Our Team

We are proud to introduce you to our key personnel. These highly trained professionals and their staff are dedicated to giving our members the finest service possible.

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Rudiger Loose General Manager   Roger comes from a hotel and restaurant family.  After three years of culinary apprenticeship and hotel school in Germany, Roger refined his skills in Austria, Switzerland and London.  After coming to America in the 1960’s he accepted a position with the Sheraton Corporation in Honolulu, where he was the youngest chef on the islands.   Roger has held chef positions at prestigious restaurants such Aspen’s Copper Kettle and New York’s Maxwell’s Plum.  He capped his extensive culinary training on several cruise lines.   At this time he became the corporate executive chef and later the corporate Food and Beverage Director for Ogden Food Service Corporation where he was responsible for numerous accounts in both the states and overseas.   He then accepted the General Manger’s position at the Mt. Kisco Country Club in Westchester County, New York and three years later was hired as the Director of Food and Beverage of the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City.  After working long, hard hours to get that new facility operational, Roger became the General Manager at Burning Tree Country Club in Greenwich, Connecticut and held that position for fifteen years.  Roger came to Island Country Club in 2003 and enjoys the Island Country Club, its members and the Florida lifestyle immensely.

Wayne Kappauf, CGCS Golf Course Superintendent Originally from Long Island New York, Wayne has lived in Collier County since 1962.  He graduated from Naples High School in 1978 and from Florida Southern College in 1982 with a Bachelors degree in Business Management.  Wayne has been in the Golf Course industry for 31 years.  After almost 13 years as the Golf Course Superintendent at Quail Run Golf Club in Naples, Wayne became Superintendent of the Island Country Club golf course in 1995. A Certified Golf Course Superintendent since 1993 Wayne also became a Certified Arborist in 1999 and holds state agricultural licenses in Turf, Ornamental, and Aquatic pest control.  A member of the GCSAA (Golf Course Superintendents Association of America), FGCSA (Florida Golf Course Superintendents Association), EGCSA (Everglades Golf Course Superintendents Association) and USGA (United States Golf Association), Wayne currently serves on the Board of Directors of the FGCSA and EGCSA and is a past president of the EGCSA. Dedicated to continuing education, a love for golf and the promotion of his industry, Wayne is driven to give Island Country Club members the best golf course possible each and every day.

Michael A. DeJordy, PGA Head Golf Professional Michael grew up in Clearwater, Florida and started in the golf business in 1995 at Cove Cay Country Club as a Cart Barn attendant.  He passed his players test in September of 1996 and began working at the Innisbrook Resort in Tarpon Springs Florida.  Michael worked at the resort as the tournament coordinator and merchandising manager for the first year and a half, and then moved onto the Head Resident Professional at the Copperhead Golf Course at the resort.  He spent the last 3 years there as the head professional where he had the privilege of running a PGA tour event, the Tampa Bay Classic, which is now the Pods Championship and running a first class resort golf operation. After his stint at Innisbrook Michael began work at The Bayou Club in Largo, FL where he became a Class A PGA member.  Michael spent 2 years as a first assistant working for Crown Golf and then moved to the Bardmoor Country Club as head golf professional for another year.  In May of 2005 he made the move to the Island Country Club as the first assistant which after 15 months was promoted to the Head Golf Professional.  Michael believes it is a true honor to work at the Island Club as the head professional and to be a part of such a rich tradition with many historic golf members such as Gene Sarazen and Tony Lima.

Melody A. Kappauf Director of Member Services Melody started with Island Country Club in the fall of 1997 as the Events Director.  Two years later she moved into her current position as the Director of Member Services, which gives her the unique opportunity to interact with all the club’s members. Melody is a founding member and president of the Membership Director’s Association of Southwest Florida and a state representative to the Professional Club Marketing Association.  She is involved in several community associations including the Realtors Support Network and the Chamber of Commerce.  She served for several years on the Board of Directors of the Marco Healthcare Center, the last as secretary. Melody comes to Marco Island from Fort Wayne, Indiana where she operated a very successful wedding and party planning business for several years. She has also owned a lunch bistro and has a background in the food industry, working as a manager for a food brokerage company.

Howie Burnett Certified Tennis Professional Howie Burnett is a level 1 certified USPTA Tennis Professional with 35 years of tennis teaching and coaching experience. Howie is from the Greater Boston area and was the Founder and President of NET ADVANTAGE LLC- a company that provided tennis instruction, team practices, program development and club administration along with retail outlets for 5 commercial clubs as well as instructional services for 6 area recreation departments in the New Hampshire seacoast area for 26 years He was a certification tester for the New England division of the USPTA from 1980 until 1989 and served as the New England divisions President and on the USPTA national executive committee from 1989 until1992. He was a member of the Board of Directors for the New England section of the USTA from 1985 until his relocation to Marco Island in 1998. In 1988 he was chosen by the newly formed Player Development arm of the USTA to serve as head coach of the New Hampshire and central Massachusetts Area Training Center for Elite Level junior tournament players.  He also organized and presented a yearly High School Coaches Workshop as a member of the USTA clinicians service throughout the 80s and early 90s. Howie has published numerous tennis articles over the years and currently contributes a weekly instruction column “Net Notes” to the Marco Island Eagle.

Wendy Burnett Certified Fitness Trainer Certified Tennis Professional Wendy is from the greater Boston area and has been in the fitness club and tennis industry for 30 years. Wendy Burnett is an IFPA and NETA Certified Fitness Trainer as well as a USPTA Certified Tennis Professional.  She was a certified aerobics and flexibility instructor as well as an active tennis tournament player from 1978 until 1990.  Along with fellow Bostonian Bev Raws, Wendy won the USPTA women’s 35 and over national doubles championship in 1989. In 1979 she assumed the General Managers position at the Great Bay Racket Club. At that time, Great Bay was a 6 court indoor tennis facility.  She remained in that position through the clubs evolution from a 300 member 6 employee tennis club to the Great Bay Athletic Center, a state of the art 1200 member, multi-sport complex with 65 employees featuring tennis, racquetball, basketball, indoor soccer and a 15,000 square foot fitness area with 30 cardio-training stations and the very latest weight training equipment well as dozens of aerobic and exercise classes a week. Wendy was certified as a level 1 Tennis Professional by the USPTA in 1985 and was voted the New England High School Tennis Coach of the Year in 1988 after having led tiny Exeter New Hampshire high school to the girl’s state doubles championship.  She served as interim coach at the University of New Hampshire in 1991 before joining NET ADVANTAGE, LLC, a tennis club management business, as a full time teaching professional in 1992. Wendy has put her focus the last 6 years away from tennis and very deeply into fitness training for adults, with a special focus on golf fitness assessment and training methods that have been developed by the Titleist Performance Institute.  Wendy has received more than 65 hours of golf specific fitness and performance training in the last 36 months and will receive her TPI Golf Fitness Specialist certification in the fall of 2007.

Bid Bakkar Food & Beverage Director Bid graduated from the University of Tunis in Tunisia in 1982, with a major in French.  He moved on to the Ecole de Tourisme de Carthage in Tunis and graduated in 1984 with a major in Service, Culinary and Hotel Management. Bid moved to the United States 1985, working as the restaurant manager at Café Vieux Carre in New Orleans, an establishment featuring haute French cuisine.  He has also been employed at the Fairmont and Meridian hotels in New Orleans. In 1990, Bid moved to Orlando, Florida and worked as the Restaurant Manager at the prestigious Peabody Hotel until 1992.  Marco Island Hilton Resort offered Bid the position of Assistant Food and Beverage Director in 1992, which brought him to Marco.  He came to the Island Country Club in 2001 as Assistant Food and Beverage Director and became the Food and Beverage Director in 2003. During Bid’s work experience he has had many years of culinary training and service training and is a Certified Food and Beverage Manager.