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Opened in 1939, Otsego Club is a wonderful contemporary antique, an outpost of casual elegance, near I-75 in Gaylord, Michigan. But perhaps it's the presence of the Otsego Ski Club that really sets the place apart. Otsego is America's oldest ski club with its own facility. It is also a private club that flourishes in these politically correct times, when exclusivity is often viewed as discriminatory. Alan L. Gornick, a former general counsel for Ford Motor Co., bought Otsego Club in 1955 from the estate of steel magnate, Donald McLouth. Alan turned the Otsego Club into a year round resort by building the "Classic" golf course, a William H. Diddle designed championship track. Alan Gornick's love of skiing came from his birth in Leadville, Colorado, which, at 11,000 feet, is the highest altitude city in America. He went on to practice tax and estate law in New York City where his clients included Jules Bache of Bache and Co., David Rockefeller, actress Tallulah Bankhead and Detroit's Ford family. At the Fords' request, he came to Detroit in 1946 to join the "Whiz Kids," a group of bright young executives who, with Henry Ford II, are credited with rescuing the company during financially critical times after World War II. Gornick was instrumental in reworking the Ford Foundation, setting up the Ford Fund. In 1981, Keith H. Gornick purchased the property from his father. Keith, a former Bloomfield Hills resident and oil and gas executive, says the private club's longevity is an achievement of which he and the Otsego members are particularly proud. Gornick, whose swept-back hair, thin-framed glasses and precise use of language suggest his prep school background, is a second-generation owner of "the Club", as he affectionately refers to the resort. Under the Gornicks, Otsego Club grew from 60 rooms on 500 acres to 105 rooms on 4,000 acres. In the 1960s its Swiss Alpine character was adopted by the entire city of Gaylord. Over the years Keith Gornick has lovingly tweaked the old resort, keeping pace with modern facilities, while retaining the feel and tradition of a more gentle time and slower pace. In 1991, the stylish Pontresina Restaurant, which affords diners a wonderful view of the Sturgeon River Valley and the ski slopes, opened to much acclaim. The Pontresina is open to the public and has recently received the prestigious Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, one of the only eight restaurants in Michigan to receive it. Like his father before him, Keith Gornick treats the resort as a labor of love and responsibility to his 200 employees. "I don't see it as a hobby even though I love it as one," Gornick says. "I view the hotel and the property in the European manner". "It is a second home for my friends, their friends and their families". Keith Gornick expanded the Otsego Club's presence in the golf industry by adding the "The Tribute", designed by Rick Robbins and PGA Tour Veteran, Gary Koch. This is a breathtaking golf experience spanning 1,100 acres of the Sturgeon River Valley. The Tribute was recently named a Top 10 Best New Course by Sports Illustrated, a Michigan Top Ten Golf Course by Michigan Golf Magazine and is a featured course on Microsoft's Links 2003 Video Game. In December of 2006, Otsego Club & Resort began a new chapter in its' already rich history with the sale of the property to the Osprey s. a. Limited. Otsego Club & Resort joins the rest of the Michigan family golf course properties which include Ridgeview located in Kalamazoo, The Medalist in Marshall, Manistee National Golf Resort in Manistee and Wilderness Valley in Gaylord.