This past week-end Rob Coppedge and I had the privilege of visiting the Pawling Mountain Club about 90 minutes North of Manhattan. The club is partially owned and managed by Philip Bonanno, MD a renowned plastic surgeon and businessman from Westchester, NY.

This club is one of the truly unique clubs in the world....a warm and relaxing venue at which members can participate in live bird hunts or spend their time on the trap/skeet course...a very challenging and well laid out course that is apparently great training for competition.

Overlooking the Appalachian Mountains and set on over 1000 acres of semi-wooded and rolling land, the location is gorgeous. The Lodge is not pretentious or pristine - it's a comfortable hunting lodge with most anything you need. There is a sizeable full time staff including a top-notch chef and the folks that tend to the cadre of field dogs. The Lodge looks over an area that closely resembles a typical 18th hole at a golf course...indeed there are some similarities to how it's all laid out. There is a man-made lake right outside the Lodge deck area as you look off into the mountains. In the Summer, they hold a family event at which there is fantastic fireworks display over the lake.

Part of the success is tied to the fact that they encourage family participation. The club is now 25 years old and they are starting to get the second generation and beginnings of the third.

It was a real privilege to spend time with Dr. Bonanno and the other iMedExchange members in such a special place.