Contact:
Nina Johnston
Clear Lake City Green Space Preservation Committee
Press Officer
281-480-0791
Website: www.clccl.org
June 14, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Golf Tournament Rallies Community:
Course Dubbed ‘Unviable’ By Owner Turned Golfers Away
(Houston, Texas) – Row after row of shining golf carts lined the driveway in the early morning of June 11th, ready to whisk 104 eager and enthusiastic golfers, and a few duffers, to their starting tees for the beginning of the Clear Lake City Civic League’s Keep Green Space Green golf tournament at the Clear Lake Golf Club.
The tournament was the brainchild of Jerry Garrison, an avid golfer and chairman of the Research arm for the Green Space Preservation Committee, an organization formed recently under the auspices of the CLCCL, to protect green spaces in the Clear Lake City area, and specifically the 178-acre golf course at Reseda and Diana. The current owner is trying to sell the property to a developer, claiming that this course is not profitable, and is pressuring Exxon to release the deed restrictions that would enable development before the current deadline of 2021. Exxon has said that they will not move on the restrictions without the support of the community.
“Organizing this tournament, after my experiences playing in tournaments elsewhere for the last twenty years, was the most satisfying experience,” Garrison said. “This community loves this golf course. We had to turn golfers away, just to keep the event manageable. I think some guys would have been willing to start well into the afternoon, if we could have done it. And the volunteers were flawless and tireless. We could not have accomplished this event without their commitment,” Garrison said.
Elected officials and other community leaders were out in force to support the community’s effort to protect the green space that makes up the center of Clear Lake City. Houston City Councilmember Addie Wiseman teamed up with NASA’s Smith
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Golf Tournament Rallies Community (page 2)
Johnston, Rick Senter and Kelly Curtis for the first nine and received a “Golfer of the Year” award for her commitment to our community’s dwindling green spaces. She stated to the crowd of golfers and volunteers that she will work tirelessly for this issue, and her enthusiasm drew wide applause.
Susie Allen, Community Liaison for Harris County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia’s office played the full eighteen holes with her husband Kurt Allen. Ms. Garcia is in complete support of the Clear Lake City community effort to save this green space and will stand with the voters’ wishes on the issue.
Well aware of the connection to the impacts that development of the 178-acre course would have on all Clear Lake neighborhoods, Frank Weary, President of the Bay Oaks Community Association, and his foursome came out to play the course, as did Stan Aden, owner of the historic Outpost Tavern. Jim Jameson, owner of Bayshore Construction in Santa Fe, and his foursome also supported the effort.
Area businesses also came out in full force for the golf tournament in support of the course. Sherlock’s Baker St. Pub, the Gold sponsor ($250 donation) was in good company with the Silver sponsors, who donated $100 to the effort: A Pet’s Best Friend, AG Plumbing Services, Bay Area Trophies, Clear Lake City Veterinary Clinic, Clear Lake Dental Spa, Discovery Tours, Ennis Chiropractic, Greek Deli Café, Houston Embroidery Works, Jimmy Duke’s State Farm Insurance, Maria Wicker Remax Associates, Ninfa’s Mexican Restaurant, Reed Door Works, Regal Landscape Management, Stone’s Gym and Fitness Center, and Special Situations, Inc. Door prizes were donated by Colosseum Italian Restaurant, Firestone, Golf Galaxy, Golfsmith, Home Depot, Lowe’s Home Improvement, Perry’s Restaurants, Ryan Steak House, Sign Quick, Star Cinema Grill, Stress Solutions, and Sweet Mesquite.
To keep up the latest on events and issues regarding the Clear Lake Golf Club and the 178-acre course, and to volunteer, go to the website: www.clccl.org.
For more information contact:
Nina Johnston
Clear Lake City Green Space Preservation Committee
Press Officer
281-480-0791
Website: www.clccl.org
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