Unique Destinations
By Lawrence Becerra, Chairman, Las Campanas Compadres
Las Campanas Compadres offers therapeutic riding and swimming lessons to people with special needs at the world-class facilities of The Club at Las Campanas. Lessons are free and 100 percent supported by private donations.
Britt Gladu, the Director of Membership Development at The Club at Las Campanas since December of 2012, became a proud supporter of the Las Campanas Compadres upon assuming the position with the Club. Britt now serves as an LCC Board member and an active participant when possible with the Equine Therapy Program.
“Raised in commercial fishing in Kodiak, Alaska under extreme conditions, we learned at a young age to embrace and support our community, as your community becomes your extended family. Upon moving to Santa Fe just over two years ago, I was fortunate to become introduced to The Club at Las Campanas and The Las Campanas Compadres. Both the Club and the LCC have now become my second family.
The Club at Las Campanas is an extraordinary member-owned private Club, unique to Santa Fe with two 18 hole Jack Nicklaus golf courses, a Hacienda Clubhouse which offers a quality, unique dining experience and diversified Club events, a state-of-the-art Fitness Center with a complete new line of equipment called Technogym, an indoor saline lap pool, outdoor resort pool, 7 classic clay tennis courts, as well as a full spa, Pilates, yoga, and spin classes with 30 exercise classes offered on a weekly basis included in all memberships. Seasonally, the outdoor pool is open from Memorial Day to Labor Day and seasonal Camp Campanas programming is also available for children between the ages of 7 and 14, which includes golf, tennis, and horseback riding lessons. Our Equestrian Center is quite an experience, especially if you tour the facility on Monday during the LCC therapy riding sessions. Our Equestrian Center has the capacity to board up to 90 horses, with each riding discipline represented.
The most unique Club attributes however, are the members and our staff. Our members, and in particular the founders of LCC, Lawrence and Suzanna Becerra, represent the generous nature of our members, dedicated to the community of Santa Fe. Our staff at The Club at Las Campanas inspire me every day to pay it forward and give back to the community.
Similar to last year and years past, our Directors have elected to participate in the annual Mini Tri event, held at the Club, where each participating Director sponsors a special needs student, comprised of a swimmer, runner, and cyclist. Many of our staff volunteer their time to the event. Kay Lee, our Director of IT and Communications, is here the morning of the event, in the dark at 4:30 AM, making certain participants know where to park. Todd Shaw, our Director of Fitness, along with Tom Egelfhoff, our Director of Agronomy, spend countless hours in preparation of the Mini Tri event, behind the scenes making certain the race course, amenities, and Club related details are perfect. Our General Manager, David Loan, and our Executive Chef, Andy Nichols, are already in training, excited to compete with another special needs team. This will be my second year competing in the event, representing a special needs team which has now become the highlight of my year.”
For the past five years Las Campanas Compadres has held a triathlon fund raising event on the grounds of The Club at Las Campanas. This year’s event will feature a sprint tri for adults and a mini tri for juniors. This is the charity’s only fund raising event and its success ensures the continuation of this worthwhile program. This year’s event will be held on Labor Day, September 1. Expectations are for 200 participants.
To learn more about the event, or the program and how you can help, please visit www.lascampanascompadres.org, a 501(c)(3) dedicated to providing therapeutic riding and swimming instruction to people with special needs. Las Campanas Compadres is being profiled as part of the All Things Real Estate “Unique Destinations” series.