club Secunderabad Bangalore Club Bangalore IRELAND Kildare Street and University Club Dublin The Stephen’s Green Hibernian Club Dublin JAPAN Army & Navy Club London Boodle’s London Buck’s London Cardiff & County Club Cardiff Army & Navy Club London Buck’s Club London Cardiff & County Club Cardiff Carlton Club London Farmer’s Club London Melbourne Club Melbourne Melbourne Savage Club Melbourne Weld Club Perth Kildare Street and University ClubTokyo American Club Dublin Tokyo Carlton Club London City of London Club London Garrick Club London Hurlingham Club London Naval Military and Airforce of South Australia Adelaide Royal Automobile Club of Australia Sydney Royal Automobile Club of Victoria Melbourne Tattersall’s Club Brisbane Tasmanian Club Hobart Union, University & Schools Club Sydney United Service Club Brisbane Weld Club Perth Western Australian Club Perth AUSTRIA AUSTRIA St. Johanns Club Vienna BOLIVIA Circulo de La Union La Paz BELGIUM International Club Chateau Sainte-Anne Brussels The Stephen’s Green Hibernian Club Dublin JAPAN Tokyo American Club Tokyo LUXEMBOURG Cercle Munster Luxembourg MALAWI Mulika Blantyre LUXEMBOURG Cercle Munster Luxembourg MALAYSIA The Royal Lake Club Kuala Lumpur NETHERLANDS The Nieuwe of Littéraire Sociëteit De Witte The Hague Royal Industrieele Groote Club Amsterdam Farmer’s Club London Hurlingham Club London Ipswich & Suffolk Club Ipswich Lansdowne Club London Leander Henley-on-Thames, Naval Club London Northern Counties Club Newcastle Nottingham & Notts United Services Nottingham The Oriental London Oxford & Cambridge Club London Phyllis Court Club Henley-on-Thames, Lansdowne Club London Leander Club Henley-on-Thames, Naval Club London Norfolk Club Norwich Northern Counties Club Newcastle Oriental Club London Oxford & Cambridge Club London Phyllis Court Club Henley-on-Thames, Reform Club London Royal Air Force Club London Royal Automobile Club London St. Johanns Club Vienna BOLIVIA Circulo de La Union La Paz CANADA Granite Club Toronto Rideau Club Ottawa Royal Canadian Military Institute Toronto Saint James’s Club of Montreal Montreal NETHERLANDS The Nieuwe of Littéraire Sociëteit De Hague NEW ZEALAND NEW ZEALAND Christchurch Club The Canterbury Club Inc. Hawke’s Bay Club WitteThe Christchurch Christchurch Napier The Reform Club London Royal Air Force Club London Royal Automobile Club London Royal Over-Seas League London Savile Club London Royal Over-Seas League London Savile Club London The Athenaeum Liverpool The Boodle’s London The Caledonian Club London BELGIUM International Club Chateau Sainte-Anne Brussels CANADA Cypress Club Medicine Hat Granite Club Toronto The Hamilton Club Hamilton The National Club Toronto The Ranchmen’s Club Calgary Terminal City Club Vancouver Union Club of British Columbia Victoria University Club of Montreal Montreal The Forest & Stream Club Quebec The Hamilton Club Hamilton The National Club Toronto The Ranchmen’s Club Calgary Union Club of British Columbia Victoria University Club of Toronto Toronto Vancouver Club Vancouver CARIBBEAN West Indies Yacht Club Caribbean Christchurch Club Christchurch The Canterbury Club Inc. Christchurch Hawke’s Bay Club Napier The Northern Club Auckland The Wellington Club Wellington SINGAPORE Tanglin Club Singapore SOUTH AFRICA The Northern Club Auckland The Wellington Club Wellington PAKISTAN Sind Club Karachi PORTUGAL Grémio Literário Club Lisbon SINGAPORE Tanglin Club Singapore The Athenaeum Liverpool The Caledonian Club London The Cavalry & Guards London The Clifton Club Bristol The East India Club London The New Club Cheltenham The New Club Edinburgh The Norfolk Club Norwich The Royal Northern & University Club Aberdeen The Royal Scots Club Edinburgh The Sloane Club London The St James Club Manchester The Cavalry & Guards Club London The Clifton Club Bristol The East India Club London The In & Out Naval & Military Club London The New Club Cheltenham The New Club Edinburgh The Norfolk Club Norwich The Royal Northern & University Club Aberdeen The Royal Scots Club Edinburgh The Sloane Club London The St. James Club Manchester The Western Club Glasgow University Club of TorontoCHILE Toronto Cape Town Club Cape Town The Travellers ClubTravellers Club London London Vancouver Club Vancouver CHILE Club De La Union Santiago Club De La Union Santiago FRANCE The Country Club Johannesburg Johannesburg Durban Club Durban Inanda Club Johannesburg SOUTH AFRICA The Country Club Johannesburg Johannesburg Durban Club Durban Inanda Club Johannesburg The Western Club Glasgow The Turf Club London Ulster Reform Club Belfast Vincent’s Club Oxford Turf Club London Ulster Reform Club Belfast USA FRANCE Cercle de l’Union Interalliee The Travellers Club Paris Paris Kelvin Grove Club Cape Town Port Elizabeth St. Georges Club Port Elizabeth Kelvin Grove Club Cape Town Port Elizabeth St. Georges Club Port Elizabeth USA The Army & Navy Club Cosmos Club Washington DC Washington DC Cercle de l’Union Interalliee Paris The Travellers Club Paris GERMANY GERMANY Anglo-German Club E.V Hamburg The Pretoria Country Club Pretoria Rand Club Johannesburg SPAIN The Pretoria Country Club Pretoria Rand Club Johannesburg SPAIN The Army & Navy Club Washington DC Colony Club New York Cosmos Club Washington DC The Princeton Club New York Harvard Club of New York City New York The Explorers Club New York The Princeton Club New York The Saturn Club Buffalo City, NY State Anglo-German Club E.V HamburgUnion International Club Frankfurt The Saturn Club Buffalo City, NY StateThe Standard Club Chicago Union International Club Frankfurt Circulo Ecuestre BarcelonaCirculo Ecuestre Barcelona The Standard Club ChicagoUnion Club of Boston Boston HONG KONG HONG KONG Real Gran Peña MadridReal Club de Polo de Barcelona Barcelona Real Gran Peña Madrid Union Club of Boston Boston The University Club Union League of Philadelphia Philadelphia University Club of Cincinnati Cincinnati The Hong Kong Club Hong Kong The Hong Kong Club Hong Kong SRI LANKA of Washington Washington DCThe University Club Washington DC INDIAITALY The Hill Club Nuwara Eliya SRI LANKA The Yale Club of New York City The Yale Club of New York City New York New York Tollygunge Club Ltd Kolkata THAILAND ZIMBABWE Umed Club Jodhpur Bulawayo Bulawayo Ootacamund Club Udhagamandalam, Tamil Nadu The British Club, Bangkok Bangkok Harare Club Harare
Circolo Antico Tiro a Volo Rome The Hill Club Nuwara Eliya
SWEDEN
Club Sällskapet Stockholm ZIMBABWE
Bulawayo Bulawayo Harare Club Harare
MUTHAIGA COUNTRY CLUB
