INCORPORATION
On July 18, 1955, the papers of incorporation for the Club were signed and the following were sworn in as the first group of Club officers: C. D. Young, President; Henry Desautel, Treasurer; B. B. Fuller, Secretary; C. H. Corney, G. O. Dudley, I. W. Henderson, G. R. Ouimet and C. E. Sullivan were sworn in as members of the Board of Governors. I. W. Reynolds and Wilfred E. Booth, both sports-minded executives of The Foxboro Company, drafted the By- Laws.
STOCK SHARES ISSUED
A committee, consisting of Harold (Bucky) Harris, Chairman; Gerard (Randy) Kennedy and Gill Ouimet, Vice Chairman; Harold Morton, Treasurer; and George Johnson, Secretary; was organized to sell stock shares and bonds. Four hundred shares were initially issued. However, the goal was to sell 200 shares at the first offering for $125.00 each, and to sell 500 bonds for $100.00 each (3% interest) totaling $50,000.
Originally, it had been agreed to sell only 200 shares for the first nine, but because bond sales were lagging, a package deal was conceived whereby a person who bought five bonds could buy a share of stock. This resulted in a total of 225 shares sold as charter members. The $50,000 bond goal was thus achieved. Claude had recommended that the sales approach in getting people to buy a share of stock was to convince them that the Club would in effect create a "Green Belt" for the people of Foxborough and Mansfield. Many people made sacrifices to see that the Club would succeed in selling shares (that yielded no dividends). Despite the fact that we had no collateral to offer for security in the shares and bonds sales, we still achieved our financial goal.
The bond interest was paid each year, but because our costs began to mount, a request was made to the holders to return the interest checks as a donation. Many owners did. At a later date when the bond resolution called for redemption, a plea was made for the holders to return them at less than face value. Many of these were redeemed in amounts from $1 to $50. The shares and bonds were never promoted as an investment. At that time we didn't own a square foot of land and we had no experience in golf course construction, it would be a very risky investment to say the least.
