03/27/2026
4/4 UTP Update!
NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED!
(Lots of ungrateful, grumpy residents & board members.)
It was fun, while it lasted!
4/4 UPDATE
What Happened To Under The Palms (UTP)?
The relationship with the Golf Lakes Board has always been a bit of a rollercoaster!
I’m Ron Emser, the Founder of UTP, and I started the event, back in January 2018 as a Single-Member Club. This was after the great successes of the Golf Lakes Car Show.
Jerry Cibulsky, the Father of the Golf Lakes Car Show along with Bill Lynch and myself, kicked off the Car Show. Over a few years, it became quite a sensation here at Gold Lakes and garnered many “kudos” and a great list of sponsors. (Covid killed it!)
NOTE TO BOARD!
(SIDE NOTE ABOUT SIGNAGE: Does anyone remember those 5 foot x 15 foot for the GOLF LAKES CAR SHOW Signs on the GOLF LAKES Outside Walls at the Intersection of 9th & 53rd!)
Having compiled a great list of sponsors, I launched the Under The Palms Project. I was a “Club of One”!
The initial UTP Concert was held in Jan. of 2019, featuring a local favorite, Bill Vinhage, with the help of the Principal Sponsors, Dedicated Senior Medical Center & Q Auto & Medical Malpractice Attorneys, plus many smaller local businesses.
I started a monthly outdoor concert at Golf Lakesand called it UNDER THE PALMS, which I had COPYRIGHTED. The next year, I expanded to two Thursdays a month. Initially, it conflicted with the Women’s Club Meeting, which created a bit of a problem. It was resolved and even brought about the Women’s Club to become Concert Sponsors.
Yes, it was a bit of work, yet I always enjoyed music, and I always worked on civic events & fundraisers in Cleveland. As a member of the local Euclid, OH Hunger Center, I had successfully created quite a robust list of musicians & business contacts, not to mention being in a family of musicians. Four generations strong.
Yet it was really that simple. With a background in photography, graphic design, and web design, plus experience in fundraising and event organization. My family consists of four generations of musicians to boot!
When I bought into Golf Lakes in February 2017, I noticed an abundance of older music events, including such vintage tunes as “Bicycle Built for Two” & She’ll Be Coming Around the Mountain, as performed at Saturday’s Social Hour and a multitude of club-sponsored concerts, targeting the older residents in the park. I felt we needed musical options for the newer (younger) folks entering Golf Lakes.
I continued this program for 5 years. Of course, the Board had to grant permission for my use of an outdoor electric outlet. (That was my only initial request.) For the record, UTP was also the first GL Outdoor Musical Event to allow alcohol!
The club grew with the help of Fran Spraetz. We introduced the Saturday Night/UTP Concerts, once a month. The first concert was a huge success! We made enough money for the Buffett Tribute Act plus a bunch more allowing us to book additional concerts!
Then, the trouble began. I created professional, well-done signs to promote the shows, but the GLE Board created a new policy that prohibited signs.
There were a few other issues, but that single issue really reduced our attendance numbers, which threatened our Bi-Weekly Thursday afternoon shows since they were now being 100% subsidized by the 4 monthly Saturday Night Parties/Concerts.
My last request of the Board was to allow us TWO SIGNS for TWO DAYS preceding the Concerts. The BOARD REJECTED THE REQUEST.
(ANYONE REMEMBER THOSE 5 x 15 FOOT BANNERS ON THE GOLF LAKES WALLS PROMOTING THE CAR SHOWS! ALL THREE OF THEM!)
Under The Palms expanded to a committee, which I was initially the Chairman. Don Raymond later became Co-Chair. I had selected 6 members, consisting of music-loving friends.
That was the 2024/2025 season and I was getting tired. Don Raymond assured me that he could persuade the Board to allow signs for the 2025/2026 Season.
Over the summer, there were NO CHANGES TO THE SIGNAGE RULE, even though CHRISTMAS BAZAAR & WHITE ELEPHANT SIGNS were allowed. It appears that there are multiple sets of rules… for US & THEM!
Don made himself the CHAIR, and I was demoted to Co-CHAIR because he thought he could communicate better with the Board than I.
Between musician choices, cancellations, negotiations, his inexperience indicated his lack of understanding of the UTP EXPERIENCE. I offered suggestions, which were ALL ignored.
It appeared to me that UTP was finished, so I stepped aside!
Do to my earlier efforts of COPYRIGHTING “Under The Palms”, the name and my logos/artwork, which forced them to rebrand and pick a new name. I am thinking about alternate NON-GLE Event possibilities.
The entire UTP Committee threatened to quit, if I was reinstated! At least that is what Don Raymond told me! No committee members have confirmed Don's remarks. But none of them no longer return calls or texts, still a month later!
A real eye-opener, indeed! Sometimes to learn more than you want about "so-called" friends.😝
So… That’s What Happened To UNDER THE PALMS (c).
Ron Emser 🤓
[email protected]
Text or call: 216-731-5213
