Riverton Country Club | Ripples Winter Edition by rcc1900

RIPPLES THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF RIVERTON COUNTRY CLUB

VOLUME 1 • WINTER 2022 ISSUE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

From The President's Desk

General Manager's Message

Riverton Buzz

What a Year

Member Highlights

Cheers to 2021, Hello 2022

Dinner Dance Memories

Wintertime Blues

Golf state of mind

celebrating our way into the new year

omar's corner

chef's table

from the editor Welcome to the first edition of Ripples for 2022!

As we usher in the new year, first, let us thank you for your unyielding support and for making our home one we always want to come back to. And second, let us celebrate this exciting new chapter Riverton is embarking on and toast to the many exciting things to come.

2021 brought us unforgettable memories, challenges, changes, and special moments that could only happen in the rare, remarkable community we have built here at Riverton. Reflecting on the past year and the many nice notes of support, encouragement, and thoughtful messages that I received from so many of you warms the soul and conjures real feelings of family, warmth, friendship, and joy. It is truly a special place to be a part of, and as the saying goes, the best is yet to come.

You will once again find a common theme interweaved throughout this edition-in putting together my colleagues' articles, I could feel their excitement for this new season we are entering jump off the pages. This year bodes to be one of the best we've had here at Riverton and is certain to bring many new, exciting things, even more special memories, and magical Riverton moments. I speak for everyone when I say I hope you, too, can feel the excitement and are looking forward to this new chapter.

As always, happy reading, and here's to a bright, healthy, and prosperous new year!

Cheers, Casey-Lee Waldron Home is not where you are from, it is where you belong,

FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK

TOM KEARNS

I hope this finds you all healthy and having enjoyed a wonderful holiday season with family and friends. As some of you head south for the winter, we are entering an exciting phase here at RCC. Hopefully, you have all seen and appreciate the weekly construction update emails. We are in the final phase of the Ross Restoration, and the changes look fantastic. The Construction Committee has been working diligently with our architects and construction managers, and we are now moving into the permitting and construction phase. Per Keith Ruck’s email, we are very pleased that we will be able to have another year of no dues increase. Joe Mendez and his team have worked hard putting together a solid budget, and we are confident that it represents a realistic picture. The labor and material costs environment made this more challenging than normal. Thankfully we continue to have strong support from all of you in club usage and helping to drive membership growth. Our retention rate has continued to stay strong, and that is a direct reflection of our team providing you with excellent services and facilities.

Our retention rate has continued to s t a y s t r o n g, a n d t h a t i s a d i r e c t reflection of our team providing you with excellent services and facilities.

The Board continues to follow our strategic plan and its associated action plan and believes that we are guiding Riverton on a good path. I look forward to seeing you all at the club, and as always, please feel free to drop me a note with any ideas or comments.

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GENERAL MANAGER'S MESSAGE

JOE MENDEZ, CCM, CCE

The team here at the Riverton would l i k e t o t a k e a mo me n t t o t h a n k t h e me mb e r s h i p f o r t h e i r c o n t i n u e d s u p p o r t . T h r o u g h o u t t h e y e a r , t i me a n d a g a i n , y o u h a v e d e mo n s t r a t e d care and concern for the staff, and it does not go unnoticed. From s u p p o r t w h e n a n e mp l o y e e g o e s t h r o u g h a d i f f i c u l t t i me , t o c o n s t a n t e n c o u r a g e me n t , t h r o u g h c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o t h e E mp l o y e e Holiday Fund, you all never fail to s h o w u s w e ma t t e r . We w a n t y o u a l l t o k n o w i t ma k e s a d i f f e r e n c e , a n d we are better as a result. We h a d q u i t e t h e b u s y f a l l , f r o m October being the busiest anyone c o u l d e v e r r e me mb e r , t h r o u g h D e c e mb e r a n d t h e H o l i d a y s e a s o n , t h e C l u b h a s b e c o me a n o v e r w h e l mi n g b u z z o f a c t i v i t y , creating an energy and vibe that we l o v e . We w i l l c o n t i n u e t o l o o k f o r new and exciting ways to provide e v e n t s a n d r e a s o n s f o r me mb e r s t o ma k e R i v e r t o n t h e i r d e s t i n a t i o n o f choice. Throughout the busy season, we have also been hard at work developing a budget for next year, which as we have already shared has been approved by the Board.

We w i l l s e e c o s t s i n c r e a s e , specifically in the area of salaries and benefits, as the upward pressure on payroll and benefits hits every area of e mp l o y me n t a c r o s s t h e c o u n t r y . We mu s t e n s u r e p a y r a t e s t h a t ma k e R i v e r t o n a p r e f e r r e d e mp l o y e r a n d allow us to hire the best people out t h e r e t o s e r v e t h e me mb e r s h i p a t a level you all expect and deserve. We h o p e y o u h a v e a l l h a v e b e e n e n j o y i n g t h e mo s t r e c e n t me n u C h e f Mi c h a e l h a s p u t o u t . We a r e h a r d a t work on another refresh and hope to have it all in front of you soon. As C h e f h a s me n t i o n e d i n h i s n o t e , w e will be doing seasonal updates mo v i n g f o r w a r d , a n d o f c o u r s e a r e l o o k i n g t o f i n d e v e n mo r e w a y s t o p r o v i d e me mb e r s v a r i e t y , w h i l e appealing to those looking for c o mf o r t f o o d a n d t h o s e l o o k i n g f o r i n n o v a t i v e d i s h e s a l l a t t h e s a me t i me . I t i s a d e l i c a t e b a l a n c e , a n d w e continue to tweak and change as we look to find that balance in what we offer. S e n d i n g e a c h o f y o u ma n y w i s h e s f o r a happy, healthy, safe, and prosperous 2022. I look forward to seeing you all at the club, and, as always, please feel free t o d r o p me a n o t e w i t h a n y i d e a s o r c o mme n t s .

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RIVERTON BUZZ

WHAT A YEAR! Donna surrette

With the beginning of the new year, I find myself reflecting on 2021. It has been such an honor to experience such incredible growth and success in the Golf and House/Social memberships. We kicked off November 1st with a new initiation fee in place--increasing from $7,500 to $10,000 across the board on all golf memberships. Currently, we have a waitlist in place for Full Golf, Intermediate, Intermediate Restricted, and Young Professional with 8 Young Professional Restricted available. With the golf membership capped at 360, the Membership Committee created a new category, “Golf in Waiting". New members pay the initiation fee and are offered unlimited access to all the club’s amenities, including twelve rounds vs. the six when you join as a House/Social member. These are outstanding times at the club and the waitlist is filling up fast! Starting April 1st, be sure to make a note and spread the word that the House/Social initiation will be in place at $1,500. Keep the referrals coming! House members, if you find this is the year for you and your family to upgrade to Full Golf don’t be discouraged. Each year there are many House/Social members who find themselves ready to make the upgrade to full golf access. I encourage you not to be discouraged and give me a call today. The sooner you upgrade there will be better likeliness for you to obtain full golf access. I now ask you to join me all in welcoming & celebrating the newest members of our Riverton family:

Joseph & Beth Coyle (Moorestown) Seth DeForest & Chante DePersia (Moorestown) David Hunt & Elise Cook (Haddon Twp) Justin & Leila DeJoseph (Delran) Michael Kelly (Philadelphia) Michael Steen (Cherry Hill) Vincent Corbi & Ashley Duell (Medford) Reid Fox (Philadelphia) Eric & Brittany Tieniber (Moorestown) Connor O’Brien (Cinnaminson) Ryan Corkery & Baylee Tempesta (Philadelphia) Michael & Meghann Bohs (Philadelphia Edward & Tara Fitzpatrick (Delran) Christopher & Jennifer Tole (Cinnaminson) Michael & Valerie O’Brien (Cinnaminson) Andrew & Susan Hirsch (Cinnaminson) Christopher & Maryanne Newell (Haddonfield) Anthony & Maria Jacoby (Cinnaminson) Patricia & Michael Sidelsky (Marlton)

Full Golf Full Golf Full Golf Full Golf Int. Rest. Int. Rest. Int. Rest. Young Pro Rest. Young Pro Rest. Jr. Golf GIW GIW GIW House House House House House House

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MEMBER HIGHLIGHTS

We want to celebrate YOU! Moving forward, each newsletter, we will feature Member Highlights, where you will learn more about one of two of your fellow members and their accomplishments, successes, and unique stories. Our community is comprised of truly remarkable individuals, inspiring stories, and we cannot wait to share them with you. We ask you to please reach out and let us know of your successes, as well as that of any member you might know who has made a difference in their community, business world, efforts in growth and development, or even academically. When you're here, you're home...and in this home, we celebrate one another!

mark Sulpizio

Join us in congratulating and applauding member, Mark Sulpizio, whose business, Innovative Benefit Planning, received the “Business Excellence” award at the Burlington Chamber of Commerce Annual Voice of Business Reception & Awards. Learn more about Mark and his team at https://ibpllc.com/about-innovative/leadership-team/.

Ren Cicalese III, CPA, MST Join us in congratulating and applauding member, Ren Cicalese of Alloy Silverstein Accounts & Advisors for being awarded “Outstanding Young Professional” at the Burlington Chamber of Commerce Annual Voice of Business Reception & Awards. Learn more about Ren at http://bit.ly/r3cpa.

CHEERS TO 2021, HELLO TO 2022 HANNAH LIBRIZZI 2021 was full of exciting moments and experiences here at Riverton, and we can’t wait to make 2022 even better. It has been a true treat creating unforgettable moments with you all, and I appreciate the endless support you have shown me and my team as we continue to our ongoing mission of 2021 was full of exciting moments and experiences here at Riverton, and we can’t wait to make 2022 even better. It has been a true treat creating unforgettable moments with you all; I am greatly appreciative for the endless support you continue showing my team in our ongoing mission of providing the best possible service experience. With the staffing challenges that many industries, especially Hospitality, continue to face, I feel lucky to have such a hardworking group of individuals on my team. Many of my teammates are part-time; Riverton is either a second job or a side gig while studying to achieve an undergraduate or master's degree. What I love most about this team is that as soon as they walk in the door, their collective focus is to provide you all with an outstanding dining experience while simultaneously continuing to build personal relationships with all our members. We strive to make connections with each and everyone one of you--after all, “When You're Here, You're Home"! We have been able to maintain staffing levels with the implementation of cross-training; staff members are trained in banquets, a la carte, shelter, pool, which has helped create a team-oriented environment and provides the team with as little or as many hours as they would like. We will continue to shift staff members around in the winter months to provide them with the hours they need during the off-season. I speak for my entire team when I say thank you for choosing to spend your nights, weekends, and holidays here with us. We are grateful, we are appreciative, and we love seeing and serving you. Looking ahead, we are excited to bring back a revamped Wine Society this year. There is no fee to join, and all are welcomed and encouraged to participate. The second Thursday of each month, you can look forward to a unique and exciting winethemed event--this may be a Wine Society meeting, Wine Dinner, or even a Wine Show! Wine Society allows you the exclusive opportunity to experience delicious and rare wines while socializing with other wine lovers and enjoying delicious bites prepared by Chef Michael. Wines will also be available to be purchased at discounted rates! So, mark your calendars for the 2nd Thursday of each month! Reservations will be made through the app or Dining & Events page on the website. We encourage all guests, friends, business associates, neighbors, or relatives to join in on the fun and hope to see you all there. *Dates may be subject to change in the event of a conflicting club event. We're also excited to begin hosting a more elaborate Sunday Brunch once a month. Brunches are not just for holidays after all! We are so excited about the fun themes we have planned for these special brunches and hope you will all plan on joining us! And don't worry, our regular A la Carte Sunday Brunch remains intact! In addition to Wine Society and our big "once a month" Sunday Brunch, we have so many exciting events planned for the start of 2022. Check out the events, mark your calendars, and make a reservation in advance to reserve a spot!

WINTER EVENTS Wine society | Jan. 13

Kid's cooking class | Jan. 16

Puttle | Jan. 22

father-daughter dance | Jan. 29

Sunday brunch | Jan. 30

Adult cooking class | Feb. 2

wine society | Feb. 10

valentine's specials | Feb. 12

valentine's take & bake kits | Feb. 13

mixology | Feb. 18

adult cooking class | mar. 2

Glow bowl | Mar. 4

Wine Dinner | mar. 10

St. Patty's day Party | mar. 17

Designer bag Bingo Brunch | mar. 20

Cornhole Tournament | Mar. 25

*DATES/EVENTS SUBJECT TO CHANGE

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SCENES FROM DINNER DANCE

SCENES

FROM

DINNER

DANCE

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WINTERTIME BLUES DREW WHITE

When I first tell someone that I'm a golf course superintendent, the two most frequently asked questions are: "do you play a lot of golf?" and "what do you do during the winter?". The answer to the first question usually doesn’t surprise the inquirer-I don’t play as much as I would like. The second answer, however, usually does. So, what does the Agronomy Team do during the winter? Well, this year, the answer is a lot simpler and much more exciting--we are in the final stages of completing the Ross Restoration, which includes re-shaping and positioning bunkers, installing new drainage, leveling and re-grassing tees, and contouring fairways. Our architect, Tyler Rae, has been shaping the bunkers and tee while our team has been handling drainage installation, soil compaction, sod prep, and sand installation; we anticipate this work continuing until the end of January. Now you may ask, what does a normal winter look like for the Agronomy Team? Well, typically, the main task we deal with during the winter is snow and ice removal from all parking lots and walkways. The Winter months are also a time for us to complete one-off projects. These projects range from tree maintenance to building accessories used on the course. The majority of tree work is completed in the winter due to the firmness of the ground, which enables us to drive larger equipment and trucks on the course with less damage, and an easier clean-up since the leaves have already dropped. The firmer ground also makes drainage installation throughout the course easier. Since grass goes into dormancy during the winter, the need to mow is low, which allows us to service and repair our equipment fleet. Additionally, we use this time to sharpen all cutting units and prep them for the upcoming season, and manufacture and refurbish accessories found on the golf course. These accessories range from traffic posts and benches to divot boxes and bunker rakes. Wintertime can seem to be a slow time for any agronomy team. It can be a less stressful time of year and is often a time when most superintendents take vacations and recharge their minds and body before the upcoming golf season. Winter months are a great time to complete projects and tasks that can be most time-consuming and disruptive to play. Often, these projects are completed with the same goal in mind, to better prepare the golf course for the upcoming golf season. So, cheers to the winter months, and here's to a great season ahead! Ripples | Page 11

GOLF STATE OF MIND KEVIN DUFFY

I hope everyone had a happy and healthy holiday and was able to spend quality time with friends and family! With the 2021 Golf season behind us, I'd like to share a few important reminders and updates. 2022 Save The Dates The Golf Committee has been hard at work putting the 2022 tournament calendar together and will have the complete schedule announced in early 2022. Be sure to mark all of your favorite events on your calendar early! Many of you are planning summer travel and to make sure you don’t miss out on some of the club's major golf events, here are a few key dates: Men’s Member-Guest – June 10th & 11th Ladies Member-Guest – June 14th Men’s Club Championship – July 9th, 10th, 16th & 17th Ladies Club Championship – July 16th & 17th Men’s Member-Member – September 9th – 11th Ladies Member-Member – September 16th – 18th The 1900 Invitational – September 30th & October 1st Guest Pass Extension With the ongoing course construction, the Golf Committee has approved an extension for all outstanding guest passes from the 2021 season. The new expiration for all outstanding guest passes is 4/30/22. You can view your guest pass balance on the last page of your printed club statement or contact the Golf Shop. Winter Golf Updates Over the past few years, we've seen some rather mild winters and in turn, thousands of rounds of golf played during the off-season! Unfortunately, the turf doesn’t recover in the winter as it does in the summer. Due to this, you’ll notice we've placed a mat on each of the par 3s. We ask that anyone who'd normally play from the #1 or #2 tees use this mat to help preserve these tee boxes. Additionally, with the Club closed on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in January and February, please remember that members are still able to walk on days we are closed. Guests are not permitted on days that the club is closed. Throughout the winter, we will monitor the weather and if we are presented with unseasonably warm weather, we will bring in staff to make golf carts available. On these days, the tee sheet will be open for booking. Club Regripping The off-season is the perfect time to regrip your clubs- a service we’re happy to offer through the RCC Golf Shop! If you’re thinking of regripping your clubs before the new golf season starts, let us know as soon as possible. Like many other industries, the supply chain has made some golf grips extremely scarce and is often taking 3-8 weeks for some grips to come back into stock. If you’d like us to get your clubs in the queue to be regripped, please let us know. Additionally, let us know if you would like them completed now or closer to the start of the golf season. We’ll order the grips and hold them until you would like the work completed. Another complementary service we offer is providing golf club shaft name labels (I.D. Labels). Whether you need a complete set or just one or two, stop in the Golf Shop and we’ll be happy to print them for you! I encourage everyone to take advantage of this and never lose another club again! Traveling To Play Golf This Winter? With airline baggage fees continuing to climb, remember that we offer a service called ShipSticks. ShipSticks provides us with boxes and has negotiated great rates with UPS to ship your clubs right to your destination. We also provide you with a return label and schedule pickup when you depart your destination. A standard golf bag shipped along the east coast costs roughly $65 each way and you get to avoid lugging your clubs through the airport! Ripples | Page 12

CELEBRATING OUR WAY INTO 2022 ALEXIS RYAN

2021- what a year! I'm so happy to be back with my Riverton family following maternity leave and ready to take on the new year! This past year, we were fortunate to see a much-welcome return to normalcy in our events department. From October to December, we experienced the busiest three months in the history of Riverton! December went by in a blur! Along with a calendar full of outside events and banquets, we kicked off the holiday season with our second annual Tree Lighting celebration, where families and friends gathered, went on train rides, carriage rides, roasted marshmallows, and met Santa while enjoying food and libations. That wasn't Santa's only visit to Riverton though; the Big Man In Red returned for one final check-in on his naughty and nice list at our sold-out Santa Brunch! And finally, we closed out the month with the return of Don’t Call Me Francis to headline our 1920s-themed Dinner Dance. We had such a great time putting together this beloved Riverton tradition and I think it is safe to say that we all danced the night away! We are looking forward to an exciting and busy 2022, the improvements at the Club, and a fresh new slate of unique and memorable events to create for the members. Ripples | Page 13

OMAR'S CORNER Omar Gonzalez 2021 proved to be both a challenging and rewarding year. I had the opportunity to run a full program from the cold early days of Spring to the surprisingly beautiful, warm days of late Fall. To celebrate this past year, I'd like to take this opportunity to recap the programs, activities, and events we held and look forward to providing top-notch service for all our racquets players. Let's begin with our Adult programming; this past year, we had a great group of dedicated beginner Ladies who participated in our tennis clinics. What fun I had watching them bond and grow their tennis skills! Our intermediate ladies we're very serious about improving and taking their game to the next level. It is my hope we can put together a strong Riverton tennis team and begin competing in local USTA matches in 2022. On the Junior tennis front, we had a great camp this summer and well-attended clinics in the Spring and Fall. I am proud to say we have one of the strongest tennis junior programs in the area. All of our kids continue to impress me with how much their skills are improving. I ask you all to join me in congratulating Leyla Joshi for becoming the #1 middle school singles player at Penn Charter School, and wishing much good luck to our guys Cross Gianetto and Jack Cranmer, as they head into their freshmen season--I am confident they will have major impacts on their teams. On the Pickleball front, we continue to see incredible growth here at RCC! It is a joy to see so many enthusiastic players competing on the courts. Open play remains popular and we are excited about the addition of Drill and Play for our beginner players. I am thrilled to see more and more members getting involved with this fun group and look forward to seeing continued growth in 2022. While 2021 has been a good year, I cannot wait for all that is to come in 2022! So, if you want to come and enjoy the fun and friendly racquet experience at RCC, look for the 2022 calendar early in the year and plan on joining us! I wish everyone in our RCC family the best for this new year and hope to see you all on the courts.

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CHEF'S TABLE Dear Members, I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful holiday season! I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all, the incredible members of Riverton Country Club, for giving me the opportunity to be part of this truly special family. It has been a true treat to get back to the thing that made me fall in love with this industry-cooking and creating for a warm and welcoming community. I am also so very thankful to each member of our Kitchen Team for all their hard work, willingness to put in the long hours, and most especially, their loyalty and dedication during these difficult times. With all they have had to overcome in labor shortages, vendor/supply issues, and the normal learning curves of getting acclimated to a new Chef, I am truly thankful for them and look forward to seeing all that we will accomplish this coming year. We are looking forward to making some significant improvements in 2022 and will continue striving to achieve our goal of making Riverton a premier dining experience and our members number one choice for dining. Once again, thank you for welcoming me into this family, and here's to a great year ahead! Sincerely, Chef Mike

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP 1 Butternut Squash, Halved & Seeded Pinch of Nutmeg, ground

1/2 c. Shallot, chopped 1/2 c. Celery, diced 1/2 c. Carrot, diced 1 Tbsp Garlic, chopped 2 Tbsp Maple Syrup

4 c. Vegetable Stock 2 Tbsp. Butter 3 Tbsp. EVOO 2 c. Heavy Cream Salt & Pepper, To Taste

Optional Garnishes: Toasted Pumpkin Seeds, Cream, Sour Cream, Cinnamon , Pomegranate Seeds Heat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare pan with parchment paper. Place butternut squash on pan and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper & roast for 30-45 min. until tender. Once cooked allow to cool. In a large soup pot, place remaining olive oil & sauté carrots, celery, and shallots until 3-4 minutes to soften. Add garlic and sauté for 1 min. Add vegetable stock to pot & then butternut squash. Allow to cook for 15 min. Add nutmeg, maple syrup, and cream. Cook 5 min to allow all flavors to combine. Once cooked, remove from stove & blend with stick blender or regular blender (be cautious not to put too much hot liquid in the blender as it can cause the steam to pop the top off). Blend until smooth. Season with salt & pepper and garnish if you would like with the above-mentioned garnishes. Enjoy!

when you' re here, you' re home. 1416 highland avenue | cinnaminson, new jersey 08077 856.829.5500 | rivertoncc.com

@riverton country club

@rivertoncc

@riverton country club