BoardRoom magazine September/October 2022

EDITOR’S NOTE

DAVE WHITE

Dave White is the editor of BoardRoom magazine. If you have comments on this article or suggestions for other topics, please send Dave an email to: dave@boardroommag.com.

Where Does the Future Lead?

Today, the popularity of racquet sports sits in the forefront for private clubs, particularly considering the influence of COVID-19.

As with golf, racquet sports became an outlet for private club members because of the ability to participate in less crowded conditions, often on open air courts making people less susceptible to the pandemic.

But how have clubs been able to cope with this substantial growth, hire competent, certified staff, find adequate resources and still meet the demands of a private club’s member experiences?

That, in a nutshell, is the focus of our cover story this issue...How Do Clubs Provide Resources for Rapidly Expanding Racquet Programs?

“Racquet professionals continue to fight an uphill battle against the general job market. By adding racquet sport after racquet sport, we are and will have trouble managing members’ expectations if proper resources aren’t provided to hire quality staff to grow each racquet program,” said Boris Fetbroyt, director of racquets at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, Philadelphia, PA.

Although John Embree, CEO of the United States Professional Tennis Association, suggests the shortage of staff is ‘not necessarily’ the result of the increased programming, but rather because there’s not a pipeline of young people entering the profession. As the older generation of pros moves on, Embree feels this situation will be exacerbated.

And then there’s the matter of compensation...or rather the lack of it for racquet professionals, along with a life-work balance. Compensation for directors of racquets, our contributors say, hasn’t changed substantially in the past 20-30 years.

“It’s the number one issue,” laments Len Simard, a PTR Professional and USPTA Master Professional and search executive with Kopplin Kuebler & Wallace, an industry executive research firm.

Our contributors to our cover story –Jarrett Chirico, director of racquets at Royal Oaks Country Club in Dallas, TX; Fetbroyt, Simard and Embree – do offer solutions. And for many private clubs, it’s decision-making time they wish to see the racquet sports boom flourish.

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We recognize Jeff McFadden, the eminent CEO of The Union League of Philadelphia, in this issue as the recipient of the John Fornaro Impact Award for 2021.

“This award recognizes leaders in the club industry each year. These are people who demonstrate strong business skills and creative approaches, a willingness to take risks, engage others and who face ambiguity with enthusiasm,” commented BoardRoom’s publisher and CEO John Fornaro

in recognizing McFadden’s many contributions to the private club industry.

“They also demonstrate innovation and we believe this is a significant characteristic of Jeff’s contribution to the industry as he continues to transform traditional practices through innovative member experiences.”

During his 24-year tenure as CEO, McFadden has developed a vision his club has embraced, making The Union League one of the most outstanding city clubs in the world.

The Union League, a BoardRoom Distinguished Club, celebrates its 160th anniversary this year. McFadden, a thoughtful, somewhat risk-taking CEO, along with his management team and a distinguished board of directors, has taken extraordinary steps during his long tenure at the Union League. But, of course, all of this revolves around what the League’s 4,300 members want!

“All of our success has been to our management team, which has an average tenure of over 18 years. We make accidental brilliance happen,” McFadden expressed.

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We keep hearing about private clubs with full memberships and potential member wait lists.

But as Steve Graves, president of Creative Marketing Services, suggests, “Saying something doesn’t necessarily make it so!”

Yes, there happened to be a rush of membership sales during COVID-19 because people wanted something to do other than being told to “social distance at all times’ and sit on their hands at home. So many joined private clubs to find some balance in their lives because of the pandemic. But will this surge continue? The fear is no....and for several reasons, reasons that Graves and Rick Coyne, CEO of ClubInsights, delve into in their article, “Don’t Confuse Circumstantial Success with Aspirational Success.”

Coyne and Graves, two industry veterans, delve into where private clubs are today and some of the critical issues that lie ahead. It’s a must-read piece for anyone concerned about their ‘full’ membership.

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This Much I know For Sure...Dick Kopplin, a former general manager and today partner in Kopplin Kuebler & Wallace, in this issue, begins a new series for BoardRoom magazine. In this regular feature, Kopplin shares some personal reflections based on his 50-plus year dedicated to the private club industry. One thing’s for sure...This Much I Know For Sure will be a learning experience, especially for younger folk entering the industry. Live and learn, we say!

Publisher/CEO

John G. Fornaro

Editor

Dave White

Chief Creative Officer

Heather Arias de Cordoba

Copy Editor

Chryssoula Filippakopoulos

Innovative Ideas Editor

Heather Arias de Cordoba

APCD Executive Director

Bill Thomas

Editorial & Marketing Director

Dee Kaplan

Business Development

Joshua Nuzzi

Accounting/Subscriptions

Ronni Dana

Contact Information

www.BoardRoomMagazine.com www.apcd.com (949) 376-8889

Featured Columnists

John G. Fornaro

Michael Gregory

Dick Kopplin

Kurt Kuebler

Contributing Writers

Heather Arias

de Cordoba

Rita Barreto

Nancy Berkley

Bill Boothe

Kris Butterfield

Stephanie Castro

Dr. Jack D. Cichy

Dr. Ronald F. Cichy

Trevor Coughlan

Michael Crandal

Co-Founder/CEO

John G. Fornaro

President Keith Jarrett

Chief Analyst Frank Gore

Chief Information Officer

Jeff Briggs

Executive Director

Bill Thomas

Executive Assistant/ Director of Support

Joshua Nuzzi

Contact Information www.DistinguishedClubs.com (949) 376-8889

Nancy M. Levenburg

Gregg Patterson

Bill Schwartz

Robert A. Sereci

Henry DeLozier

Deirdre Dixon

Ryan Doerr

Dave Doherty

Ed Doyle

John R. Embree

John Finley

Angela Hartmann

Philip J. Harvey

Lee Hoke

Mitch Huffman

Lynne LaFond DeLuca

Robyn Stowell

Thomas B. Wallace III

Helaine Weissman

Dave White

Lynn Luczkowski

Ryan Maione

Craig Marshall

Steve Mona

Michael Mueller

Erica Mullery

Joe Oswald

Hal Phillips

Ted Robinson

Strategic Partners and Allied Associations

Ava Spece

Brad D. Steele

Prasad Suryadevara

Scott Taylor

Jody Tompson

Yelena G. Vilk

Till von Ruexleben

Noel Wixsom

Don Williams

PUBLISHER’S

PERSPECTIVE | 10

HOW DO YOU FIND THE BEST BOARD MEMBERS?

JOHN G. FORNARO

A private club’s board of directors remains the key to success because your club’s success or failure depends on how well your board performs. But finding those people who make the board a success is often the dilemma many clubs face. So, what makes and how do you get the most qualified and productive people on your board of directors?

THE POST-PANDEMIC PRO SHOP

NANCY M. LEVENBURG

If there’s a void in the local marketplace in apparel, shoes, or perhaps other specialty items, might this introduce new opportunities for the pro shop? Beyond the usual pro shop offerings like clubs, accessories, and clothing to wear on the golf course, is there a market for high(er)end apparel and merchandise, perhaps that doesn’t necessarily sport the club’s logo?

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES |

BEYOND MILLENNIALS: NEW GENERATIONS AND THE INFLUENCE OF FAMILY

MICHAEL GREGORY

With the sport of golf experiencing increased growth, owners and operators need to get ahead of the curve and consider the needs, wants and expectations of the next generation of members. And where are the opportunities for innovation, valuedriven investments and other avenues for generating profits and increasing value?

LAW & LEGISLATION | 18

UPDATING CLUB DOCUMENTS

ROBYN STOWELL

Before you make wholesale changes, consider your governing documents (their existing flexibility and restrictions) and any operational issues, and make a holistic plan. Once you rough out a plan and test it against your documents and applicable law, consider whether you can tweak the plan to make it more operationally friendly.

BOARDROOM BASICS & BEYOND | 14

UNCONTESTED ELECTIONS. WHY?

DICK KOPPLIN, THOMAS B. WALLACE III AND KURT KUEBLER

While many clubs still hold contested elections – where the number of candidates exceeds the available positions—we urge clubs to consider transitioning to uncontested elections, where the number of candidates is equal to the number of available positions. Why?

CLUB FACTS & FIGURES | 76 FOOD FOR THOUGHT | 94

CONTROLLING COSTS IN A VEGAN WORLD

BILL SCHWARTZ

No longer simply relegated to the occasional diner, the vegan lifestyle is a full-blown movement. Food service operators are adjusting their menus to include more vegan options. And sales of these menu items are becoming significant. Unfortunately, vegetables are one of the hardest inventory items to control and the short shelf life and trimming can lead to significant waste and spoilage.

LEADERSHIP MOMENTUM | 112

HOW VIVID CLUB WAS BUILT

ROBERT A. SERECI

Our jobs are complex and increasingly more challenging. As club professionals, we need tools to help keep us on track and on task. While my memory is adequate, I find it more and more challenging to keep track of my tasks and those of my team. So, we created Vivid Club not just to help club managers but also to help your team.

DOCUMENT RETENTION FAQS FOR PRIVATE SOCIAL CLUBS

HELAINE

WEISSMAN

Document retention: sometimes there is either too much of it or not enough. It may not be the most captivating subject but it is important and we constantly receive questions concerning it. Many clubs struggle with knowing what records to keep (or why) and how to implement a consistent records retention policy.

TRIBAL MAGIC |

124

WHERE’S THE MANAGER?

GREGG PATTERSON

Visibility is critical to the successful manager. And being gone is equally critical to the manager’s long-term productivity and well-being. Managers need to understand visibility and “visible when invisible,” how to get it, how to leverage it, how to grow it and how and when to use it.

COVER STORY 20 How Do Clubs Provide Resources For Rapidly Expanding Racquet Programs? By

Dave White

FEATURE .............. 104

We Make Accidental Brilliance Happen –The Union League’s Jeff McFadden By

Dave White

TECHNOLOGY FEATURE NORTHSTAR 40

CLUBESSENTIAL 42-43

CLUBPAY 44-45

CLUBSYSTEMS GROUP 46-47

CLUBTEC 48-49

COBALT SOFTWARE 50-51

FOOD-TRAK 52-53

JONAS CLUB SOFTWARE 54-55

MEMBERSFIRST 56-57

SURVEY & BALLOT SYSTEMS 58-59

CC TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS 60

PAISANO PERFORMANCE PARTNERS 61

TECHNOLOGY PERSPECTIVE ........ 66 Cybersecurity: A Guide By Bill

Boothe

The Club Foundation By Ava Spece SECTIONS

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT 68

The Science Behind Work-Life Balance Secrets From a 35-Year Monk By Craig Marshall

EXCELLENCE IN

CLUB GOVERNANCE 86-89 Boards Should Examine Their Own Performance Guidance for Governing By Henry DeLozier

LAW & LEGISLATIONS .............. 96

Seasonal Temporary Workers By Yelena G. Vilk

NANCY’S CORNER 98 Did You Know Your Golf Course is a STEM Science Classroom? By Nancy Berkley

REAL ESTATE SHOW CASE 99 Hilda Allen

DIVERSITY COUNCIL 111

DE&I – Diving into Deep and Difficult Waters By Lynn Luczkowski

THIS MUCH I KNOW FOR SURE 126 A Whopper! By Dick Kopplin

Angela Hartmann

Gordon Welch

John R. Embree

PUBLISHER’S PERSPECTIVE

John G. Fornaro is the publisher/CEO of BoardRoom magazine, co-founder/CEO of Distinguished Clubs and the CEO of the Association of Private Club Directors (APCD). If you have comments on this article or suggestions for other topics, please contact John Fornaro at (949) 376-8889 or via email: johnf@apcd.com

How Do You Find the Best Board Members?

A private club’s board of directors remains the key to success because your club’s success or failure depends on how well your board performs.

But finding those people who make the board a success is often the dilemma many clubs face.

So, what makes and how do you get the most qualified and productive people on your board of directors? How do you find the right board members?

The role of boards has changed significantly in recent years. Today’s focus is on boards establishing a club’s policies while leaving the policy implementation and the day-to-day operations to the club’s paid executives.

In the past, gaining a seat on a private club’s board of directors often has been a popularity contest focused on the most likable person or someone pushing a personal agenda...with little consideration given to the talents needed on the board. So, how does a club find board members ready to govern?

The history of private clubs has well-established mythology that most decisions have been made by old boys networks that have deliberated in smoke-filled rooms behind closed doors, often to the exclusion of club members who have felt excluded not only from board participation but also from what have appeared to be many pre-determined and self-serving decisions.

Slowly that perception has taken a hit as many private clubs have become more inclusive and open to effective collaborative governance, whereby the role of the board is to set policy, guidelines and strategic direction while leaving it to the hired professionals to manage the club.

CHANGE HAPPENS SLOWLY

And again, change is slowly happening in the private club industry. Historically club members have ended up on their boards of directors through the actions of a nominating committee, a practice that, in many situations, continues today.

“Ideally, every club would have a line of objective, unbiased and strategic thinking members eagerly awaiting the call to serve. But, unfortunately, the often-unwarranted criticism that boards receive has hardened even the bravest of potential candidates,” exclaimed Rick Coyne, CEO of ClubInsights.

“No one wants to be in a decision-making position that will negatively affect their family usage and enjoyment of the club or potentially ostracize them. Those remaining are often associated with and motivated by politics and power. The point is that history at most clubs has not created advocacy to serve, at least in a capacity of objectivity.

“Add to this, nominating committees are often victims of significant criticism, warranted or unwarranted, of ‘back room politics’ to keep the slate politically cleansed,” Coyne added.

“So, the answer to the question is yes, absolutely, but with qualifications. Very clearly, there should be a nominating committee. Forming the committee should have an obvious, concise and transparent process. My suggestion is this: create a process to ensure representation on the nominating committee is unbiased and equally available to existing ‘volunteers’ and non-engaged members.

“The committee should be charged with identifying the incoming board members’ attributes needed to balance the board. This could be legal or accounting background, specific knowledge in specialty areas the club may be considering. But there’s a caution: The qualifications you seek are not to operate the club but to lend credibility to the discussions, strategy and direction,” Coyne maintained.

“We believe the nominating committee is the most important committee of the club,” said Steve Mona, director of governance and leadership for the industry consulting firm, Club Benchmarking.

“A past president should chaired the committee, populated with members who have previously (and recently) served on the board. Understanding what is required of board members is paramount in selecting nominating committee members.

“Important issues come and go, and experts can always be brought in to deal with specific issues that require certain expertise. The board should be populated by individuals who can think and act objectively, with the club’s best interests in mind,” he added.

Henry DeLozier, partner with GGA Partners, suggests,” A nominating committee is important to trustworthy and effective club governance…provided that the nominating committee receives clear-cut guidance in doing its job. For example, qualifications criteria should be established before any names are considered.

“These criteria should address such matters as skillsets (such as legal, finance, accounting, project management) needed for the board; personal capabilities of board members (such as integrity, respect, business acumen), and leadership experience within the club.

WHO RUNS?

But should any members be allowed to run for a board position? “This Is the question of our time,” DeLozier posited.

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

MICHAEL GREGORY

Michael Gregory is a partner at GGA Partners, an international advisor to golf courses, private clubs, resorts and residential communities.

Beyond Millennials: New Generations and the Influence of Family

Every year, we conduct a survey with the National Collegiate Club Golf Association and The City Tour on young intermediate-aged golfers, the challenges they face, and the opportunities for facilities to help support the longterm sustainability of the game and the industry.

It is no secret that golf’s popularity has exploded because of COVID-19. In the past two years, golf was one of the activities least likely to contribute to the spread of COVID-19 as it is played outside where golfers can keep their distance. The COVID-19 pandemic created a new baseline to understand golfers – and with it, new challenges and opportunities.

How does the presence of children and those without impact the golf experience? How do different generations view family dynamics, play, skills and learning, expenditures and their general satisfaction with the sport? And where are the opportunities for innovation, value-driven investments and other avenues for generating profits and increasing value?

“Beyond Millennials: New Generations and the Influence of Family” explores the relationships between the presence of children and partners, and how these factors impact the expectations, behaviors and priorities of golfers.

With this in mind, here are key insights from this year’s research.

Millennials and Gen Zers are golf’s sustainability generation.

Social and environmental awareness continues to grow for golfers, even if the importance placed on various areas of concern differs between generational cohorts.

In general, golfers are displaying increasingly more interest in environmental and social factors of golf venues they choose. Within the groups, Generation Z had the highest level of concern with social and environmental considerations when compared to the other cohorts. Fifty-three percent of Generation Y (also known as Millennials) respondents said social and environmental impact are important when choosing a golf venue, a 10 percent jump up from 2021.

When asked if social impact is important when choosing a golf venue, 51 percent of Gen Z respondents indicated yes, compared to a lower rate of 35 percent from Gen Y. Interestingly, Gen Z and Gen Y golfers share similar views on consideration of environmental impacts when choosing a golf venue, 40 percent from both groups indicating yes.

Gen Zers and Gen Xers are playing more golf. Millennials? Not as much.

Millennials (born between 1981-1996, ages 26-41 in 2022) play significantly less golf than Generation X (over the age of 40) and Gen Z (born after 1997, ages 10-25 in 2022). Interestingly, singles played slightly more golf than partnered respondents.

Gen Xers prefer to golf with fellow members, Millennials with friends and Gen Zers with family members.

Gen Z is more likely to play with family than Gen X, while Millennials display a tendency to play more with friends than the other two cohorts. Gen X played with fellow members at a much higher rate, while Gen Z showed lower than expected interest in playing with members.

Gen X wants more out of the golf experience – and is willing to pay more for it.

Gen Z golfers spend the least on both greens’ fees and extra spending at the course, while Millennials show the most interest in spending the most on greens fees. Gen X will spend the most while at the course.

Interestingly, while Gen X golfers are willing to pay more, the overall tolerance to increases has grown since the initial research began in 2017. Not only is tolerance growing, but we have a deeper understanding of how golfers prefer to pay to play. Over 40 percent of respondents indicated they prefer to pay more in entrance fees rather than a larger upfront annual fee. This is unsurprising considering the life events that the younger cohorts are or will be undergoing, e.g., weddings, first home purchases, and children. Operators should keep in mind that higher upfront fees may be a barrier compared to balancing joining fees over time.

With the sport of golf experiencing increased growth, owners and operators need to get ahead of the curve and consider the needs, wants and expectations of the next generation of members. They must set their priorities, identify what they should be investing in, align strategic planning, and implement appropriate responses as they relate to developments, technologies and financial implications that are driving change. BR

Uncontested Elections. Why?

The election process of a club impacts a club’s culture.

While many clubs still hold contested elections – where the number of candidates exceeds the available positions—we urge clubs to consider transitioning to uncontested elections, where the number of candidates is equal to the number of available positions.

Why? Uncontested elections are more conducive to environments that aim to be inclusive and promote the feeling of belonging. A club is a place where people with a common bond (similar interests, experiences, backgrounds, professions, etc.) come together for social and recreational congeniality. Uncontested elections take the focus off winning and losing and instead emphasize the importance of club stewardship.

In contested elections, there are winners and losers, and when losers are determined by one’s peers, it tends to diminish the feeling of belonging and works against creating inclusivity. Contested elections can also be damaging to the synergy within a club. They infuse competition, animosity, and conflict into an environment where friends come together to relax and have fun. When members are made to feel as though they are competing in a popularity contest and lose, it’s damaging to their ego, their relationship with the club and their relationships with their peers in the club.

For example, we know of a situation where one general manager told a neighboring club manager, “We actually like that you have contested elections because every year we gain a couple members who quit your club after the election process and come to our club instead!”

Not only do contested elections create divides between members running against each other for open seats on the board of directors, but contested elections can also create hostility on the board itself. Board members tend to side with certain candidates (their friends) and when those candidates don’t win, board members are upset and even resentful toward the members who do win. Producing situations where this kind of negative energy occurs every year creates a toxic club culture. It generates an environment that goes against the camaraderie, unity and welcoming community clubs strive to build. While some may argue that members may be discouraged from voting in uncontested elections, the same may be true of contested elections. It is common for members not to vote in contested elections because they feel guilty for choosing sides or feel uncomfortable picking one member peer for club leadership over another. Therefore, they avoid voting altogether. In many cases, members are more inclined to vote when there are an equal number of candidates as there are open leadership positions on the board of directors because there is no pressure to choose sides.

Another concern is that uncontested elections place all of the power in the hands of the nominating committee and members

may object to the process because of it. Thus, the reason so many clubs continue to hold contested elections. However, we believe that a nominating committee with a clear charter can work successfully on behalf of the membership. Recommended best practices for formulating a nominating committee charter include defining some or all of the following:

• Purpose

• Membership qualifications

• Authority

• Operations

• Responsibilities.

Nominating committees should identify traits and qualifications for board candidates, which helps significantly to ensure consistency and accuracy in succession planning for the board. They seek to find board candidates who have varied experiences, professions and backgrounds that enhance the board through perspective and differing opinions. Ensuring diverse candidates elevates the board’s ability to make decisions that represent the views and perspectives of as many members as possible.

The most forward-thinking clubs, which have already embraced uncontested elections, are taking the idea of a nominating committee even further and evolving it into a leadership development committee. Leadership development committees are informed, active, and independent groups of members working year-round to cultivate future leaders. With objective and well-organized leadership development committees in place, clubs establish trust within the membership that the process is fair and ethical.

Leadership development committees can also engage in the new member orientation process to ensure there is mutual transparency, understanding, and buy-in of their intentions from day one of membership. Best practices for transitioning to a leadership development committee might include incorporating some or all of the following when revising the nominating committee charter:

• Scope of work

• Guiding principles

• Expected outcomes

• Committee protocols.

Overall, we feel strongly that uncontested elections carry more benefits than contested elections. When executed correctly, uncontested elections reduce the contentious political climate, attract higher quality board candidates, match talent from within the membership to strategic priorities, produce a more effective and collaborative board, and create a more cohesive and relaxed club community. BR

Richard Kopplin, Kurt D. Kuebler, CCM & Thomas B. Wallace III, CCM, CCE, ECM are principals with Kopplin Kuebler and Wallace. kopplinandkuebler.com

PLIGHTS AND INSIGHTS

NANCY M. LEVENBURG

Nancy Levenburg, Ph.D., is a recently retired professor of management in the Seidman College of Business at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, MI. She has published numerous articles in business and professional journals and has assisted over 200 organizations with strategic planning, marketing strategy, and improving operations. She is the president of Edgewater Consulting and a member of Spring Lake Country Club in Spring Lake, MI. For more information, contact her at: levenbun@gvsu.edu or (616) 821-5678.

The Post-Pandemic Pro Shop

It Can Fill a Void

The COVID-19 pandemic created havoc in the retail industry over the past couple of years and resulted in bankruptcy filings for big-name retailers, like JCPenney, Stein Mart, Brooks Brothers, J. Crew, Neiman Marcus, Sur La Table, and more.

Vacant spaces now exist in malls and mall parking lots where those retailers and their shoppers used to be. We’ve all witnessed it.

And it was not just large retailers that paid the price of pandemic shutdowns. COVID-19 took its toll on the casual dining industry, from California Pizza Kitchen to Sizzler to Ruby Tuesday to my grandson’s favorite, Chuck E. Cheese.

And in nearby Muskegon, one of my favorite small retailers – The Fish Monger’s Wife – recently closed its doors. Permanently. From a fourth-generation commercial fishing family, The Fish Monger’s Wife sold fresh Great Lakes fish from whitefish to perch, walleye, and salmon. According to its owners, Eric Petersen (the Fish Monger) and Amber Mae (his Wife), “The only commercial fisheries that will survive 2020 and beyond are those that have resources to draw on. We have exhausted our resources and expect we are several years out from a ‘full recovery.’ ”

I’m not suggesting that pro shops start selling smoked salmon and whitefish, although I truly wish that someone in West Michigan would. What I am suggesting, though, is that with the closure and departure from the market of a number of apparel retailers – and particularly those that carried more upscale lines – pro shops may want to consider adding to their array of offerings. Why? For one reason, it could fill a void in the local marketplace. For another reason, it could easily boost profits. And according to one source, a well-run pro shop should earn at least 30 percent gross profit.

A case in point. My significant other recently had a birthday. With his favorite men’s clothier in our local area no longer in business – another small business COVID-19 casualty – and no other nearby men’s apparel shops to turn to, shopping for a birthday gift for him in a non-Walmart location would necessitate a 45- to 60-minute drive to Grand Rapids, MI. Or, I could turn to my local country club pro shop… which is exactly what I did. Fortunately, our head golf pro knows both me and my special guy quite well, so he helped me find the perfect quarter-zip pullover, which he also boxed and wrapped for me.

This led me to think … if there’s a void in the local marketplace in apparel, shoes, or perhaps other specialty items, might

I’m not suggesting that pro shops start selling smoked salmon and whitefish, although I truly wish that someone in West Michigan would. What I am suggesting is that...pro shops may want to consider adding to their array of offerings. For one reason, it could fill a void in the local marketplace. For another reason, it could easily boost profits. And according to one source, a well-run pro shop should earn at least 30 percent gross profit.

On its website, one loyal customer (affectionately dubbed “fish folk” by the Petersens) posted this question: “Will I be able to buy locally caught whitefish somewhere else in Muskegon?” The (sad!) answer: “No. The closing of The Fish Monger’s Wife LLC will end retail (general public) sales in Muskegon.”

So, what do retail business closures have to do with country club pro shops? As Alexander Graham Bell said, “When one door closes another one opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.”

this introduce new opportunities for the pro shop? Beyond the usual pro shop offerings like clubs, accessories, and clothing to wear on the golf course, is there a market for high(er)-end apparel and merchandise, perhaps that doesn’t necessarily sport the club’s logo? (After all, not everybody wants to wear logo-branded merchandise, particularly if they’re not members at the club.) For example, lines like Peter Millar, Mizzen+Main, Maui Jim, or Montblanc?

As writer J.A. Tran said, “When one door closes, sometimes we need to turn the knob to open another.” BR

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ROBYN STOWELL

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Updating Club Documents

Once again I am helping a number of clubs update their governing documents to be more inclusive.

This often happens when the membership is issued to one individual and the club provides use privileges to the member’s family. With COVID-19, it has been happening for an additional reason – clubs want “not-full” or “non-equity” members to have a partial vote or partial refund so those members will be willing to pay an assessment. In all cases, clubs are trying to maintain the best parts of their traditions while becoming more inclusive.

Before you make wholesale changes, consider your governing documents (their existing flexibility and restrictions) and any operational issues, and make a holistic plan. Once you rough out a plan and test it against your documents and applicable law, consider whether you can tweak the plan to make it more operationally friendly.

Clubs formed more recently or that have updated their documents regularly may already issue membership titled in both spouses and address nontraditional families. However, older clubs and clubs whose documents have not been updated recently may have language that limits all ownership rights to the single member and family use rights to the “wife.” On the other hand, many newer clubs have voting and non-voting memberships baked in throughout their documents. As a result, revisions are needed to governing documents, policies and joining documents.

Updating club documents can range from simple to cumbersome, depending on the club’s current situation. It is important to think through the details carefully at the outset, to be efficient and avoid unexpected consequences.

For example, one club with streamlined and consistent language was able to add a bylaw along these lines: “Member” shall be read to include “Spouse” for determining qualification to serve on the board and committees. Another club with very cumbersome documents tried to force ownership from only one spouse to both spouses and required detailed revisions that were too cumbersome to pass.

A club whose bylaws clearly defined the voting and non-voting memberships throughout had to address multiple amendments, and a club with extensive joining documents that limited non-voting members’ financial obligations had to consider creating a new category and documenting each member’s upgrade individually. Collateral issues may abound.

To evaluate the changes that might be needed in your club, the following are questions you might ask if you are addressing adding spouses to the membership or giving spouses voting or board service rights, or modifying a non-voting membership. Similar questions might apply to other fundamental changes that address inclusivity.

1. Who owns the membership and what privileges do they have? Is the membership owned by an individual and does the club allow the spouse to use the facilities? Or is the membership titled jointly in both spouses? Do only certain categories have voting rights?

2. Check the “shalls” in your club documents. Do the bylaws say that all members of the board “shall” be the “member” (by definition, not the “spouse”)? If so, a bylaw amendment would likely be necessary to allow spouses to serve on the board. Do the bylaws say that the board may appoint spouses to serve on committees? What are the “shalls” related to voting – and can you allow a partial vote for non-equity members or voting rights to spouses?

3. What other issues arise from this change? For example, do you need to address divorce now, if you go from single member to jointly owned membership? If committee membership is a prerequisite to board service, how will you get spouses in the pipeline and should that be a strategic initiative? Do you need to address gender pronouns, traditional families, significant others? If you are adding a partial vote for nonfull memberships, will those memberships vote as a class, or how will you manage the voting logistics?

4. Whose approval is required? If a member vote is required, the board will need to work on socializing these new opportunities before going to a member vote to be more successful in obtaining member approval.

5. What other actions are needed? Do you need updated joining documents, updated policies, updates to the nominating process, and updates to the membership application process? Do you need modification agreements for members who are changing categories or changing title to their membership? BR

How Do Clubs Provide Resources For Rapidly Expanding Racquet Programs?

BY DAVE WHITE

Racquet sports have long been a staple for many private clubs, but today maintaining a top-quality member experience remains a difficult task because of significant issues clubs face.

Clubs are expanding their racquet sports offerings such as tennis, pickleball, paddle, padel, squash and beach tennis. However, many clubs struggle to provide the proper resources for their members because they cannot hire quality staff.

Spreading staff members too thin creates difficulty in managing member expectations. Then, of course, there are questions of adequate compensation and a work-life balance.

And indeed, COVID-19 has influenced these issues. So, how do clubs cope with this dilemma?

“Work culture, in general, has changed so much since COVID-19, with many employees being able to work remotely from home or their destination of choice, along with very flexible work hours and very competitive compensation packages,” said Boris Fetbroyt, director of racquets at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, Philadelphia, PA.

“However, it’s impossible for racquet professionals to work from home and most of the time they are at work during major holidays or around their members’ hours when it comes to lessons and clinics.

“Racquet professionals continue to fight an uphill battle against the general job market. By adding racquet sport after racquet sport, we are and will have trouble managing members’ expectations if proper resources aren’t provided to hire quality staff to grow each racquet program.

“I truly believe clubs need to get ahead of the general job market and go over the top to get quality staff these days as well as providing a great work culture; this means

investing heavily in payroll along with work-life balance,” he espoused.

John Embree, chief executive officer of the United States Professional Tennis Association, says the shortage of quality staff is “not necessarily” the result of the increased demand for racquet programs.

The Lake-Nona, the FL-based association founded in 1927, boasts 14,000 members worldwide with 17 divisions in the U.S.

“There is a shortage of tennis teaching professionals because we do not have a pipeline of younger professionals entering our profession. As a result, young college or high school players do not know there is a pathway to a successful career in tennis teaching or coaching. Nor do they view tennis teaching or coaching as an aspirational career,” Embree opined.

“As the older generation of professionals age out, who will take their places in our industry? There will be a mass exodus of professionals in the next 5-10 years but backfilling those positions will not be easy.

“The other challenge is that compensation packages have not been adjusted for tennis teaching professionals. Tennis teaching is hard work because it requires work at night and on weekends.

“Most teaching professionals are paid hourly, so they only get paid when on court. Work-life balance is something that the younger generations are trying to navigate, and they don’t necessarily see tennis teaching as an option, especially if they want to start a family,” he expressed.

“Because of the proliferation of alternative racquet sports, tennis teaching professionals must diversify and become certified in these other activities. If the customer wants pick-

leball, platform tennis, padel or squash, professionals must be trained and certified in those disciplines to deliver programs that their respective membership desires. No longer can a club hire just a tennis professional. They must hire RACQUET SPORTS professionals,” Embree emphasized.

For Jarrett Chirico, director of racquets at Royal Oaks Country Club in Dallas, TX, the issue is leadership.

“I don’t believe there is a shortage of quality staff. There’s a shortage of true leadership. The industry has exploded from clubs offering one racquet sport (tennis) to multiple racquet sports per club,” Chirico said

“Most directors and often general managers have become complacent. Directors must be experts in all racquet sports. They must teach, program and staff at the highest level. If they’re not prepared for the rise of racquets and they’re not experts in all offerings, their staff suffers.

“If GMs invest in the best directors, then the directors can invest in their people. There has never been more opportunity, but it starts with leadership!” Chirico stressed.

“There is a reason why clubs flourish and clubs fail. If the director is not invested, is not pushing programs and staff forward and is not mentoring, the staff will fail. Likewise, if professionals are not prepared, passionate, and not excited, members will look elsewhere.

“On the flip side, the clubs that have invested general managers and directors have true leaders. They’re seeing success like never before. So, it’s necessary (always) to invest (whatever it may be) in your people because it’s your people that will take care of your membership,” he articulated.

“Although there’s a multi-pronged answer, the short answer is ‘supply and demand,’” said Len Simard, search and consulting executive with Kopplin Kuebler and Wallace, a major industry consulting firm.

“When you see the explosion of participation in the racquet world, it makes sense that the demand for qualified staffing will go hand in hand along with these reasons.

1. Less talent is coming into the hospitality field. This includes racquet sports. From Millennials to Gen Zs, fewer racquets’ professionals are entering the business because of quality-of-life issues. It is not as common to see these age groups embrace working longer hours, tougher hours on weekends, evenings and holidays.

2. In most clubs, we are seeing a lack of mentorship with existing staff. This is arguably because of overworked DORs (director of racquets) or old thinking models. As a result, racquets employees are not getting the opportunities to ➤

participate in new and exciting educational programs, which are needed to keep them engaged and developing. We also see a high percentage of DORs unwilling to encourage their assistant professionals to get the education they need and ‘head off on their own.’ It’s almost like a trickle-down effect… if they lose their assistant, they can’t find a replacement.

3. Often the club’s general manager is not current on the latest trends in the industry, including compensation. Certainly, with this recent boom, committees and boards are strategizing from behind.

6. There’s a feeling of complacency amongst some head professionals and DORs. They have reevaluated their life because of the pandemic and are satisfied staying in an existing role even though they could make more money elsewhere and accept new challenges. from Cover Story | 21

4. Grassroots efforts to attract new professionals to the business have been waning. This is also evidenced by fewer students participating in the PTM programs across the country.

5. Many of today’s professionals feel that certification is not relevant. This is misguided, and

“Because of the proliferation of alternative racquet sports, tennis teaching professionals must diversify and become certified in these other activities. If the customer wants pickleball, platform tennis, padel or squash, professionals must be trained and certified in those disciplines to deliver programs that their respective membership desires. No longer can a club hire just a tennis professional. They must hire RACQUET SPORTS professionals.”

How do these issues affect private club racquet programs?

“For larger clubs not as much but for smaller clubs considerably,” Simard added.

“We have found that clubs always offer vast lesson programs since there is monetary gain. Often, the social, competitive and team events are pushed to the side because of overcrowded courts, lack of staff and time needed to produce a quality event.”

Simard said a private club member’s experience is affected because of

1. Lack of programming

2. Visibility of the director of racquets (DOR) has diminished

3. Less quality of a pro shop if DOR owned

4. Less experienced staff leading classes, running events and performing member-centric tasks

5. Higher payrolls to the board, and

6. Lack of technology.

“Finding well-rounded racquet sports professionals trained and certified in these alternative racquet sports is not easy. Most have expertise in one, maybe two disciplines but not all. Pros need to understand that they need the tools and expertise to deliver programs for various racquet sports. That is what the members are clubs expect,” Embree reasoned.

John Embree, CEO United States

Professional Tennis Association

“I don’t believe there is a shortage of quality staff. There’s a shortage of true leadership. The industry has exploded from clubs offering one racquet sport (tennis) to multiple racquet sports per club. Most directors and often general managers have become complacent. Directors must be experts in all racquet sports. They must teach, program and staff at the highest level. If they’re not prepared for the rise of racquets and they’re not experts in all offerings, their staff suffers.”

JarrettChirico,directorofracquets RoyalOaksCountryClub,Dallas,TX

“If a club is struggling with proper resources for staffing, they must start using data to see which racquet sports should be offered to their membership. There are many ways to look at data, but two major areas to consider are: which racquet sport generates more traffic and which racquet sport generates more lesson revenue,” said Fetbroyt.

“For example, pickleball generates more traffic based on how many players you can fit on one tennis court, but tennis could potentially generate more lesson revenue as it has a longer learning curve. Another aspect for a private club to consider is if they want their pros to be club employees or independent contractors. Data must be used to make these tough decisions,” he added.

“Paying private club members have high expectations when it comes to racquet sports offerings. They expect the best facilities and pros and trust their management team to provide that. Unfortunately, most clubs struggle financially and have a hard time keeping up with their members’ expectations and retaining quality staff.

“In general, clubs always want to provide the best quality service possible, but they must ➤

from Cover Story | 22

have the proper resources to do so. Over time, as clubs provide more and more racquet sports, the club’s capital needs will also change, with members expecting new facilities to accommodate those new offerings. Again, managing member expectations is crucial in these situations,” Fetbroyt advised.

“The clubs investing in racquets, like mine (Royal Oaks Country Club), are seeing participation double and even triple across the board. The average crossover rate between racquet sports is 30 percent,” Chirico explained.

“The best directors have above a 60 percent crossover rate. That means if you have 100 people playing tennis, 30 – 60 will try pickleball or another offering. The crossover rate means more club usage and, in the end, more value to the membership.

“Additionally, multiple racquet sports mean more opportunities for the whole family to use their club. And in most cases, at the same time, there’s been a rise in food and beverage services. But, most importantly, there is no longer just golf and tennis because there’s a connection between all amenities and membership tiers. Racquets provide the bridge to a total club experience,” he added.

“There’s been a shift toward racquets over single amenity offerings for the past five-plus years. COVID-19 accelerated that with members

“Compensation is probably the number one issue. Many of the older compensation agreements reward and incentivize a director of racquets to be on court teaching. This is short-sighted as it stagnates the growth of the program and the member experience. If a club can offer a larger salary and make some of it back in lesson commissions, then the membership is happy, the DOR is happy and the club flourishes.”

Len Simard, search and consulting executive

Kopplin Kuebler & Wallace

“If a club is struggling with proper resources for staffing, they must start using data to see which racquet sports should be offered to their membership. There are many ways to look at data, but two major areas to consider are: which racquet sport generates more traffic and which racquet sport generates more lesson revenue. Paying private club members have high expectations when it comes to racquet sports offerings. They expect the best facilities and pros and trust their management team to provide that.”

BorisFetbroyt,directorofracquets

PhiladelphiaCricketClubinPhiladelphia,PA

wanting outdoor offerings such as paddle, pickleball, tennis etc. This acceleration really highlighted the clubs and staff that were prepared and invested and the clubs that were not.

“We’ve seen programs explode with success and others fail. But, overall, true leaders adapt, and the industry is constantly changing. The key to success is investing in our leaders so that they invest in their staff. We must never be complacent and always be looking toward the future. That is what we owe our membership, our staff and always our industry,” Chirico stressed.

“As with other outdoor pursuits like golf and pickleball, tennis benefitted from COVID,” Embree said.

“The sport has grown by five million players over the past two years, as consumers recognize that tennis is a safe and healthy activity. Lapsed players who didn’t play tennis for years chose to come back to the game and new players entered the game as well. In addition, families and kids looked to tennis when other indoor and team sports were shut down in 2020.

“Because there is a shortage of tennis teaching professionals across the country, clubs are scrambling to satisfy the consumer demand. COVID didn’t contribute to the staffing shortage that exists. Instead, COVID has just accentuated the need for more pros,” Embree emphasized.

“People are an investment,” and in Chirico’s opinion, the lack of investment in people remains a major issue in finding competent, high-quality staff.

“Our people are our greatest investment. We’re now asking them to do more, be experts in more, and staff for more, but in many cases, not willing to pay them more. That itself is the problem. If we invest in our people, they will invest in their people who invest in our membership,” he added.

Chirico also suggested that the private club compensation structure contributes “100 percent to the issue of finding top-notch racquet staff.

“In many cases, GMs turn to search and consulting agencies to understand compensation structure. But it’s never the job of a search firm to dictate compensation. It’s the job of a search firm to understand what the club can pay and then let them know the type of candidate they can find for that amount. “There are two issues; one is finding a true leader, the second is keeping them. Leaders are an investment,” Chirico emphasized.

“Absolutely, the compensation structure contributes to the difficulty of finding top-notch staff,” said USPTA’s Embree.

from Cover Story | 24

“Annual compensation for tennis professionals hasn’t changed substantially over the last 20-30 years. Directors should not have to spend 40 hours or more per week on court to make the standard of living they seek.

“Unfortunately, too many clubs have structured the financial package for their professional staff, forcing them to teach all the time. With that 40hour time commitment on court, how much time does that leave for training staff, conducting programming, being customer service oriented for the rest of the membership, or serving as a department head?

“It is highly recommended that directors be paid a much higher salary, so they only have to spend 10-15 hours per week on the court. That would also allow them more time to focus on the membership and doing what is in their best interest,” he proposed.

“Right now, clubs have been willing to seek out and find professionals at any cost. This has contributed to about a 20-25 percent increase in overall payroll in the racquets departments. However, if clubs have not planned for this expense, they are behind the eight-ball,” search consultant Simard explained.

“With few to choose from, they need to have a very meticulous developmental pathway for the individual. This includes but is not limited to comprehensive onboarding, continuing education, robust evaluations and recognition and reward.”

Simard agrees compensation is “probably the number one issue. Many of the older compensation agreements reward and incentivize a director of racquets to be on court teaching. This is short-sighted as it stagnates the growth of the program and the member experience,” he lamented.

“If a club can offer a larger salary and make some of it back in lesson commissions, then the membership is happy, the DOR is happy and the club flourishes.”

The question remains: Do certification programs offered by different racquet groups help find top-quality professionals?

“Without question. At the USPTA, our certifications include tennis, pickleball, platform tennis and padel. In addition, it is our responsibility to train and educate our membership on all aspects of a racquet sports department, so they are pre-

pared to tackle a much broader array of programming that club members expect,” opined Embree.

“Yes and no,” injected Chirico. “A certification can mean so much and yet nothing at all. It is about the person and what they are doing with it. The greatest thing that comes from organizations like PTR, USPTA, CMAA etc., is not the many educational offerings they have (and there are many and they are great) but the network they provide.

“I’ve always believed in people. The leaders I have met at conferences across the country continue to shape my career today. That platform, those opportunities are because of the many certification programs available. A person can never learn enough. They should always be pushing for more,” Chirico commented.

“Absolutely, if not just to keep them stimulated with new learning ideas and concepts,” offered KK&W’s Simard.

“The best clubs offer a pathway to the new ‘mac daddy’ of them all; the University of Florida’s program – Certification; Director of Racquets – endorsed by all three major associations USTA, USPTA and PTR.

“It deals with all things’ off the courts’ but ensures teaching professionals to see their pathway through the industry helps them to make a career out of their passion. This is similar to the CCM designation in CMAA for club managers,” Simard explained.

“After that, it’s necessary to be certified in all three racquet sports. Tennis, pickleball and platform tennis. The PTR calls this their ‘triple threat’ and offers all certifications through their association.

“Most clubs are now making education an attraction to draw new employees to the clubs and creating budgets for all professionals to participate in education, conferences, and seminars,” he advised.

Also, clubs can more easily locate certified professionals because of the USPTA and PTR’s resources.

FINAL THOUGHTS

“I cannot stress this point more: private clubs (and all facilities for that matter) need to hire certified professionals and members in good standing with their trade association,” said Embree.

“Being a member in good standing means they have paid their annual dues on time, completed the continuing education requirements and are Safe Play compliant by being Safe Play trained and background screened. Professionals who have met these minimal requirements are invested in their careers,” he added.

“The solution is to create a favorable compensation package that benefits the racquets team and make sure clubs are investing in their racquets staff along with great benefits and work-life balance. The question is: How do we compete against the outside world?” Fetbroyt queried.

“I’m a strong believer that challenges are open doors. The obstacle is walking through. Of course, there have always been challenges in our industry, in all industries. But, the ones that face us today are all positive and growth-related.

“The true obstacle is understanding the need to invest more in our people today than we did yesterday. The more prepared our people, the greater success our clubs will have,” Chirico declared. BR

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Managing Up

KRIS BUTTERFIELD

Kris Butterfield is director of membership, communications and public relations at Bethesda Country Club and president of PCMA. She can be reached at (301) 767-8252 or kris.butterfield@bethesdacountryclub.org

Developing your position with the responsibility and trust that ensues can bring challenges.

The most successful professionals have developed a process around building relationships and effectively communicating, along with instilling confidence, making them more efficient and valuable to the organization.

Education has taught us how to be the best leader and how to manage employees. But when was the last time you thought about “managing” the person who “manages” you? In the private club industry, we have managers, general managers, board members/directors, and committees. There are just over 3,000 private member-owned clubs with an average of 11 directors. That’s 33,000 people “governing.” It’s time we take a minute to consider how we manage up. Managing a committee of members is managing volunteer owners with ideas, aspirations and values, and it is your job to keep them all aligned and on your side.

The Harvard Business Review defines managing up as “being the most effective employee you can be, creating value for your manager and your company.”

What managing up isn’t:

• Managing up isn’t manipulating your manager. You must be transparent about your intentions of building a better working relationship.

• Managing up isn’t just complaining. Needs must be met and asking for them is important.

• Managing up isn’t sucking up. When you do it properly, you provide both positive and constructive feedback.

Managing up is about using the traits of a good manager to help bring out the best in you as an employee. Think of it as an intentional approach to working with your manager toward goals you both care about. When you manage up effectively, you make it easier for your manager to do their job, and it’s easier for you to do your day-to-day job. It also benefits your job satisfaction and overall career.

This isn’t about how to manage a bad manager – even if they have serious shortcomings. In that case, it’s in your best interest and your responsibility to make the relationship work. The problem might be within you; you think you are winning points but are diminishing your role. Take a step back and see how your manager perceives you.

Think of it this way. Everyone prefers loading the dishwasher in a specific way. Why do you load the dirty dishes the way you do? Have you taken the time to read the operations manual? If you did, you were likely shocked. The manual describes the best way to load the dishwasher to efficiently achieve clean dishes. And I suspect the efficient way doesn’t suit your preference. Would you alter your loading process to maximize efficiency, or would you be stubborn and stick to your own ways? Now let’s apply that to the work scenario.

Let’s start by considering the type of manager you have:

• New hire, someone you don’t know

• Insecure (learning how to tame this ego is another beast)

• Indecisive or know-it-all

• Contradictory

• Long-winded

• Hands-off

• Board of directors or committee member.

No matter what type of manager you have there are a few universal skills to master:

• Know how to anticipate their needs

• Know what makes them tick

• Know how to be a genuine source of help

• Understand their expectations of you.

You need to guard your manager:

• Be their cheerleader and confidant

• Learn to insulate them from the rumor mill and criticism through education and communication

• Keep them informed on issues – no one wants to appear uninformed

• Always remember, if they fail, you will fail in some capacity.

How are you perceived:

• Your past role can affect your credibility

• Optics are important – pay attention to your daily actions

• Communication is everything so don’t forget your professional vocabulary – words matter.

If you continuously clash with your manager, you need to take matters into your own hands. It is your responsibility to be an effective leader. When your manager appreciates you, you are more valuable to the club, simple as that. BR

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Never Stop Coaching and Developing Talent

John “Jake” Ciccone, our high school football coach, taught us foundational keys to success regarding talent development before we knew that this concept existed.

Among the keys we continue to practice are the seven presented in this article. We practice these keys to make them a permanent part of our behaviors, not to be perfect. As Vince Lombardi, who coached the NFL’s Green Bay Packers and was a role model for Coach Ciccone, said, “Perfection is not attainable. But, if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.”

We were coached to go far beyond our high school academic education and earn seven college degrees between us. For nearly six decades following our academic preparation, we have shared these keys with thousands of undergraduate and master’s students and business executives in executive development programs. Now we both serve as professors emeriti at our respective institutions.

We have observed that executives like to be recognized as coaches. Business leaders and club board members, in particular, see themselves as coaches and talent developers.

Coach John “Jake” Ciccone had a tremendous impact on how we view the role and responsibilities of a leader-coach. He knew that the seven keys need to be used to unlock the doors if we are to attract, develop, and retain the talent we serve.

teaching us before each game how we would counter their strengths. He was a role model of commitment.

4. Coach was congruent in his coaching philosophies and leadership actions, which were an example for us to follow. We were talent who knew the game and how to win.

5. The daily practice and conditioning sessions he developed for us were organized exercises that focused on physical and mental techniques and improvement. At the start of each season, we had to participate in grueling “two-a-day” practices, both morning and evening. We learned to organize our football schedules, academic responsibilities, and extracurricular activities during the school year.

6. Although Coach was a strict disciplinarian, his style was non-threatening. You knew you could approach him with any issue. He had a knack for making you comfortable, even when he was disciplining. He served as a guide who led us by going first.

7. Coach Ciccone focused on teaching us about football and much more. He did this consistently as he critiqued our plays and provided an education that helped us build knowledge, develop skills, and finetune our attitudes to become a winning team and successful in life.

Perfection is not attainable.

But, if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence. —Vince Lombardi

1. Clarity helps us visualize our goals and develop plans to accomplish them. If you want talent to have pride and joy in their work, give them a say in planning their work. Leaders see the vision for the future and must be able to clearly explain it to talent so each can contribute and help make the big dream a reality.

2. Coach Ciccone was very inspirational in the ways he would motivate and inspire us to rise beyond our abilities. We had physical practice and first-rate conditioning training. He was the beacon of strength, and it was demanding work, but we were inspired to take it on and do it.

3. His commitment showed as he prepared us for our opponents by researching their formations and attributes and

Coach John “Jake” Ciccone was an unmatched leader-coach, teacher, motivator, and talent developer. His surname serves as an acronym for the seven keys presented. Coach CICCONE’s name and these keys represent his legacy. Under Coach Ciccone’s leadership, Manistee Catholic Central’s 22-man Class C football team became State of Michigan Football Champions in 1969. And in the process, Coach Ciccone taught many young athletes how to block and tackle in the game of life. BR

Dr. Ronald F. Cichy is professor emeritus at Michigan State University; Dr. Jack D. Cichy, C.M. is professor emeritus of sustainability/management at Davenport University.

“Finding the first GM/COO for our club was quite a daunting task, and we needed assistance. We performed our research and determined that KK&W was the “gold standard” for search firms. Our experience with them certainly bore that out. Their search and vetting process was very thorough, and they presented us with several qualified and diverse candidates. KK&W guided us through the whole process and kept us on an aggressive timeline they established. I can highly recommend KK&W for your next search for a GM/COO or other high-level executive for your club.”

Eddie

Laney, Search Committee

Co-Chair

Forest Lake Club, Columbia, SC

Specializing

Serving The Industry Since 1996

SCAN TO BROWSE OUR ACTIVE CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

MICHAEL CRANDAL, CNG

Michael Crandal, CNG is co-author with Gabriel Aluisy of the groundbreaking book The ABC’s of Plutonium Private Club Leadership (www.Plutonium.Club). He can be reached at (760) 464-6103.

Understanding Ingredients of Management and Leadership

Dual roles of a Plutonium GM/COO: providing management of the club and leadership for the club.

However, substantial differences arise between the management and leadership of a for-profit and a not-for-profit corporation.

The business model is straightforward: Invest money. Develop a system. Build a product. Sell it to someone else. Make a profit. Distribute profit to the investors. Of course, they may opt to sell the business, recapturing their investment plus a meaningful gain.

Investors in for-profit companies can control every aspect of their investment. Leadership rests with the board of directors and the chief executive officer, who control every phase of management/operations through a COO.

The business model differs from a “profit-oriented” enterprise and a distinctly “benefit-oriented” pursuit − which exists in a private, membership-owned club.

The definition of “profit” is vastly different in the sanctity of a private club, where it can only accrue in the form of consistently enjoyable membership experiences.

By design, members hold equal ownership and “take turns” to some degree serving on the board and as club president.

These differences mandate an understanding that the necessary functions of management and leadership play out differently within the two different business models.

Successful corporate board members (many times who come to serve on the BODs at their private club as it is simply “their turn”) feel they “know” how things should be. But, they don’t necessarily “know” roles are different in a private club than in their own corporate suite.

Successful private clubs “resolve the differences” by understanding that the ingredients of management and leadership must be more closely melded together in the form of whoever they hire for the top compensated position in the club. This person must manage the business daily and spearhead the leadership, whether formally designated or not.

The individual executive (GM/COO) responsible for the management of the club must also accept the responsibility for providing leadership for the club for three reasons:

1. A lack of continuity on the board of directors. The makeup of the board routinely changes every year. Changing shifts of wind can cause sudden changes in direction.

2. A lack of presidential continuity. Private clubs routinely change because it is someone else’s “turn” to be president. Rotating leadership can cause wind speed and direction changes.

3. A slightly ever-changing membership. Many around for years are suddenly gone, while new members/expectations come aboard.

A diversified collection of not-for-profit private club members versus the individual focus of for-profit investors puts a club at a disadvantage when it comes to staying the course. (Unless a GM/COO brings the ability to manage and lead.)

It is imperative that a private club hire, properly compensate and retain a competent executive capable of providing leadership that is otherwise inherently missing in a not-forprofit — while not in a for-profit organization.

The acronym GM/COO must truly convey dual roles.

The members (in general) and the BODs (specifically) must fill the GM/COO role with a professional who can provide operational supervision (management) and continuity of direction (leadership) to keep the club on the straight and narrow path of purpose or provide professional insight for a new direction so the club can achieve positive change.

You don’t get that kind of leadership from a rotating unprofessional group of people (in terms of private club management) taking their “turn” at being president, board member or committee member of a private club where they are members.

Boards still retain the greatest responsibility and sole authority necessary for the success of their club, specifically, retaining a GM/COO with management and leadership skills to serve the members and staff well. Hold that individual accountable for what you hired the person to do, and enjoy your club. BR

The GSI Wheel of Excellence can help power your way to a stronger Club. With over 25 years of industry experience, we know what it takes to successfully run your operations.

Turn to us when you’re ready to grow and fulfill your Club’s staffing needs. Interested in placing a candidate search with GSI? Contact one of our search consultants or visit our website to learn how.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

RYAN DOERR

Ryan Doerr is president of Strategic Club Solutions and can be reached at (262) 661-2582 or via email: ryan@strategicclubsolutions.com and at www.strategicclubsolutions.com

What Google Maps and Successful Club Leadership Have in Common?

Do you know why Google Maps works? It’s because it knows where you are and where you want to go.

Without knowing where you need to go, you are directionless. The same is true with club leadership. Here are eight steps I recommend to help you lead successfully, based on my club industry experience and my research into effective leadership:

1. Know where you want to go.

Too often clubs either lack clarity on their vision or it is absent from day-to-day operations. A club’s vision is its North Star and represents the club’s purpose and what it wants to achieve. If you aren’t sure what it is, make time to focus on it with the key stakeholders: the board, management, and front-line team. If you don’t have one, get one. A clear vision will ensure everyone is aligned and moving in the same direction.

2. Focus on vision daily.

Reintroduce (or introduce) your vision to your team, board, and committees so everyone can be in alignment. This is as simple as bringing it to every single meeting. When the team is aligned, everyone works together for a common purpose.

3. Know where you are.

Stop and be aware of any gaps that are prohibiting you from executing your vision so you can close them. Be willing to look and be honest with yourself and what you are willing to change. You can’t do it on your own. Your team is a key component of this success. Surround yourself with brilliance and momentum.

4. Make sure people stay in their lane.

Functional governance and achieving success happen by having clearly defined roles for the board, management, and committees. It’s important to stay highly strategic and not get stuck in the details or cross over into other people’s roles and responsibilities. Be sure each stakeholder understands the goals and who is doing what along the journey, ensuring it aligns with the vision. Dysfunctional governance and management structure are often the root of dysfunction in a private club.

5. Stay the course.

It is too easy to get pulled in different directions. There are countless routes to a destination so stay on course by paying attention to one area and then going deeper into it. It is natural to want to jump between multiple priorities, but soon you’ll be off course. Should you try something new, ask yourself if this new thing is helping you get to the vision. If not, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pursue it at all, just not right now.

6. Find gratitude.

Fill up your tank. Club leaders are often time-starved and wear many hats, and they find themselves in a lonely position of being at the top with few others to share in the daily wins and challenges. Research shows if you take the time to reflect on your daily wins, your perspective changes. Find five minutes and write down those little wins from the day. It could be as simple as your staff all showing up on time or a member pointing out something special a team member did for them. Once you start recording these, you will see how life really is full of moments of gratitude.

7. Expect the best from your team.

Don’t settle for what made your team successful yesterday. Continue to raise everyone to their potential. Continue to evaluate if they are the right fit. Build that “A-Team” and do not settle for less. Get the right people on the bus and make sure they are in the right seat to get the organization to the desired destination.

8. Know why you do what you do.

Does your team know what you stand for? Are you selfdriven enough to make the time to work on your leadership daily? Are you allowing for flexibility and riding with change? Inspire your team to ride along with you.

Staying current, relevant and thinking ahead is important. But without a clear vision and guiding principles, without that North Star, you could be headed in the wrong direction. BR

Effective Governance of a Mandatory Membership Club A Moral Imperative

Competition in markets is a wonder. The market protects consumers from abuse or exploitation automatically and without local, state, or federal regulators.

If customers are mistreated or if the firm does not produce the products and services customers want, delivered in the most convenient way and at the lowest price, customers will move on and the firm will be driven out of business. In “The Wealth of Nations,” published in 1776, Adam Smith described the market as an “invisible hand” directing resources to their highest and best use.

In the early 2000s, the market was sending an undeniable signal that many golf courses were no longer economically viable and homeowners in golf course communities were looking at the prospect that the centerpiece of the community would close and the open space and views of the golf course would be lost; real estate values might plummet. In some communities, homeown -

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF MANDATORY MEMBERSHIP

First, club members lost a critical protection of the market system: the ability to walk away from an exchange if it were no longer mutually beneficial. In a typical equity club, the member can resign. In a mandatory membership club, the member would have to sell his house to resign from the club, and only if he can find a buyer who is willing to pay the initiation, dues, and minimum.

Second, in the place of the market, the homeowners were asked to trust nine members of the board to protect their interests, to make sure the club was run for the benefit of the members while maintaining the value of the real estate. In a community of 1,000 homes with an average value of $500,000, a board of nine largely inexperienced members of the community is asked to make decisions that impact the value of half a billion dollars of real estate and the quality of life for every homeowner in the community.

The residents of a mandatory membership community have given up the protection provided by the market. The dues and minimums they pay are only limited by the control they have entrusted to the board. The value of their homes, some people’s greatest asset, rests in the hands of nine neighbors. All board members have an ethical obligation to ensure that the organization is allocatively and productively efficient but in the case of the mandatory membership board, it is a moral imperative.

ers were asked to approve a change in the bylaws. Membership in the club would become mandatory. The logic for the change was that all homeowners would now pay their fair share for the privilege of living in a country club community and the club would have a more predictable source of revenue. However, the solution solved one problem but created new ones.

A common problem with nonprofit boards is well documented. An article in the September/October 1996 issue of the Harvard Business Review says, “Effective governance by the board of a nonprofit organization is a rare and unnatural act. Only the most uncommon of nonprofit boards functions as it should by harnessing the collective efforts of accomplished individuals to advance the institution’s mission and long-term welfare.”

Data-Driven Leadership Begins Here...

Club Benchmarking delivers fact-based, actionable insight through a suite of business intelligence software and services developed specifically for the private club industry. We believe that when club leaders elevate fact over opinion, the result is healthier clubs, more empowered general managers and boards properly equipped to focus on strategic issues.

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Strategic Governance Education

Founding Member of the Club Leadership Alliance Club Benchmarking, McMahon Group and Kopplin Kuebler & Wallace have established a collaborative working group known as the Club Leadership Alliance™. Our vision for the club industry is a transformation of the leadership model through widespread understanding and adoption of best practices that lead to sustained club success. Learn More at www.clubleadershipalliance.com www.clubbenchmarking.com/solutions

The challenges facing the board of a mandatory membership club are great and the stakes are high. Board members of mandatory membership clubs are obligated to protect the interests and property value of the homeowners they represent. The challenge: How do they do this and where do they start?

WISDOM OF PETER DRUCKER

Peter Drucker, one of the greatest management thinkers of all time, devoted half of his consulting time to unpaid work for nonprofits and small businesses, according to his obituary in The New York Times. He believed the work of nonprofits was measured in “changed lives” while business success was measured in profits. Viewing the goal of the nonprofit in this way is more than a change of perspective. It is a paradigm shift that alters the work of nonprofit boards and how board members approach their work.

Finally, Drucker insists on measuring results in a timelined objective way. In the current context, has mandatory membership increased the value of homes in the community, the promise made when homeowners voted for mandatory membership?

If board members are willing to take the time and effort, they can turn the Drucker concepts into action. In 1993, the Drucker Foundation published the Drucker Foundation Self-Assessment Tool, which outlines the process for board members to answer and reach a consensus on the five questions. The publication comes in two parts: a process guide and a participant workbook. Every club has talented members who could facilitate the process with about 25 participants (board members, members at large, and staff) willing to take part in a one- or two-day retreat.

The residents of a mandatory membership community have given up the protection provided by the market. The dues and minimums they pay are only limited by the control they have entrusted to the board. The value of their homes,

Peter Drucker... believed the work of nonprofits was measured in “changed lives” while business success was measured in profits. Viewing the goal of the nonprofit in this way is more than a change of perspective. It is a paradigm shift that alters the work of nonprofit boards and how board members approach their work. Drucker’s impact was magnified by his ability to help practitioners turn concepts into applications and there is no better example of this than his writings on the five questions nonprofit boards must answer.

Drucker’s impact was magnified by his ability to help practitioners turn concepts into applications and there is no better example of this than his writings on the five questions nonprofit boards must answer.

• What is our mission?

• Who are our customers?

• What do our customers value?

• What are our results?

• What is our plan?

It is worth noting that Drucker is clear that the mission should be clear, memorable, and fit on a T-shirt. Doesn’t the club owe the general manager a mission statement and wouldn’t it be easier to hire and evaluate a general manager if he/she knew what he/she was supposed to do?

Drucker divides customers into two groups: primary customers and supporting customers. Primary customers are the people whose lives are changed by the work of the organization. Supporting customers are those who must be served to induce them to support the mission. There is only one primary customer and it is the responsibility of the board to define the primary customer.

some people’s greatest asset, rests in the hands of nine neighbors. All board members have an ethical obligation to ensure that the organization is allocatively and productively efficient but in the case of the mandatory membership board, it is a moral imperative. BR

Deirdre P. Dixon, Ph.D. is an associate professor of management and entrepreneurship in the Sykes College of Business at The University of Tampa. She teaches undergrads through doctoral students in the areas of leadership and management.

Lee Hoke, Ph.D. is a full professor of economics in the Sykes College of Business at The University of Tampa, author of more than 30 articles in club trade journals and three-time past president of Buckhorn Springs Golf and Country Club.

George H. (Jody) Tompson is a professor of management and entrepreneurship in the Sykes College of Business at The University of Tampa. He primarily teaches MBA and undergrad courses in strategic management and is director of the Naimoli Institute for Business Strategy (www.ut.edu/Naimoli), where he recruits 15–20 local companies per year to participate in the Strategic Analysis Program with MBA students for a semester.

An Expert’s View: Innovating with Club Management Software

Industry expert Prasad Suryadevara sits down with Srishti Singh to lend his insights on how leading clubs are innovating and using their club management software, as clubs are challenged by today’s tight and costly labor market. Mr. Suryadevara is President and CEO of Northstar – a leading provider of complete club management software powering over 1,000 clubs globally.

Srishti Singh Question: What surprising things are clubs doing with their software that helps further their success while trying to keep an eye on labor cost and, in many cases, availability?

Prasad Suryadevara: At one point, almost all clubs used to staff different facilities, whether it’s the gatehouse, fitness center or even at reception to check in members. Now clubs and communities are using technology to control access to these facilities. Technology will automatically permit or deny access depending on the member status or other rules.

Northstar’s Gate and Door Lock Controls facilitate this functionality while reducing the need for club staff. For instance, if a member walks close to the pool gate or approaches the fitness center, the entrance and doors unlock automatically. That is a wow factor for the member, plus it tracks who is coming and when. Also, if for some reason the member should not be permitted (they’re behind on their dues, or they are outside authorized hours), it won’t open. So, they know they must go to the membership director or accounting department to sort it out.

Additionally, clubs are allowing members to do self-check-ins. For example, if a member wants to join a fitness center class, they go there and use a kiosk to sign in. When they sign in, it flows back into the back office and the billing system. The staff does no manual work.

Q: Any examples of how technology can enhance the Member Experience stealthily?

A: That’s a great question! Clubs want to know the member’s location or track a member at the club so that they can offer better service. We provide an exclusive technology called Stream Alerts that will message the right person at the right time. For example, when a new member comes to the club for the first time, the membership director will get an alert that the new member is in the dining room. Once alerted, the membership director could welcome the member to the club, providing a great experience. Or, if a board member is at the club grill, the GM gets an alert, allowing the GM to greet the board member personally. If a member is absent from the club for a long time and then returns, the membership director will get an alert (based on system settings) so they can greet the member and make sure they are satisfied.

Q: Can you give me an example of how integrated club management software has a noticeable effect on optimizing the operations at a club?

A: We have a very large club in Atlanta, and the GM is tech-savvy. He wants information at his fingertips to fine-tune his operations and provide a better Member Experience. Before Northstar, he relied on the accounting department to get reports, and it typically took a few days for them to produce the report that he wanted. But after implementing Northstar, he could easily create the reports like the spending analyzer that shows which members are at risk, which members are using what, and which membership type is more profitable. A great example of immediacy as opposed to relying on someone and waiting for several days.

Events are another example. Event managers use Northstar Back Office to create events quickly. The event automatically flows from NS Office to the member’s smartphone and club website; once members sign up, their reservation and the billing information flow to the back-end system. Everything is automatic. This empowers the event managers, allowing them to focus on organizing the event instead of worrying about promoting, logistics, communicating, and collecting funds. It’s all taken care of.

The last example is membership. The membership director has a tool called Club View, which is another Northstar exclusive. It provides a 360-degree view of the club and its members. It shows which members are at the club, whose birthday is that day, whose anniversary is that day, how many rounds of golf this member played year-to-date, and how much money they’ve spent on F&B and elsewhere. Compelling information. At Northstar, we push the data to different staff members as opposed to them having to pull the information by running a report.

Q: You talked about a few different staff members; any other examples of how the technology empowers employees at a club?

A: I recently talked to a GM at a club who told me that by using our F&B system, they save four to six minutes per order with the help of our Tableside Point of Sale and Kitchen Display System. If a server is waiting on 10 tables, that’s 40 to 60 minutes they spend with members instead of doing data entry – it’s helping to stretch the labor dollar. He was super excited about it and thanked Northstar for making such a big difference. That makes me feel great! The members love it. It saves time for the waitstaff, and they love it. And obviously, now it increases their bottom line.

Q: Any final story about the transformation clubs have seen by using a fully integrated club management software solution?

A: There’s a big New York club with 5,000 – 6,000 members. They used six to seven different systems before implementing Northstar. They had old club management software that was providing limited functionality. There was hotel management software to manage the 200 rooms in their hotel. They had multiple point-of-sale systems, a stand-alone CRM system, a stand-alone banquet system and a separate website company, all with different vendors. We replaced all of it with one software provider and the same Support Number for all of it. The CFO was thrilled! He said they are saving about $375,000 per year in labor because they don’t have all the manual data entry between the systems. It was great to see a customer saving that amount of money by implementing integrated software. For more information on how a fully integrated club management software solution can help your club innovate, request a demo of the Northstar system. BR

For more information, please call (678) 389-4300 or visit www.globalnorthstar.com

Forbes Travel Guide is the authority on hospitality excellence. We work with the best luxury hotel brands globally. Let us help you elevate your service to improve member satisfaction and retention.

Forbes Travel Guide worked with our leadership team to create custom standards and tailored training which have been implemented throughout the club. We value our partnership with Forbes Travel Guide.

Jeffrey P. McFadden Chief Executive Officer/General Manager

Happy Hollow Club Using Technology to Provide an Exceptional Member Experience

The expectation for an exceptional Member Experience is continuously rising thanks to data-driven experiences outside the club. Happy Hollow Club in Omaha, NE, knows they need to create memories that members can’t get anywhere else.

Assistant general manager Gil Russell shared the team’s biggest challenges and how they address them by pairing technology with hundreds of staff that know and understand the expectations of individual members.

Q: What are some of the biggest challenges you face?

Gil Russell: It’s just the sheer information that comes with 1,082 members. You take that times two, each husband and spouse, and then you have their kids. That’s the greatest challenge – ensuring that our information, their wants and likes are not just stuck in a server’s head or with the bag room kid, the pro in the golf shop, or the counter staff. There’s so much information as we get to know them personally and how they use the club. We must be a full-service country club, and members expect a level of service they don’t get elsewhere.

Q: What about onboarding new employees?

A: Every year, we go from a core group of about 120 full-time, year-round staff members to about 260 employees in the summer season when we ramp up with golf, grounds, and all the other associated activities. We must add 140 employees and get them up to speed in two weeks. That’s a big challenge.

That’s been a significant benefit of Clubessential. We are mining all that data from our servers and staff daily, whether it’s member favorites or looking at old tee sheets and the history of when they played, for example. All that information is there for the staff to take and make that member feel like we know everything about them without being too overzealous.

Q: How do you get that member information to your associates?

A: We started with Clubessential in April. That made us a little uneasy, knowing that’s when everything kicks off here for us at the club. That’s a big change right before golf opens. But it was the right time. With COVID, we had some services that weren’t at full capacity. So we were able to reposition some assets and make sure that we got a lot of things done, getting to know the system, adding buttons, and creating the member favorites as we’re ringing items in for members.

Now when we hire a new server, they can pull up the reservation they’ve been assigned and look back at the history of what those members ordered. Again, that data is in real time, so it takes very little to get that in a form you can hand your servers.

Q: How do you communicate and connect with members?

A: That’s our most significant opportunity for growth. One of the major factors we identified is that the only way we communicated with members was through email. The challenge is if you’re sending an invite out for every event, think of how many events we run a year. That’s a lot of emails that will get passed over or weekly specials that will be missed. What we’ve tapped into is segmenting our emails. For example, we’re identifying people that have used the tennis courts and sending tennis information just to them. Or just strictly golf members and golf dependents. We use push notifications in the app that can help us, like frost delays and sending that notification to everybody on the tee sheet. Our director of communications did a really nice job of pulling the data of how many open rates and click-throughs and what members are referencing on our website. When those emails went out, we got them to the new website. The mobile app and the featured events have been something that the members are starting to pick up on, tapping into the club news as they log into the app. BR

Discover more about accelerating member experiences from essential to extraordinary by scanning the QR code in the ad to the right.

That's been a big benefit of Clubessential. We are mining all that data from our servers and sta daily.

GIL RUSSELL Assistant General Manager

Happy Hallow Club

Utilize the latest technology to better understand members with powerful tools like the Membership Analytics Predictor

Real-time data allows sta to operate with the knowledge necessary to give your members the experience they expect

Empower and polish member communications with geofencing push notifications, customizable email campaigns with segmenting capabilities, and a newly revamped mobile app

Find out how Happy Hollow Club raises the bar with Clubessential’s Essential Suite:

ClubPay | BOARDROOM TECHNOLOGY FEATURE

by Scott Taylor, managing director

Growth in Light of Outsourcing HR and Payroll

Club payroll is one of the most vital tasks for your business. It can take up a significant portion of the administrative staff’s time every pay period. The liability and risk involved in trying to keep up to date with ever-changing rules and regulations put an immense burden on your staff. In addition, Human Resources (HR) is another field that may put clubs at risk. Manually processing paperwork is time-consuming, hard to revise, and often inaccurate which can cause unwanted costs.

Most clubs today outsource some of their payroll and HR. Demand for talent, complexities around payroll and staffing, the need to streamline budgeting, and increasing the bottom line are only a few reasons for this decision. Outsourcing does not mean that you lose control over the HR and payroll process. You maintain unlimited access to monitor your club’s performance and make proactive decisions.

As a leader in the payroll and HR domain, no one understands this better than ClubPay. We’ve catered to clients’ diverse and evolving needs for close to three decades. The company’s services offer payroll and HR management through its web-based platform featuring Fully Automated Payroll Processing, Powerful Job Applicant Tracking and Reporting, and Integrated Employee Onboarding System.

Wendy Zurstadt, former HFTP president spoke about the advantages of outsourcing payroll and HR to ClubPay: “ClubPay should be the choice software of the club industry because they understand the industry, and how clubs operate. The more you can get out of your tools the more you can do. ClubPay provides power for great decision making.”

ClubPay’s payroll service is fully automated and helps clubs save on time and costs. You don’t need to recruit specialized talent. Current and new employees can easily get onboarded with no payroll knowledge required. Automation allows your team to focus on other areas of the business and boost your operational efficiency.

In addition to mitigating payroll risks, working with ClubPay helps clubs overcome both common and unique HR barriers. It reduces the time it takes to onboard new employees, make changes to their status

and keep their data accurate. Thanks to the Integrated Employee Onboarding System, data flows flawlessly throughout all your activities to make your job easier. It means that electronic submission of new hire data auto-fills forms and updates across the whole system, all while allowing protected access to the required staff members. Employees enter data once, HR approves, and then archives the new hire information for automated transfer to payroll processing in ClubPay’s integrated Payroll & HR system.

ClubPay’s integrated Payroll and HR solution share a “true common database” designed to eliminate double entry by allowing both your Payroll and Human Resource staff to access a single database. As of today, 160 clubs across the US have trusted ClubPay and we continue to innovate by providing unparalleled HR and payroll solutions. BR

ClubPay is a leading provider of payroll and human resources services. Designed for clubs, ClubPay is the right choice to boost operational efficiency in the financial and HR departments. Featuring automatic payroll processing and an integrated employee onboarding system, it will help you save a lot of time and keep costs reasonable.

For more information visit www.clubpayroll.com

From pre-hire to retire, ClubPay streamlines operations with a custom suite of outsourced Payroll and HR solutions to meet your club management needs.

ClubSystems Group | BOARDROOM TECHNOLOGY FEATURE

by Erica Mullery, general manager

4 Must-Have Features for a Club POS To Enhance Member Experience

A young friend of mine told me about his experience working as a barista when he graduated from university. He became familiar with different types of coffee, preparation methods, drink recipes, and most importantly, creating a great experience for customers. However, the preparation of the coffee was in the hands of the pros. Since he was a beginner barista, his manager positioned him at the Point of Sale.

He said that he wasn’t happy at first because he thought, “I’m smart! This is too simple for me.” However, he quickly realized how vital his role was. He was responsible for creating a great experience for customers: Greeting them when entering the cafe, taking their order carefully and double-checking it, socializing with customers while they were waiting for their order, and appreciating them for their business. He quickly realized that customers came in once for the coffee, but they became loyal, long-time customers because of how they were treated. It was the hospitality that kept them coming back.

This is where our new ClubSelect Food & Beverage POS shines. It is rich in features that are specifically designed for clubs to elevate the experience of members. Let’s review four of these exceptional features.

1. MEMBER PREFERENCES/ALLERGIES

A pop-up window that tells you the member’s favorite meal is fish with white wine and that he/she is allergic to Canola oil. It might sound very simple and basic. But it makes a big difference. The staff receives a lot of useful information at a glance without the need to memorize anything. Not only it is a great way to elevate the member experience, but it also speeds up the bar/kitchen flow. The beauty of this pop-up window is that it is capable of containing any information you type in so you can customize it in any way you wish to help members.

2. STORING 5 TOP WAYS TO ORDER

Some members prefer to customize their order rather than stick to the default menu. For example, have fries on the side, no pickles and carrots, and have their drink half-sweet with extra ice. ClubSelect F&B POS learns the way members customize their orders and stores their five top ways to order for quick access based on the most repeated orders. Members love it when they see you know them and personalize the experience for them.

3. ADVANCED CHIT HISTORY

The advanced chit history stores all orders from the beginning and allows you to access them in three-month periods. You can search among the chits by various parameters such as member’s name, food, and more. The chit menu can show orders in two ways: Member Served and Staff Served. This division makes it significantly easier to know what members have ordered, who has served them each time, what feedback they gave, and how to improve the experience.

4. COURSING AND COURSE OVERRIDING

Imagine there are three members at a table. One of them wants to have their dessert served with their entre, another wants their appetizer served with their entre, and for some reason the third wants their dessert served first. It’s a mess, but this scenario isn’t all that uncommon. This is the type of situation where coursing is a game changer.

The ClubSelect F&B POS coursing feature allows the bar and kitchen to receive orders organized automatically, no matter in what order the staff enters them. The server simply enters all of the items and the POS automatically sorts them into appetizer, entre, and dessert categories. The order is sent to the kitchen so the kitchen staff can clearly see what order to prep the courses.

One of the members asked to have the dessert first. In this case, there is a course overriding feature that allows you to change the order of items in the sorted list. By moving the dessert of the third person to the appetizer category, the kitchen will understand that they have to make that dessert at the same time as the appetizers for the two other members.

Within the hospitality industry, the club business is a niche market on a global scale. However, it requires custom solutions as generic POS systems fail to deliver the experience members expect. After all, it’s the hospitality that keeps them coming back. BR

ClubSystems Group is a leading provider of innovative club management software, offering products such as accounting, membership management, food & beverage, catering, tee time management, point-of-sale, and various online services. It is our mission to become the world’s premier software provider to the Club Management Industry by providing superior software support and product enhancements for life. For more information visit www.clubsys.com

ClubTec and WebTec | BOARDROOM TECHNOLOGY FEATURE

by Don Williams

Once You Find Them… Don’t Forget to Train Them!!

In the post-pandemic world of private clubs, the number one problem for almost every club has been finding and keeping quality service personnel. As a result of all things related to COVID, it’s not a question of why so many good people in great “service” jobs left…it’s now a question of “where did they go?” Those who run clubs and have management positions are struggling mightily to find the “new normal” of service-driven personnel.

Although I have heard about plenty of issues from clubs trying to find people for administrative jobs, inclusive of managers, accountants, membership directors and general office staff, the biggest problem seems to be locating front-of-the-house service personnel. This includes people who work in food and beverage positions as well as those who work in the golf, tennis and fitness operations. The question of utmost importance is not why they left. The most important question is how you find them and bring them back.

“As the new head of administration/controller at Greenwood Country Club, I was not familiar with our ClubTec software. Although I am proficient with computers, I had zero experience with point-of-sale software and relied heavily on the help of the ClubTec support team. With initial and ongoing training from the ClubTec team, I was given the ability to become proficient in their software and use it to betterment of our club. The complexities of the overall private club operation requires extensive and powerful software systems, which I am now 100% satisfied with that which ClubTec has in place at our club!”

Mike Blaylock, Administrator/Controller Greenwood Country Club

I am afraid that as a guy who provides private clubs with enterprise software solutions, this is not a question that I can answer better than those of you who are running your clubs. However, I can address a way to resolve another problem once you do hire new personnel. That is the one that comes when these new people start trying to figure out how to

use your technology systems, both back office and your POS systems. These are people who were not initially trained on your systems and probably have never seen them before. The solution is one simple word…TRAINING!

As the provider of our great ClubTec software systems, WebTec websites and other technologies you might have been happy with before the pandemic and the ensuing havoc, I can assure you that none of it went bad during the time you were shut down. What happened was you lost a bunch of personnel that were properly trained on how to use it all. Now as you are hiring new people, they are not trained and they quickly get frustrated with your systems. How do I know this? At ClubTec we carefully track all calls through our support department management software. As we analyze the calls of late, we are definitely seeing that they are more in line with what clearly indicates the need for training.

Today, we are providing more training to our clients (and many of them are very long-time clients) than at any time in our history. Clubs are employing so many new employees that in some cases it’s almost like installing the systems from scratch. At the same time, we are getting a lot of calls from clubs that are NOT our clients, telling us how bad the systems they have are performing. We are very happy to sell them on all the great things ClubTec can do for them, but as we query about why they are unhappy, we often find their issues generally could be resolved with training from their current vendor…and I do mean extensive training in some cases.

The entire point of this article is that in many cases, the pandemic has energized club management software salespeople to take advantage of your unhappy staff as a means of getting your club to spend unnecessary money for unneeded new systems. I have seen it firsthand! I strongly advise you to first, and foremost, have a conversation with the people who run your current software systems. If they cannot or are unwilling to help you resolve your problems, then call ClubTec. We are very good at Client Care and we welcome the chance to prove it to you! BR

Donald N. Williams is the CEO of ClubTec. For more information, please contact him at (800) 800-5507 Ext 111 or by email at dwilliams@clubtec. com. You can also visit our website – www.clubtec.com

Cobalt Software | BOARDROOM TECHNOLOGY FEATURE

by Stephanie Castro, EVP/COO

How Much Are You Really Spending on Club Management Software?

TOP 3 HIDDEN COSTS TO CONSIDER

What is your club currently spending on your software programs? If you think you can find the answer simply by looking at your vendors’ invoices, think again.

HIDDEN COSTS OF YOUR EXISTING SYSTEMS

Your club may be experiencing hidden costs. These costs come in the form of wasted time and are hard to discover because they don’t show up on a financial statement. Uncovering these issues provides a more accurate view of the current costs of your programs. Resolving them can give your club back hours of valuable time that can be better spent on the member experience.

1. System Inefficiencies

Your people have learned how to use your club software. But is their workflow optimized? Older technologies (those architected 5-10 years ago or more) may contain roadblocks to efficiency – things like only being able to open one tab at a time, tedious workarounds, or laborintensive reporting. These minor inconveniences add up to significant time wasted; and your peoples’ time is your club’s most valuable resource. A modern platform provides ease-of-use that vastly reduces inefficient workflows and frees up more time for your people.

2. Lack of Integration

While most popular club software platforms are marketed as fullsuite solutions, it is rare to truly find everything you need under one roof. Integration is a must. Sometimes your vendors play nice together, and sometimes they don’t. When systems don’t integrate well, it creates hassles, such as having outdated data in one or more systems or requiring manual entry by staff to keep various systems up to date. Working with a vendor that offers improved in-suite options, and who is also flexible and skilled at integrating with other systems can reduce this hidden cost.

3. Unresponsive Support

Has your staff ever complained about waiting for your vendors’ support to respond? And when they do, how often does their solution fix the issue the first time? Support delays and inefficiencies cost club staff valuable time and increase frustration. Working with a vendor that provides responsive support can save your club hours of time wasted and make the support experience more pleasant.

HIDDEN COSTS OF IMPLEMENTING A NEW SYSTEM

Implementing the right new system can reduce these issues, but it’s worth noting that such a project comes with potentially unanticipated costs. These factors should be budgeted to set expectations properly and ensure a successful project.

1. Coordination Time

Any new system implementation will take some time from your people to coordinate configuration and data load. A vendor with a welldefined approach to project management and systems implementation will make the best use of their valuable time.

2. Hardware

Early in discussions with a new vendor, make sure you understand their hardware requirements. You may need to upgrade some old equipment and budget for new equipment to be purchased by the club. You may be able to sell unneeded equipment to help offset some of this cost.

3. Training

The vendor’s quote will include costs for training services, but typically won’t include estimates for travel expenses. The club will be responsible for reimbursing those costs, so it’s a good idea to add travel estimates to the budget if you expect the vendor to come onsite. You can also calculate the amount of time the club’s staff will spend in training sessions and add the value of their time as an indirect cost.

It takes some effort and collaboration to tally your hidden costs. One approach is to make a shared spreadsheet with a tab for each department, allowing department heads and staff to log system difficulties and issues. These can include time-consuming reports, duplicate manual entry, reboots due to crashes, time wasted on workarounds, time spent waiting for support responses, and more.

Three months of data should be sufficient to unearth an estimate of these buried costs. Include both busy and slow periods to paint the full picture. BR

POWERFUL

RESPONSIVE US-BASED SUPPORT WITH HOSPITALITY EXPERIENCE

• Accounting (AR, AP, GL)

• Membership

• Golf Tee Times and Lottery

• Dining Reservations

• Racquets Management

• Fitness and Spa Booking

• Mobile App

• Food and Beverage POS

• Table Management

• Retail POS & Inventory

• And more

Cobalt has been an outstanding partner to Boca West since 2016. The quality of both their software and their support is exceptional. Cobalt's people are responsive and listen to our needs. Our members LOVE our mobile app, and staff learn the operations software quickly. Cobalt Software truly has what it takes to become a leading technology partner to the private club industry.

Matthew Linderman President, Chief Operating Officer

FOOD-TRAK | BOARDROOM TECHNOLOGY FEATURE

by Bill Schwartz

Interview with Bill Schwartz, CEO and Founder of SCI Developers of the FOOD-TRAK F&B Management System

BoardRoom: Let’s start by introducing you and your company

Bill Schwartz: I started System Concepts Inc (SCI) in 1980. I saw a need in the food service industry for controlling F&B costs. No restaurants had computers at that point. We were the first to offer an F&B automated system to restaurants. The system ran on two 360K floppy disks and predated the IBM PC by almost 2 years. It handled inventory, purchasing and recipe costing and was designed to show the variance between what was used and what should have been used of every purchased item. Essentially, the idea to get as close to the ideal food cost by identifying those items that were overused, which could be the result of portioning, spoilage, waste or theft. Once identified on an item level it should be possible to focus attention on those items and resolve the overage issue. Clients were able to reduce food cost by at least 2-5 percent of sales.

BR: 42 years later, what has changed?

BS: Scale and experience. FOOD-TRAK grew from a single restaurant system using a CRT and dot matrix printer to an enterprise system using browsers, mobile devices and the cloud. The features associated with the system have multiplied exponentially as well and can handle the most complex operations, like the biggest clubs, amusement parks, universities, convention centers and virtually any other type of food service organization. Over 4 decades of constant development allowed us to vastly expand and improve our system and develop the human talent to successfully implement it in these complex environments.

BR: Technology has changed dramatically over the decades as has the way people work with it. How has FOOD-TRAK followed that path?

BS: Unimaginable in 1980, our objective now is to move completely away from traditional systems, and utilize our mobile scanners, tablets and phone app to enable as much capability as possible. Currently used primarily for inventory, purchasing, requisitions and transfers, our clients love the scanners and mobile app. They eliminate paper and save huge amounts of time.

BR: Let’s focus on clubs who are trying to automate and better control their F&B operation. What challenges do they face?

BS: One of the biggest fears we hear from club executives is actually getting their staff to use the system as intended and be happy about it. They are also concerned with how the system will be implemented and whether they have the time to do while simultaneously performing their normal full time functions.

BR: So how do you address those concerns?

BS: We do the implementation for them. We start with a deep dive into their current process flows and determine how we can get as close to their way of doing business as possible with our system, so we can help staff transition without as much of a learning curve. We try to take what they do and simply make that easier for them. The mobile devices play a big role in staff buy in as well. Then we use our expert staff – most of them have been involved in implementation of clubs and even more complex operations for more than 20 years – and we build the club’s database and begin the staff training process using their own club’s data as the basis for that. We then remain in touch with them as partners in the endeavor providing training, consulting and other support as needed.

BR: Are there others who do what you do for clubs?

BS: No one as well or as long. There are competitors, but they generally do not have the system capabilities or the experience required to perform at our level, which is especially true for Platinum level clubs. In addition, they tend to specialize in other areas like POS or, procurement. They don’t have interfaces to vendors, POS or catering systems like we do. Many of them have systems that are fairly new or are companies that have been recently sold to private equity groups, and their staff cannot possibly have the training or experience in all aspects of F&B management of our team.

BR: So why should a club take the step of using FOOD-TRAK and SCI to help control their F&B operation?

BS: Because it works. Most club clients see immediate reductions in food cost without sacrificing member experience or raising prices. They can also react much faster to inflation and price changes since recipe costs are always current. Our clients include many very complex clubs that host major tournaments and clubs with multiple outlets. Typical club client food cost reductions range from 3-10 percent of sales, which from a bottom line standpoint is the same as adding $30,000 to $100,000 annually per million in sales. By comparison, if a club has a 5 percent total F&B profit margin it would take a $200,000 increase in sales to equal the impact of a $10,000 cost reduction, and increasing sales is much harder than controlling costs. BR

4 Reasons Why Top Clubs Choose FOOD-TRAK®

We know you have choices when selecting F&B management software for your club. So how do you choose the right system? We believe it is as much or more about talent than about software. If you agree that it takes the best of both, then the choice is easy. The company that started it all 42 years ago is your key to success!

4 Reasons Why our Clients Chose FOOD-TRAK®

a To ensure a successful result, our senior consultants do a deep dive to fully understand your operation, staffing and process flows.

a Working with you, they develop a blueprint for database construction, training and startup based on your specific objectives and time frames.

a Our team builds the database and provides position-targeted training using your data to implement the plan as designed.

a We continue the relationship over the long term to help you get the most benefit from the system and related processes. We do this through ongoing training, consulting and monitoring.

In the final analysis, it’s about talent – your and ours combined – to produce the best possible result.

Our purpose and passion is and will always be to help clubs get as close to their ideal food and beverage cost as possible. We have remained resilient in delivering a turnkey setup giving your employees the confidence and the training to be successful!

Jonas Club Software | BOARDROOM TECHNOLOGY FEATURE

by Joe Oswald, president

New Innovations Coming from Jonas Club Software

Looking at the trends impacting the club industry today, we think it’s safe to anticipate that 2023 will be a transitional year. Business is back to normal in our post-pandemic world, and for many clubs, it’s better than ever. Memberships are full, and clubs are investing in themselves in ways we haven’t seen in generations. Clubs know that now is the time for more innovation, and so do we.

2022 has been a year of reflection and planning for us at Jonas Club Software. We started with an open call for feedback from the clubs and users who have partnered with us. We’ve listened to where the industry wants to go, and we have begun laying the foundation for innovative new ways to service the club industry. With dynamic new platforms, cloud enablement, and a further opening of our product ecosystem to work with more vendors, we are moving ahead in a new way, the foundation of which

Now, we have made strides to obtain secure, reliable, and costeffective hosting services for our clients, and we will be offering a choice to host our enterprise club management systems in the cloud. Both Jonas Encore and Jonas Club Management system users can look forward to taking advantage of this new deployment option in 2023.

EXPANDING OUR ECOSYSTEM

At Jonas Club Software, we have always strived to be the single vendor for all of your club software needs as so many clubs value fully integrated solutions. This is why we have applications ranging from Accounting to Spa Management, Court Bookings, Hotel Management, Websites, and Mobile Apps.

This philosophy doesn’t change for us. However, we also recognize

MembersFirst

| BOARDROOM TECHNOLOGY FEATURE

by Ryan Maione, president

What Clubs Need to Know About Gated Content

The private club industry is busy and that’s great news! A vital part of any club’s success is its staff and supporting them with technology to help them thrive in their jobs is equally important. As we’ve seen, clubs across the country are experiencing higher usage month-overmonth. With that usage, focusing on things outside of maintaining the club’s day-to-day tasks can quickly become a lower priority.

For example, one of our clubs had 8,602 sessions on their website in one month. 721 of these sessions were members, and 6,371 were on the website’s public-facing side. That is 74 percent of all visits coming to their “digital” front door.

Clubs should be addressing what that experience is for all those visitors. The two most common goals are brand recognition and lead generation for membership, waitlist and events. Generating leads is when we turn our attention to gated content.

Gated content is the information behind a form submission; a user exchanges their information for your unique content. The form should be low friction—request their name, email, phone number and maybe a simple qualifying question.

A few questions to ask yourself are:

1. When visitors on your website fill out a request for information form, do they receive anything in return?

2. What is your follow-up process?

3. How many requests for information are you getting?

Generally, a club will follow up with information that is being requested or ask questions manually. In the example above, this club had 19 general request forms on their site and 69 additional form requests for gated content. Clubs that do not use gated content are losing opportunities to engage with quality visitors.

Make it easy for your visitors on your website to become leads. Some popular examples of gated content include a Renovation Reveal Photo ebook, a Wedding Guide, or a Junior Membership Fact Sheet. Regardless of the content type, this is your opportunity to tell your club’s story.

HOW GATED CONTENT WORKS

A visitor makes it to your website. Maybe they attended an event as a guest or have been searching for clubs in the area. You can attract visitors online with gated content from social media, SEO keywords, blogging and some clubs even use paid search. However, it was that they got to your site, they are there for a reason and you want to ensure

you are giving them what they are looking for. Reducing roadblocks for quality leads to become members or event hosts is essential to longterm success.

Now that your visitor has made it to your digital front door, what do you have to offer? Strategically place call-to-action buttons where they may find the type of gated content you have that is relevant to their interest and that helps you and the user achieve your goals. From there, they will click a button and be directed to a landing page.

The landing page is a web page that should provide purposeful, focused content that gives a clear understanding of what they will get if they fill out the form. For example, visitors will fill out a form if they want Wedding Package information. Once they fill out the form, they will be directed to a thank you page where they can find the content and receive an automated follow-up email from your staff.

This follow-up email is not a mass mailer email—this is the answer to your visitor’s questions. If they are interested in your event space or membership, then you can connect the dots of who they know at the club and what they are most interested in. Saving time but still personally following up. Your relationship with this lead is just starting. Now you can develop a follow-up process knowing they are getting the information they wanted.

ANOTHER REASON TO GATE CONTENT

People who are not serious about joining or having an event will not fill out a form for that information. Gated content will weed out those just poking around for information. You are providing a service to your website visitor while making your staff’s job easier by using automation.

Whether you want to have a booked event space, your club is on a waitlist or you are working on getting to your capacity, gated content is the top solution to providing a first introduction to your club. This technology is easy to use, thoughtful, engaging, automated and personalized. So, what do you provide your website visitors? BR

MembersFirst is the industry-leading, multi-award-winning website agency for private clubs. Empowering clubs to create stronger relationships with their members and prospects, MembersFirst delivers unparalleled Design, Implementation, Support, and Marketing Services to uncompromising clubs. MembersFirst – www.membersfirst.com

Survey & Ballot Systems | BOARDROOM TECHNOLOGY FEATURE

by Mitch Huffman

Administer Your Election in a Secure, Efficient, and Cost Effective Way

We’re living in a workers’ market, and we know that we’re not breaking any headlines by pointing out this apparent fact. Though, many sectors of the economy are slowly crawling back to normalcy, the hospitality industry is still reeling from the economic maelstrom brought on by the pandemic. In particular, private golf clubs are straining themselves to remain competitive in our new economic climate.

At Survey & Ballot Systems, we understand that many club staff are already wearing numerous hats within the organization, juggling a myriad of responsibilities, all while focusing on delivering top-class experiences to your members. Why not make their job, and yours easier when it comes to your next election?

We know that annual elections can feel like an insurmountable process of marketing, ballot creation, and a slew of reminder messages to your members; and that’s all before the vote even takes place! This is where Survey & Ballot Systems comes in, we’ve been a trusted end-to-end election and governance partner for clubs and member organizations for 32 years. We’re here to ease the organizational stress your club may be feeling when it comes to election season.

With our platform myDirectVote, your club can easily administer the election in a secure, efficient, and cost effective way! In a full DIY election, you’ll setup, test, and smoothly execute the election all within the robust software. Our election experts are here with dedicated development support for you and your staff. We’ll review the election website before it goes live and provide your club with all the reporting. Though, if your staff is already spread thin with their normal day-to-day responsibilities, we can fully manage the election for you.

For managed elections, all you need to do is provide our team with key details such as dates, offices, and candidates – and we take care of the rest! Adding an online option to your election is seen as an immediate upgrade by many voters, and greatly reduces stress on your

staff; and as an added bonus most organizations see increased voter participation because of it! With myDirectVote we also have a hybrid option that allows for paper ballots, along with informational pieces to be sent to voters as well.

Now that we’ve made your next board election a breeze, here’s how to make the job of your newly elected board just as easy. With DirectVoteLive, your board can set up their meetings in just a few minutes! Board members receive secure invites to vote via email or text, and web conference information is displayed for any voters who may be remote. With DirectVoteLive you can also add motions on the fly while in a live meeting! We know how important fast, agile decision making is for clubs of any size, why not use a voting solution that’s built for just that?

We understand that any kind of election can create organizational stress regardless if it’s an annual board election, or a simple vote to approve staff uniforms. The team here at Survey & Ballot Systems pride ourselves on our proven ability to run efficient, air-tight elections and would love to partner with your club for your next vote, big or small! From ballot, to boardroom, we have you covered. BR

Ready to get started? Find us online at www.surveyandballotsystems.com or give us a call at (800) 974-8099.

From Ballot to Boardroom

Tee up your next election for success

Looking to streamline your internal elections? We have the enterprise solution to tee up your next vote for success.

Country Club Technology Partners | BOARDROOM TECHNOLOGY FEATURE

By Noel Wixsom

What Does a Good Security Camera System Look Like?

Most private clubs have security cameras – commonly 20-30, but many have more than 60. They are usually older systems desperately in need of updating.

Private clubs have four major IT technology platforms.

1. Data (payroll, email, club management software, Word, Excel, and other applications)

2. Phones

3. Wi-Fi (member, guest, and admin Wi-Fi)

4. Security cameras

Each system requires cabling and support. New security camera systems are based on internet protocol (IP) standards, which are also common in data, phone, and Wi-Fi systems. All four major IT platforms are converging to IP protocol.

How does a club convert to an IP security camera system? There are two major factors to consider.

1. It’s not easy.

2. It generally takes several years.

The good news is you can often leverage the investment in coax cabling and analog cameras. You can convert the coax cameras to an IP security camera platform. This is a stopgap.

Most clubs won’t have $75,000 to replace an outdated security camera system all at once. But by strategically replacing cameras and cabling at $10,000 to $15,000 a year over three to four years, you can “step” your way into the IP security platform. Each step builds on those taken earlier.

What does a good IP security camera system look like? An IP-based security camera system has several attributes.

• One-time licensing costs. Avoid IP security camera software with annual fees. There are several solid IP security camera software vendors offering one-time license fees, saving the club thousands of dollars over five to 10 years.

• Open architecture. Use IP security software that runs with Microsoft operating systems and Dell, HP, or IBM hardware. The club can then easily change hardware or software vendors or mix and match cameras.

• Built-in analytics. Use cameras with analytics built right in. Analytics enhance investigations. You can do keyword searches, for example. Looking for a person wearing a blue sweater in a specified time period? Type the key words “blue sweater” to see the movements of everyone wearing blue sweaters.

• High-resolution cameras. The higher the megapixels (MP), the higher the resolution. IP cameras come in three, five, seven, nine and 10 MP. Clubs generally use five MP for the base camera.

• Built-in infrared. Infrared (IR) cameras yield good clarity in poorly lit areas and at night, so you can see events in your maintenance facility at 3 a.m. as clearly as those at 3 p.m.

The combination of one-time license costs, open architecture and high resolution five MP IP cameras with built-in analytics and infrared should be the cornerstone of every private club’s security camera system. There are many ways to set up and maintain security camera systems, but a good private club security camera system will include at least several of these attributes. BR

Noel Wixsom is founder of Country Club Technology Partners (CC Tech), please contact him at noel@cctechplan.com or (510) 589-4512.

COUNTRY CLUB TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS

• Technology Master Planning

• Club Technology Report Cards

• Cost Reduction / Audits

• Hosted IT Solutions

• Surveillance Cameras

• Cyber Security Analysis

www.cctechplan.com | contact: noel@cctechplan.com

Paisano Performance Partners | BOARDROOM TECHNOLOGY FEATURE

By John Finley, CCM, Managing Partner

In This Environment We Must Manage Smarter

Managing a club team to top performance was challenging before Covid-19. Add to the already stressful club environment, a shift in employee work/life balance philosophy and managing a team only got harder. In this environment, smart managers utilize technology to understand and manage top performers. Here is what club professionals say about using Performance++ by Paisano Performance Partners.

At Bonita Bay Club, the decision to move to an internet-based performance management system improved access and process; “An internet-based process allows multiple supervisors and the HR Department to review any performance review at any time. Managers are able to add notes which can be later reflected on when conducting the performance review, preventing the halo or recency effect.”

With over 300 performance reviews to manage each year and a staff of TWO in the HR Department, Peggy can speak first-hand to the process benefits of the new system. “The greatest benefits we have noticed are speed and convenience. Managers have everything in one place. They are able to stop and start the process at any time. The reminders feature allows managers to set it and forget it.”

Peggy Taylor, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, Director of Human Resources

Bay Club

Trevor Coughlan is vice president of marketing at Jonas. He can be reached at (800)352-6647 Ext. 2278, or via email: Trevor.Coughlan@jonasclub.com

Technology Onboarding

If you’ve ever tried to convince a toddler to try a new food or attempted to push a boulder up a hill, you already know the pain and frustration I’m about to describe.

One Sunday morning earlier this year, I sat with my parents in their living room, having coffee and catching up on recent events. The topic of iPads and the complications of various user accounts came up, at which point I learned that their personal email account had recently been compromised. Something had infiltrated the Fort Knox-like security of their four-digit password resulting in fraudulent emails sent to a handful of their contacts.

Faced with this unsettling breach in security, my parents did as they have always done when forced to update or change passwords. They added a 1 to the end of their old password and rested peacefully, knowing that they had successfully thwarted hackers and fraudsters the world over.

At the time, no amount of information, evidence, common sense, or name-calling that I could muster was enough to convince them to start using an online password manager to secure all of their accounts. The idea of learning how to use a new piece of technology was simply too much to consider and that was that. It wasn’t happening.

Password management is a serious topic, but it’s not why I’m writing this piece. I’m sharing this story because anyone who has tried to introduce new technology to friends, family, colleagues, or club members knows this frustration all too well.

THE WALLOPING CHALLENGE

Over the past two years, clubs worldwide have adopted new technology more rapidly than ever; many of these new technologies are designed to enhance member service through direct interaction with members. However, convincing members that they should schedule their next personal training session or book their next tee time through your club’s new mobile app can be daunting.

Maybe you’ve been down this road and have tried showing them the great new capabilities at their fingertips. Or maybe you’ve even tried appealing to their better nature by telling them how much less strain it will be on the already thinly stretched staff at the club. Either way, you need a well-conceived onboarding strategy.

Doylestown Country Club, outside Philadelphia, faced this challenge in 2021. Jordan Meserole, the club’s director of communications and membership, led the charge. With over 10 years of experience in marketing and media, Meserole’s comfort level with technology helped him formulate a comprehensive rollout plan to ensure the club’s membership would make the most of the new mobile app.

EVERY CLUB HAS A UNIQUE PLAN

Meserole created a multi-step creative communication plan surrounding the launch of the new Doylestown Country Club mobile app, including newsletter content, how-to videos for members, exclusive in-person education sessions, a unified talk track for staff, and an online resources page that members could use as a quick reference guide. The communication plan took place for nearly six months and was a huge success, with less than 10 percent of the club’s 770 members needing follow-up assistance and the app seeing nearly complete adoption throughout the membership.

“It was a lot of work, but to make it a success, there has to be an investment. You know that the technology is going to do well, you just have to put in the time or nobody will use it.” - Jordan Meserole

Meserole’s onboarding plan continued to pay dividends later in 2021 when the club launched new mobile ordering functionality through the app. Due to the comprehensive communication process Meserole had spearheaded, club members had become such strong users that launching the new functionality was seamless.

MEMBER EXPERIENCE MATTERS IN THE END

The success that Doylestown Country Club has seen is just one example of many where a comprehensive communication plan, and a passionate voice driving the initiative, led to member adoption and utilization of new club technology. In this case, the club has seen a reduction in phone traffic and added resourcing efficiencies to help minimize the effects of staffing shortages. Overall member service has increased. BR

For more information, contact Till von Ruexleben at (239) 293-6699 or via email at info@vivid-leaf.com.

Leverage Technology to Create Exceptional Membership Experiences

Technology. It’s in your pocket, it’s on the news, it’s changing businesses all around us, and enterprising club executives are likely asking themselves what it can do to help their business.

While visiting clubs all over the US and Europe, I often hear that exact question: How can technology be leveraged to create exceptional membership experiences?

We have reviewed the business practices of 65 of the top clubs in the country and have identified seven core essential and successful approaches for clubs and their members to harness the power of technology.

1. Clubs can use real-time data to see which club offerings are appreciated and, critically, which are not. Examples include changes in the menu, like adding healthy food options. Does the number of members in the restaurants change? Do members frequent or avoid certain lunch and dining venues based on their food and drink offerings? This data can be collected automatically, e.g., with inexpensive person counters based on LoRaWan networks, which we support in the Vivid Leaf suite.

2. Technology enables personalized service, e.g., greeting all members at the clubhouse by name – based on license plate recognition or tokens in members’ cars.

3. Clubs can optimize timing, including tee times and course maintenance schedules, and provide member security during weather events (such as thunderstorms) by asset tracking, which allows you to see every cart and piece of maintenance equipment on a live course map.

4. Understand membership acceptance and preference by analyzing reservations and participation for club amenities – from the spa to tennis and pickleball, pool and, of course, tee times. A real-time system can automatically alert the club leadership if certain services and amenities are regularly unavailable at the times requested by members.

5. Artificial intelligence offers ways to optimize asset and personnel usage by accurately predicting amenity use based on statistical data, such as holidays, weather conditions and past interest. Using these algorithms, clubs can accurately predict staffing needs and food and beverage demand, resulting in significant savings.

6. A real-time, mind-share platform that shares sustainability practices from private clubs all over the world allows participating clubs to understand the largest money-saving opportunities and how to become environmental stewards for generations to come. Embracing the concept of sustainability is timely with inflation and costs rising for all commodities. Member feedback has been positive, even with outside-the-box sustainability initiatives, like laser shows instead of fireworks ( e.g., at Wycliffe Golf & Country Club ).

7. Anonymous, properly executed and analyzed membership and employee surveys – particularly the 360-survey style – can help club leadership improve understanding and address underlying issues to build a sustainable culture of caring. Our Vivid Club suite has integrated options for such surveys, where the data is available to other modules, such as a balanced scorecard and project management and tracking.

These are just a few examples of how clubs like Broken Sound Club, Wycliffe Golf & Country Club, Forest Highlands Golf Club, Boca West Country Club, and many more are using technology to expedite their continuous pursuit of exceptional membership experiences.

We are happy to discuss and share what other clubs have done. BR

BILL BOOTHE

Bill Boothe is president and owner of The Boothe Group, LLC, an independent consulting firm that helps clubs understand computer technology, make good decisions and receive the highest value from their technology investment. Bill can be reached at bboothe@boothegroup.com.

Cybersecurity: A Guide for You to Follow

Every once in a while, we get lucky and someone produces a report or white paper that offers valuable advice for the private club industry. Voila!

Just such a document was published last year as a collaboration by Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) and the National Club Association (NCA). It’s named “Comprehensive Practices in Club Cybersecurity.” Yet somehow, this gem has flown under the club industry radar as few club managers seem to be aware of its existence.

For most readers, the problems with research reports and white papers are: too long, too detailed, too technical. “Why can’t they just get to the point and tell us what we need to do?” OK, here’s the “Cliffs Notes” version of this 35-page report.

First off, after you skip past the Table of Contents, the bios of the Advisory Committee and Contributing Authors, the Forward and the Introduction, you’re already on Page 7; another five pages cover Risk Terminology and Governmental Regulations; and eight more pages at the end of the report cover Reporting and a Case Study. So, the What You Need To Do part of the report is only 16 pages. While the Best Practices section covers a wide range of cybersecurity topics, below are, in my opinion, the top three for you to focus on initially.

Employee security awareness training (SAT). SAT is a formal process for educating employees about ever-evolving cyber threats and their role in protecting the organization. Online security awareness training arms employees with tools and training that help them avoid cyberattacks aimed at computer users. Since a high percentage of breaches are inadvertently “assisted” from within the organization, it makes sense to train our employees to recognize and avoid the most common ploys (most likely phishing emails).

SAT is best provided through a formal program from an outside company. The program includes ongoing training and awareness sessions along with regular “testing” of employee awareness.

Secure remote access. When employees connect to the club’s computer network from a remote location, two terms should resonate here: virtual private network (VPN) and cell phone hot spot. A VPN is an encrypted “tunnel” between the remote PC and the club’s network. It hides your trans-

mission from outside intruders. As the quote explains, “If an attacker can’t see it, they can’t hack it.”

Hackers often create fake public Wi-Fi sites that redirect the remote user to their networks. The hacker then loads malware onto the user’s PC. Employees can easily avoid using public internet networks (at hotels, airports, restaurants, etc.) that could be compromised. Instead, they should use their cell phone’s hot spot feature. A hot spot creates a personal Wi-Fi connection for private access to the internet that outside intruders cannot access.

Intrusion detection. Think of this technology in terms of your home’s alarm system. While you have locks on the doors and windows, the alarm system activates when an intruder has broken through the locks and is entering your home. The computer equivalent of a home alarm system is called intrusion detection. In its most basic form, intrusion detection is provided using a technology called file integrity monitoring (FIM). It’s actually software that scans the operating system (Windows), application software and databases to determine if they have been improperly changed or corrupted. If it detects any corruption, an alarm is issued. Plus, FIM will shut down the suspected rogue user’s access to the network and/or will temporarily shut down the whole network as a safety precaution.

An advanced form of FIM is called unified threat management (UTM). This is a physical appliance that maintains multiple security layers, all within a single device. Most clubs protect their network with a variety of products from different manufacturers: anti-spam, anti-malware, intrusion detection, and network firewalling. But these days hackers are using “blended threats” that combine several methods that attack multiple areas of the network simultaneously. UTM is better able to detect and handle these complex threats than separate security tools.

The bottom line: To be safe, you should follow every bit of advice offered in the HFTP/NCA “Comprehensive Practices in Club Cybersecurity” document. But let’s get serious. Rarely does anyone do everything they should do. However, deploying just these few technologies – SAT, VPN, cell phone hot spot, and intrusion detection – will provide your club with a very high degree of cybersecurity. Don’t wait. The bad guys are at it full time – and clubs are in their sights. BR

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The Science Behind Work-Life Balance Secrets From a 35-Year Monk

I’ve worked in the private club industry for many years. With Rick Ladendorf, I co-founded Mindful “U” to educate and support managers, staff and board members.

However, for 35 years, I was a yoga monk and lived in a monastery in California. It was actually an active life, not unlike the hospitality industry. I sat in committee meetings, managed budgets, counseled thousands of people, and for 15 years, trained our youngest monks. But … and this is a big “but” … amidst all this activity, we practiced meditation and mindfulness every day. (Of course, we didn’t have families or need to finance our lifestyle.)

On a daily basis, I was trained to be “calmly active and actively calm,” so I know from experience that it is possible to live a balanced and stress-free life and at the same time achieve personal and professional goals. It’s not easy, but it is possible.

I agree with my business partner, Rick, who says, “Stress, burnout and work-life balance are all within our control – because it’s not what happens to us but how we react to what happens to us that creates our mental states.” But it takes practice. Researchers say that most of us think about a thousand thoughts an hour. That’s a thought every 2 and 2/3 seconds. No wonder most people are frazzled by the end of the day.

My mindfulness training made me different. For 50 years, I’ve been practicing breathing techniques to change my mental state. The instant I recognize that I’m angry, afraid or in an unwanted emotional state, I take three deep breaths and engage in a two-minute mini-meditation. I sit up straight, gently focus my eyes between my eyebrows, and focus on my nostrils.

Is my breath going in or out? Random thoughts continue to come, but I dismiss them and go back to focusing on my breath. In just a couple of minutes, my breath slows down, my heart slows down and (hallelujah) my thoughts begin to slow. (Think about it – as the breath slows down, the pause between breaths enlarges, and in that “gap” one begins to feel a deep sense of peace and rejuvenation. This is the beginning of meditation.)

Refreshed in two minutes, I feel my work self as a kind of “iceberg.” Above water, I’m fully engaged, with people or in front of my computer, but underneath the waterline, I have a deep psychological ballast anchoring me in deeper waters, keeping the core part of me below the windblown wavelets on the surface.

Work-life balance is more about integration than just balance. Neuroscience teaches us how we can actually “rewire” our habitual neural reactions and respond to stressors in new and creative ways.

In simplest terms, here’s how it works: The law of attraction states that both positive and negative thoughts are magnetic. In chemistry, if there are more positives than negatives, they are called “ions.” When you put two particular ions together, you get salt. If you put a positron and an electron together, you get light. All positive and negative charges are trying to find their complimentary opposite and neutralize it to create a third element. In our minds, it’s the same. When we are uncertain and go on a quest, we create “quest-ions,” and when we’re tense, we create “tens-ion.” In short, we’re always trying to resolve the “ions” of positive and negative. Thus, integration is really the secret.

All of us know (“ion-ized”) GMs whose hair is “always on fire,” cultures with damaging drama, and boards with unresolved governance issues. It’s neither healthy nor sustainable – because it’s magnetic. I’ve told many veteran leaders, “Don’t retire! Rewire!” It’s a science. BR

DISCOVER T R OON P R IVÉ

Every private club has its own unique identity and we want to help your club maintain yours. Of course, that requires a different approach than the status quo of self-management, which is why Troon Privé® continues to grow. As Troon’s dedicated private club division, we are a proven professional services organization that provides best-in-class systems, processes and resources to the private clubs we serve. To learn more about who we are and why our clients partner with us, contact our Business Development Team at 480.477.0505, or visit TheTroonApproach.com. your club. your culture. our resources.

BoardRoom magazine Recognizes the Private Club Presidents of the Year

By Heather Arias de Cordoba

Now in its 14th year, BoardRoom magazine annually recognizes the world’s top private club presidents, captains and chairs as Private Club Presidents of the Year, for their outstanding work, their understanding of the industry, and role and responsibilities of the club’s board of directors. In this continuing series, BoardRoom introduces four more of its top 21 presidents for 2021. The Distinguished Club President was featured in the January/February issue. Private club board presidents play a huge role in professional operations of their clubs as a volunteer working diligently with their board of directors and general managers, striving for well informed, but not emotional decisions. This recognition by BoardRoom magazine has attracted board president nominations from clubs and other nominators around the world.

These outstanding presidents exemplify the focus on the leadership responsibilities, the accountability and the management of the board providing a healthy respect for the club’s macro management. They are cognizant of the importance of working, effectively and efficiently, with their volunteer boards and the dedication required from everyone with whom they work. Key elements of a “good” board include commitment, competence, diversity, collective decision making, openness, transparency, effective communication with the management and the membership, fiscal responsibility, development and establishment of the clubs’ mission, vision and policy direction, especially through establishment of a strategic plan. A successful board president draws upon the expertise of other board members, the club’s institutional memory and stewardship of the club’s resources. As well the board president provides new board members and future board presidents with information they need to perform effectively as board members.

Congratulations to these outstanding private club board presidents. See pages 72 & 73.

“Looking back on my two years as President, I can honestly say that this experience has been one of the most gratifying of my life.”

That, in a nutshell, describes Todd Locke’s experience during his time as president of Chagrin Valley Hunt Club in Gates, Mills, OH.

“I spent my early months focused on listening to members with open ears, recognized that those member relationships would build for me a solid foundation from which to lead.

“The consistent support of Hunt Club members was critical as we confronted the challenges of the pandemic and the simultaneous search for a new general manager and executive chef. I’m eternally grateful to the many members who bolstered me with their encouragement and support during my term,” Locke added.

It was serendipity that Dr. Locke was chosen to lead his club just as the pandemic was emerging. Management needed to grapple with the issues of social distancing and a government-mandated closure. Yet, he has been unflappable during this challenging time in history.

Following the unexpected resignation of the club’s general manager and executive chef during the pandemic, he led a national search for both positions. With the professional assistance of top private club recruiting firms, the Hunt Club identified and hired an outstanding GM and executive chef in 2021.

The club’s board of directors recently engaged the McMahaon Group to begin the process of strategic planning, a priority for Dr. Locke who has been a proponent of creating a long-term plan for the future.

Dr. Locke is a seasoned club director, having served as a past director of the Cleveland Skating Club and the Kirtland Country Club. He joined the board of the Chagrin Valley Hunt Club in 2015 and served as chair of the House Committee before taking over as president. BR

DENNIS MAYFIELD, PRESIDENT | ASPEN VALLEY GOLF CLUB | FLAGSTAFF, AZ

“When Dennis Mayfield took over as board president, there had not been a club general manager for almost a year. He knew the value of having an experienced GM in that position and I was honored that he chose me,” explained general manager Skip Thompson.

“He knew what the role of a private club board president should be and made sure that the directors knew what their roles were as well. It’s been impressive how he dealt with club issues, as well as how he treated the staff with respect. It made a huge difference in keeping morale high with our team. He was very well-liked by staff as well as the general membership. He allowed me to operate the club with his full support,” Thompson added.

President Mayfield has supported efforts to improve communication with members and staff. During his tenure, the club’s website has been enhanced, a weekly newsletter initiated, and a member text program created. He accomplished this during a time when the COVID-19 pandemic required constant and consistent updates daily. In addition, he created an ad hoc committee to deal with the pandemic, which helped keep the golf course open while implementing procedures necessary to help keep the membership and staff safe.

“Without question, Dennis Mayfield possessed all the characteristics needed to lead Aspen Valley, particularly during a period when most of his tenure was during a pandemic, which none of us had ever experienced,” GM Thompson explained. “Under his direction, I tried new ideas in what had been a ‘we’ve always done it this way’ environment. President Mayfield provided proactive direction and was always open to new ideas. One of his best traits is that he’s always approachable and realistic in his expectations of the staff and quick to praise for a job well done,” he added.

President Mayfield understood club governance. He knew that boards deal with club bylaws, rules, and regulations while the club’s general manager handled the day-to-day operations. “While he interacted with all levels of club staff from time to time, he never gave ‘marching orders’ to any of the staff. Instead, Dennis made sure that the other directors understood this process and, on one occasion, had to remind a board member of that philosophy.”

Born and raised in Kansas, President Mayfield moved to Phoenix in 1978. He spent 37 years with Motorola Solutions. Dennis and his wife Barbara joined Aspen Valley in 2003. He was elected to the AVGC board in October of 2018, serving as vice president. He was elected president for 2020 and 2021 before retiring from the board late last year. BR

“Member engagement and collaboration are critical to the growth and success of a club. Members must know they have an important voice in the future of the club and an obligation to participate in the planning process. It can’t just be nine people in a boardroom making all the decisions in a vacuum.”

And that’s the operating philosophy of Chris McClure as president of La Grange Country Club in La Grange, IL.

“Board members must make a concerted effort to educate themselves on best practices for club strategy and governance. We are volunteers, not club professionals, so we must take advantage of outside education, consulting advice, and peer group benchmarking to ensure we’re pursuing the right strategic plan for our membership,” he added.

During President McClure’s tenure, the board of governors experienced multiple obstacles as plans for renovations were initially opposed by some members. However, Chris maintained the club’s integrity while clearly and consistently communicating with members about how vital and important renovations were for the future of LGCC.

“With Chris continuously thinking of the ‘tomorrow’ and proactively working for enhanced experiences, our club has remained the vibrant jewel that our founding members created,” said the club general manager Will Duy.

President McClure is a CPA, has an MBA from Kellogg Graduate School and is a partner with the international consulting firm Crowe. He’s been a La Grange Country Club member since 2012 and served as head of membership, executive leadership and president.

Chris is also Chairman of the Mid-Market Open golf tournament benefitting the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois and has served in leadership roles with Cabrini Green Legal Aid and the Chicago Bar Foundation. BR

JIM MUTRIE, PRESIDENT | DALLAS NATIONAL GOLF CLUB | DALLAS, TX

Dallas National is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2022, and Jim Mutrie, now in his second year as chair of Dallas National, has been the driving force behind the club creating a true long-term strategic and capital plan.

“The club has always been fortunate to have great leadership, but chairman Mutrie knew the importance of formalizing a plan that encapsulated the club’s identity and branding and which laid out a three-year strategic plan for operations, a forecast of capital needs and potential projects along with associated expenses and funding plan,” said general manager Jonathan Ireland.

“The board and management review plans regularly, choosing initiatives to execute with a continuous review of potential goals, objectives, and projects. Also, the board and management have a cohesive relation-

ship with excellent communication between the board and the GM and department heads,” he added.

“The board embraces providing guidance and strategic decisions and includes the general manager appropriately in the discussions. Board members provide strong team support but are happy to leave running the club’s daily operations to the management team. Jim Mutrie, intimately involved throughout the process, firmly believed formalizing the long-term strategic and capital plan would be an integral part of the club’s continued success,” GM Ireland commented.

Chairman Mutrie and the board focus on continually enhancing the member experience. As a ‘Top 100’ private golf club, the golf course is always a top priority, but Mutrie and the board have worked with the management team to ensure the member experience and member value are always a priority. During his tenure as chair, Jim Mutrie and the board have emphasized enhancing the entire member experience, from when members and their guests arrive through the gate to when they depart.

“As a general manager, Jim Mutrie embodies the qualities that exemplify an ideal chairman,” expressed GM Ireland. “He’s extremely thoughtful and his focus is always on what would be best for the entire membership and the club’s long-term health. He is always available to the team and members but never inserts himself into the club’s management.

“He is a true leader, respected by the board, membership, and staff, with tremendous vision. Truly a great leader with a selfless approach,” Ireland added.

Jim Mutrie co-founded and has been CEO of Switchback II Corp. since 2020. He cofounded and served as chief commercial officer/general counsel of Switchback Energy Acquisition Corp. until combining its business with ChargePoint, Inc., and was vice president/general counsel of RSP Permian, Inc. Mutrie holds a B.A. from Cornell University, a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law and serves on the American Heart Assoc. N. Texas Chapter board. BR

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

MICHAEL MUELLER

Michael Mueller, PGA is a career consultant serving the Carolinas section. He can be reached at (816) 585-7407 or mmueller@pgahq.com.

Attractive, Attraction and Attracting

What is Your Position in the Marketplace as an Employer?

“Oh yeah … yeah. Tractor beam … sucked me right in.” – Lloyd Christmas, “Dumb and Dumber”

If we made a list of the biggest issues facing the golf industry for the next decade, the cost and availability of labor would be near the top.

The “Great Resignation” has negatively impacted every industry, and employers are faced with difficult choices regarding how to properly staff their operations while maintaining fiscal discipline.

If you have seen the movie, you know Lloyd didn’t stand a chance when he drove Mary Swanson to the airport. As he later told his best friend, Harry, it was simply attraction at a level he could not resist.

While there is nothing funny about the current labor shortage, the comedy of “Dumb and Dumber” made me think about possible solutions. As an employer, you don’t have a tractor beam, so you need to work a little harder to attract high-quality candidates for open positions. But what is the difference between being an “attractive” employer and “attracting” candidates? And why does it matter?

Attractive is an adjective and is important to both job seekers and employers. Attractive employers have historically received more applications and can be more selective, while attractive job seekers generally have more options in their job search. However, “attractive” is subjective, (think “beauty is in the eye of the beholder’’), and it is the subjective nature of the word that has many employers confused and looking for answers.

On the other hand, attraction is a noun. Like a magnet, it is the force that draws job seekers toward a particular opportunity. Employers that aren’t perceived as attractive need to create an attraction to increase the number of candidates in their applicant pool.

Historically, I could determine the attractiveness of an employer by looking at three key factors: club reputation, location, and compensation. Employers that could check all three boxes were highly attractive. For employers who could only offer two, there were diminishing returns. For the rest, there was constant recruiting frustration.

While those three factors are still relevant, the employment landscape of 2022 dictates that they are no longer enough. That leads us to attracting, which as a verb implies

action. It is during this process that you highlight your positive qualities and actively recruit candidates. Whereas you have less control over attractiveness and attraction, you are in full control of attracting talent, but how will you succeed when others are failing?

As mentioned earlier, attracting requires action, and most employers have made the switch from passive to active recruiting in recent years. With the era of cheap and abundant labor officially over, higher wages were instituted and tactics such as job fairs and signing, retention, and referral bonuses have become common in the club industry. As a new way of doing business for many employers, now is the time to ask the simple questions: ”Is what we are doing working?” and “Are we set up for long-term success?”

I suggest you look at all of the positions posted and the new hires your club has made in the past two years and create metrics to assess the effectiveness of your active recruiting efforts. While the possibilities are endless, relevant metrics may include:

Applicant volume – Are you receiving enough applications? Volume provides the best picture of the health of the market and the perceived attractiveness of you as an employer.

Applicant diversity – Are you attracting applicants with diverse thoughts, backgrounds, and experiences?

Applicant source – Where are applicants hearing about your position? Public job boards, your website, personal referrals, or somewhere else?

Applicant quality – While subjective in nature, this is the most important metric. If you are not receiving high-quality applicants, it may be time to restructure your recruiting efforts.

New hire tenure – How long do they stay? That number has major implications for the long-term success of your club. Short new hire tenures may indicate other club-related issues, such as onboarding and training procedures, staff culture, or competitive compensation.

Your position in the marketplace relies on a variety of factors, and each employer must understand their market and continually evaluate the effectiveness of their response. While the path ahead may not be clear, one thing is: The old ways won’t do anymore. BR

CLUB FACTS & FIGURES

HELAINE WEISSMAN

Helaine S. Weissman, CPA, CHAE is a partner with PBMares, LLP in Fairfax, VA. She may be reached at (703) 385-8577 or by email at hweissman@pbmares.com.

Document Retention FAQs for Private Social Clubs

Document retention: sometimes there is either too much of it or not enough.

It may not be the most captivating subject but it is important and we constantly receive questions concerning it. Many clubs struggle with knowing what records to keep (or why) and how to implement a consistent records retention policy.

IMPORTANCE OF A DOCUMENT RETENTION POLICY

It is unrealistic to think that clubs will keep every document they produce. A document retention policy can protect a club from accidental mistakes – one keystroke could delete a document that is later requested in an IRS review or legal matter – and keep document management in line with industry and regulatory requirements. Further, staff, board members, and club members know exactly what to expect in terms of records and what schedule (and processes) to follow for document destruction.

The IRS also requires tax-exempt organizations to self-identify as having a document retention and destruction policy on Form 990. Clubs can consider a document retention policy part of overall governance and part of a comprehensive risk management strategy.

If a written document retention policy does not exist, the first step is to identify the types of documents the club produces. Then, determine the appropriate length of time to retain each type of document and put the timeframes into a written policy. The policy should also cover what to do with document destruction and address digital versus physical records.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS FOR DOCUMENT RETENTION

Clubs will need to consider how to manage digital versus physical storage. It is not always about financial records and often involves other nuances of business and event management.

Digital storage frees up physical space in file cabinets and boxes both on-site and off-site, but there is also a cost to access increased digital storage. There are also cybersecurity concerns. Electronic data must be safeguarded against data breaches and considered in the club’s overall cybersecurity plan. Digital storage also needs to factor in backup storage, which can add an extra layer of fees.

Physical storage is not, by its nature, susceptible to online hackers but there are still associated costs. Off-site storage

can be expensive, and there is the question of how to ensure that paper records are properly safeguarded and destroyed – or that files are not accidentally shredded. Accessing offsite physical storage also can be a hassle if the files are not organized well.

Either way, clubs will need to weigh the costs and consider the unique document management needs for each method. A high volume of documents will likely require a combination approach, where frequently accessed documents will be physically stored on-site, while other files will be digitized or stored off-site.

Document retention policies for special events and milestone anniversaries are suggested so that staff and volunteers know what to do with the volume of receipts, invoices, agreements, and records they will accumulate while planning large events, especially one-time functions. In some cases, income from sponsors or advertisers could be considered unrelated business income.

Also, clubs need to appoint someone on the leadership team to oversee and implement the document retention policy.

COMMON RECORD RETENTION TIMEFRAMES

These are generally accepted records retention timeframes for the most common documents a club would maintain. It is not an exhaustive list and federal or state regulators may have other guidelines. Additionally, the club itself may decide to keep certain records permanently or otherwise modify a records retention schedule based on guidance from legal or financial advisors.

Club records

Permanent

• Annual reports

• Articles of incorporation and application for tax-exempt status

• Board communications: meeting minutes, committee meeting minutes, policies, resolutions, and bylaws

• Fixed asset records

• IRS determination letter

• State sales tax exemption letter

• Insurance records

• Applications for club membership.

Seven years

• Contracts.

Three years

• General correspondence.

Two years

• Hard copies of internal correspondence and memos related to routine matters.

Accounting and financial records

Permanent

• Annual audits and year-end financial statements

• Depreciation schedules

• Form 990 tax returns.

Seven years

• General ledgers

• Business expense records, journal entries, and invoices

• Check registers

• Bank statements, deposit slips, and electronic transfer documents

• Forms 1099.

Three years

• Sales records

• Petty cash vouchers

• Cash and credit card receipts.

Employment and payroll records

Permanent

• State unemployment tax records

• Employment and termination agreements

• Retirement plan documents

• Payroll records.

Seven years

• Garnishment records

• Forms 941 and 941X

• W-2 statements

• Records related to promoting, demoting, or dismissing an employee.

Five years

• Accident reports and workers’ compensation claims.

Three years

• Resumes and related application materials for candidates who were interviewed but were not hired.

Emails and other correspondence considered important to the organization may need to be retained permanently. Other emails may only need to be kept for 12 months. A subjective review based on the facts and circumstances would be required.

Most legal, real estate and insurance records have permanent retention periods. The exceptions are as follows:

• Leases – Seven years after the lease expires

• OSHA documents – Five years

• General contracts – Three years after the term of the contract ends.

Clubs should keep employment tax records at least four years after filing the fourth quarter taxes. State law may require a longer retention period.

Clubs should consider keeping records related to promoting, demoting, or dismissing an employee for seven years after the date of termination. Additionally, employee resumes and application materials, timesheets and other job history materials, and performance appraisals should be kept for four years after termination.

RECORDS RETENTION FOR CLUBS WITH NONMEMBER ACTIVITIES

Clubs conducting activities with nonmembers must maintain certain records related to those events so they can maintain a distinction between exempt income from members and unrelated business income from nonmembers. To keep their tax-exempt status, clubs cannot have too large a percentage of nonmember income. Events involving nonmembers should keep the following records:

• Date

• Total number in the party – members and nonmembers

• Total charges – specify which charges are attributed to members and nonmembers, and what nonmembers paid

• If a member pays all or part of a nonmember’s charge, the member must provide a signed statement indicating whether he or she will be reimbursed, and if so, in what amount.

Failure to collect and maintain this information could result in an IRS determination that all income is unrelated and therefore subject to the unrelated business income tax.

RECORDS RETENTION FOR THE EMPLOYEE RETENTION CREDIT

Clubs that claimed the ERTC should keep the following records for at least four years:

• ERTC eligibility: either copies of government shutdown orders or financial records proving the decline in gross receipts.

• Payroll records: be sure to specify applicable wages by employee plus any qualified health plan expenses.

• Tax records: Forms 941 and/or 941X used to claim the credit.

Document storage guidelines specify clear timeframes for many file types, but not all. Because state laws vary and some retention policies depend on facts and circumstances, each club’s document management strategy may look a little different. Creating or updating a written policy should be done with the club’s legal and accounting advisors to ensure the process complies with applicable laws and is efficient and cost-effective. BR

DAVE WHITE

Dave White is the editor of BoardRoom magazine. If you have comments on this article or suggestions for other topics, please send Dave an email to: dave@boardroommag.com.

Don’t Confuse Circumstantial Success with Aspirational Success

Editor’s note: As global pressures create challenges for all businesses, BoardRoom magazine asked Steve Graves and Rick Coyne, two of the leading experts on private club membership, to comment on the reactions they are seeing from clubs and the issues that may lie ahead.

The private club industry has more clubs now that say they are full, with waiting lists than at almost any time in recent history.

“But, saying something doesn’t necessarily make it so!” exclaimed Steve Graves, president and founder of Creative Marketing Services, an industry consulting firm.

“The private club industry is not doing as well as the rumors about how many private clubs are full would lead you to believe. There are rumblings amongst private clubs that interest in membership is down from the previous two years and that the amount of golf being played is also on a downward trend.

“This shouldn’t be surprising to anyone; however, the culture inside boardrooms, as it pertains to membership, is to seldom be looking much past the most recent membership or finance committee report. In other words, totally reactive,” expressed Graves.

“It’s very common for private club leaders to admit that many of the decisions they make in their private club boardrooms would not be the decisions they would make if they owned the club themselves. The cash position of private clubs right now is extremely strong; consequently, there is little thought as to the ongoing importance of membership growth or membership retention,” he added.

“WHAT, ME WORRY?” – ALFRED E. NEUMAN

“Not only are clubs reacting as though there will be no end in sight for this fortunate growth opportunity, but they’re also doubling down by increasing initiation fees and diminishing membership categories once thought important to capture young families and retain our mature members,” opined Rick Coyne, CEO with ClubInsights and co-founder of the Professional Club Marketing Association.

“In some cases, we’ve also seen boards and club leadership questioning the necessity of marketing staff. These are very troubling reactions to what are clearly cyclical occurrences that we have seen in this and other industries over and over again,” he added.

Graves and Coyne agree that the rush of membership sales at private clubs, beginning May 1, 2020, was based primarily upon the fact that affluent consumers had very few options to consider as they sat in their homes being told to “social distance at all times” while their businesses were shut down and the federal government sent free money to offset the revenues/profits that would have occurred if they were still in business.

Public golf courses and private clubs were immediately “circumstantially” desirable. There were few other options for affluent consumers to choose from and the perceived “safety” of being outdoors on a golf course and the creative socialization of clubs was quite compelling. And the fortuitous tsunami followed.

“We need to only examine the ‘Peloton craze’ to find an apples-to-apples example of ‘circumstantial success,’” they explained.

“Peloton is a fine product in and of its own right. On March 1, 2020, the stock price was hovering around $27 per share. The affluent consumer was mildly interested in the product and sales were, at best, flat. When the pandemic began, and individuals were essentially sequestered in their homes, interest in the product surged. Nothing about the Peloton product changed other than the circumstances of ‘few other options’ to choose from. The stock surged to $163 per share toward the end of 2020.

“However, on June 10, 2022, the stock had dipped to around $11 per share. Peloton executives admittedly misjudged the consumer usage patterns as the pandemic was lessening and options for exercise and recreational usage increased.

“This could easily become the fate of private clubs without proper strategic thought and action plans,” Coyne and Graves maintain.

“In the 1970s and 1980s, being a member of a private club was recognized as an outward representation of success. Affluent consumers aspired to be a member of their local private club. And, of course, cities that had multiple private clubs had a recognized hierarchy of the most prestigious and wearing the logo shirt of those clubs at work, at church and in social settings was a visible show of success,” they added.

“The laws of supply and demand are very powerful and most private clubs enjoyed waiting lists that corresponded

to the fact that there were more people aspiring to join a private club than the number of private clubs available. These waiting lists were based upon supply and demand. A very interesting and important concept for the private club industry to acknowledge. While the recent increase in waiting lists also has been based upon demand, the key question for every club is this: Was demand artificially created and/or will it endure?” they queried.

“Very few clubs fully understand the differences in interests, attitudes and continuity between the new members of the past 30 months and their tenured members. What most clubs see, however, is increased usage, with most new members enjoying what the club has to offer and with unprecedented usage and participation,” said Coyne.

“Simultaneously, many or most clubs are still experiencing labor shortages, increased costs and the transference of these costs to their members. And members, in turn, are also experiencing many of these same issues in their businesses and households,” he added.

“Where is the elasticity of costs versus value received?” This is another huge question both Graves and Coyne feel must be addressed.

Now is the time for private club leaders to make quality decisions in preparation for the naturally occurring shifts in market conditions. Considering that statement, here are Rick and Steve’s answers to questions BoardRoom asked as the club industry prepares to move positively into the future.

1) What are the fiduciary responsibilities of the membership committee chair and the committee? Committees today should be advisory in scope. Most clubs have seasoned and successful membership, communications, member relations and event professionals.

Successful private clubs, therefore, are trending away from the ‘working committee structure’ to the ‘support committee structure.’ Rather than change direction each year as the committee chair and members turn over, the trend addresses the value of a consistent process and methodology that can be successfully supported year over year by each new committee.

It no longer makes sense for inexperienced, albeit well-intentioned, members to step in each year and disrupt the flow. This trend follows the ‘club governance model’ that’s being advanced by most executive search firms as the reason you hire quality professional staff.

The membership committee must remain focused on what is financially and fiduciarily best for the club. What is best for any business is supporting optimum numbers of clients (members) and making efforts to ensure there is a constant pipeline of new members to replace those that leave. Make no mistake, we will return to the norm of six to eight percent annual attrition and it is crucial that the committee support the necessary member experiences that set your club apart from the competition.

2) What should their focus be? A membership committee’s focus should be the recognition that membership is the club’s financial lifeblood. The healthier the pipeline, the happier the

members, the greater brand presence your club will have in the marketplace.

Understanding the needs of the members, how members are perceiving their club and the value they place on membership can be crucial commitments of the membership committee. Ensuring that there is adequate intelligence on reasons members are joining, what they want by demographic and why they stay are critical in making decisions regarding membership.

The membership committee members must be as focused on membership retention as they are on recruitment. They must work with the other club committees to maintain a culture of fun, family and experiences. Yes, they must also be the cheerleaders for continual and enthusiastic referrals, but without ensuring that the club is listening to its members and providing what they want, no amount of enthusiasm will replace market intelligence.

3) We hear clubs are full. What’s the definition of full? You would think that full would be a simple and easy decision to make and define. Is full defined by what a club’s bylaws say? As COVID-19 created a nearly rabid need to be outdoors, full was often mandated by ‘the availability of the golf course.’ Frankly, this likely altered the bylaw’s definition of full based on the complaints filed by members finding fewer and fewer tee time opportunities.

Whether reducing full counts on this basis was prudent really doesn’t matter. What does matter is that clubs view what full must look like in normal times, then decide if they’re actually there.

Industry consultants have suggested anywhere from 50 percent to 65 percent of all private clubs (with a golf offering) are full compared to the fall of 2019 when that percentage was more in the 15-20 percent range.

While there is no question that many clubs are full, the real question is this: Is your private club full statistically or emotionally? Why does this matter? It matters because an artificial stimulus created outrageous demand, unseen before in the industry.

In some cases, this unprecedented growth created a bulletproof mentality. As growth occurred in staggering numbers, demands for increased initiation fees, higher standards of screening of new members and even eradication of once important categories of membership began to appear in every sector. Will this come back to haunt clubs that have taken this approach?

Regardless of whether you are full or not full is really not the issue. The real objective should be in determining how best to maintain the momentum, keep the pipeline full, keep the members happy, telling their friends how great the club is, and building cash reserves and balance sheet strength.

4) What should initiation fees be? How should they be established? A very high initiation fee does not make the club exclusive. Some of the most exclusive clubs in the world are less costly to join than many of today’s inflated neighborhood clubs.

Initiation fees determine the capabilities of private clubs to fund their short- and long-term capital needs. Initiation fees right now have exploded across the country. Why? There’s a great deal of ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ as private club leaders simply raise initiation fees because a neighboring club charges more, or because they believe this same demand will last forever.

That’s not only a false premise but it also has been historically proven to necessitate lowering the fees at some point as the demand subsides, which can occur more quickly because of the weak economy and a slowdown in membership interest. When this occurs, the club loses credibility and its integrity will be questioned by new and existing members.

Whether, as some have suggested, the windfall of COVID19 also tied back to two years of vacations that were not taken, pent-up needs to create a family respite from isolation, or simply having an alternative, many joined because it was the only nearby option.

As previously suggested, will this alter the attrition rates after a year or two of normalcy? Will the rising costs of membership alter the perception of need or value? These questions today remain unanswered. But as cyclical as we have seen the rise and fall of initiation fees over the past several decades, it’s quite likely we will see it again.

Remember this. A freestanding club’s market is roughly 15 minutes’ drive from its front door. The households in that drive time are your primary market. When you compare initiation fees with other clubs, are their market conditions within those 15 minutes better or worse than yours? How many households within your market can actually afford membership initiation fees and the monthly costs of retaining membership? The fact of the matter is, for freestanding clubs, your market is finite and predictable, but few, if any, can provide an overview of the number of households that can actually afford current fees, much less escalations.

Many private club leaders, pre-pandemic, were convinced that initiation fees were the main reason that individuals were not joining their club. If there was one fact that the pandemic proved, it’s that people will pay an initiation fee to join a private club. However, we have witnessed private clubs raising their initiation fees for all the wrong reasons.

There was no statistical analysis done regarding what the initiation should be except the emotional high of thinking you should or could raise them to any level you wanted. In those cases, we have completely mistaken the ‘circumstantial successes’ provided by the pandemic as something that was here to stay.

5) We’re hearing some clubs feel they do not need a membership director so, do private clubs need a membership director? When the role of the membership director was initially created, the most important task and focus for that professional to undertake was ‘membership growth.’

As a matter of fact, most compensation packages for membership directors were a combination of a base salary and commissions based on membership sales. The recent success

of new member growth is temporary and not a reflection of how private clubs will produce new members in the future.

True membership departments are now made up of marketing, communication, member relations and event planning professionals. Each plays a crucial role in developing the club’s brand identity, driving growth, onboarding and ingratiating new members and ensuring the member experience creates value, participation and ambassadorship of your members.

Any club that feels this is a time to dispense with any of these roles is out of touch with reality. Membership is the steam that drives the private club engine.

Membership departments today are coordinating the overall experience of new and existing members. They are building brand-related experiences with other departments and they are creating two-way communication processes that allow a constant flow of critical data to best understand your members, how they think, what they want all while simultaneously creating value and ambassadors of goodwill.

Perhaps now, as cash flow levels have increased, it’s time to actually create a marketing department that addresses the disciplines enunciated to ensure that the opportunity presented to clubs is not lost through lack of data, member feedback and coordination of each member experience.

Membership professionals play a complete and total role in marketing the club, maintaining and implementing growth strategies and through a variety of strategies keeping membership attrition as low as possible. Now is not the time to abandon the role of the membership director just because of an influx of new members that were circumstantially driven to the club rather than nurtured through the proper channels of membership referral. They control the lifeblood of the club.

6) What is the membership director’s role (seeking new members … pushing retention)? The membership professional’s role continues to evolve.

Because of efforts of the Professional Club Marketing Association, membership professionals are exactly that … professionals. The role of the membership professional continues to expand. And private clubs need to look at having a membership department, no different than having a golf operation, a golf course maintenance operation, a food and beverage operation, etc.

In other words, private clubs need to expand the number of individuals they have working on the many complexities of marketing the club, maintaining membership growth and nurturing membership retention. Those efforts cannot be accomplished with a one-person department with limited financial support.

Few clubs have a ‘marketing budget’ and that must change dramatically to ensure continuity, adequate member feedback and drive the overall satisfaction level of members. Membership is job one. It needs to be funded appropriately. BR

Rick Coyne is president of ClubInsights and co-founder of the Professional Club Marketing Association. He can be reached via email: rcoyne@clubinsights.com

Steve Graves is president and founder of Creative Golf Marketing. He can be reached via email: steve@creativegolfmarketing.com

Achieve What You Believe

A

CULINARY & CATERING

LYNNE LAFOND DELUCA

Lynne LaFond DeLuca is the executive director of the Association of Club Catering & Event Professionals and a private club industry consultant. In 2016 and 2019, Boardroom magazine awarded her the Gary Player Educator of the Year Award. You can reach her at Lynne@TheACCP.com, or visit the website at www.TheACCP. com. www.facebook.com/AsociationofClubCateringProfessionals, on our LinkedIn Group and Instagram at www.instagram.com/clubcateringpro

Five Steps to Better Staff Recruitment, Retention and Appreciation

I recently wrote a social media post called “THANK A CATERING & EVENT DIRECTOR!”

Yes, the title was in all caps. What prompted this plea? At ACCP, we post open positions and do searches and placements. The activity lately has been very brisk. The pandemic has fueled many of the open positions in our industry.

This trend is happening club-wide in every department, but my niche is catering and events, so I will address that. You can apply this concept to just about every department and position. In speaking with catering and event directors about why they are leaving and talking with those who were laid off during the pandemic and are not coming back, I realized that we are on a dangerous path. The employment pool has shifted in lifestyle and needs. Has our industry addressed those changes? I don’t think so, and I know we can do better. We must do better.

The pandemic allowed hardworking people who put in long hours, including weekends and evenings, to take a breath and slow down to a more consistent, slower-paced lifestyle. Many relished having a weekend off, attending their children’s sports games, making dinner at a reasonable hour, and having a more sought-after work-life balance that always seemed to elude them. It was a turning point for many who decided to find new careers that support a healthier lifestyle. They left for jobs that pay more and do not require the time commitment that this job does.

This role is critical in our clubs and can impact member retention probably more than any other position. Member events and food and beverage touch all members. They can mean the difference between members who are excited to see what the club will do next, invite other members to attend events with them and ask friends to join the club and members who are underwhelmed, bored and see no value in the club.

Club events are exploding (in a good way), and we need the best event and catering directors to plan and manage this process, creating memories and once-in-a-lifetime experiences for our members and event hosts. Right now, they need to feel appreciated and thanked for the invaluable way they keep our clubs running, providing all the “wow and fun factors” for events and member experiences that impact member retention. What can we do? Here are five steps:

Step 1: Just say “thank you” and let them know how appreciated and valuable they are. Ask them what they need to

do their job better/be more efficient and how you can help (this is huge!).

Step 2: Provide tools and benefits that they find valuable for their professional development, including a budget for ongoing education and experiences that inspire new, fresh and exciting event ideas for your members.

Step 3: Help them figure out a schedule that works for them and their families. If it means hiring another person so that they can take a weekend off once a month and leave the club before it gets dark, then that might be the best money you spend.

Step 4: Find the money. When you compare what hotels and resorts pay event and catering directors in your geographic area, you will probably find that private clubs are a few steps behind and more than a dollar short when it comes to salary, plus we typically require more hours and greater responsibility since the event and catering directors in clubs tends to “wear many hats” and the structure in hotels and resorts is different. Finding a less experienced person who requires a smaller salary will only shoot you in the foot. Do not skimp in this area. Who do you trust to plan the wedding of a member’s daughter? Your member-guest? You only have one chance to plan the perfect event, and this job requires a specific skill set and the person doing the job deserves the appropriate salary. Your member experience and member retention depend on it.

Step 5: Recruit with some exciting benefits and rewards. Boring job postings will not attract the “cream of the crop” members deserve. Get creative when you list the benefits and go above the standard and usual. One posting I saw recently for a catering director included “an ACCP membership and attendance at the National Conference.” Other fun and valuable benefits can be weekly gas cards, daily meals, childcare, birthday off with pay, signing bonuses, quarterly dinner with a guest at a local restaurant, random gift cards for employees going above and beyond, and referrals for new employees. Ask your employees how they like to be rewarded and “walk the talk” and follow through.

An employee committee that focuses on fun and fabulous perks and benefits might be a great way to find new ideas. With a little creative spirit and initiative to take care of your current staff and recruit staff that will serve our clubs well for years to come, you will find your staff has renewed energy and excitement. BR

ED DOYLE

Ed Doyle is president of RealFood Hospitality Strategy and Design, a Troon company, and can be reached at eddoyle@rfhsd.com or (617)876-2100

F&B COMMITTEE

If Your Beverage Program Is Not an Experience, Then It’s Not Done

Ask better questions. Curiosity is the key to asking questions that reveal pathways to the answers.

It’s knowing what you know, but also knowing what you don’t (yet) know. Learning by inquiry allows food and beverage leaders to recognize areas of mastery and identify areas for improvement. Questions get the wheels in motion. Here’s a good one: What are the key experiential pillars of your club’s beverage program?

If your beverage program is not an experience, then it’s not done. Depending on your amenity offerings, you may have a singular beverage program or 10 different beverage programs. No matter how big or small, your beverage program most certainly supports the greater dining experience, and your members and guests measure the value of their club against the delivery of that experience.

What is a beverage program? It’s the culmination of the characteristics and components of your beverage experience—from your conceptual framework to the type and number of items offered, your price points and menu descriptions, inventory brands, and even your pours, bar design and setup, and service style.

How do you design a successful beverage program? A fruitful program’s first priority is aligning with your club’s overall vision. Typically, a beverage program is developed as a funnel, starting with the conceptual direction. Here, you are asking the questions: Who is our audience and how are we serving them? What do they want, and what are we doing to make sure we achieve the vision through the lens of member and guest expectations?

For example, a high-volume outlet that’s more casual, with members paying by house account, may dictate a bar program with fewer frills; the audience just wants their drinks of choice quickly and statements to be error-free.

Therefore, speed of service and accuracy are key experiential pillars to the success of this beverage program. Now, every decision as you develop your beverage program for this outlet is filtered against these characteristics.

As you work your way down the funnel, you begin to formulate menu categories, ranging from full spirits, beer and wine, and specialty offerings. Drilling down into the details that include preparation, service style, signature elements and experiential touchpoints comes next.

Eventually, this leads to the actual menu development. The menu is the final piece of the bar programming (not the first). Menu includes the product mix, the type of inventory (local, small batch or big brand), pours and pricing.

Smoked Manhattans, decadent garnishes, and specialty ice may not have a place when speed and accuracy are priorities, or perhaps they only have a place during certain dayparts. There’s no time for a bartender to verbalize what’s on the menu. Ask the questions: How do members and guests easily know what’s available?

And operationally, the questions continue to further test the program against the original vision: How many steps does it take to charge to a house account in the POS system?

Bar design comes into play as well. Is there appropriate workspace, bar well space, glassware storage and warewashing capacity? What is the experience for the person working the bar? Experiential elements should not necessarily be sacrificed just because speed and accuracy are key pillars. Club culture may dictate frosted bar service for beer. Ask how your bar layout facilitates execution at high volumes. What else should I consider? Remember that “beverage” is not just the bar. It is everything that is a consumable drink, from non-alcoholic offerings to kids’ menu items, to coffee service and blended and dessert selections. It includes on premises, on course (mobile and stationary), and off premises (carryout and retail).

Contrary to the article’s title, a beverage program is never done. Developing a beverage program is an iterative process. Even once you’ve worked to the bottom of the funnel, some influences require regular modification. These include seasonality, special offers from vendors and distributors, industry trends and changing societal and geographic preferences. Your overall philosophy will drive decision-making when it comes to addressing these outside factors; the key is having a program that defines what those driving pillars are. Everything has a place and a purpose, especially your beverage program, and it’s all in service to the overall club vision and desired dining experience. BR

HR COMMITTEE

Why Flexibility Rules

RITA BARRETO

Rita Barreto is an engaging, motivational speaker on the national stage. She offers customized, industry-specific consulting services to navigate change and build an agile and thriving company culture. Don’t hesitate to visit toptierleadership.com, and then give Rita a call to book a free 20-minute consultation.

Flexibility: It’s a five-syllable word with multiple meanings and a crucial description of what today’s workers and managers need as they face the challenges of ’22 and beyond.

The issues:

• What is a hybrid work model and how difficult is it to manage?

• Can employees work successfully from either home or office?

• How important is a company’s culture in deciding whether to go or stay in a job?

• How comfortable are you with today’s brisk volatility? Does rapid change frighten or challenge you?

• How important to you are fairness and inclusion in a workplace? What about equity and diversity?

• Will the “Great Resignation” blend into the status quo? Are you prepared for such significant change?

• What’s the bottom line for employers who want to retain workers in a highly competitive market?

More questions than answers, to be sure. But both employees and managers are rethinking their future work experience these days. Do they like the hybrid model, which provides flexibility and balance, efficiency and adaptability? Is it meeting their needs for connection and safety? Do they agree on matters such as the number of days a worker should be in the office?

A high percentage want to work where they feel connected to the people and purpose, and many say they would quit if they didn’t feel that connection. Being “authentic” attracts many, especially younger workers, these days. Studies show that a sense of well-being is important for many employees.

Since ideas and expectations tend to evolve, what’s the bottom line today for employers who want to retain employees in a highly competitive market?

One former executive put it this way: “My biggest piece of advice is to hone in on what employees really care about –diversity and inclusion,” the late Linda Shaffer, former chief people and operations officer at Checkr, once commented. “What workers truly care about is that their values align with the core value of their company.”

Building a profitable organizational culture requires dedication and thought. Some managers who deal with remote and hybrid workers say it’s important that they have input on when and where they work and how they can be reached.

In return, they set guidelines for what they believe is best in the home or office and why.

Everyone knows the old saying “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.” Something similar can be said of people. For example, an employee offered what a manager thinks is a terrific benefit may not be jumping up and down happily. The smart people in such a situation will try to be flexible and find a compromise that satisfies them both.

This is a time filled with more questions than answers, so remember the basics and ask yourself how many of the following you can answer with a yes.

What’s the best way to encourage a sense of well-being in employees?

• Inclusivity. The feeling that they have equal access to opportunities and resources.

• Authenticity. Knowing they’re encouraged to learn and grow appeals especially to younger workers.

• Changeability, adaptability. Willingness, even enthusiasm, in facing change.

The central question: Is this a good time to rethink the future of the hybrid experience? A one-fits-all approach doesn’t hack it today. Have we developed a solid career development strategy for remote and hybrid workers? Are we meeting the challenge of managing life-work integration? Creating a better workforce culture is a high priority, so what’s the smartest, most effective way to lead employees in that direction?

Add the word belong to workplace goals. Belonging is part of happiness and well-being. Add diversity, inclusion and equity, and odds are you have a happy employee ready to do their best for you. Ideas and expectations tend to evolve.

Then there’s wellness. In the wake of the pandemic, many companies expanded the wellness support they provide employees. A Gartner survey of 52 HR executives found that 94 percent of companies made significant investments in their well-being programs, 85 percent increased support for mental health benefits, 50 percent increased support for physical well-being, and 38 percent increased support for financial well-being.

Finally, keep in mind that as the level of volatility increases nationwide, fairness and equity are an even more defining issue for every organization. The competition for talent continues. Building a profitable organizational culture requires dedication and thought.

The bottom line: Limber up. Flexibility rules. BR

Excellence in Club Governance

Excellence in governance is key to success for private clubs. BoardRoom magazine is featuring a series of articles written by Henry DeLozier, a partner with GGA Partners, an international consulting firm and trusted advisor to private clubs, golf clubs and residential communities around the world.

This issue features Boards Should Examine Their Own Performance... Self-evaluation may be the stuff of champions, as it was for the basketball dynasty that Hall of Fame college basket ball coach John Wooden built at UCLA, but as far as fun activities are concerned, taking an honest look at our performance, warts and all, seems to rank right down there with public speaking and root canals for most board members. Read more on page 88.

Henry also addresses Guidance for Governing… Providing experienced and insightful guidance to the club’s senior managers is the primary responsibility of a club’s board. A key for individual board members is remembering to focus on the big picture, thereby preserving and protecting the institutions that define the club. For inspiration and guidance, board members might reflect on lessons from the recent past and remember the adage “never waste a crisis.” Read more on page 89.

KE CAMPS

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Boards Should Examine Their Own Performance

You would think that members of a global population that takes 92 million selfies every day would be eager to examine themselves.

To take a hard look in the proverbial mirror and judge how well they’re doing and how well they’re doing the things for which they’re responsible. John Wooden, a Hall of Fame college basketball coach, emphasized the importance of such an exercise when he said: “Without proper self-evaluation, failure is inevitable.”

Self-evaluation may be the stuff of champions, as it was for the basketball dynasty that Hall of Fame college basketball coach John Wooden built at UCLA, but as far as fun activities are concerned, taking an honest look at our performance, warts and all, seems to rank right down there with public speaking and root canals for most board members. Private club leaders are no exception. But such reviews come with the job for members of non-profit boards, which are expected to evaluate themselves against four cornerstones of oversight: strategy, governance, finance, and leadership.

Seek answers by starting with questions.

Using a five-point scale of measurement (from “extremely disagree” to “extremely agree”), board members should answer the following questions:

• What actions and methods does the board use to support the club’s purpose?

• Does the board create and monitor strategic objectives effectively and promptly?

• Does the board guide and monitor the club’s finances and financial programs with high effectiveness?

• Does the board provide proactive and effective guidance, support, and oversight for the club’s senior management?

• Does the board address brand, identity, and reputation issues well?

• Is the board organized and run on schedule?

• Does the board have a representative mix of member types and attitudes?

• Are board meetings executed in a manner that allows all board members to address individual viewpoints?

Monitor duties with post-meeting evaluations.

Self-evaluation is beneficial after every board meeting regarding how the board executes its duties. On matters of style, the following topics beg for evaluation in these times:

1. Transparency and membership communications. Is the board effectively informing club members of its decisions concerning strategy and finance?

2. Non-disclosure and discretion. Is the board able to function discreetly and confidentially? Or does the board leak information, such as person-

nel, disciplinary, and employee compensation matters? Does the board openly instruct members about which topics and information are not to be openly shared?

3. Organizational effectiveness. Are board meetings efficiently executed? Do all board members have the opportunity to express their opinions?

Holding ourselves accountable to members.

Members want governance at a high standard of responsibility and professionalism. Members expect their boards and board members to be business-like in their efforts. Boards that hold themselves accountable demonstrate a deep understanding of what members want.

In addition, each board should conduct a board self-evaluation every year. Five keys for guiding the annual board survey are:

1. Use the same questions every year to enable comparison

2. Use the evaluation results as a benchmark of effectiveness

3. See that the annual evaluation is mandatory for board service

4. Report the compiled results to the members at large

5. Compile the results and create an action plan.

The annual board self-evaluation should be shared with the rank-and-file members of the club. A key to trust is transparent governance that makes it clear that the board demonstrates genuine regard for its responsibilities to fellow members. In addition, the board self-evaluation should be compared to prior years’ evaluations for further guidance and insight.

The simple summary is that Coach Wooden had it right. Self-evaluation is essential to sustaining top levels of performance and from those results arises a legacy of excellence for the club and its members. BR

HENRY DELOZIER

Henry DeLozier is a partner at GGA Partners. He can be reached via at henry.delozier@ggapartners.com

Guidance for Governing

Providing experienced and insightful guidance to the club’s senior managers is the primary responsibility of a club’s board.

A key for individual board members is remembering to focus on the big picture, thereby preserving and protecting the institutions that define the club. For inspiration and guidance, board members might reflect on lessons from the recent past and remember the adage “never waste a crisis.”

Many lessons emerged from past economic downturns, such as in the wake of 9/11 and during the Great Recession of 2008. The four following priorities stand out in guiding boardroom planning for the near term:

1. Financial model – Weathering the imminent economic downturn is a matter of pressing importance. Boards should focus on (a) evaluating the club’s current and pending debt levels; (b) updating financial projections, with a particular focus on membership recruitment and retention; and (c) retaining staff.

The keys here are to update financial assumptions without creating self-imposed limitations on the club’s capabilities. Many club leaders overreacted following recent economic downturns. It took years to reverse their overcorrections – stopping capital spending and capping membership levels.

2. Capital reserves – A flood of member joining fees created resources to address decades-long deferred capital maintenance. Every club should have a capital reserve plan developed by independent and objective experts. It is not committee work. The characteristics of a reliable, forward-looking capital plan are:

• Evaluation of every asset on the club’s current asset roster, with particular focus on the remaining useful life of each asset and a realistic estimation of the cost to replace each asset when its useful life expires

• Annual estimations of capital spending that will be required on a five-, 10- and 20-year basis

• An underlying cash flow projection that demonstrates the sources of funds – whether debt, capital calls, capital dues, or other reliable sources – and fully addresses projected capital requirements.

Most private clubs have parts of a thorough capital reserve plan, but few have a thorough understanding and documentation of the sources and uses of funds necessary to fully serve club members.

3. Strategy – Most private clubs rely on careful strategic plans to guide their decision-making. Club leaders must review their current strategic plans to ensure the plans remain relevant to emerging and pending conditions. Club leaders should consider the following updates to existing strategic plans:

• Membership fees, dues, benefits, and privileges – Private clubs quickly shifted from scrambling to recruit more members before 2020 to aggressively seeking to limit membership growth as golf and club popularity boomed in the aftermath of the pandemic. It’s now time to review the club’s membership count while realistically addressing supply and demand factors within local and competitive markets. These markets are rapidly changing, and outdated assumptions will cripple strategy if not carefully considered and reevaluated.

• Market demand for memberships – Separating work from jobs appears to be a continuing effect of the pandemic and may enable more members to use their clubs more fully and more regularly. Club boards should ask for regular utilization updates from the management team.

• Staff levels, compensation, and benefits – The greatest operating expense for most clubs is labor, which, as hiring managers know, is in the throes of tremendous upheaval. Elevated compensation and benefit levels have changed and will continue to roil the labor landscape. The critical importance of employee retention will endure with emphasis on retention bonuses, family access to group medical plans and expanded recognition (by members) of devoted members of the club’s staff.

4. Traditions and standards – Civility has become a matter of concern in many clubs. It is particularly evident in clubs lacking organized and reliable methods of governance concerning member deportment and behavior. Private club members rely upon their boards to establish and enforce rules that are evenly and consistently administered.

Many club boards may wonder whether and how this slowdown may differ from previous economic events. Three important considerations for private club leaders stand out among the time-tested lessons learned from previous economic downturns:

• Don’t go dead in the water. Clubs that stopped spending on care and upkeep of assets suffered significant membership losses from 2002 - 2004 and, again, after the recessionary cycle. Club leaders must plan beyond immediate challenges.

• Preserve the club’s traditions. Clubs lacking rules and standards will be punished by disappointed members through a rash of resignations and falling usage characteristics. Clubs that prospered during the pandemic were those that represented a haven for members and their families.

GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE

Ruling Out Bad Behavior A Troubling Trend

STEVE MONA

Steve Mona is Club Benchmarking’s director of governance and leadership. He may be reached at smona@clubbenchmarking.com

During my interactions with boards of directors and general managers/chief operating officers of clubs across the country, I am almost always asked the same question: “What trends are you seeing at other clubs?”

Of late and with very few exceptions, I am sad to say that the answer is the same. The trend I’m seeing all too often is clubs dealing with bad behavior from their members.

This issue appears to be the same regardless of a club’s geography, number of members, or budget. Examples usually center on members disrespectfully treating employees and the stories almost always involve the excessive use of alcohol, usually by members, but sometimes by the underage children of members. Clubs have also cited incidents where members are treating each other disrespectfully and inappropriately.

As a result, I have seen several boards identify member decorum as a strategic priority for the year. In almost all cases, boards are seeking to either change the club’s culture in this area or quickly extinguish a new trend that has developed recently.

In my conversations with GM/COOs and board members, three reasons are often cited for the increase in misbehavior and related incidents:

1. The polarization of our society generally along political party lines. Subjects ranging from gun rights to abortion, climate change and the 2020 election have seemed to galvanize supporters on either side of an issue to the point where no reasonable discourse among differing viewpoints is possible.

2. The continued proliferation of social media as a weapon to demonize those with a different view of those issues and virtually any other contentious topic has essentially eliminated any degree of sympathy for those on the opposite side of a debate.

3. The fatigue caused by three years of dealing with a pandemic. With more than one million deaths and 84 million reported cases, nearly everyone has been directly impacted in some fashion. Add in restrictions from lockdowns to the mandatory wearing of face masks and it’s easy to see why many people are on edge.

It is a troubling trend indeed, but what can club leaders do? Those of us who are of a certain age may recall the lyrics to the 1966 Buffalo Springfield song “For What It’s Worth,” which include this refrain: “Step out of line and the man come(s) and take(s) you away.” That may be tempting if you’re dealing with serious member behavior problems, but it’s probably not a realistic solution in a private club setting.

Not long ago, I worked with a club that does not have member decorum issues because the culture of the club simply does not allow it.

The club’s values, from a practical standpoint, are identical to the Ritz-Carlton’s culture of “ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen.” That philosophy extends to how members treat each other. I believe the key to their success is that those values are zealously protected and consistently communicated.

So how does a club change its culture? First, the board must make it clear that the club will not tolerate any violations of its member decorum policy. The rules must be strictly and promptly enforced, and every step of the enforcement process must be carefully and consistently followed.

Second, members must be educated about the culture of the club before they become members. That means the policy and expectations are presented during their formal orientation and reinforced throughout their years as club members.

Third, the staff, through the GM/COO, should feel comfortable bringing violations of member decorum rules forward to the board, and know they will be supported through the board’s decision-making process as they address such cases.

Clubs can become safe havens for good behavior just as they are in so many other regards. Rather than reflecting society generally, clubs with policies and processes in place can become examples of institutions that rise above the fray of day-to-day life. For the majority of members, the opportunity to socialize in an environment where civility is the rule rather than the exception is one of the most attractive benefits of belonging to a private club. BR

BRAD D. STEELE

Brad D. Steele, J.D., started Private Club Consultants to provide in-depth legal and operational answers for America’s top private clubs. For more information about PCC, email Brad at steele@privateclubconsultants.net, call/text him at (703) 395-5463 or connect with him at www.linkedin.com/in/BradSteelePCC.

What Private Status Means And Why Boards Should Protect It

Since the creation of the first private club, our business model has been unique.

While clubs are formed under state corporation laws, they are different from traditional corporations because they focus on the needs and desires of their members rather than the needs and desires of the general public. In addition, the goal of most private clubs is not to generate profits, per se, but to satisfy the expenses of their members’ use and enjoyment of the club. It is this unique business model that creates a club’s private status.

As a result of functioning unlike conventional businesses (or “places of public accommodation”), clubs are treated differently by the law. Indeed, truly private clubs are exempt from some of the most consequential federal and state laws specifically because they are so atypical. These exemptions – from laws like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Titles II and VII), the Americans with Disabilities Act (Titles I and III) as well as many similar state-based laws – allow clubs to exist as they were meant to be, but only if they are indeed truly private.

Though these exemptions may not immediately seem important, many lawsuits brought against private clubs often arise based on the laws from which we are exempt. As such, club leaders who fail to protect their club’s private status can expose it to significant legal problems, financial liabilities, public relations nightmares, and member retention issues – any of which could be devastating to a club’s existence.

With that in mind, working to maintain your club’s private status should be the most important job of any club board member. Thankfully, numerous federal and state court decisions have provided clear guidelines to help club leaders understand just how to do that.

To begin, a truly private club should minimize nonmember use of its amenities. The moment unaccompanied nonmembers are permitted unfettered access to the club is the moment when courts find problems. When nonmembers are offered the same type of access as members, like through

GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE

golf outings and weddings, the club’s unique business model is altered and private status can be jeopardized.

Secondly, concerted efforts by a club to market itself will often force judges to see it as a place of public accommodation rather than a truly private facility. Since private clubs are supported by their members, advertising to the general public (including through website and social media use) will often cause problems. Courts will likely view this as a money-making endeavor akin to what standard businesses do and reject claims of private status.

Finally, courts have often scrutinized the membership admissions process of clubs to help determine if a club is truly private. Those clubs with a more involved and deliberate process are often found to meet the requirements. However, those clubs must actually adhere to their admissions process. Cutting corners or waiving procedures will likely convey that the club is easy to join and open like any normal place of public accommodation. Naturally, that will jeopardize a club’s private status.

While this is not an exhaustive list of private status factors, they are the ones most often cited by federal and state courts. As such, these are the factors club leaders should focus on with more intensity.

Ultimately, our exemption from these laws provides truly private clubs with the ability to select our membership and establish our internal policies. Without these exemptions, the club becomes a second home your members no longer control.

In the end, being truly private allows us to be that unique business entity that we have always been, and it provides us a shield if someone claims our business model is somehow illegal. And in this day and age, that shield is indispensable. So, in the boardroom and beyond, do not forget what your club’s private status means and do your best to protect it. BR

GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE

HAL PHILLIPS

Hal Phillips joined business journal Golf Course News as editor-in-chief in 1992. During his tenure he would oversee the launch of both Golf Course News Asia-Pacific and GCN International. In 1997, Phillips left to form his own firm, Mandarin Media (www.mandarinmedia.net), though he never stopped writing: His published pieces have since appeared in GOLF Magazine, Sports Illustrated, Travel+Leisure Golf, The Portland Press-Herald, Links and Golfweek. His new book, Generation Zero, is now available via Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. He can be contacted via email: hphillips@mandarinmedia.net

CEO Governance Model Builds Momentum in the Club Industry - Part II of II

When Dylan Petrick arrived at Kenwood Country Club in Cincinnati, OH, after accepting the position of chief executive officer, the veteran general manager and ClubCorp alumnus remained largely unfamiliar with this governance model.

Three years later, he’s a believer. Indeed, he’s convinced that he’s out in front of a trend.

“There are something like 1,200 chief operating officers” leading US private clubs today, Petrick says. “Of course, there was a time — not too long ago — when no private clubs in America had turned operations over to a COO. I’m gonna go ahead and predict that the next movement in our business will be from a COO model to the CEO model.”

Petrick credits the enlightened leadership of Denise Kuprionis for much of the club’s successes, which include an enviable cash flow, an even longer waiting list, initial renovation of the club’s Kendale course, and landing an LPGA Tour event. Kuprionis served as club president and board chair from 2019-2021.

There’s a related logic here, however, one familiar to those who pay particular attention to the golf course industry: Many course superintendents have today assumed the role of director of agronomy. Kenwood’s new super, Nate Herman, hired in the fall of 2021, was given that title. Herman and Shawn Costello, Kenwood’s director of golf, naturally work with the green committee to sort course-related strategy and policy. But it is Costello who makes buying decisions for the golf shop. It is Herman who makes decisions about what fertilizer to buy, how much to apply day to day, and how best to prepare the golf course for the inaugural Kroger Queen City Championship, which debuted at Kenwood in September.

“The staff here, including the green committee, is very, very good and our success ahead of the tournament will be determined by how well and fast we gel, how well we listen, and make the right choices,” Herman, who arrived at 36hole Kenwood from Harbor Shores Golf Course in Benton Harbor, MI, permanent home of the KitchenAid Senior PGA

“There are something like 1,200 chief operating officers leading US private clubs today. Of course, there was a time — not too long ago — when no private clubs in America had turned operations over to a COO. I’m gonna go ahead and predict that the next movement in our business will be from a COO model to the CEO model.”

She’s the individual who instituted the CEO model at Kenwood. Not surprisingly, she’s also president of The Governance Solutions Group, a Cincinnati-based consultancy that specializes in outfitting clubs and other non-profits with cutting-edge, durable leadership infrastructure.

Despite all this progress, the philosophical shift continues to trickle down at Kenwood, where the various committees are chaired not by members but by directors who are club employees.

Dylan Petrick, CEO Kenwood Country Club

Championship, said before the tournament. “When I was at Harbor Shores, it was all me. But I’ve learned I’d rather have five or 10 sets of eyes than one set. That’s how we work collectively. Teamwork and zero ego, especially myself.”

Empowering directors at the expense of member-led decision-making is no small matter. It is, in fact, an enormous change — for members and club employees more familiar with the traditional equity club model.

“It is a big change,” Petrick explains. “Under our system of governance, our operating committees don’t have as much power as they traditionally do at other clubs. They provide buy-in, support, idea generation and feedback but do not make operational decisions. If the majority says no, we very likely won’t do something. But we’ve seen how this approach balances resources, and I see bigger clubs trending this way. A lot of board members don’t want to run a club. In their own businesses, they hire experts and get out of the way.

“When I was at ClubCorp, we acquired a massive, prestigious club down south and we did so for 10 cents on the dollar. It wasn’t the GM who ran that club into the ground. They probably went through half a dozen GMs, pointing fingers the whole time. It was the membership and board that was responsible for the poor allocation of resources and the poor decision-making there. It makes way more sense to hire an expert and hold that expert accountable. If he or she doesn’t produce, get rid of the CEO.

“We were very fortunate that Denise Kuprionis brought this change to Kenwood. Kirk Reese, another savvy member, was an important voice when implementing that change. He teaches and speaks on these matters. We still have disagreements with members and the board on operational matters. We’re a work in progress. But there are no board discussions on the price of beer.”

Kuprionis was the first female board member at Kenwood. She was also the club’s first female board chair. Her influence at the club has obviously been enormous. And yet that influence has been manifest in other, more nuanced ways. So as soon as she joined the board, Kuprionis recruited another woman, Janel Carroll, to join her. Finding more women to serve in club roles remains a permanent goal of the nominating committee, Petrick says, though it’s not so easy or straightforward as that.

“Only a primary member can be a board member and most memberships at Kenwood — at most clubs, in my experience — are traditionally held in the gentlemen’s name,” he says. “In terms of eligibility and professionalism, that’s an obstacle. We’ve got to work harder to identify them and get them involved in various committees, as a stepping stone. We have to continue to progress in our standard of governance to have a wider pool of potential board members.

“But I’ll tell you where Denise’s example has been even more influential: staffing and hiring. We’ve hired a lot more women throughout our operations team, at the director and executive level, and I think that leads right back to Denise. Employees see how involved we are in getting women further education.”

F&B Director Haley Hopkins is going through the YWCA’s Rising Star Leadership accreditation right now. Kenwood was also awarded a LaRocca Family Executive Scholarship because the management team includes a mentor (Petrick) and mentee (Hopkins) worth supporting. The food and beverage manager in training at Kenwood is a woman, a recent Kent State graduate. Three of its four seasonal college interns are women.

“We have 10 employees with CMAA memberships working on continued education in our industry,” Petrick adds. “That’s up from just two when I was hired. Bringing in the LPGA Tour is still more evidence of the club’s commitment, the Tour being such a strong proponent for women in golf — not just on course but in the industry.”

The Kroger Queen City Championship was played Sept. 5-11. The off-course centerpiece of tournament week was a women’s leadership summit. The program was formulated by Kroger, P&G and the LPGA, with input from tournament director Emily Norell and local stakeholders like Kuprionis and Lesli Hopping, immediate past president of the Greater Cincinnati Golf Association. Hopping is the first

woman to serve in her position. Does all this female leadership translate into more membership interest from women?

“I think it’s been good for the recruitment of new members, and some of our current members have echoed this sentiment,” Petrick says. “Studies indicate the younger generations of members certainly want to be involved with doing what is right for society. We’re doing the right thing when it comes to hiring, by focusing on equality and diversity. It helps build a better work environment and culture. A better environment provides better member service and elevates the experience. So frankly, it does matter.

“I also think it’s important for future membership that we’re trying to advance things. It’s been great for recruitment to our staff, for sure. They say, ‘Hey, this is an industry I can grow in.’ PGM (Professional Golf Management) programs and turf programs are being cut left and right. We want to become the nursing school of the hospitality industry: If you graduate, you get a job. It’s a good way to stand out.” BR

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

BILL SCHWARTZ

Bill Schwartz is the founder and CEO of System Concepts, Inc. (SCI). Based in Scottsdale, AZ, SCI specializes in F&B procurement and inventory management and is the developer of the FOOD-TRAK Food and Beverage Management System. Bill can be reached at (480) 951-8011 or bills@foodtrak.com.

Controlling Costs in a Vegan World

It’s a movement

No longer simply relegated to the occasional diner, the vegan lifestyle is a full-blown movement. Food service operators are adjusting their menus to include more vegan options. And sales of these menu items are becoming significant.

Unfortunately, vegetables are one of the hardest inventory items to control. Yields vary case to case and season to season along with pricing. Short shelf life and trimming can lead to significant waste and spoilage.

Before the uptick in vegan menu items, produce was somewhat more manageable since the number of produce items was stable and the demand was predictable. Even so, our clients report that produce makes up a significant percentage of total waste and spoilage.

Fortunately, as a percentage of total food cost, produce waste and spoilage are not typically among the top causes of loss. The movement to plant-based diets is going to exacerbate those issues as operators will carry more variety and higher quantities of produce.

CONTROL POINTS

The various control points associated with produce are the conditions that need to be monitored in order to make decisions to keep produce costs under control. The three most important control points are yield, waste and spoilage, all of which impact recipe costs and associated menu item profitability. Each will be discussed separately.

YIELD

The yield control point deals with the amount of usable product per case or purchased unit other than by case. For example, iceberg lettuce (something we are all familiar with) typically is purchased by the case of 24 heads. We normally estimate the weight at 2 pounds per head or 48 pounds per case. The average yield for iceberg lettuce is 73 percent (35 usable pounds per case).

However, iceberg lettuce can vary in size, in some cases by as much as a pound per head. In those cases, the usable amount would only be 17.5 pounds per case.

For simplicity’s sake, assuming the price per case doesn’t vary (which it does), the cost per serving would double. This could make the cost of the recipe exceed the target food cost. Knowing the yield of fluctuating produce is a critical control point and you need to monitor it.

The approach to managing yield loss is to adjust the yield factor in your inventory system and run menu analysis reports and red flag reports to see which menu items exceed their cost goals. With this information, you can adjust the price or portion, or you can remove the item from the menu.

WASTE

Waste is primarily a function of trim loss since we are looking at spoilage as a separate control point. Trim loss is caused by the condition of the produce and the skill of the prep staff.

Assuming we are already monitoring yield, the condition of the produce is primarily a function of examining the product when it’s received. Sometimes less optimum condition is the only available option.

In this case, it is important to adjust the yield due to more aggressive trim loss. The skill issue is a function of training and monitoring.

The approach to managing waste is to be able to see it. This can be done by placing trim loss in

YELENA G. VILK

Yelena G. Vilk is a senior immigration attorney at Green and Spiegel LLC and focuses her practice on seasonal worker visas. She can be reached at yvilk@gands-us.com and (215) 876-5376.

Seasonal Temporary Workers Solid Solution to Labor Shortages

With U.S. job growth continuing and labor shortages that seem permanent, securing temporary foreign workers for club peak seasonal demand is a critical and financially sound solution.

Especially considering the alternatives of costly contract laborers and unreliable local workers.

Hundreds of private clubs across the nation, including BoardRoom Distinguished Clubs, annually hire foreign workers to supplement their permanent U.S. staff during their peak season. These trusted cooks, servers, bussers, bartenders, housekeepers, and groundskeeping workers help clubs earn and keep their esteemed reputation while U.S. labor shortages continue without resolution.

Hire an H-2B attorney. H-2B is a focused area of immigration, and some practitioners even specifically represent hospitality. Be sure to hire a firm that knows and lives for this program. They know the challenges of the program and guide you through unexpected changes. Follow their timelines, but be patient because one sure thing from season to season is a change in processing times.

Have a recruitment plan, but be flexible. The attorney will not recruit workers for you. If you take a passive approach, you will end up with no workers. Attorneys have recruitment referrals for H-2B agents. Agents are a great resource with pools of applicants, but recruitment, interviews, and employee relationship development remain the responsibility of HR even when using the H-2B program. Another great approach is partnering with a club of the opposite season. If you are a club in Florida, reach out to ski resorts in Colorado. As long as your start and end dates have some overlap, the rest just takes some logistical agreement.

And remember, this is at-will employment. H-2B workers can change their minds just like any US worker. Wages, housing, end-of-season bonuses, and other perks help attract and keep workers interested despite application processing delays.

Despite government delays and recruitment frustrations in 2022, securing foreign workers remains a solid staffing solution.

Now for some basics about the seasonal worker program (H-2B visa). There are two sources of seasonal workers: out-of-the-country workers and workers currently in the U.S. working for another employer. The Department of Homeland Security limits how many seasonal workers from outside of the U.S. can come in annually.

A total of 66,000 in a year, which is split into 33,000 each for cap one and cap two. If a club needs workers starting from October or November, they apply under cap one (winter). If a club needs workers from April or May, they apply for cap two (summer).

The caps are not a sure method because, for example, for cap two of the fiscal year 2022, applications for 136,555 worker positions were received. The demand for out-ofcountry workers was over four times the number of visas available. Despite these statistics, some clubs remain adamant about taking a chance at the cap because securing in-country workers is highly competitive.

Both approaches require flexibility and active recruitment. Employers who first try at the cap can either switch to in-country recruitment or wait for the government to issue more visas. Each year, DHS eventually issues more visas, but the relief comes late in the season. In 2022, the second cap was reached in early March, but additional visas were not issued until the end of May.

Historically, the first cap of the year is usually not filled too quickly whereas the second cap is filled instantly. But, each year, because of labor shortages, the demand for the first cap increases and even applying for an Oct. 1 start date for out-of-country workers is now risky. In the past three years, about 20,000 additional visas were released to assist summer employers, and in 2022, for the first time, additional visas were also issued to help winter employers.

“DHS is taking action to address the needs of our economy by making an additional 20,000 H-2B visas available to workers,” Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said in January regarding the first cap.

NANCY’S CORNER

NANCY BERKLEY

Nancy Berkley is an expert on women’s golf and junior girls golf in the US. Nancy is a member of the World Golf Foundation Women’s Committee and the National Golf Foundation. She shares news about women’s golf — along with her opinions — on www.nancyberkleygolf.com. Nancy has served on the governing boards of two golf clubs and is on both the green and marketing committees at Frenchman’s Creek Beach & Country Club. She is a contributing writer for LPGA publications.

Did You Know Your Golf Course is a STEM Science Classroom?

In 1958, I began playing golf as a freshman at the University of Minnesota. I selected the golf class as my required sports elective.

That was over 60 years ago, and I have been an avid golfer ever since. Upon graduation, I was offered a scholarship to the University of Minnesota Law School. I turned it down. At the time, most women lawyers sorted books in the firm’s law library. Instead, I decided to become a teacher. I met my husband at Harvard University in 1961. I was a student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and he was attending Harvard Law School. We were a good match. We married and settled in New Jersey, not far from where he had grown up. I taught US history to seniors in a local high school until I retired to be a full-time mother.

I played golf regularly with other mothers at a local public golf course in Florham Park, NJ. We didn’t know then that it was designed by the famous golf course architect Rees Jones. We kept score. The course is now renamed Pinch Brook and is a popular executive golf course managed by Troon Golf.

In 1982, our three children were in school. I decided it was a good time to go to law school. Times were different. I was among a growing number of women lawyers. I worked in a large New York City law firm for several years. At the firm’s golf outing, however, I was the only woman golfer. I insisted on a woman’s longest drive contest to match the men’s longest drive event. One partner complained that there could not be a one-person contest. I won the argument by arguing for “equality.” I also won a lovely blue sweater that I selected from the pro shop. A “win-win.”

The long commute to New York City made it easy to accept an offer from the law department at Prudential Insurance in Newark, NJ, which was a 20-minute commute from my home. After 11 years as an executive at Prudential, I retired from a full-time business and legal career in 1999.

With my new free time, I returned to golf and joined the growing number of golf writers. I wrote for golf and travel publications. The yardage from forward tees was usually overlooked. I always insisted that it be included. I also wrote two books for the National Golf Foundation: “Women’s Golf Programs that Work: Best Practices and Case Studies,” published in 1999, and “Women Welcome Here,” published in 2003.

Golf was growing. In 2005, the number of women, men and junior golfers reached a historic peak of 30 million. Today, the number of adult and junior golfers remains slightly lower at around 25 million, according to the National Golf Foundation. Why the number of golfers has not grown over the last two decades is a good question, especially with the increased television coverage of golf. A good topic for another article.

Computer technology arrives: A decade earlier, in 1995, Cybergolf, a Seattle, WA company, introduced computer technology to the golf industry. Cybergolf created an email marketing system for golf courses. No more paper and pencil tee-time sheets and clumsy handicap calculators. The use of computers in the golf industry was a quiet – but very important – revolution.

To advertise the Cybergolf brand, the forward-looking new company went right to the internet with the Cybergolf website. To draw customers, Cybergolf hired Jeff Shelley, a golf writer from Seattle, WA as manager and editor. I liked the newsy articles on the site and sent an email to Jeff offering to write for the website and especially about women’s golf.

NANCY’S CORNER |

Take Care of the Customer and the Rest is History

Being a small business owner is one of the American Dreams that Hilda W. Allen Real Estate, Inc. can help existing and potential business owners achieve.

Whether it’s about investing or making changes to their business model, the Hilda W. Allen Real Estate, Inc. team is no stranger to representing exclusive, privately member-owned golf clubs with well over 1,000 golf course-related properties sold over the past 30 years. The team is confident that it is the right time to invest, and they make it easy for both buyers and sellers to do so seamlessly.

Hilda W. Allen Real Estate, Inc. holds many leading industry awards and received its tenth consecutive Excellence in Achievement Award by BoardRoom magazine in 2021 for Real Estate Services. As a leader in brokering luxury golf real estate transactions in the mid-Atlantic and southeastern regions of the United States, Hilda W. Allen Real Estate, Inc. specializes in and is considered an expert brokerage company in accelerated sales and was the first woman-owned company in a male-dominated occupation to be inducted into the Georgia Auctioneers Association Hall of Fame.

When asked which elements contribute to the successful organization behind such a specialized real estate market, Hilda W. Allen Real Estate, Inc. explains it’s a combination of having a professional team, contacts, and numerous affiliates. Additionally, the team is never on the sidelines and is a part of every transaction, offering several specialized services to industry owners and leaders. Hilda W. Allen Real Estate, Inc. is an industry leader dedicated to overseeing the due diligence for all parties involved, thus supplying a smooth real estate business transaction.

Our Record

• Focused on the Golf Industry since 1989

• Over a Billion in Sales (4 percent of existing properties)

• A host of long term relationships with property owners, industry trade organizations, and local, regional and national developers that focus on golf and other leisure-centric types of properties

• Member: National Golf Foundation; National Golf Course Owners’ Association; Urban Land Institute; National Auctioneers Association; Georgia Auctioneers Association; American Resort Development Association (ARDA)

“The members and the board of directors of Seven Lakes Country Club would like to thank you for the great job in selling our club. The well-prepared presentation to the board was impressive. You answered all questions in a professional manner and that brought everyone on-board with your plan. It was a pleasure working with you and thank you for all your hard work.”

- Gregory Hogan Seven Lakes Country Club

DAVE DOHERTY

Dave Doherty is CEO and founder of the International Sports Turf Research Center, Inc. (ISTRC) and holds three patents regarding the testing of sand- and soil-based greens. He can be reached at (913) 706-6635 or via email: daveistrc@hotmail.com

Have We Lost Our Ability to Think?

The industry is starting to change to a new breed of common sense thinkers concerning what it takes to maintain our golf greens at a level that we only wished for in the past but seldom attained, and in most cases were unable to maintain once we did obtain that high level we were seeking.

A golf course superintendent in upstate New York phoned me recently to say that his new green had a 20 percent loss of turf and the cause had been diagnosed as Pythium root dysfunction by the soils lab at Rutgers University.

The superintendent then phoned Dr. Lane Tredway, the industry’s leading expert when it comes to this disease, at North Carolina State University. Dr. Tredway recommended building up the nutrient and water holding of the green. The superintendent then phoned me with my thoughts on what would be the best way to achieve this increase in CEC (nutrient holding) and water retention.

to us by giving us this naturally produced material (organic matter) that provides us with water and nutrient holding, as well as being food for our microbes. All we had to do was learn how to manage it, which we are doing.

However, all that many in the industry heard from my research was that organic matter was the cause of green failures and with this limited stupid thinking we as an industry started to back off of adding organic matter into our new green mixes, resulting in an insufficient amount of food and water for our plants.

Dr. Tredway recommends that mixes contain at least 15 percent organic matter by volume and I could not agree more. When the USGA specifications for new green construction were written at Texas A & M under the guidance of Dr. Marvin Ferguson in the early to mid-fifties and published in 1960, they had a category called water or moisture holding, which has been largely ignored by many in our industry, and

Three years into my research at ISTRC, I found that the leading cause of turf failure in sand-based greens was too high of an organic matter in the top 1 to 2 inches of the greens. This deposit of organic matter is a natural part of the aging process of the turf.

However, all that many in the industry heard from my research was that organic matter was the cause of green failures and with this limited stupid thinking we as an industry started to back off of adding organic matter into our new green mixes, esulting in an insufficient amount of food and water for our plants.

My recommendation was to aerify as deeply as possible and inject 80/20 of sand and an inorganic amendment into the aerification holes. The inorganic amendment would provide us with the nutrient and water holding we needed. He agreed and had already ordered the inorganic amendment (when using an inorganic amendment never use more than an 80/20 mix) ... a little research and a lot of common sense. Now was that so difficult?

Could this situation have been avoided by using a different mix in this new green? The answer is yes.

Three years into my research at ISTRC, I found that the leading cause of turf failure in sand-based greens was too high of an organic matter in the top 1 to 2 inches of the greens. This deposit of organic matter is a natural part of the aging process of the turf. Mother Nature is being very good

one that is of the utmost importance in today’s world of new grasses and low mowing heights.

Under the category of how to treat the symptoms of Pythium root dysfunction, we find a list of chemicals with how and in what quantities to apply the chemicals.

I am glad to say that this golf course superintendent in upstate New York is attacking the cause and not the symptoms. This superintendent is under attack from the members for something that is the result of things that were done before he arrived at the course this past January. I hope that the management team can hold off the membership until the greens turn around, as this superintendent is one of the really, really good ones in our industry. He has not lost his ability to think and use common sense. BR

GCSAA Conference and Trade Show

Changes are coming to the annual GCSAA Conference and Trade Show, set for Feb. 6-9, 2023 in Orlando, FL. Attendees will have four action-packed days to discover, learn, test, demo, connect and grow.

The event is conducted by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America with presenting partners, the Golf Course Builders Association of America and the American Society of Golf Course Architects. Participating partners include the United States Golf Association, the National Golf Course Owners Association of America and the National Golf Foundation.

Advances in technology continue to provide opportunities for golf course superintendents to utilize these capabilities to better manage the golf courses they oversee. As environmental stewards of the land, superintendents can use this technology as part of their best management practices.

From the use of drones, GPS sprayers, robotic mowers, moisture readers, and more to apps that coordinate irrigation and staff duties, technology can make a superintendent’s efforts more effective.

Monday and Tuesday at the GCSAA Conference will feature 70 seminars, 20 power hours and seven facility learning tours taught by industry leaders. The trade show on Wednesday and Thursday will feature a pavilion showcasing hands-on,

interactive experiences. Company representatives will provide expert advice on how to use apps to enable operations to be more efficient and to provide an even more improved playing experience for golfers. This is especially important because to properly identify the best technology superintendents need to share their needs, get hands-on experience and determine the best solution for their facility. Show attendees will get to meet with numerous companies, compare products and make the best decisions on what will work best for their situation.

Exhibitors of similar products and technologies will be next to each other and experts will share information with attendees.

Not only will superintendents be exposed to the latest technological advances, but equipment managers, technicians and other staff will find options that are geared toward their responsibilities. In addition to presenting technology advances to attendees, the show will embrace technology with a mobile app and digital signage, providing a more valuable experience for attendees.

The event website has also been enhanced. Superintendents, equipment managers and all titles of staff can click a button and get a customized itinerary to efficiently learn what is available at the 2023 GCSAA Conference and Trade Show.

For more information on the 2023 GCSAA Conference and Trade Show visit www.gcsaaconference.com. BR

Protecting Your Club

Insuring

PHILIP J. HARVEY

Philip J. Harvey is principal of PREFERRED CLUB® Insurance Program, www.preferredclub.com/quote). He can be reached via email: Pharvey@ventureprograms.com

Your Club Against Today’s Costs

The club industry, like most other commercial real estate enterprises, has experienced upturns and downturns. Throughout 2021 and into 2022, the construction industry has faced skyrocketing costs, presenting significant challenges for new construction projects as well as property repair and replacement projects.

This volatility can trigger questions about the difference between market value and insurance reconstruction costs, and your club’s property insurance. Many variables drive the reconstruction costs to repair or replace damaged property and how those factors differ from both the market value and the costs associated with new construction.

Most insurance companies are moving quickly to assess and initiate adjustments caused by rapid inflationary trends experienced in the recent post-COVID periods. This reaction, in most cases, has resulted in further increased valuations and premiums on their current portfolios of insureds, including club properties.

Common misconceptions about replacement costs

Real estate market value is the estimated price for which a property could be sold on the open market. It can depend on several factors, such as location, age, condition, and comparisons to similar properties in the area. It is also affected by:

Insurance reconstruction costs

Reconstruction cost is the cost to build a duplicate of the building using like kind and quality materials and standards of workmanship at the current market prices. Most of the leading carriers utilize costs, trends, and analysis to develop an insurance-to-value estimate. In the past, these calculations were nominal, with moderate swings due to prolonged low inflationary periods. That is no longer the case with inflation given national averages hovering as high as 30 percent based on replacement value cost trends published by Zurich Resilience Solutions in January, covering 183 metro areas.

Replacement cost versus reconstruction cost

While similar in concept, they are not synonymous. Replacement cost is the cost to construct the entire building with equal quality construction. Unlike reconstruction cost, replacement cost is based on “new construction” from the ground up that encompasses initial planning, demolition, site improvements as well as multitudes of code variances and change orders.

Cost fluctuations affecting both reconstruction or replacement labor and materials

According to data reported by CoreLogic Commercial Insurance Bulletins and Cumming’s Domestic Material Price Trends, two reporting firms specializing in building valuations for insurance purposes, costs of labor and construction materials have consistently trended upward since the fall of 2019. These and other reporting bureaus that monitor building trends are excellent references but may not tell the full story as reporting may lag one to two quarters behind real time and may not fully incorporate true inflationary pressure on the current reporting period. So always refer to these tools as a guide while allowing for a range of data versus a fixed percentage.

Due to labor shortages, supply chain constraints, and the general inflationary environment, construction costs are up across the board. Of the major materials measured, from the highest being lumber to the lowest being concrete pipe, costs have spiraled up from 3 percent to over 56.8 percent in the last 12 months.

Present building codes

In addition to construction costs, most jurisdictions require compliance to meet current building codes during reconstruction. Energy efficiency as well as costs of past upgrades cause variances in costs that may not have been factored into your reconstruction costs.

Construction sequence changes – In rebuilding an existing structure, additional costs occur due to order of operations and material procurement.

Restoration/repair contractors – Normally, if required, there are higher costs due to their specialty, such as asbestos removal contractors.

Site accessibility – Numerous site factors not present during initial construction often impact reconstruction costs. Underground and overhead utilities, landscaping, and other site improvements.

How to right-size your coverages and costs

So, what is the best advice to avoid making costly mistakes when it comes to calculating the replacement value of your club and its property?

Generally, you should look to a competent source who provides valuation services. Look to one who understands the nuances of property valuations and can help determine the appropriate replacement costs for buildings, new and old. By getting a better handle on your property replacement costs, you can avoid over-insuring your property and potentially lower your overall costs for coverage. BR

ROBINSON

Ted Robinson is a partner with Private Club Associates and can be reached at (478) 741 7996 or via email: tcr@privateclubassociates.com

How to Keep Attrition Low

The future depends on what we do in the present – Mahatma Gandhi

Hope for the best, plan for the worst — Jack Reacher

Overall, private clubs in this semi-post-COVID-19 environment are reaping substantial benefits from the dramatic increase in demand for golf and private club memberships. Many clubs have waiting lists and some even have a waiting list for the waiting list – a fun and healthy (or scary) environment not believable a few years ago.

When so much is going well we should step back and ask, “What now?” One component of an effective strategic plan is identifying what to do if results are better than forecast, or if results fail to reach the goals, what to do. There are some clouds on the horizon – are we going into a recession? If so, how deep will it be?

Those of us who have been through mild and severe recessions know well the ebb and flow of membership demand – especially the downside. There was a time when members walked away from six-figure initiation fees. Let’s look at ways to mitigate the downside in case an economic downturn occurs (plan for the worst) and follow a path to assure the best.

The most effective way to keep attrition low (and referrals as high as possible) is to bring each member into the club’s social fabric. This process begins with the first touchpoint where you, the membership director, introduce the club and prospective new members to each other.

In the new member’s eyes, you are the club. Get your current members (membership committee, sponsors, committee members, directors, and staff) to participate in the onboarding effort. The more stakeholders you involve, the greater the probability the process becomes an integral part of the path to capturing new members for life. We want them to believe they cannot live without their club.

Next is new member orientation, which if conducted effectively and thoroughly, becomes a major reinforcement to the buying decision. Multiple excellent articles in BoardRooom magazine describe effective new member orientations. Build your own but be ruthless in making certain every new member goes through the new member 101 course.

Roll out the red carpet – and keep it rolled out. Be in touch with new members multiple times over the first six months, starting with their first visit to the club as a member. Follow the example of so many great companies by asking your members (customers) how your club is doing in making each member and family member feel a part of the club – assuring the club is the members’ indispensable “third place.”

Follow up with all members through regular membership surveys (annual, issue-specific and event-specific), effective tools to help you understand how included members feel in the club’s overall culture.

Get to know every member. Do you have an effective name recall system?

The good club software programs have modules to advise staff of the names of club members. However, the system is only effective when every staff member greets members by name. Be sure each staff member greets each member, no matter how long the member has been at the club, by name. Set a goal of memorizing the name of each member.

One way to get to know members could be to host a monthly/quarterly coffee event, perhaps a “greet other members with the membership director.” Begin with introductions and a progress report on club happenings: construction, staff changes, social events, participation, etc. Ask members what issues they would like to explore. Provide an abbreviated membership report – new members, resignations, waiting list level and how long is the wait. Keep your members always thinking about referrals.

A final thought – get to know those on your waitlist as well as you know your members. Let’s plan on our “hope for the best” coming to fruition. BR

We Make Accidental Brilliance Happen –The Union League’s Jeff McFadden

By Dave White

Occasionally, we cross paths with an exceptional person who, intentionally or not, leaves an indelible mark on everything they touch or do!

In a few words, that describes Jeff McFadden, eminent leader of The Union League of Philadelphia, PA, a city club that ranks as one of the world’s finest private clubs. And as the chief executive officer of this exalted BoardRoom Distinguished Club , McFadden is receiving due recognition as the recipient of the John Fornaro Impact Award for 2021 .

The award recognizes leaders in the club industry annually.

“These are people who demonstrate strong business skills and creative approaches, a willingness to take risks, engage others and who face ambiguity with enthusiasm,” expressed BoardRoom’s publisher and CEO John Fornaro in recognizing McFadden’s many contributions to the private club industry.

“They also demonstrate innovation and we believe this is a significant characteristic of Jeff’s contribution to the industry as he continues to transform traditional practices through innovative member experiences.”

Jeff has led the Union League on a remarkable comeback over the last 25 years, growing the League into the premier lifestyle regional club in the Philadelphia marketplace. However, he is most proud of what he has given back in supporting and growing the private club industry.

A thoughtful, somewhat risk-taking CEO, McFadden and his management team, along with a distinguished board of directors, have taken extraordinary steps during his long tenure at the Union League. Of course, all of this revolves around what the League’s 4,300 members want!

“I’m fortunate to have been leading the League for 24 years and all of our success has been to our management team, which has an average tenure of over 18 years. We make accidental brilliance happen,” McFadden expressed.

“We work well together; we also believe we completely understand the underlying dynamics of the member of tomorrow, but ironically what we know today is obsolete tomorrow, so we must continue to learn and improve each day.

“The concept of building the best regional lifestyle club in the country came out of our management team’s understanding of the member of the future. Fifty years ago, if you were a sailor and yacht club member, which is most of what you did with

your free time, you sailed and surrounded yourself with others who sailed.

“In today’s world, a member could buy a sailboat, sail around the world, sell the sailboat and never sail again! The member of tomorrow wants even more choices, different types of dining, more friends, better quality in everything and ultimately, truly differentiated and authentic experiences,” McFadden added.

“We built our model one brick at a time, from the parking garage to our little seashore dining option 88 miles from the League House to our three large and expansive golf and country club operations. It certainly wasn’t an overnight success.

“We have a long-term strategic plan, of which many components I will never see. However, our plan will never end; it will continue to evolve and get better. For example, we see a major wellness anti-aging facility, a downtown residential component connected to the League, as well as a hunting and fishing mountain type club in the future,” he predicted.

“When these will happen is anyone’s guess. We do not force an opportunity; we just keep looking for the right opportunities to enhance the League and the experiences we provide while at the same time reinvesting in our current facilities. Our latest $25 million rooftop dining space will be the best in the country when it opens Thanksgiving 2023.

“We’re celebrating our 160th anniversary this year and are one of the oldest clubs in the country. Our sustainability as measured economically, socially, and environmentally is really important. Our motto ‘Love of Country Leads’ represents everything important to us in sustaining our great nation in every way,” McFadden articulated.

So, how does the League’s CEO define success in the private club world? What are the markers?

“You can only define success in two ways 1) membership satisfaction levels and 2) successful fiduciary stewardship. You must always grow membership satisfaction, add amenities and stay relevant in today’s club market,” he said.

“Your granddaughter’s club of the future will be much different than your grandfather’s club. Your grandfather probably had five close friends, and your granddaughter is going to have over 500 friends, so the way members use clubs in the future will change; and how you service their needs and wants will determine your ability to drive member satisfaction.

“Right now, one of our 14 dining outlets is producing 4.89 out of 5.0 satisfaction scores. However, we will continue to drive improvement in that outlet even though there is little more we can do based upon the members’ satisfaction level,” he offered.

“Fiduciary responsibility is a big part of a successful club. Clubs need to continue to reinvest and grow. Are your dues growing? Are you growing membership, entrance fees and new amenities? The old days of just maintaining a good club are over – you will have to overachieve to be successful and keep your club performing at a top-notch level. The tide is rising all around

us, and you will eventually drown if all you are doing is treading water,” McFadden cautioned.

So, how do McFadden and his cohorts seek member feedback and how is this incorporated into your club operations and planning process?

“We measure everything and ask for feedback on every three transactions at the League. Our management team is judged on member satisfaction scores. We review feedback and our membership scores at weekly meetings,” he explained.

“We analyze data to ensure we are capturing a higher percentage of hospitality wallet spend of our members. If our members are spending their hospitality dollars down the street and not at the League, we look at ways to capture those dollars and grow. In the end, what gets measured gets improved!

“Clubs are going to be just fine after COVID. However, we may see some drag on participation in golf as the world returns to normal and there may be a bit of a lull from the ‘golf covid-high.’

“However, data shows we should be able to maintain 35 percent of the new golfers who took up golf during COVID. I’m also a big believer in the data that shows younger folks will continue to move into urban environments, so I am very bullish on city clubs,” he predicted.

“Our membership has grown to just over 4,300 members and we have 360 prospective members who have been posted for membership. We will grow the membership to about 5,000 total members. We believe this is a sweet spot as a private regional club with six locations. All of our golf courses have long waiting lists.

“Our philosophy has been measured and managed growth, as we only grow our membership by about 100 net every year. Our admission process is still very rigorous requiring six sponsors and four letters of support. As a result, our attrition rate is only three percent, which is less than half the average city club,” McFadden offered.”

So, what’s McFadden’s motivation as The League’s CEO and his personal life?

“My main motivation is building and seeing something through. I get great personal satisfaction by completing major projects and simple tasks. I do not really work, as I totally enjoy how I spend each day, even if it’s an 18-hour day at the League.

“We have an expression at the League that we tell members every day; ‘The answer is yes, now ask me the question.’ The power of taking ‘no’ off the table is really liberating. It’s not that we can always get there, but the ‘attitude of yes’ is worth it!” he exclaimed.

“I don’t see a difference in success in my professional and personal life. I am big about ‘work-life integration’, not about ‘work-life balance.’ So if I’m stressed in my professional life or stressed in my personal life, it makes no difference! I see my career and personal life as one; it is who I am.

“Yes, I often need to take more time at home, or sometimes more time at one of our locations than others, but that’s life. No matter how much balance you have, we all have just 24 hours in the day. So, whether you are doing personal things or professional tasks, you better enjoy every one of them. If I

don’t like doing something, I actually stop doing it or better yet, delegate it!” The League’s CEO opined.

“I’ve had lots of mentors in my 30-plus years in club management. Within the club industry, Al Armstrong was a terrific mentor from the University Club of DC. He showed me the effects of positive thinking and making robust changes within your club! Paul Astbury from Jonathan Club and Ocean Reef taught me the finer things in life as a great hotelier!”

And, of course, McFadden offers ideas to share with younger general managers.

“I often tell young ‘soon-to-be general managers’ that after they find out how the best clubs in the country operate, then go out and find the best underperforming club in the country. Put your mark on it, and turn it around.

“It’s great to be at a BoardRoom Distinguished Club . However, I believe it’s better to create the most Distinguished Club in America!

“Of greatest satisfaction to me and I think to most is the ability to make change and succeed with your ideas with input and intelligence from others. At the League, our best ideas come from others; we just put them all together and make them better! McFadden shared.

“The major thing younger managers can do is to continue to beat the drum that change is the only constant in life. Even though our boards are becoming more diverse and somewhat younger, we are still an industry dominated by older males who think the future is 20 years ago.

“Abraham Lincoln said, ‘Education is like a road map, you don’t need it if you are not going anywhere.’

“We must continue to educate our boards on the future. We tagged the line “Building Your Granddaughter’s Club” as the name of our long-term strategic plan. It has multiple meanings but emphasizes that we always must be thinking of the future,” he emphasized.

However, he is most proud of what he has given back in supporting and growing the private club industry.

Not only has he grown the League from 200 employees to over 1,400 employees, but he has also helped shape the club management profession as a very noble hospitality career. In the early 2000s, Jeff founded the Philadelphia Club Foundation to help all club managers obtain their CCM by awarding scholarships to continual educational sessions such as the BMI programs given by CMAA.

The Foundation has grown in scope over the last 20 years to include tuition and scholarship support for all professions in the club industry, such as grounds crew, culinary folks and golf professionals. The Foundation has also funded over 50 Make A Wish ® wishes through the local Philadelphia Make A Wish Chapter.

Jeff has also served as the president of the Philadelphia CMAA, is chair of the National Club Association Foundation, and worked with numerous club industry think tanks. Jeff is determined to make club management the career of choice for those in hospitality!

And McFadden still finds time for fun stuff!

“I’m still engaged in lots of outside activities. I continue to fly and serve on the Board of Wings Field, which is right next to where we live in Blue Bell, PA. In addition, I’m fully committed to serving the law-abiding center city community as an executive committee member of the Philadelphia Police Foundation.

“And last year, we bought a boat and I found out I still love to water ski and getting thrown off a tube at 35 mph!” BR

Does it make a difference if you are a manager at a Distinguished Club?

Of course, it does! Both general managers and department heads of clubs who have earned Distinguished Club status are widely recognized by Kopplin Kuebler & Wallace and boards as leaders at providing a great Member Experience. It makes you a very strong candidate for leading clubs searching for top club management.

Executive Search Firm Leaders for the Private Club Industry

Experience. www.distinguishedclubs.com

BOARDROOM PERSPECTIVES

GORDON WELCH

Gordon Welch is the president of the Association of Private Club Directors (APCD), the only association representing the club’s board. He can be reached at gordon@apcd.com or by calling (949) 376-8889.

How Often Should Boards Meet?

Delegates at a conference of general managers and chief operating officers I attended recently posed this important question: How often should boards meet?

When I ask the question, I often hear about the bylaw requirements of monthly meetings, but is that needed or realistic?

When discussing the issue with GMs and board members, the answer I hear is a “historical” requirement that boards don’t want to change. Why would you not want to make changes that work for today’s professionals? When monthly board meetings began, micromanaging was the norm. More meetings, more often will promote micro thinking and micromanaging.

Let’s look back at some historical information. When clubs were first formed in the US, the owners or board of directors oversaw the operations. As membership grew, around World War I, committees were born to assist with club oversight.

The only permanent or professional staff were a steward, who managed the clubhouse, and a golf professional, who directed caddies and supervised grounds maintenance. As clubs continued to grow and hold more social events, boards realized that voluntary committees could not keep up with club operations and finances.

As you can read, micromanaging was an original part of club operations and still exists. In 1924, J.C. Healy, a country club manager, was quoted as

saying, “You don’t tie his hands, stultify and smother what genius he may possess by hemming him in by 12 to 15 different committees to tell him how to run his departments.”

Clubs have come a long way since then, although there are clubs that continue to micromanage. Your club professionals have also come a long way. Many GM/COOs are CCMs (certified club managers) and have been thoroughly educated on specific club management issues. Running a club isn’t like running one business. It’s like running a dozen businesses at one time. Have you, Mr. or Mrs. Board Member, been to years of club management school?

Those that serve in club management are dedicated individuals. They are knowledgeable, have excellent networking systems and are capable of running a multimillion-dollar business.

Why is there a need for monthly board meetings? Other than your bylaws and the desire to “be in control” why do you go through the process of a monthly meeting? With the skill and knowledge your GM/COO has, a monthly board meeting is truly not necessary unless you are going through a major renovation, are going through a strategic plan, are without a GM, are in financial trouble, or don’t trust your management team – which means you probably need to have a coach intervention or replace them.

I believe that any club could operate with a quarterly board meeting. The only catch is communication. Your GM will need your support, your communication, and your patience. If you can agree to a monthly communication to the board, I believe you can manage the governance of the club easily. Remember, board members, your job is of governance, not operations. If you need to pass on information to the GM/COO, make sure you communicate that otherwise trust your paid professional staff to do the job they were hired to do.

Give it a try. What do you have to lose? What can you gain? Hours of sitting in meetings, or more time enjoying your club? BR

LYNN LUCZKOWSKI

Lynn Luczkowski is chair of the Quechee Club’s DE&I Council, a trustee of the Quechee Club, and owner of L2 Communications, a public relations and marketing agency in Quechee, Vt.

DE&I – Diving into Deep and Difficult Waters

It’s been two years since an indelible racial slur (the n-word) was scrawled at the bottom of our club’s recently renovated and impressive 6,348-square-foot pool.

The mother of a six-year-old black child sat poolside and saw the troublesome inscription. She then wrote a poignant letter to our club’s leadership, sharing from a painful place, “the n-word is not just a word, it is an attack in any kind of usage, and especially at (our) majority white country club.”

She wrote, not just as a mother of a Black son but also as a white person acknowledging racism is not a Black person’s problem to fix, though they carry the pain and damage this problem creates; it is a problem for white people to address. She expressed her belief that the most dangerous conversations about racism are the ones that are not had.

What was our club – Quechee Club in Hartford, VT, set in a lush valley with two championship golf courses, a robust racquet sports programs, flourishing kids’ summer camps, a newly renovated aquatics complex, pristine lakefront activities, a variety of hiking and biking trails, and a quaint ski hill with beautiful surroundings – to do?

This one racial incident in July 2020 spurred our general manager, Brian Kelley and the board of trustees to support the creation of Quechee Club’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) Council. The work we have tackled for the last two years now spans other inequities and exclusions in our country and our club community’s culture.

No one is immune to these issues, including our state. Vermont, though the second whitest state, is getting more and more diverse, with children of color as the fastest growing group (Census 2020). Vermont also has a significant hospitality sector, and our club and diverse staff serve a broad and increasingly diverse collection of members and families from across and outside of Vermont. So, our DEI efforts are a natural extension of the hospitality services sector.

We have chosen to better understand and recognize what the problems, aspirations, and challenges are within our community. We set out to chart a new course (with no blueprint available for organizing a DE&I effort in the club industry) and, at the core, realize our DEI work is about belonging. We will create a more vibrant club community by fostering a sense of belonging among our members and staff.

Among the lessons learned and actions to consider when starting DE&I efforts:

1. Get leadership on board: From your GM and senior leadership team to the trustees and influencers at your club.

DIVERSITY COUNCIL

2. Be willing to have courageous conversations by staying engaged, experiencing discomfort, speaking your truth even if it means sharing your vulnerabilities, and expecting and accepting non-closure.

3. Gather and embrace differences and diversity: Seek out members, educators, professionals and resources in the DE&I space as well as those with “lived, personal experiences” to help guide you. Invite members of various ethnic and cultural backgrounds, people with disabilities and members of the LBGTQ community, among others, to the table.

4. Create and adhere to a mission: Our DE&I Mission Statement states that all who live, work, recreate and/or visit will adhere to our standards of conduct and respect for all people and for the native land on which our campus sits.

5. Acknowledge and celebrate history: Club member Earl Hatley, also a member of the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi and an Indigenous activist, encouraged us to adopt a land acknowledgment recognizing our club uses land originally belonging to the Abenaki tribe. In addition, we are sowing an “Abenaki Garden” on club property with a traditional Three Sisters Garden, a Food Forest Garden and fire pit. These efforts will provide an educational and volunteer component with local schools. Annually, around the Fourth of July, our club hosts a Frederick Douglass reading to celebrate this American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer and statesman.

6. Develop your blueprint: More than 20 member volunteers have formed our DE&I Council, which includes three sub-committees – Policy & Culture, Education & Awareness and Community Engagement.

7. Understand it’s a journey: A member of our club and council, Arlene Brock, has the lived experience from which we draw inspiration and guidance. She earned a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in International Human Rights at Harvard Law School and has an unquenchable drive for justice, restoration, and human growth. Arlene reminds us of the challenges and difficulties of DEI work and that injustice has been part of our history for hundreds of years and it will not be righted overnight.

Our club’s efforts have empowered, educated and inspired many members. Yes, there are a few outliers and there always will be, but we have effectuated awareness, change and proactive efforts in a short but arduous time.

The work is difficult but necessary and, I might add, the most meaningful and rewarding of my life. BR

LEADERSHIP MOMENTUM

ROBERT A. SERECI

Robert A. Sereci, CCM is the general manager of Medinah Country Club. He can be reached via email: rsereci@medinahcc.org

How Vivid Club Was Built

A few years ago, I wrote about developing and using a balanced scorecard at Medinah Country Club.

We use the BSC to document and measure specific KPIs tied to our management team’s bonus structure at this club in Medinah, IL.

In short, the balanced scorecard measures four key areas: member satisfaction, employee satisfaction, financial results, and the completion of goals and objectives. In addition, each category had additional KPIs measured through various means or methods. On average, we used three vendors and roughly 12 spreadsheets to keep track of the KPIs.

So, after several years of toggling back and forth between files, I started searching for an existing application without success. I then approached Till and Bettina von Ruexleben, the founders of Vivid Leaf (a sustainability portal we and many other clubs use), to see if they would be interested in creating a BSC solution for our club.

To my delight, they agreed, and after a year of development, we launched Vivid Club – a portal that hosts not just a BSC application but a whole lot more.

So, what are the benefits of the Vivid Club portal?

Everything is under one roof. Instead of relying on multiple applications or Excel spreadsheets, we now have the following applications on the Vivid Club portal:

• Strategic plan template

• Board goals template

• Committee goals template

• Team goals template

• Balanced scorecard template

• 360 feedback survey

• Employee engagement surveys

• Special projects template

• Club social responsibility template

• File sharing.

Alignment. Encompassing your strategic plan, board, committee, and management goals ensures easy alignment across the club. Most of our goals are derived from our strategic plan. From there, we set board, committee, and management goals. By sharing and updating the strategic plan and committee goals quarterly, we ensure alignment, preventing committees from plan deviation.

Monitoring made easy. Vivid Club’s sophisticated dashboard displays every goal and project with a visual representation of which committee, manager, or project is on schedule or falling behind on their goals.

Credibility. Excel spreadsheets have great value but showing your board and committees a professional dashboard and sophisticated templates to demonstrate club progress provides a polished presentation. Special projects. This feature is my favorite and the one I use the most. With so many projects happening simultaneously, I create project

plans for various projects that help me track or assign tasks. I like it because it’s not as complex as a full-blown project management software, yet it’s robust enough for the average club manager. Here are some examples of how I use the special projects feature. I create project plans for the necessary tasks related to incoming board members, projects from conception to a member vote, projects from approval to “shovel in the ground,” and duties associated with hosting large tournaments and complex club events.

File sharing. This feature allows you or your team to store and share files in one location. I use this feature to store and share my monthly board reports with my team.

Club social responsibility. Club social responsibility is a personal project that I am working on now. As more clubs are critiqued on sustainability and DEI efforts, it was my goal to create a framework that club managers can adopt and use as they develop their CSR initiatives. While these are important issues, they are also complex, and my goal is to help club managers address these issues in a simple and organized fashion. Without a framework, the work can be messy and tedious.

Share best practices. Over 90 clubs are testing the portal, and many have already signed up. As Vivid Club users, we can easily share templates, saving users valuable time and energy. Starting a new course remodel project? No worries. Just copy my template and modify it for your project. Need a pool opening project list? No problem. Take an existing template and modify it to suit your needs. Looking for a centennial celebration project plan? Highly likely a member of the Vivid Club community will have one to share.

Our jobs are complex and increasingly more challenging. As club professionals, we need tools to help keep us on track and on task. While my memory is adequate, I find it more and more challenging to keep track of my tasks and those of my team. So, we created Vivid Club not just to help club managers but also to help your team.

If you are interested in learning more, please visit vivid-club.com and sign up for a free trial. BR

JOHN R. EMBREE

John Embree is CEO at the United States Professional Tennis Association and can be reached via email: john.embree@uspta.org.

Technology to Connect at the USPTA World Conference

The USPTA World Conference is always an exciting time where we come together and showcase the best of our association.

The highlights of these headline events are the educational presenters, professional development courses, innovative products at the trade show and networking opportunities.

In that spirit, the USPTA focuses on improving digital ways to enhance those experiences through our USPTA app. The app is more robust than what we have had previously. Built for the convenience of our members, the USPTA app provides engagement tools that add value and creates the ultimate member experience at live events, including at our recent 2022 World Conference in New Orleans.

The USPTA app enhanced the experience of all the great aspects of our conference and provided an avenue for digital and hybrid content offerings at these events.

For the education sessions, USPTA members were able to download the presenters’ handouts or take notes right from the session dashboard in the app.

Pros looking to develop their careers were able to sign up for USPTA certifications in pickleball, platform tennis or one of our other specialty courses right from the app and secure their spot in those workshops before they all filled up.

Members were also able to conveniently browse the exhibitors’ digital catalogs and other content on their social channels from the exhibitor profiles on the app.

Networking is always an important part of the conference. Our pros were able to contact old friends and make new connections with the connect feature, so they could chat with fellow attendees and exhibitors - then continue those meaningful conversations after the event. And lastly, members shared their experience by

tagging event photos on our USPTA social channels, took session polls and evaluations, and posted the conference survey, to help shape our next event.

The best part is the USPTA app is not just a seasonal offering to enhance our amazing tennis conferences. We have built the app to help provide our members access to all the valuable benefits their membership offers them year-round.

The USPTA is making it even easier to stay engaged with our organization. Members can check out their education report card on their Apple or Android device, then catch one of the latest education offerings on Tennis Resources to stay up on their professional development.

The USPTA app can also access member documents, making it easier than ever to provide proof of certification or an insurance verification letter right from a mobile device’s document portal. the .

The USPTA app’s ADDvantage section on the main menu will give members access to the digital subscription of ADDvantage in RSi magazine and a digital copy of Tennis Magazine. The USPTA app has everything covered, with access to even more features that our members love.

At the USPTA, we will continue to use digital tools and find innovative ways to connect with our members. Ultimately, we hope technology will only help enhance our tennis-teaching professionals experience. BR

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The Club Foundation

Fueling the Future of the Club Industry

The club industry is full of remarkable people and their teams who strive every day to provide the best service and experiences for their members.

Indeed, this passionately loyal attention sets the club industry apart from other industries, and it is in the spirit of our industry’s thoughtful service culture that The Club Foundation exists today.

The Club Foundation was created to allow club professionals to financially support other professionals, ensuring no one is left behind in increasing their club and leadership skills. We believe the individuals who work in the industry are the fabric of the professional club culture; their dedication has earned them the opportunity to grow, develop, learn, and hone their knowledge and skills.

Because of that belief, The Club Foundation raises funds annually to pay for the professional development of experienced and emerging leaders, students, chapters and faculty. Founded in 1988 as the only 501(c)(3) organization focused solely on the club industry by the Club Management Association of America (CMAA), The Club Foundation’s mission is to financially support the club management profession through education, research, and outreach initiatives, benefiting those in and connected to the club industry. Our mission guides us in everything we do, including raising and giving away dollars every year.

We are true to our belief in the power of the club workforce and to our commitment to the industry by awarding multiple scholarships and grants each year. The Club Foundation has several strategic and coveted scholarships in addition to a suite of lively grant awards, research grants and internships for hospitality faculty members, and outreach and industry grants.

The first education scholarship was initiated in 1988, the year The Club Foundation was born. That scholarship was later called the Joe Perdue Scholarship, named after one of the club industry’s giants.

Joe Perdue, CCM, CHE, was a strong and critical asset as an advisor and educator for CMAA’s Business Management Institute courses. He served as vice president at CMAA, taught in the university system and wrote textbooks on club management. Most importantly, he supported and edu-

AVA SPECE

Ava Spece is the director of development for The Club Foundation. To learn more about The Club Foundation and join the legacy to fuel the future of our industry, visit clubfoundation.org

cated countless emerging and experienced club managers throughout the years.

The Joe Perdue Scholarship provides dollars directly to undergraduate students to offset their tuition and fees as they pursue careers in the club industry. This is just one example of how The Club Foundation builds on the club industry legacy by providing scholarships and grants funded by donors.

The power of The Club Foundation is characterized best by the many past scholarship recipients who have taken advantage of the $8.5 million awarded since 1988.

Carolyn Rehman, CCM, SHRM-CP, is a Sally Burns Rambo Scholarship recipient and serves with and for the staff and members of the Cosmos Club in Washington, DC. She says that the scholarship and education she was awarded have helped her to “be better today than I was yesterday.”

Similarly, Thor Damerval, CCM, general manager of the Rogue Valley Country Club in Medford, OR, credits his Willmoore H. Kendall Scholarship award by noting that “without the financial support of The Club Foundation, I would not be where I am today.”

Kemorr Condappa, a James B. Singerling Scholarship winner taking care of the members at Colonial Country Club in Fort Myers, FL, said, “I am forever grateful to The Club Foundation for believing in me and my future.”

All of us at The Club Foundation believe in our scholars and their future because the future of each scholarship recipient is wedded to the future of our industry.

We are overwhelmed by the generosity of CMAA members and past scholarship recipients, who are responsible for giving the majority of our contributions. Additional critical dollars of support are provided by the companies that are included in CMAA’s partner network and the companies that sponsor Foundation events.

Donors believe in the future of our industry and understand that our future depends on our ability to continue to foster the next generation of leaders. Those who give monthly, annually or when the opportunity arises subscribe to The Club Foundation’s work. BR

“Many non-profit governance experts recommend uncontested board elections in a private club. However, many club members believe they should have the right to select members in an open election format. This is often expressed as a democratic principle,” he expressed.

Gordon Welch, president of the Association of Private Club Directors, believes that “there should be an application process...a process whereby a committee can evaluate applications and identify needed skills, knowledge and drive. This may be foreign to some because many clubs can’t get anyone to run for the board. However, I believe the GM/COO can change this through the board experience, trust, knowledge, and communication.

“Members that apply should be full or stockholding members and vetted through the committee. Every club board needs diversity and professionalism. Members with a specific issue or history of complaints should not be considered. The boardroom is not a bitch session; it’s a business session, as the club’s business needs to be dealt with in these meetings,” Welch added.

“Members should not be given carte blanche to run for the board. This simply sets up the political activism to change something a vocal splinter group may or may not like. Instead, choose the backgrounds or expertise of incoming board members that would elevate the club’s discussions and direction. Make the process professional, transparent and purposeful,” expressed Coyne.

But yes, momentum is slowly gathering as we see more suggestions for change.

“Yes, there should be a nominating committee, with a couple of qualifiers,” explained Frank Vain, president of the St. Louis-based McMahon Group

“First, clubs should consider turning their nominating committee into a Board Development Committee. This would shift their focus from a short-term goal of identifying a few candidates to serve on the board in the next year to thinking about identifying, recruiting, nurturing, training and preparing worthy candidates for service on future boards.

“They would be in service all year and take on additional governance practices-related tasks. Even if clubs do not take this step, all nominating committees should start earlier in the year, establish criteria for board participants and conduct interviews,” Vain added.

“Clubs increasingly have been moving to the slate method versus contested elections, which is a good thing. A majority now have the nominating committee identify candidates to fill only the number of open seats on the next board. However, many clubs still have contested elections, which reduce the number of candidates interested in serving on the board and are more likely to generate narrowly focused candidates.

“Even in the slate format, a club’s bylaws must still give members the option to get on the slate by petition, the use of which should be rare. However, if a club has this provision and members petition to be on the board more than once

every five or more years, it shows something is wrong with the governance model,” Vain expressed.

MORE TRANSITION

In Tom Wallace’s opinion, change is in the air.

“Yes, there should be a nominating committee, but forward-thinking clubs are transitioning from a nominating committee to a Leadership Development Committee, said Wallace, a partner with Kopplin, Kuebler & Wallace, an industry consulting and executive search firm.

“The Leadership Development Committee is an informed, active and independent group of members working yearround to identify and cultivate future leaders while building relationships with potential board members. In addition, the committee offers encouragement to members who are active, busy, and likely not pursuing the opportunity to volunteer but who would add great value to the group.

“This committee also monitors existing committee members to determine whether they contribute positively to continued committee and/or board service. Additionally, building confidence in new and younger members or recognizing those who may not realize their ability to serve in a meaningful way is also a key component of the Leadership Development Committee,” Wallace explained.

“We believe a member should successfully serve on a committee first before serving on the board. Committees should set goals each year and achieve them. If an individual served on a committee where goals were not met, or the person did not actively participate or contribute to the committee, we would not call that successful service.

“We also don’t believe in open elections. The number of members put up for service should match the open spots. In addition, all candidates should be vetted appropriately by the Leadership Development Committee after successfully completing committee service,” he maintained.

“With an objective and well-organized Leadership Development Committee in place, clubs establish trust within the membership that the process is fair and ethical. These committees can also be engaged in the new member orientation process to ensure mutual transparency, understanding, and buy-in of the committee intention from day one of membership. Best practices for transitioning to a Leadership Development Committee might include incorporating some or all of the following when revising the nominating committee charter: Scope of work, guiding principles, expected outcomes and committee protocols.”

Diversity on a club’s board also remains one of the most important issues facing private clubs today. So, how important is diversity on the board?

“This is a very good question that’s often misinterpreted. It’s not simply about diversity... it’s about qualifications. Be as diverse as possible to include representative demographics but seek and identify candidates that have contributing skill sets understanding strategy and addressing the more important philosophical needs as a mission and vision of what will provide sustainability,” Coyne stressed.

“Clubs have the unique advantage of qualified, experienced and creative people. If you can find, recruit and drive them toward strategic goals and objectives instead of how high to cut the rough and the size of the pour in the 19th hole, everyone wins.

“When you have no system in place or a system that doesn’t weed out bias, you will be doomed to four-hour board meetings addressing operational issues and doing nothing but setting up a dysfunctional business organization,” he added.

“Diversity’s critically important. To the greatest extent possible, the board should reflect the club’s composition regarding gender, age, ethnicity, tenure, etc. While it’s unrealistic to expect to always be in perfect alignment, it’s important for all major demographic groups of the club to be represented on the board as consistently as possible,” said Club Benchmarking’s Mona.

“Board diversity is a pressing issue for many private clubs. “The great challenge in clubs – which are not diverse, generally speaking – is becoming diverse when so many members don’t know how to diversify or do not have the business or social reach to expand diversity within the club,” added DeLozier.

“This Is a bit tricky,” expressed Welch. “The official answer is clubs have members. They are not colors, genders, sexual orientation. But they are names in a roster, friends in the dining room, buddies on the golf course, mates on the water and partners on the tennis courts.

“In reality, clubs attract members that are like-minded and are not always of diverse cultures. This is because so many clubs have to perform with the diversity willing to work with them,” Welch added.

“Diversity is very important. But unfortunately, women still fill too few seats on a club’s board,” said Vain succinctly.

While diversity is vital, the importance of issues facing a club’s board shouldn’t really be the impetus for selecting board members.

“It would be rare to populate your board to address only current issues. You want a board that is both capable and nimble, so you don’t want to overload it only with people who can handle what is in front of the club today. Things can change in a hurry, and with most board terms a minimum of three years, it’s highly likely the directors will be dealing with things in a couple of years that could not be anticipated today,” said McMahon’s Vain.

“Board selection should be based primarily on personal qualities that sustain respected leadership and trust in the club’s governance,” added DeLozier.

“That said, clubs are well served by members with specific skills. For example, clubs undertaking extensive renovations and capital projects do well to call upon a member experienced in project management or clubs wrestling with pressing legal matters benefit from having an experienced attorney on the board.

“Needs usually dictate skills sets. For example, most clubs benefit from having experts in finance, risk management (general insurance), law, accounting. communications and brand management,” DeLozier added.

“A great leadership team of the general manager, key staff and volunteer leaders can be incredibly accurate in identifying trends and their potential impact,” commented Coyne.

“Today, we are faced with incredible labor, food, fuel and other challenges that are raising costs faster than we’ve seen in decades. Communication, financial, supply chain and other professionals would be great as ‘team’ members during these times.

“However, a wise board will also look to the people living the challenges daily and seek their input and advice. Staff has the advantage of ongoing educational venues that address emerging issues, challenges, and solutions. How interesting would it be to take 20 minutes at the end of every board meeting to ask your key people what they see coming? You show confidence; they must display leadership and observance and together you can address issues and seldom be caught off guard,” Coyne articulated.

SKILL SETS

Mona suggested determining the board members’ skill sets can come from a board profile that can be used to evaluate potential board members.

“The profile should include details such as earlier committee experience, other volunteer service at the club, tenure as a club member, occupation and related experience, etc. The nominating committee should keep a list of all potential candidates for the board with profile information for each candidate. This information should be passed along from one nominating committee to the next,” he said.

“The nominating committee or a governance task force should prepare criteria for board service. This could also involve a governance expert, potentially a member with experience in this area, or a professional governance consultant who works with clubs or other non-profit organizations,” Vain added.

Wallace believes that “no, members should never be put on the board because they have a specific skill that suits a project or skill that you need today or in the near future.

“Everyone on the board should be capable of leading the club, have a proven track record on the committee level and bring people together to accomplish goals.

“It was once a common practice for club boards to have one doctor, one lawyer, one accountant, one architect, etc. We believe worrying about actual professions is less important than seeking out people who are good leaders, effective communicators, fair and objective thinkers, engaged members who use the majority of club facilities frequently and who are good stewards of the club (those who are there for the right reasons) is the most important,” Wallace emphasized.

“If you need to solicit the expertise of an architect or a doctor who is a member, you can do that ad hoc for a set period. It doesn’t mean that person must be a board member.”

Still, Wallace feels there are skills all not-for-profit board members should have.

“The Leadership Development Committee should identify these skills/traits and the board should approve them. The skills should center around building consensus and achieving

goals. In addition to those characteristics, we firmly believe members should have a committee member tenure requirement as a pre-requisite to being nominated for board service. If a member isn’t successful on a committee, they won’t likely be successful as a board member.

“We also believe it is most important for board members to be good leaders, effective communicators, fair and objective thinkers, engaged members and good stewards of the club,” he reiterated.

And how does a club become aware of ‘agenda-driven’ people?

“All candidates for the board should be asked to complete a candidate profile sheet, which collects data about the person’s experience in leadership and governance positions. It should also ask questions about their philosophy toward governance, how they describe the board’s role and other aspects of governance,” Vain expressed.

“The committee would review this information before their interview with the individual. The participants in the interview should be asked to complete a scorecard after the interview to see how the person performed, which would include questions about the difference between governance and management.

ORIENTATION

“The committee should also have conversations with their contacts/references. For example, observing who they spend their time with at the club, their social circle, golf group, etc. This is another reason that service on committees before serving on the board is important. Not only does it expose that individual to the various aspects of the club, but it also shows how they think and if they work with others,” Vain added.

“If the club has a robust committee system, where individuals who are potential board candidates are selected for committee service, it should become apparent which members are serving for the overall benefit of the club and which are serving to advance their own agendas. This information should be relayed by the committee chair to the nominating committee for inclusion in the individual’s board profile, if applicable,” commented Mona.

“In addition to selecting the right candidates for the board, the club should invest in a comprehensive orientation process for new board members and provide ongoing education. The board is one of the club’s top strategic assets and should be treated like any other key asset. Board development should be a priority, not an afterthought,” he added.

“Observation and previous experience with individual members usually reveal one’s ‘agenda’. This reinforces the critical nature of requiring board candidates to have served within the club’s committee structure and/leadership pipeline to enable observation and experience,” stressed DeLozier.

“It’s quite likely that the cub administers a personality evaluation to each incoming key member of the staff. It’s also an invaluable tool for the GM to have to know of any underlying issues and is often integrated to avoid disrupting the flow of a team. So, it seems quite logical that these tools should likewise be used for the selection of board members,” Coyne said.

“Also, there are clearly those within the club well known for bias and one-sided thinking. Any person that could be deemed disruptive to the flow of discussions and decisions should be summarily dismissed as a potential leadership choice.

“Service on a board or committee should be predicated upon objectivity, the utilization of hard data to make decisions and should always consider the overall impact to the entire membership and not to only one segment. In many clubs, there’s a statement required to be executed that these principals are understood and are grounds for replacement should the incoming nominee fail to perform accordingly,” Coyne added.

Wallace explained how the club’s Leadership Development Committee can play a significant role in eliminating agenda-driven board members.

“The Leadership Development Committee should have a survey that ensures board candidates have alignment with the current board initiatives, the general manager, the core values and the club’s mission, vision and values. If someone doesn’t agree with or align with the goals, vision or values, then they shouldn’t be on a committee or the board. The Leadership Development Committee should survey and interview every potential candidate to determine whether they are in alignment or not.

“Sample volunteer survey and interview questions include: Please share your thoughts on the club’s strengths and opportunities. Please tell us why you would like to serve as a leader in the club. Please share details of your past committee and/or board experience.” ➤

Welch also feels “there’s a need for guidelines to avoid possible conflicts:

1) If they will not sign a conflict of interest agreement

2) If they will not sign a confidentiality agreement

3) If they do not serve a purpose on the board

4) If they do not represent a section of the membership

5) If they have joined the club within a year, and

6) If they have upgraded their membership to a stockholder membership to run for the board within six months, these members should not be serving on the board.”

Wallace added, “All clubs need a strong conflict of interest agreement and require all board members to sign off on it. No board member should be doing business with the club or have any conflicts with serving on the board. The Leadership Development Committee should identify possible challenges or conflicts and board candidates should be asked to prove there are no potential conflicts before being put into a service role.”

The Leadership Development Committee proposed by Wallace should be comprised of past presidents, past board members for former executive committee members who understand the board’s goals.

“They also must understand what is going on and be able to filter the right kind of people onto the board. The Leadership Development Committee ensures you have good continuity with the three past presidents rotating on and off the committee.

“There’s also a need for board members to have the ownership mentality. To think like an owner of the club who sees the long-term effects of decisions. So, finding members who are good stewards of the club, those who are there to make the best decisions for the club as a whole and not personal agendas must always be the top priority,” Wallace concluded.

PUBLISHER’S FINAL THOUGHTS

Unquestionably, as these industry leaders suggest, certain characteristics help distinguish effective and productive board members.

Today, and more so each day, a private club’s general manager/chief operating officer is defacto the ‘club’s leader.’ Although news every day suggests that some clubs are retreating into a shell, firing the general manager and making do with unqualified help at the top.

Or they’re backtracking into the cesspool of micromanagement with directors, committee members and club members sticking their fingers smack dab into the middle of the management pie…with some even actively running (or seemingly running) their club daily.

Boards and agenda setters use a variety of excuses for their intervention, but it’s a trend that leads to no good, as has been proven by years of diligent work by thoughtful boards and general managers.

General managers are ‘in the pit daily’ carrying out the policies established by the club’s board of directors. That’s the GM’s mandate and that’s the way it should be and it should continue to be the goal of private clubs today.

EFFECTIVE BOARDS

Often private club boards are viewed as a necessary evil –can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em. Fact is, boards can be healthy and functional, contributing to the success of private clubs. Your board needs to decide what it needs from its members and let them know with a detailed job description. Just like any other position, directors need to know what’s expected of them. Job descriptions go a long way in resolving that issue.

• Accountability: The buck stops with the club’s board of directors, and the club’s directors and potential directors need to fully understand that point. Yes, the general manager runs the club daily, but the GM and staff is putting into action policies and guidelines established by the board of directors.

The board must be cohesive, professional and accountable, with board members working with one another and the club’s staff, meeting the entire needs of the club’s membership.

• Board orientation: Board members, particularly new directors need to get up to speed. Certainly, if new board members have served on various committees before arriving on the board, they’ll have a better understanding of some of the club’s issues and thought behind decisions. But director education today is a must, whether it’s an individual program oriented toward each director, or at a minimum, a yearly retreat that allows everyone to develop a better understanding of where your club stands today, and issues and decisions that must be faced in the upcoming year. Board orientation will let board members know what’s expected of them and help ensure directors are educated to make well-informed decisions.

• Management performance standards: Effective boards and directors establish management performance standards and hold management accountable to those standards. This task might be a result of the board’s fiduciary obligations, but it’s also an assessment that chief executive officers, general managers and chief operating officers want because it enunciates the board’s expectations and policies for its top executives. These become the goals for the club’s management team and club’s employees. When general managers flourish, boards flourish, and the club’s culture flourishes, meaning continued success for the private club.

• Micromanagement: The scourge of private club management…and micromanagement is to be avoided at all costs. The effective, productive board doesn’t micromanage, but oversees the club from 30,000 feet. If the board establishes policies and guidelines, then there’s no need for board members and/or committee members to stick their fingers into the management pie. Micromanaging undermines the GM’s authority, and leadership credibility causing a loss of focus and productivity.

• Diversity: It’s a good thing…for both the private club and its members because it brings in new voices and new perspectives. In the broadest sense, diversity on the club’s board should be a representation of the club’s membership – young, older, women and other diversity characteristics. It’s also a policy that ensures a wider representation of viewpoints in board discussions and decisions.

Succession planning: Your club board when recruiting board members should establish a policy and process that ensures a future pool of committee members, chairpersons and club presidents. This planning, which lays the groundwork for the future success of your club should be part of your club’s organizational planning.

Success for private clubs comes because a strong, cohesive board of directors devoted to the mission and success establishes policy and then lets its professional staff manage those policies to the betterment of the club.

Board members never lack ideas. It seems many boards just don’t implement them. The innovative productive board executes them. Maintaining the status quo has hurt many clubs and failing to execute ideas in a timely fashion has turned small issues into big problems.

I’ve met with many boards and it doesn’t surprise me anymore when some clubs know they have a problem but don’t deal with it. They just hand it off to the next board. In fact, I’ve been at clubs where they’re still talking about the same problems they had 10 years earlier. Private clubs do need visionaries, enlightened boards and policy makers willing to peer into the future and make decisions.

Boards need a sense of direction… and need to provide a direction. Boards need to ask: What’s our role in this organization? What do members want this club to be? How do we as a board get us there? Because that’s the reason d’etre for clubs in the first place – to be what its members want it to be – a community of like-minded people providing services the community wants.

However, there are clubs that will not be self-sustaining in the future. Today more than ever, an informed board is critical. Board preparations need to start at the committee levels. These committee members most likely will be future board members and often president. By focusing on this group of newbies, your boards will be more prepared to tackle the issues years into the future. I believe, this is a mistake many GMs make – not focusing on the committee members and developing a relationship with them.

At least, that’s the way I see it. BR

John G. Fornaro, publisher

• Focus on members. With so many pressures on club leaders, it is easy to overlook the importance of members’ sense of belonging. Many members are concerned with matters of diversity, equity and inclusion. They expect their club to exhibit a progressive outlook. A sense of belonging – feeling like one is a part of the club –has never been more important.

To govern more effectively during tough times, board members do well to remember the following points of guidance:

1. Communicate, communicate, communicate – Members want to be informed in real time and not after the fact. Develop methods that enable frequent and redundant messaging using multiple media options.

2. Listen to senior staff – The club’s management team is a capable group of professionals. Rely on their good judgment and use the board’s wide-ranging experience to provide constructive feedback and guidance.

3. Hold yourself accountable – Members want to see that the board remembers that accountability is a shared responsibility. Say what you will do . . . then do it.

4. Increase socialization – In worrisome times, people draw strength and confidence from one another. Clubs are a platform for socialization. Expand – don’t contract – the social activities that bring people together in a healthy setting.

5. Be financially alert – Interface with the management team to monitor early-warning indicators of changing conditions. Here are two canaries-in-the-coal-mine signals: (a) membership lists that show an uptick in the pace of people seeking to join or leave the club and (b) a change in members’ spending and utilization patterns.

Wise club leaders are looking to the future with a mind on lessons learned from the past. Top-performing boards will support their managers with vision, experience and understanding. BR

clear Lexan containers as opposed to the trash can. Kitchen managers can then determine if the trim is excessive or not. Further instruction can be provided with specific regard to any over-trimmed produce. Waste can also be recorded on waste sheets, which leads to the ability to produce waste reports with costs that can be monitored for impact.

SPOILAGE

Spoilage is primarily a function of incorrect purchase quantities. It can also be caused by improper storage or rotation, but that typically is the lesser of the two causes. Since the demand for menu items that require particular produce dictates the correct quantity to purchase, the other considerations are shelf life and delivery timing.

Best practice is to buy as little as possible as frequently as possible. We find with many clients it makes sense to pay more for split cases than to suffer spoilage from buying whole cases. Proper purchase levels can be monitored by looking at usage over time and shelf quantities from inventories.

The monitoring is done through the “days left” method, which looks at usage and inventory levels to determine how many days are on the shelf at any given time. Spot-checking inventory levels (key item inventories) of produce allows more frequent generation of usage and overstock reports. These reports can be used to adjust purchase levels on the fly, thereby keeping spoilage to a minimum.

EMBRACE THE MOVEMENT WITH STRONG CONTROLS

There is no escaping it. Guests are going to ask for plant-based options in ever-increasing numbers. When you provide your guests with multiple options, they will be happy and keep coming back.

But the increased risk associated with produce could be a profit killer. By monitoring the control points and using your F&B systems effectively, you will turn the movement into money. BR

“We are providing employers with the resources and support needed to sustain their businesses while expanding lawful pathways to the U.S..” DHS further stated: “This supplemental cap increase, which comes at a time of record job growth and reduced labor force participation, marks the first time that DHS is making additional H-2B visas available in the first half of the fiscal year.”

This was a critical development because the government admitted that foreign seasonal labor is a critical solution to labor shortages during a time of U.S. job growth.

The past year was particularly difficult because of substantial Department of Labor processing delays in certifying H-2B applications. Ironically, DOL is also understaffed due to labor shortages. The processing delays pushed start dates even for clubs that secured in-country recruits.

This was an added challenge for clubs that typically avoid the cap. In-country workers are in high demand and they have high demands. In noticing DOL delays, some workers took other offers, but many stood by their employers and trusted the process.

Clubs understanding of processing delays eventually get their workers by peak operation time.

The outlook is positive, and the foreign seasonal worker program is here to stay. The government supports the program and wants to see employers, including clubs, survive today’s economic hardships. If you start recruitment early and respond to government requests quickly, this program reliability assists with seasonal staffing. BR

from Nancy’s Corner | 98

My offer was accepted and women’s golf was making news. Michelle Wie was wearing earrings. Suzy Whaley was competing in a men’s tournament. I never lacked a subject for a Cybergolf article. Cybergolf was a brilliant pioneer in merging the growing use of computers and technology with the growing interest in golf.

The time came, however, when cybergolf.com news was covered by other media and the growing number of online websites and golf magazines. Cybergolf was ready to concentrate on its leadership in online and mobile marketing solutions for the golf industry.

Jeff Shelley was also ready with a new idea. He had a long-time interest in junior golf and science education. Why not bring students to golf courses and teach them science using the STEM format: science, technology, engineering and math. Jeff called his program “First Green” and offered the idea to the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.

Golf course superintendents are in the best position to explain the science of grass and trees and water and birds – STEM sciences. Superintendents can show students the mystery of making a new golf hole or how water is controlled and carefully managed on the course.

The GCSAA loved the idea. The First Green is the legacy of Jeff Shelley, with the financial support of Cybergolf and the commitment of the GCSAA. See the First Green website.

Yes. Bring your students (and family) to the golf course. It is a science classroom. The GCSAA not only provides teaching guides, but also pays for the transportation of students from schools to a local golf course. Sounds like a perfect day for a STEM class on the golf course.

Get familiar with the GCSAA website, www.gcsaa.org. BR

Where’s the Manager?

WHERE?

GREGG PATTERSON

Gregg Patterson is founder and president of Tribal Magic. He can be reached via email: GJPAir@aol.com

The invisible you wanders the club—looking and listening. And you want to scream.

The octogenarian naysayer arrives at 6 a.m. for a cup of free coffee and a moan-and-groan session with his retired friends.

“Where’s the manager? Doesn’t he work anymore?”

Mrs. X rushes into the club at 7 a.m. all in a tizzy, wanting to know the soup of the day. She races to the GM’s office for answers because she knows “she knows.” But she, the GM, isn’t in the office. Isn’t at the club.

“Doesn’t the GM ever work? She’s always gone when members need to know!”

The late-night yuk-yuk crowd is downing another 11 p.m. tequila extravaganza.

“We’ve spent lots this evening and deserve some freebies! Where’s the manager? Not here! Does he ever work?”

The words hurt. Absent. Indifferent. Distant. Overpaid.

You listen and you scream.

NEEDING TO BE SEEN

If you’re a likable GM who makes things happen, members want to see you, talk to you, listen to you, feel your energy, experience your warm embrace and get some freebies. Whenever they’re at the club.

But seeing and yakking with the GM ain’t always possible. Committees to meet, staff to debrief, “newbie” to orient, family to experience and vacations to take make omnipresent “in-your-face” visibility tough. And when members visit and don’t see you, they’re miffed, they talk—and they remember.

Managers know there’s a “visibility imperative,” a need to show the flag—lots. They appreciate the need to see and be seen, to dramatize they’re at the club, on the job, ready to respond, working 24/7; family, friends, board meetings and paperwork be damned.

Every manager/supervisor/team leader handles the visibility imperative differently. Professionals need to ponder visibility and figure out what works—and what doesn’t—for them and their club.

CREATING HIGH-IMPACT VISIBILITY

Members and staff need to see, feel, smell and touch the GM. They hunger for the visual —in your face, look you in

the eyeballs visibility. And the GM hungers to know. Did they see me? Did I spend enough time at the club? Have I lost touch with the staff and members? Did I hear the complaints, suggestions, insights? Did I get enough “face time” today?

The collision between “presence” and “productivity” is a biggie in clubdom. Managers need to identify their visibility opportunities and prime themselves for the encounter. Here are a few pointers worth considering.

Get focused: Whenever you’re in the office or wandering about, be in the now and uber-focused. Dump the cellphone. Look ‘em in the eyes. Make every meeting a deep engagement opportunity.

Create two offices: Every manager needs two offices: a “productivity office” that’s out of sight and out of mind where “paper focus” can happen and a “visibility office” positioned where members and staff can see you, access you and bother you while walking by.

Do the “walk and talk” lots: Exit the office often, prime yourself for conversation, wander about and deliver lots of face time to members and staff. Be visible, approachable and engaging. Position yourself in the lobby during busy times. Eat in the staff dining room. Step into every department at least once a day.

Identify impact opportunities: Be present and in the right “impact location” when presence is needed. When it’s busy, be there. When there are big events, be there. When there are board and committee meetings, be there. Be seen, be approachable and be conversant.

Every visibility moment is costly. Know the ROI for each location and each opportunity. Invest wisely.

VISIBLE WHEN GONE

To be visible when “you ain’t,” things need doing. Broadcast your schedule, your routine and your why: Trumpet your need for “out of sight” time. Let your staff know—in writing, during staff meetings, during the walk and talk. Let the members know—publish your schedule in the newsletter, write an article discussing “visibility,” discuss your “goings” during your walk and talks. Let your board know—when you’re going to be “there” and when you’re going to be gone. And why.

Make GM visibility a team effort: Accept that the team represents you—and the presence of team members is “you

present.” Trumpet your visibility philosophy. Ensure that your values are theirs. Get them out front to engage with members and staff. The right team with “right think” magnifies a manager’s visibility when the manager is absent.

Write lots: Remind members that you’re alive, well and “present” by handwriting birthday cards, sending thank-you notes, offering written congratulations on births, engagements, weddings and the like. Write articles for the newsletter that sound like you. Send out lots of email messages. Let members “see” and “hear” you when they read what you’ve written.

Create video memories: Create videos that express who you are without you being there. Discuss projects, great employees, governance and finances in such a way that you are seen, heard, understood and remembered. Have the team release selected videos when you’re gone.

Managers need to be gone and when they are gone, they need to be “visible.”

NEWBIES BEWARE

Newbies need to be cautious when they are gone because “withdrawals” from their visibility bank account may put them into deficit spending. Until GMs have had years of face time, written dozens of articles and sent out hundreds of notes, until they have woven their “presence” into the psyche of the employee team and the member community, have

created a service culture and an administration team that trumpets them when they’re gone, patience is a must have and investments need to be made into their visibility bank account.

Visibility and “visibility when gone” take time. Newbies need to be patient and methodical.

GET VISIBLE—AND BE GONE

Visibility is critical to the successful manager. And being gone is equally critical to the manager’s long-term productivity and well-being.

Managers who have been “in the trenches” for a couple of years; have written dozens of monthly newsletters; have greeted every member multiple times before, during and after the Friday evening seashore dinner; have argued their way through board and committee meetings; have personally mentored every supervisor in the operation; have cleansed the “bad apples” from their staff; are always approachable when visible; and have fought the good fight with members wanting more hors d’oeuvres, lower dues and better food have visibility far beyond their corporeal presence.

Managers need to understand visibility and “visible when invisible,” how to get it, how to leverage it, how to grow it and how and when to use it.

Get visible—and enjoy the journey. BR

The Association of Club Catering & Event Professionals (ACCP) Welcomed Back Attendees and Creative Partners

To the Annual Educational Experience National Conference with an unforgettable event! 3 days of spectacular speakers including Colin Cowie, who produced Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s Wedding.

After two years of virtual events, the live conference had one attendee exclaiming,”You don’t call it a comeback for nothing! Wow!” Lynne LaFond DeLuca, Executive Director of ACCP states “Every meal period, break and even the conference room set-up itself is an opportunity to inspire and educate our attendees on new event ideas, food & beverage offerings and presentation. I love giving them the opportunity to know what it feels like to be on the receiving end of an over-the-top experience. They can then go back and create even better events at their clubs.”

The planning for the 2023 Educational Experience Conference is in the works and details and location will be announced soon.

EDUCATING THE CLUB INDUSTRY...ONE CATERING DIRECTOR AT A TIME! SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER OR JOIN AS A MEMBER www.TheACCP.com | Lynne LaFond DeLuca | Lynne@TheACCP.com

THIS MUCH I KNOW FOR SURE

A Whopper!

DICK KOPPLIN

Richard (Dick) M. Kopplin, CMAA Fellow, is a partner with Kopplin, Kuebler and Wallace, a private club industry executive search and consulting firm. You can reach Dick via email: dickopplin@aol.com

Editor’s note: Beginning with this edition of BoardRoom magazine, we include a column by Dick Kopplin titled, “This Much I Know for Sure.” It will be a regular BoardRoom feature. Dick shares some of his reflections based on his 50-plus years of working in the private club business. He managed clubs for the first 25 years of his career, including Castle Pines, PGA West and Desert Mountain. In addition, for the past 26 years, he has led the executive search and consulting company Kopplin Kuebler and Wallace. Enjoy!

It was my very first board meeting. I’d been hired six weeks earlier in January as the new 24-year-old club manager. And I got caught in a lie!

A couple of weeks before the Tuesday night board meeting, after all members had left the club, one of our club bartenders was indulging in a late evening cocktail with a female club member. As the evening progressed, the two retired to the lady’s locker room lounge. I was working in my office and being the club management “newbie”, decided not to interrupt their activities.

I thought that since no one had mentioned the incident to me for over two weeks, I was probably the only person, other than the two participants, who was aware of what had happened. I didn’t know that another female club member had returned to retrieve her golf shoes from her locker that evening and soon realized what activities were occurring in the lady’s lounge area. She reported her observations to Mrs. Kildahl, one of the female members of our board.

As the club president was closing the agenda for the board meeting, he turned to me and asked if I had been aware of some activity at the club with one of our female members and a club bartender. I told him that I was unaware of any unusual happenings and while he pressed me to disclose if I knew anything because of the rumors he had heard, I continued to deny the facts.

As I stumbled through my nervous denials, board member Mrs. Kildahl interrupted me and said, “Dick, you can quit your lying; I know exactly what happened.” She then described to the board what her friend had observed while retrieving her golf shoes. Her account was quite detailed and obviously above reproach.

I was embarrassed and humiliated and thought my nascent career as a club manager was probably over. The meeting adjourned and as I walked out of the board room, Mrs. Kildahl took me by the arm and said she wanted to talk to me.

“Dick, I’ve observed how hard you have been working at the club during your first six weeks and I really believe that you have a future in this business, but I am going to give you some advice and I hope you take it to heart. From now on, when you walk into the board meeting, you tell the truth, no matter what the issue or question is because if you tell the truth, you will never have to remember what you said,” Mrs. Kildahl expressed.

She had been watching me weave a complicated web of denial and she had to put a stop to it. I was shaken but somewhat reassured by her advice and while

I had made a mistake in judgment, the club president and other board members were willing to give me a second chance. Now, I must admit that during my 50-plus years of working in the private club business, I haven’t been a “Mother Theresa clone”, but I certainly did take Mrs. Kildahl’s admonition seriously. Even when it was hard to admit an error in judgment in front of the club board, I genuinely believe I took the right approach by fully disclosing how I messed up.

It was sometimes not easy to take the verbal lashing by experienced businesspeople on the board when I did something ill-advised, but it was minor pain compared to the consequences that could have resulted from my prevarication.

Time and again, I’ve observed, especially in our political environment today, that the cover-up is typically worse than the crime. And I have also experienced that club board members and, for that matter, club members and employees are typically understanding and appreciative if a mistake is admitted and honestly explained.

Mrs. Kildahl had it right. You don’t need to have a long memory if you tell the truth, no matter how uncomfortable it might be.

This much I know for sure! BR

CLOCKS

BY VERDIN

Nancy Berkley, green committee and marketing committee, Frenchman’s Creek Beach & Country Club, Palm Beach Gardens, FL

Suzanne Blokzyl, fitness and wellness program coordinator, Cherokee Town and Country Club, Atlanta, GA

Kris Butterfield, director of membership, communications & public relations, Bethesda Country Club and president of PCMA.

Jarrett Chirico, USPTA, PTR, PPTA, PPR, PPTR, director of racquets, Royal Oaks Country Club, Dallas, TX.

Brock Denton, president, Kenwood Country Club. Cincinnati OH

Scot Dey, superintendent, Newport Beach Country Club, CA

Mitchell R. Fenton, CPP, Baltusrol Golf Club, Springfield, NJ

David Frank, president, Ballenisles Country Club Palm Beach, FL

Tee Green, president, Sunset Hills Country Club, Carrollton, GA

Yoshiko Inoue, president, The Yale Club of New York City, NY

Dr. Bonnie Knutson, the Country Club of Lansing and the Michigan Athletic Club

Denise Kuprionis, board chair, 2019-2021, Kenwood Country Club, Cincinnati, OH

Alexandria LaRocca, catering and events manager, Kirtland Country Club, Willoughby, OH

Nancy Levenburg, member, Spring Lake Country Club, Spring Lake, MI

LeeAnn Lewis, president, Southward Ho Country Club, Bay Shore, NY

Ben Lorenzen, Creative Director & Director of Aquatics & Fitness, Champions Run, Omaha, NE

Robbie Maurer, head golf professional, Newport Beach Country Club, CA

Kicha May, assistant director of fitness and wellness, Cherokee Town and Country Club, Atlanta, GA

John McCook, director of golf, Newport Beach Country Club, CA

Mike Novak, assistant superintendent, Newport Beach Country Club, CA

Dylan Petrick, CEO, Kenwood Country Club, Cincinnati, OH

Norm Porges, club president 2006, Del Rio Country Club, Modesto CA

Mark Ragole, head mechanic, Newport Beach Country Club, CA

Duncan Reno, GM/COO, Del Rio Country Club, Modesto CA

Robin Shelton, GM, Newport Beach Country Club, CA

Nick Sidorakis, GM/COO, Southern Hill Country Club, Tulsa, OK

Roger Simon, general manager, New York Athletic Club, NY

William Skelnik, GM, Inverness Golf Club, Inverness, IL

Lisa Tessaro, director of sales and marketing, Del Rio Country Club, Modesto CA

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