Haunted Halloween Hoe Down

It's time for our annual Halloween party at the boarding house. Join us for lots of fun, great food, a costume contest and live music on Saturday, October 31 at 7:00pm. The theme this year is a Haunted Halloween Hoe Down, so wear your best boots and hat. The menu will feature barbeque chicken, ribs and all the fixins'. If you don't have your favorite costume, come on and join us anyway, we're sure you'll have yourself a good ol' time! Cost per person is $40 and does not include alcoholic beverages.

Activities will hold a Monster Bash at the nature center from 6-10pm. Kids will participate in a costume contest, dinner, skeleton hunt, games, arts and crafts and the movie Monster House. Cost is $10 per child.

We hope to you see there! Happy Fall Y'all!

Balsam's First Annual Chili Cook-Off

Well, with October right around the corner I can’t help but think back to growing up in Vermont and watching all the bright red, gold and orange leaves come out for one final blaze of glory. Every year for my birthday my mother would take a group of my hooligan friends for a “hike” up Mount Philo…well we hiked; she met us at the top with a big pot of chili. That still stands out as one of my favorite memories of growing older but not up. That is why, with great pleasure, I'm announcing the First Annual Balsam Mountain Preserve Chili Cook-off happening Saturday, October24 at the Pavilion. Please have your best chili recipe in hand by 11:45 a.m., we will provide chafers to keep it hot along with all of the sides, accompaniments etc. Please contact April to sign up as soon as possible as space is limited and you would not want to miss out on your chance to win the coveted “Traveling Ladle”. Good luck and I expect to see everyone there.

Cheers,

Chef Jonathon

P.S. Wine pick of the Month….Orin Swift “The Prisoner” DELICIOUS!!!!

Rays Of Sunlight

After months of "doom and gloom" reporting by the media, the overall real estate market appears to be basking in some encouraging rays of sunlight:

- Existing home sales surged 7% in July, posting the largest monthly increase in 10 years. July results represented the fourth straight monthly increase and the highest level of sales since August, 2007.

- Sales of newly built homes rose for a fourth straight month in July to set their fastest pace since last September, while the inventory of unsold homes fell to the lowest level in 16 years. The sales number also represented the biggest monthly percentage gain since February, 2005.

- The National Association of Realtors reported U.S. home prices posted a gain in the second quarter of 2009.

Here at Balsam Mountain Preserve, we are actually ahead of last year's sales pace, with 21 agreements consumated in the first eight months of this year. In fact, just in the past thirty days, we have welcomed families from Atlanta, Raleigh, Columbia, Shreveport, and Houston to the ever-growing Balsam family.

Why is Balsam growing its owner family at a time when other communities in Western North Carolina are searching to find their way? According to Gregg Logan, Managing Director of RCLCO, "families entering the market today are primarily seeking convenience, active lifestyles, and social interaction. They want more than just golf courses and clubhouses; they are looking for communities that make it easy for them to shop, make new friends, pursue continuing educational opportunities, and engage in active lifestyles".

If you've had the pleasure of visiting Balsam, you know that our community satisfies every one of these desires. In addition, as today's buyers look to purchase or build smaller homes that are more in line with their actual needs, the fact that Balsam has no minimum square footage requirement is also perfectly aligned with the new reality.

Restored confidence along with unprecedented purchase incentives make this one of the most historic times ever to purchase property in the mountains. Other families are making an intelligent decision to take advantage of this opportunity, so if you've been thinking and dreaming about the right time to get involved, your time has come, and you won't be jumping into the pond alone. In fact, you'll be in very smart company. Call us at 866-452-3456 or click here to request more information, and we'll help you put your dreams into motion.

Kids' Club at Balsam Stables

Saturday, September 5th, kids at Balsam Mountain Preserve met at the stables for a horsing around good time! They started by brushing Ginger and Kuko, helped saddle them and then took turns riding in the arena. Ginger is pictured to the left with Laney Nichols, granddaughter of members Mac and Linda Purdy.

Ginger and the other four club horses are available for pony or trail rides Wednesday-Monday until December 1 by appointment.

August Ladies Lunch

The ladies enjoyed a delicious lunch on the porch at the dining hall on August 21st. We determined the pot luck dinners would continue on a monthly basis hosted by a homeowner. More details and a calendar will be determined in the near future. We followed lunch with a lively discussion of the monthly book selection Water for Elephants based on life in the circus in the early 1900's. The ladies chose 1000 White Women by Jim Fergus as the next book club selection. Please join us Friday, September 18th for lunch and book club. This is a great time to meet other women and share information about the area, favorite restaurants, shops and activities.

Security welcomes two new officers to the team!

Bobby Cogdill was born and raised in Haywood County where he continues to live with his wife Lucy. They have two children and are expecting their first grandchild at the end of the month. Prior to working at Balsam Mountain Preserve, Bobby was employed at Dayco Products and Haywood County Solid Waste. He is a member and Deacon of Balsam Baptist Church, enjoys outdoor activities such as fishing, water and snow skiing, rock climbing, camping and travelling.

Jason Cagle is another native of Western North Carolina. He was born in Jackson County where he continues to live, only about a mile from Sugar Loaf Road. Prior to joining our security team, Jason worked at Food Lion and on the maintenance crew for Balsam Mountain Preserve. He is a member and Deacon at Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church and enjoys fishing, woodworking and gardening in his spare time. Jason is also a volunteer fireman for the Balsam Willets Fire Department.

Be sure to stop and welcome these two fine gentleman when you see them on the mountain!

Anticipation of Fall

We are overwhelmed with excitement here at Balsam Mountain Preserve as we strive towards our fall season which many that live here on the mountain consider our most beautiful. Once you drive through the gate and start up the mountain, the temperatures grow pleasantly cooler as the fall color change envelopes you. Many owners will tell that while summer at Balsam provides relief from the low-country heat, their favorite time of year here is truly the fall. Each morning our homeowners will be walking out onto their porch into the crisp autumn air to watch the fog burn off and reveal a new landscape of orange, yellow, burgundy and red which have just recently overtaken the lush green summer foliage.

The deeper we progress into our season here at Balsam Mountain Preserve we are sure to notice a few more players at our practice facility fine tuning their game to give them that little extra practice they need in pursuit to crown themselveds 2009 Member-Guest Champions. While playing more golf can help achieve lower scores, spending time on our first class practice facility can really start subtracting strokes off your round. If you are looking for that second set of eyes to ensure you are practicing the correct fundamentals and techniques, be sure to contact Brian or Greg to help keep that handicap trending down.

August showed once again an increase in rounds as compared to last year and Labor Day weekend brought many golfers to Balsam to enjoy the beautiful weather and cooler temperatures. It has been exciting to monitor the boost in play throughout the season which we certainly hope is a trend that continues as we come down the homestretch of our season. When debating whether or not to visit Balsam once more this season, let me be the one to persuade you, take that one last weekend to visit us and experience the unique way of living that only Balsam Mountain Preserve can provide.

See you on the course!