Summit Country Club dedication touches John Merlini

CRESSON — A life’s work.

That’s what was celebrated last Sunday afternoon at Summit Country Club as club officials, members and close friends honored retired course superintendent John Merlini for his more than 50 years of service at the club.

Sunday’s well-attended event was capped off by a ribbon-cutting ceremony to dedicate Summit Country Club’s newly-built maintenance building in Merlini’s honor.

Greens committee chairman Mike Reese and longtime board member Paul Calandra offered up kind words to kick off the event.

“We owe a world of gratitude to John,” Reese said. “Over the course of his career, he worked tirelessly to help make this course what it is today.”

Calandra, whose father Jack was a driving force at the club and longtime benefactor, recalled their relationship.

“My father saw something in John as a young man who worked on the grounds crew. It wasn’t long before he hired John to be the head superintendent,” Calandra said. “Although he was new to the job, John learned quickly. My father always called him a self-made man, someone who mastered his craft.”

When Merlini started at the club in the early 1960s, he and his crew would often log more than 100 hours per week during the peak of the busy summer season.

To this day, Summit members benefit from the tremendous amount of work it took to expand the course from nine to 18 holes during the late 1960s.

Merlini was also responsible for an extensive project in the early 1980s that involved enlarging most of the putting surfaces on the course, nearly doubling the size of many of the greens.

Merlini retired just a few years ago, after spending more than a half-century at Summit, boosting its reputation as one of the best-maintained courses in western Pennsylvania.

Though the course is now in the capable hands of superintendent Chris Poorman and assistant Jason Hollis, they know they can always call on Merlini for advice.

At 80 years old, Merlini remains active in retirement. He enjoys working on projects in his garage and helping out neighbors, but his thoughts often harken back to his work at Summit Country Club.

“It was my whole life — my first love,” an emotional Merlini said. “And I wanted to make sure I said this about Jack Calandra: He took me under his wing from the start and was the reason I was successful. I owe everything to him.”

A plaque has been attached to Summit’s new maintenance building in honor of Merlini. It states, in part:

“In honor of John Merlini, this building stands as a testament to his remarkable contributions and unwavering commitment to the Summit Country Club over the span of six decades. This tribute not only honors John but also serves as an inspiration for all those who aspire to create and maintain beautiful, functional spaces in the world of golf and beyond.”