The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Lorain Historical Society hosting first outing
Spencer Roule is no stranger to FoxCreek Golf Club.
As a kid growing up in the Lorain area, Roule’s first experience with golf — like so many others who grow up in Lorain — came on FoxCreek’s 18 holes. Later this month, he’ll be helping other make new memories on the course’s fairways.
On Aug. 29, The Lorain Historical Society is hosting the inaugural Tee Up” Fore”
History golf outing as a fundraiser — an idea that Roule, who serves Board of Trustees member at the Lorain Historical Society, helped put forth earlier this year.
“About a year ago, I was asked to join the Board of Trustees for the society,” said Roule, a 2010 graduate of Elyria Catholic who works as a wealth advisor at Cerity Partners Wealth Management Firm. “We had a transition of the Board, so we ended up getting some younger folks that joined and we started thinking about new ways to engage the community and reach a new demographic for fundraising. I’m a very avid golfer and have participated in a bunch of golf outings and there were a bunch of us that wanted to do a golf outing as a fundraiser.
“Usually the one who makes the recommendation is the one who ends up in charge of running it and that’s how I ended up becoming the point person for this. It’s been a really great team effort.
“We have a committee of four people and we, along with excellent support from volunteers and employees of the society, have done a terrific job to get the event where it is today.”
As soon as the idea was decided on in January, Roule and the rest of the committee immediately began planning out the logistics for the outing. The first thing they had to decide on was the course, which was a no-brainer.
“We’re the Lorain Historical Society. That course was the old Lorain County Club and is a part of Lorain history,” Roule said. “That course is one of the first places that a lot of Lorain residents golf at, myself included.”
After deciding on a mid-July start date, the committee began reaching out to potential sponsors and golfers alike. Then the novel coronavirus pandemic happened.
“You couldn’t have picked a more challenging year to launch a golf outing,” Roule said sarcastically. “Once we got to April, we realized that we shouldn’t holding the outing in July. We could have, but it would have been really challenging and we didn’t want to be the first guinea pig for Fox Creek’s golf outings. That said, soliciting sponsorships and getting foursomes and things that have actually been easier than in years prior because people want to get out and do things. It’s became important for us to continue to give people an opportunity to go out and enjoy themselves, especially with so many other outings canceled.”
As for the actual outing, things are going to look different. Instead of having coffee and donuts at registration in the morning — something that’s usually a staple of any of golf outing — participants will show up, sign in and immediately head out to the course. Each foursome will get their own golf cart and are supposed to stay away from other groups on the course. Masks, while not required on the course, are required when golfers are walking in shared spaces. Even the post-round dinner will have some changes.
“We’ve got workers from
FoxCreek and volunteers from our organizations making sure that people are sticking to social distancing guidelines,” Roule said. “We’re going to make it work and have some fun while we’re doing it.”
As the date for the outing slowly creeps closer, Roule finds his agenda for the weekly preparation meetings for the outing getting longer and longer. And while that was stressful at first, he now has the peace of mind of knowing that he and the rest of the outing’s committee are doing everything in their power to make the event safe and successful.
“At the end of the day we have put ourselves in a good positive,” he said. “One of the biggest components of this whole outing was that we wanted to keep it in Lorain. It was a big thing for us to be able to have it at FoxCreek. They’ve been tremendous to work with. (FoxCreek co-owner) Jack Koenig has done a fantastic job of giving us the right information so that we can make sound decisions. I’m not nervous.”
Sign-ups are available online at www.lorainhistory.org/golf-outing.
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