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South Hills GC getting new look

On Nov. 30 Mark Cunningham became the sole owner of South Hills Golf Club in south Parkersburg.

Cunningham is working long hours to refurbish the clubhouse and rejuvenate the golf course property.

Cunningham, 65, of Parkersburg said he co-owned South Hills Golf Club, at 1253 Gihon Road, with Ted Daugherty until he purchased Daugherty’s 50 percent share of the business late last year.

Cunningham said he had been spending most of his time operating his driving range near Pittsburgh and came to the Parkersburg golf club once a month.

But that has changed.

Cunningham is now working full time at South Hills.

He envisions the front end of the clubhouse becoming a sports bar. “I  expect this place to be jumping this time next year,” Cunningham told me this week.

South Hills clubhouse’s restaurant can seat 32 people and 12 at the bar.

He plans to make sure the banquet room is used more often for high school reunions and other community functions.

He wants to place a lighted sign and floodlights outside and paint the front of the clubhouse Mountaineer blue and gold. Cunningham described the building’s current exterior as drab yellow.

He hopes the outside remodeling will be eye-catching.

The golf course, along with the clubhouse, needs some TLC, or tender loving care, Cunningham said. South Hills, which hosted the West Virginia Open years ago and was built in 1932, has a nice layout, he said.

When the ground freezes, Cunningham plans to use a backhoe to remove dead trees and stumps from the golf course and clean up the area around the creek, “to make it look more presentable.”

Cunningham said he plans to revitalize the junior golf program at South Hills.

His son Benton will be managing the South Hills pro shop. During the winter, Benton Cunningham is a caddy at The Old Collier Golf Club in Naples, Fla.

Mark’s daughter Amy Grosselin will run the bar, restaurant and banquet room. Other family members also will be helping at South Hills.

Cunningham, a 1969 graduate of Parkersburg High School, worked at Oxbow Golf Club near Belpre in the late 1970s before leaving the area to become a golf pro in Indiana, Pa., Cleveland and other golf courses in Pennsylvania.

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Parkersburg native Michael Enoch is leaving China to work as general manager of the Performing Arts Center in Sandy Springs, Ga.

Enoch, a 1972 graduate of Parkersburg High School, has been working for Spectra by Comcast Spectacor at the Studio City Events Center in Macau, China, for a year. Before that he served as general manager of the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China, for three years.

Spectra was hired by Sandy Springs, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area, to provide venue management for the public gathering facilities of its City Springs Project, now under construction. Enoch, a 38-year industry veteran, is expected to begin his role in Sandy Springs on Feb. 1.

“We looked at numerous candidates through a deliberate process before making a selection to fill this role,” said Sandy Springs City Manager John McDonough in a news release. “Michael has the depth of experience to help us successfully launch the performing arts center as well as develop strong entertainment and educational programming and events.  In addition, he will be instrumental in helping launch our Foundation activities.”

“I look forward to working closely with the city to transform events into experiences,” said Enoch.  “Working with our other Spectra properties here in Georgia, we can build on industry relationships to create new and exciting opportunities for the performing arts center and the community.”

The public gathering facilities at City Springs will consist of the performing arts theater, studio theater, meeting spaces and park in this growing city of 105,000 people. Construction on the facilities, called the “heartbeat” of Sandy Springs, began in 2015 and is expected to be completed in summer 2018.

In venue management, Enoch has directed special event centers from theaters and convention centers to large outdoor festivals in national and international settings.  He has worked as a booking agent for entertainment and sporting events and has professional expertise in stage management.

Contact Paul LaPann at plapann@newsandsentinel.com

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