Welcome back, Dear Reader, to this year’s first issue of Fore.

I come to you this month with a heavy heart. Both of those smiling rascals in the photo passed away recently within a couple of weeks of each other. I understand I’m at that time of life where I will be losing people I care about but this was a real double whammy. These two guys were very high on my list of favorites in the Mount Hood Golf Club. I smiled every time I came to the course and saw these gentlemen because these were happy guys you want to hang out with. Laughing, smiling and enjoying every day is how they live in my memories. Both of them were generous with their time both as club members and friends. Rich Lujan served as President of the club and (as I’m sure I’ve mentioned more than once) is the man that shanghaied me onto the board. Apparently his grasp of the language was a little weak because he clearly misinterpreted “let me think about it” to mean “gee I’d love to.” But to be fair I couldn’t have turned him down anyway. I loved the guy too much and his enthusiasm was too infectious. And let’s not forget his not-for-profit club technician hobby. We all know he lost money on it but good luck making him take any.

The other smiling imp in the picture is Randy Russ, a tireless volunteer for the club. He took over the rules committee when we lost Dave Olson. He dressed up hilariously every chance he could. His Fourth of July outfits were legendary. He was my supervisor last year when he took over as Head Marshall. Typical of Randy was the time I was sharing a cart with him and after I hit my shot I looked around and he was nowhere to be seen! When I put my club away I saw him kneeling down trimming the overgrown grass from a drain with a linoleum knife. But that was typical of Randy… taking pride, responsibility and care for something he loved. Our heartfelt condolences to the incredible women that these two adored, Nancy Lujan and Marti Bowne. Requiescat in Pace, Brothers, Rest In Peace.

I do have some club news to share, as the Men’s Club will be starting up the first Tuesday in April and the Women’s Club will begin play on the first Wednesday in May. There’s always room for new members so come on down. Our fearless leader Tom Franklin is adding events on Monday and Wednesday evenings that are open to the public using the ever popular and equalizing scramble format. On the Resort side Altitude is closed ‘til late May for remodeling so Mallards is the place to dine. GM Chris Skipper told me they plan on having live music on Fridays at Mallards all summer. Can’t wait!

Well that’s it for this month, so come on out to join us, and remember when you do to “Hit ‘Em Straight.”