At Reynolds Lake Oconee, there’s a rhythm to day-to-day life that permeates throughout the community. Far from being static, it’s a community full of life and vibrancy, with activities and outlets available for Members of all ages and interests.
Beyond the visible amenities – six award-winning golf courses, 11 restaurants, two state-of-the-art fitness centers, 27 tennis and Pickleball courts, the Sandy Creek Sporting Grounds, and much more – there’s a thriving cadence of Member events and groups that fill the calendar each month and collectively provide an added benefit to an already thriving community.
A huge component of the thriving cultural scene at Reynolds are the 40 Member-led clubs. These wide-ranging clubs provide numerous outlets for Members to indulge a passion, connect over a common interest, meet a new friend, or share in a common experience.
View all Reynolds Clubs & Groups HereView all Reynolds Clubs & Groups Here
One of the most popular clubs at Reynolds is the Reynolds International Club. The club’s only requirements are simple: either being born overseas, or residing six months overseas on the part of one or both spouses. Since its inception in 2017, the Reynolds International Club has grown to 353 Members who have between them have lived in 47 countries.
The brainchild behind the club is their current president, Helen Hall. Before finding their forever home at Reynolds, Helen and her husband, Reg, moved 19 times throughout their marriage.
“Six weeks after we were married, we moved to Paris,” Helen says. “Then Holland, Belgium, Hong Kong … I was one of those wives who was always willing to try something new. Now we have friends all over the world.”
After moving to Reynolds, Helen connected with Mirjam Van Stekelenburg and discussed how much fun it would be to form an international club and meet other Members who’ve lived overseas. The first meeting, which was self-catered, took place in the Library at the Commons and found that there was overwhelming support for the idea. From there, through word-of-mouth and the persistence of the original group in finding Members who have shared international experiences, the club has taken off.
Now the club hosts two receptions per year. Each reception is catered by the Reynolds Culinary team, with special attention paid by Executive Chef Zouhair, in creating buffets that reflect a particular country's cuisine. The countries have run the gamut from France to Japan, with new ones being sampled each year.
“This year we featured Morocco, the Chef’s home country, and India,” says Neena Amin, one of the committee members. “Ami MacDonald and I both gave Chef Z help in adapting the cuisine to western tastes while remaining authentic.”
As the group has grown, the club has become a melting pot of cultures and experiences. With a mission to “cultivate friendships through global experiences”, many new friendships have been made through the club as Members have delighted in shared experiences, past memories, and kinship through their international adventures.
After a brief interruption due to COVID, the established – and rapidly growing! - group continues to gather biannually to share stories, languages and “nibbles,” as Helen calls them, delighting in the melting pot of global experiences and diverse cultures found at Reynolds Lake Oconee.
