Once upon a time, Maurice Berthiaume was denied access to his favourite golf club in 1970. From that moment, Maurice Berthiaume, landowner in Soulanges, decided to operate his own golf course. Two years later, he opened the Rivière Rouge Golf Club in Coteau-du-Lac on Route 201. About five years later, a second nine-hole course was built in the wooded part of the course.
While developing his golf course, our man of action also evolved as superintendent of CSRVS (Commission Scolaire Régionale de Vaudreuil-Soulanges; now called the Commission Scolaire des Trois-Lacs). Also, at the service of a company specializing in housekeeping, he will be in charge of 200 employees.
Maurice Berthiaume is not afraid of anything. For a long time, he had two careers simultaneously: its golf course and superintendence. His family lived in the clubhouse with his three kids and his wife/business partner. The contribution of his wife Bernice was crucial to him and he paid tribute to her in an original article from 1996. “She supported me a lot by holding the fort, when I was called to work at night. In the winter, snowmobilers stopped at our relay. It was she who greeted them, not always feeling very brave in front of these men from the cold. She is an outstanding administrator, she continues to support me while highlighting her talents as a painter, an art that she masters very well. “
Maurice Berthiaume’s children, Danielle, Luc and Carole, have been involved from the beginning of the Rivière Rouge Golf Club adventure. Luc, Danielle, Daniel Pharand and their grandson, Marc-André Berthiaume, continued to take the lead long after his death, until last fall. It’s now his granddaughter, Jessica Berthiaume St-Pierre, and her partner, Simon St-Pierre, that takes charge of the family business. Jessica, who worked at the Rivière Rouge Golf Club until the end of her university studies, relies on the shared knowledge of her grandfather, her father, as well as her older brother to support her in this new adventure.