Teen Weekend at Balsam

The daughter of one of our homeowners hosted a dozen of her closest friends this past weekend, and a great time was had by all!! They camped out at Dark Ridge Camp (our own private camping spot located right here on our property) on Friday night, utilizing the camp's enclosed bunkhouses and several of our dedicated tent sites nestled along picturesque Dark Ridge Creek. They cooked out at the covered Pavilion and had a great campfire under the stars. On Saturday, they headed to the Ruby Valley clubhouse for our weekly Saturday cookout and a fun afternoon hanging out by the pool. They also enjoyed hiking on part of our private trail system, measuring more than 30 miles in total. Once again, Balsam proves we have something to keep every member of the family entertained, no matter the age!!

Inaugural Charity Classic Raises $30,000!

Golfers helped raise $30,000 dollars this week during the first Balsam Mountain Preserve Charity Classic. Nearly 90 golfers participated in our inaugural tournament played on our immaculate Arnold Palmer Signature course. The daylong event, which also included a silent auction and reception, benefits four charitable organizations that serve residents of Jackson County.


"It was a great day and great event for us," said Chris Chaffin, President, Balsam Mountain Preserve. "Not only did the golfers get the opportunity to play our spectacular course, but they were able to support local charities and the really important work they do in our community. We are proud of the success we had with this event in its first year and look forward to doing it again next year."



The Community Table, which has been providing nutritious meals to Jackson County residents since 1999, is one of the four local charities to benefit from the tournament. "We are very grateful to Balsam Mountain Preserve, Jackson Paper, all the generous sponsors, and all the participants for making this wonderful event a success. It is only with the support of our caring neighbors that we are able to continue to meet the needs of our community," said Amy Grimes McClure, Executive Director, The Community Table.

Other charities supported by the golf tournament are:

-The Jackson Neighbors In Need Save the Warmth program, which provides assistance with heating, food and water costs.

-Hawthorn Heights, a safe haven home operated by Mountain Youth Resources for trouble juveniles.

-Jackson County Library, toward the construction of the new library in downtown Sylva.

Jackson Paper Manufacturing was the title sponsor of the tournament. "As a locally owned company, we are committed to our community and neighbors," said Jeff Murphy, CFO of Jackson Paper. "We're honored to support events like the Balsam Mountain Preserve Charity Classic and to lend a helping hand to our local charities."

All the participants truly enjoyed their experience at Balsam Mountain Preserve. Allen Comeaux of Asheville said, "You have a great golf course and I don't believe there was a blade of grass out of place. The food was great, service was excellent and the bagpipes on the range were priceless. Hopefully next year I am still around because I cannot wait to enjoy this event and golf course again."

Our initial goal was to raise $10,000-$13,000 for the local charities. In raising $30,000, we are elated about more than doubling our goal in the first year of the event! Plans are to make this an annual event to benefit local charities.

See you on the course!

Brian Chapman
Head Golf Professional

Princess Camp

Princess Camp was one of our final camps of the summer, tailor-made for Balsam's youngest campers. Four princesses joined us for a variety of fun arts and crafts activities that included castle building and crown making. We also had a scavenger hunt complete with a princess bag treasure that contained lots of fun goodies like a magic wand and a crown lollipop! The girls also enjoyed writing a story about a day in the life of a princess and riding Ginger, our pony, at the stables. We hated for this fairytale to end!

Sports Camp

One of our most popular camps this summer was our Sports Camp, held in early July. Homeowner Leslie Moster provided tennis lessons for all 18 of the participants and our talented golf professionals also spent time teaching campers the basics of golf. With all that, we still found plenty of time for hiking, swimming, arts and crafts and even ice cream! What a great way for kids to spend a week at Balsam Mountain Preserve!

Announcing The E-Newsletter Home Page

Each month we send an E-Newsletter to our owners and prospective owners that's chock full of current events and other useful information. Now, we have put all of our 2009 newsletters in one place for easy reference. Just click on the following link and enjoy the stories and photos of life at Balsam Mountain Preserve:

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs056/1102424220653/archive/1102658986965.html