SUN CITY – One of the biggest incentives that attracted seniors to Sun City was activities. In their neighborhoods or at a large, well equipped recreation center or athletic field, they could pursue hobbies and recreational interests conveniently and frequently.
The association said you could get a charter if you had 25 people willing to participate, organize, and lead. As hundreds moved into the popular new subdivision, card-playing groups, sports clubs, performing arts groups, ethnic groups, a fishing club, a bicycling club, a model railroad group, a singles group, among others, were formed. Perhaps the most unique one of all was a Grandma, Grandpa, & Me group (the “Me” referring to grandchildren).
An increase in Sun City population has driven membership in charter clubs across Sun City, as indicated with the softball league, which included a new team this year to manage rising member numbers. (Photo by Chris LaPelusa/Sun Day)
Today there are almost 70 charter clubs and special interest groups, plus dozens of neighborhood groups active in more than 40 community neighborhoods.
As Sun City itself grew quickly in the first few years, so did the charter clubs and special interest groups. Many groups outgrew their initial meeting locations and had to relocate. The Prairie Singers grew so fast they quickly outgrew Drendel Ballroom for concerts and moved to the Performing Arts Center at Huntley High School. The Bocce Club rapidly expanded to become the largest sports club today, with more than 700 members. The Bridge Club divided itself into specialized groups playing various styles and versions of their game. The Theatre Company had no trouble recruiting enough people to present musicals with dozens of on-stage and off-stage people.
The Golf club, with a built-in course right at their doorstep, quickly formed several leagues, and now Billy Casper Golf, a national golf course management company, manages Whisper Creek course.
The Computer Club has taken advantage of society’s fascination with electronic technologies to become the largest group in Sun City, with more than 1,700 members. Their educational and hardware repair activities have outgrown their lab center in Prairie Lodge, and they will relocate this summer to larger quarters in Meadow View Lodge.
But time passed. The community’s growth slowed and almost stopped in the housing recession of 2008. The realities of deaths and relocations started to take their toll of club rosters. Memberships started to level off and sometimes declined. Sun City’s original build-out ended in 2013, Pulte Homes left, the community became self-governing, and charter clubs started recruiting activities to attract new members.
Now, an average of 150 or so new residents are moving to Sun City annually. The economy has improved somewhat and homes are selling more frequently. The charter club culture has changed, as groups strive to maintain memberships and a consistent level of activities. Some clubs are still thriving membership-wise.
One sports club that is actually expanding this year from all this is the Softball Club. It is growing because of new move-ins. This spring, the club added a team to one of its leagues because their total numbers expanded to 220 members. “This is the most members we have had in the last 4-5 years,” said President Glenn Groebli. “It appears to be the resale of homes that is bringing new and younger people to us. We grew by about 20 people this year.”
George Sebastian, president of the huge computer club, says his group’s membership is growing. When people find out there is a group here that fixes computers, they come,” he said. We have been looking to move to larger space for a while, and we’re glad we can do it this year.”
But this kind of trend is rare. In an informal survey of a few clubs recently, most clubs told the Sun Day their memberships are stable or slightly up or down.
“We are getting some new, younger people each year,” said Cindy Ptak, president of the Grandma, Grandpa & Me group. “But mostly we are stable and getting 300-350 out for our Christmas party, and we still average 115-120 adults and 60 kids for other activities.”
Jules Pelka, president of the Tennis Club, said his membership also has stabilized. “We have about 200-250, and I have noticed recently that we are benefiting somewhat from softball. Residents come here and try softball, discover that they can’t do that anymore, and they come to us for tennis.”
Ralph Chiappetta, president of the Bocce Club, also said his membership is stable, with new residents filling in vacancies caused by attrition. “Bocce is a non-strenuous sport and remains popular because of that,” he said.
In the last two years, the association has begun staging new-resident meetings every other month. The latest group of new move-ins are invited to a welcome session in the morning or evening at Drendel Ballroom. Presidents of charter clubs are invited to make short presentations to promote their clubs, pass out brochures, and interact with the newcomers. The Prairie Singers, struggling with a shrinking roster, have found these sessions to be helpful. They have recruited four new members from these events in the last six months.
Another tactic used by some groups, particularly the performing arts groups, is to amend their bylaws to permit them to bring in non-residents, usually to provide specific talents. The concert band, for example, has about 10 non-residents who play instruments that aren’t provided by necessary numbers of resident members, and the theatre company often uses children required in certain musicals and plays.
Sun City is maintaining its famous lifestyle, one way or another.
