Press Release

SHAWNEE INN REOPENS AFTER FLOOD

The Shawnee Inn has reopened for business as usual following the five-day closing caused by flooding from Hurricane Ivan. Charlie Kirkwood, president of Shawnee Inn, said, "We are very pleased that we have been able to open the Inn only five days after the worst flooding in the last 50 years. We want to sincerely thank our employees, our neighbors, the Shawnee Fire Co., and all of the many vendors and friends who have assisted us in our recovery. Though the water was much higher than the flood in January of 1996, the actual damage to the Inn was somewhat mitigated for several reasons. First, we had adequate warning and were able to move computers, furniture, etc., out of the lower level. Second, we relocated some of our vulnerable equipment like phone switches and air conditioning out of the lower areas after the flood of 1996, and, finally, that flood had tremendous ice floes which badly scoured our golf course, which was not the case this time. We anticipate opening the golf course in about a week: although there was some silting of the greens and traps. We believe the course will fully recover this season."

The ground floor of the Shawnee Inn, located on the edge of the Delaware River, was virtually completely inundated and much of the adjacent golf course was also flooded during the night of Saturday, September 18 and Sunday, September 19 when the Inn evacuated all guests and closed. Guests have now been notified of the reopening of the Inn and management has gone out of its way to make sure that all expectations will be met. The Inn has made special arrangements to have guests use the Shawnee Commons Recreation Center (1 mile drive from the Inn). This facility has a state-of-the-art indoor pool, sauna, indoor basketball court, game room, fitness room, etc. Other on-site amenities now opening are: Charlie's Place
(the Inn's restaurant), the Tillinghast Golf Academy, tennis courts and our daily recreational activities.  By the end of next week, we expect Shawnee River Adventures to also be up and running.

Despite the damage to the ground floor, the rest of the Inn was very fortunately unscathed. All of the newly renovated guest rooms were untouched by the flood. Sam Snead's Tavern and the Shawnee Playhouse were also untouched and are operating on their usual schedules. The Shawnee Inn would like to thank everyone for their support and help throughout this misfortune. We are particularly thankful that no one was hurt in the flood or the renovation.

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