Testimonials

The following interview was conducted with local Winchester Country Club residents, Michael and Donna Lucas during the winter of 2003. Permission has been granted by the Lucas’ to reprint this interview.

Download a PDF of this interview by clicking here.

WCC: So, how did you hear about Winchester Country Club, and when did you first visit?

MICHAEL: We heard a radio commercial on Tom Sullivan’s show (KFBK-AM, 1530) for Winchester Country Club. It sounded exactly like what we were looking for, so I called the number and we drove up within the next day or two. It was love at first sight.

WCC: Was it the whole community or just your site that you fell in love with?

MICHAEL: The whole place!

DONNA: We had a beautiful home in Granite Bay at the time…

WCC: Oh, you’re not from the Bay Area?

DONNA: No. There are a lot of people here from the Bay Area, but there are locals who appreciate this place too!

WCC: What made you want to leave Granite Bay?

DONNA: I think it was the encroachment. It just got busier and busier there, and we wanted to get above the fog. But, not get into the snow.

WCC: Speaking of the location; people who haven’t visited sometimes think that we’re far away from things. Did you know that we’re less than 25 minutes from the closest Nordstrom’s?

DONNA: Even if it took twice as long, why wouldn’t you live here? It’s a beautiful drive. No congestion. This is “God’s Country”. Why wouldn’t you want all this for the sake of ten or fifteen minutes?

WCC: That is one of the misconceptions about living here. People don’t realize that we’re only two minutes away from I-80 and anywhere they want to go.

DONNA: It’s close enough to the city for everything that you want, but yet, you’re in a small town atmosphere.

MICHAEL: Initially we thought we might have to sacrifice on professional services by moving here, but our hairdresser in Auburn is the best we’ve ever had, and we’ve found an incredible dentist, and a wonderful vet. We’ve actually upgraded all our services, without any compromises.

WCC: You said of your first visit that it was “Love at first sight”. Did you actually buy on your first visit?

MICHAEL: Yes. We put a deposit on our site that first trip.

DONNA: It had to be something really special for us to give up our big, beautiful home in Granite Bay. We had a wonderful view and could walk to Folsom Lake. We like walking.

WCC: Was the nature up here one of the selling points for you then?

DONNA: That was one thing we liked, but we really loved the size of the home sites. The following interview was conducted with local Winchester Country Club residents, Michael and Donna Lucas during the winter of 2003. Permission has been granted by the Lucas’ to reprint this interview.

WCC: How big is your site?

DONNA: It’s a little over one acre, and we only have a neighbor on one side.

WCC: And you have the most incredible view!

MICHAEL: Yes. In fact, we weren’t the only ones going after that particular site. It was a crazy time and the sites were going very fast.

DONNA: We’d been looking for years, and just knew this was it the minute we saw it.

WCC: For years?

MICHAEL: Yes, but not aggressively. We knew that we’d know it was the right place, when we found it, and we did.

WCC: Are you golfers?

DONNA: No.

MICHAEL: We’re thinking of starting a non-golfers support group (laughing).

WCC: Now there’s an idea! Actually, we do have a hiking club. So the fact that it’s a golf community, with a championship course, wasn’t the draw for you at all?

DONNA: No. It’s just so beautiful.

MICHAEL: It’s pretty. It’s pretty to walk around. It was the community that sold us. Not the golf course. WCC: Are you club members?

DONNA: Yes, social members.

WCC: Then I would imagine that you’re eager for the opening of the new clubhouse?

MICHAEL: Yes, and the gym.

WCC: I understand that this is your second home building experience?

MICHAEL: Yes. They say that it takes three times to get it perfect, but we hope we did it perfectly the second time.

WCC: Who built your home?

MICHAEL: We went with the team of Greg Rosene (Rosene Classics), Mark Gomm (Creative Design & Planning) and Carol Carter (Carol Carter Design). We actually chose them separately, but now they’re working as a team on many projects.

DONNA: They are each so talented in their own right. We felt blessed to get them as a trio.

MICHAEL: The whole experience of buying and building here has been perfect. We’re full of pinch marks. We keep pinching ourselves to make sure it’s real.

DONNA: We’ve felt blessed from the beginning. It was a blessing to hear about Winchester Country Club, to come here and find our perfect site, to finding those talented people and building our beautiful home. For us, it’s been…a dream come true.