BoardRoom magazine July/August - Design Issue

T he Bo ardRo o m m ag az ine

C E L E B R A T I N G 24 Y E A R S O F E D U C A T I N G T H E P R I V A T E C L U B I N D U S T R Y ISSUE 290

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VOLUME XXIV JULY/AUGUST

Vo l um e X X IV, Jul y/ A ug us t 2 0 2 0

10 | PUBLISHER’S PERSPECTIVE

SOLUTIONS FOR A DYSFUNCTIONAL BOARD

32 | EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

RUNNING YOUR CLUB FOR THE TOP 25 PERCENT OF YOUR MEMBERS

WHO’S ACCOUNTABLE? THAT’S THE QUESTION!

Angela Grande Bozeman Club & Corporate Design Interiors

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40 | SPECIAL TO BOARDROOM CSCA JOINS GROUPS OPPOSED TO CALIFORNIA’S TAX INITIATIVE

104-107 | INNOVATIVE IDEAS

ADDISON RESERVE COUNTRY CLUB, FIDDLER’S ELBOW, FORD PLANTATION, HOLLYWOOD GOLF COURSE

Lichten Architects

Marsh & Associates

McMahon Group

Peacock + Lewis

Rogers McCagg Architects & Interior Designers

BOARDROOM MAGAZINE DESIGN FEATURE - PAGES 44-68 PICTURED LEFT - RIGHT: STEVE GRAVES, PRESIDENT OF CREATIVE GOLF MARKETING RICK COYNE, PRESIDENT OF CLUBINSIGHTS

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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.

EDITOR’S NOTE

Retaining Members and Fostering Growth a Vital Task Even as private clubs around the country slowly open their doors for some activities, hot spots in the COVID-19 storm continue to rage. This means private clubs are still adapting to some ‘new normals’ while working feverishly to keep their doors open.

That clubs quickly realized that connecting with their members and providing added value while members remained in their homes surfaced as a silver lining of sorts.

Innovation, creativity and commitment from club leaders, employees and members has been the focus to engage, retain and reach every member. Thank goodness for the online and virtual world that has allowed this to happen, unexpectedly in 2020 and with uncharacteristic speed.

Still challenges remain and it’s incumbent upon boards of directors and senior managers to seek ways through the maze and continue efforts that enhance member loyalty, create value and keep members engaged.

Retaining members and growing the membership still remains a vital task and that’s the focus of our cover story featuring two of the industry’s top marketers, Rick Coyne, president of ClubInsights and Steve Graves, president of Creative Golf Marketing.

But questions remain: What’s changed and what does all this mean for the future? Who’s responsible for membership growth, especially in light of the pandemic? These are some of the questions we’ve put to both Coyne and Graves, two competing marketers who have spent a lot of time in the same storm, but in different boats. It’s an interesting read and certainly gives insight into what clubs need to do today to sustain their memberships. n n n

John Fornaro’s Publisher’s Perspective picks up where it left off in March/April. That issue focused on Signs of a Dysfunctional Board of Directors, Part I? Part II delayed until now because of the “Strategic renewal of the private club industry” special issue published in May/ June, focuses on Solutions for a Dysfunctional Board.

Private clubs run into difficult times because of dwindling memberships, mismanagement and boards of directors that are either neglecting their fiduciary duties or they’re out of control, creating not only a dysfunctional board, but a dysfunctional organization.

In short, a dysfunctional board has the ability to cause multiple problems for a private club. So what can private clubs do about it?

4

BOARDROOM | JULY / AUGUST 2020

How does a private club overcome an uneducated board of directors, disruptive directors, conflict, the lack of communication, support, trust and vision?

Who must take the initiative, address the dysfunction and drive the change necessary to allow for an aspirational, collaborative board? Our contributors for this Publisher’s Perspective give an honest evaluation of what should and can be done, beginning with an acknowledgment of the problems. Have a read and take away some excellent ideas that foster highly effective boards of directors. n n n

When someone at age 20, takes over as a club’s general manager it’s usually a good omen.

That’s the way it has been for Crystal Thomas, MCM, CAE, CHE, recognized in this issue as BoardRoom’s Lifetime Achievement recipient for 2019.

Thomas, in a piece written by Nick Bundra, COO of Management Connection, Crystal’s organization that manages The Golden State Chapter of CMAA and the California State Club Association, extolls Crystal’s many years of accomplishments in the private club industry. It’s a well earned achievement. Kudos Crystal! n n n

And we acknowledge the accomplishments of Chris Boettcher, a long time general manager in the private club industry. Boettcher, under the Club Service banner, has penned stories for BoardRoom for about 20 years, focusing on how clubs can and must serve their members.

Chris is leaving the private club industry for the world and life as an innkeeper in northern California. We thank Chris for his thoughtful stories over the years and wish he and his wife, Deanna well in their new adventure. n n n

We continue with the presentation of our top board presidents for 2019 and in this issue include stories about Howard Liebman, President, Boca West Country Club, Boca Raton, FL; Jeff Pero, President, Lake Merced Golf Club, Daly City, CA; Jeffrey C. Mapstone, President, The Country Club of Rochester, Rochester, NY, and John Morris, President, Dedham Country and Polo Club, Dedham, MA. BR

Publisher/CEO

Co-Founder/CEO

John G. Fornaro

John G. Fornaro

Editor/Co-Publisher

President

Dave White

Keith Jarrett

Assoc. Editor/VP Creative/Co-Publisher

Chief Analyst

Heather Arias de Cordoba

Frank Gore

Innovative Ideas Editor

Chief Information Officer

Meghan Thibault

Jeff Briggs

APCD Executive Director

Quality isn’t Expensive It’s Priceless!

Executive Director

Bill Thomas

Bill Thomas

Editorial & Marketing Director

Executive Assistant/ Director of Support

Dee Kaplan

Business Development

Joshua Nuzzi

Joshua Nuzzi

Contact Information

Accounting/Subscriptions

www.DistinguishedClubs.com (949) 376-8889

Ronni Dana

Contact Information

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

Featured Columnists Henry Delozier John G. Fornaro Bonnie J. Knutson Nancy M. Levenburg

Sam Lindsley Jerry Mccoy Gregg Patterson Whitney Reid Pennell

Kevin F. Reilly Michelle Riklan Ed Yoder

Contributing Writers Bruce Barilla Nancy Berkley Susan Bozeman Nick Bundra Timothy Castor Jaemin Cha Ronald F Cichy John Cochran Michael Crandal Friedrich Eder John Embree

Boris Fetbroyt Angela Grande Susan Greene Zach Gulley David Hamilton Kelley Harris Philip Harvey Larry Hirsh Brian Idle Miran Kim Seunghyun “James” Kim

Trevor Kluke Billy Knight Kevin Lichten Steve Lovett Chris Mccagg William McMahon, Sr. Steve Mona Dave Moyer Peter Nanula William Nauroth Carol Pence

Ellery Platts Aj Redetzke Ted Robinson Corey Saban Craig Smith Rick Snellinger Bryan Webb Lori Wegman Gordon Welch Dave White Jim Wisniewski

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BoardRoom magazine is published by APCD Inc. 1100 S. Coast Hwy. #309 Laguna Beach, California 92691 The BoardRoom magazine (USPS 022516, ISSN 15537684) is a bi-monthly trade publication. Issue 290 Periodical postage paid at Laguna Beach, Calif. and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE BOARDROOM magazine, P.O. Box 9455, Laguna Beach, Calif. 92652.

Reach The BoardRoom magazine at (949) 376-8889 ext. 1 or email sue@boardroommag.com or johnf@apcd.com or visit the website at www.BoardRoomMagazine.com.

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CONTENTS | JULY / AUGUST 2020 PUBLISHER’S PERSPECTIVE | 10

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES | 12

BOARDROOM BASICS & BEYOND | 14

SOLUTIONS FOR A DYSFUNCTIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS

STEPS TO WINNING TOP PERFORMERS

BE ONE PERCENT BETTER, IN 100 DIFFERENT WAYS

BY JOHN G . FOR NAR O

BY SAM LINDSLEY & MICHELLE RIKLAN

As outlined in part i of this series, private clubs run into difficult times because of dwindling memberships, mismanagement and boards of directors that are either neglecting their fiduciary duties or they’re out of control. In short, a dysfunctional board has the ability to cause multiple problems for a private club. So, what to do?

The evidence is abundant: everything from disposable diapers, plates and razors to disposable income. But astute managers of private clubs will be the first to tell you that the one thing that will never be disposable is a great employee. Being mindful of these best practices will help you win your share of the battles while building a great team at your club.

PLIGHTS AND INSIGHTS | 16

CLUB FACTS & FIGURES | 18

WINNING STRATEGIES | 78

FREE GOLF LESSONS? FREE FOR WHOM?

USING RAZOR-AND-BLADE STRATEGIES

HAVING THE RIGHT MEMBERSHIP PERSPECTIVE

BY N ANCY M. LEV ENBUR G

B Y K EV IN F . RE I L L Y & E D Y O D E R

BY JERRY MCCOY

CPA Mitchell Stump (author of the club tax newsletter) always gives me interesting issues to think about. Recently, he advocated that private clubs should offer free golf lessons to their members as one of the perks associated with their membership. Or for social members, a reason to upgrade to a full golf membership. So, how would the private club’s golf pro(s) feel about teaching members for free?

How could a change in the tax law passed in 2017 have a substantial impact on clubs today? First, the changes may make more of the unrelated business income a club has taxable. Secondly, because the generally accepted interpretation of the regulations is that clubs and other exempt organizations may be expected to comply with final regulations quickly, as early as January 1, 2021.

Too often in our decision-making process we make assumptions based on flawed understanding of what is important to our members. Like long term, full voting members who use the club regularly have a better understanding about what the club is, how it should function and where the priorities are for spending club capital dollars, than the rest of the members. This thought process is prevalent in the club industry today. Why?

MEMBERSHIP MUSINGS | 90

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE | 110

TRIBAL MAGIC | 112

DO YOU MARKET TO MEMBERS’ HEADS OR THE HEARTS?

WHAT MATTERS MOST

OLD, GEEKY, RETIRED, AND HUNGRY

BY WHITNEY REID PENNELL

BY GREGG PATTERSON

BY BONNIE J. KNUTS ON

Global events can take our economy into a downturn; an election year can send shockwaves in many directions; evolving member needs and competition bring new considerations; technology advancements bring pros and cons and the employment trends are on the move. Club leadership is no doubt thinking of its future. So, let’s get ahead of a couple of common conversational topics.

I’m an old, geeky, retired general manager and I’m hungry for World Conference. I was 40 years in the business, 34 as a general manager. I loved club management. I loved the BUZZ from operations.

The people. The clubhouse. The big events. The victories. The disasters. The committee meetings.

The board meetings. The staff meetings. The bitches and the moans. The creative opportunities.

Discovering the next new thing. The excitement of something different every day. It was a HOWL!

These 17 words should be embossed on the wall of every GM’s/COO’s office in every club. Said another way, people buy with their hearts and justify with their heads and consumer decision-making process has become more emotional. Therefore, so must your club’s marketing since that emotive connection be-tween your club and your members is what differentiates you from all competitors.

BY HENRY DELOZIER

Even as clubs continue to re-open post pandemic, attracting top talent is still the goal and to do so requires a paradigm shift away from traditional hiring methods. Believe it or not, it’s a still a competitive labor market out there even with national unemployment numbers at all-time highs.

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SECTIONS

DEPARTMENTS

COVER STORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Who’s Accountable?

That’s The Question!

A SSOCI A TI ON OF P RI V A TE CL UB D I RE CTORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

BoardRoom magazine’s Top Private Club Presidents 2019

By Dave White

By Meghan Thibault

SPECIAL TO BOARDROOM . . . . . . . . . . . 40

A SSOCI A TI ON OF P RI V A TE CL UB D I RE CTORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

CSCA Joins Groups Opposed To California’s Tax Initiative

Board Composition Matters!

By Gordon Welch

CASE STUDY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Crisis Management Playbook

E XE CUTI V E COMMI TTE E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

By Billy Knight

Why Attend The Business Management Institutes?

By Friedrich Eder

CASE STUDY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Northstar Institutes New Approaches

TE NNI S COMMI TTE E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

By Jim Wisniewski

USPTA Focuses on Environmentally Friendly Complex

By John R. Embree

LAW & LEGISLATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Simple Steps to Help Limit Employer Liability

E XE CUTI V E COMMI TTE E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Making a Difference

By Lindsay Hesketh & Robyn Stowell

By Carol Pence

INNOVATIVE IDEAS . . . . . . . . . . . 104-107

Hollywood Golf Course Ford Plantation Addison Reserve Fiddler’s Elbow, Champions Run, Woodfield Country Club

By Ellery Platts

CLUB SERVICE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Are There Any Good Board Members Here?

By Chris Boettcher

DESIGN FEATURE ANGELA GRANDE DESIGN . . . . . . . . 44-45 BOZEMAN CLUB & CORPORATE INTERIORS . . . . . . . . 46-47 C2 LIMITED DESIGN ASSOCIATES . . . 48-49 CASTOR DESIGN ASSOCIATES . . . . . 50-51 CLUBDESIGN ASSOCIATES . . . . . . . . 52-53 ELM | ERVIN LOVETT MILLER . . . . . 54-55 HARRIS INTERIORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56-57 MARSH & ASSOCIATES . . . . . . . . . . 58-59 MCMAHON GROUP . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60-61 WEGMAN DESIGN GROUP . . . . . . . . 62-63 CHAMBERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 LICHTEN ARCHITECTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 PEACOCK + LEWIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 ROGERS MCCAGG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 STUDIO JBD & JEFFERSON GROUP ARCHITECTURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

COMMITTEES EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

HOUSE COMMITTEE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE . . . . . . . . . . 95

By Jaemin Cha, Seunghyun “James” Kim, Miran Kim And Ronald F Cichy

By Bruce Barilla

By Ted Robinson

Health Wellness Research In Private Clubs In 2020

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Aesthetics Or Playability

Suggestions For Increasing Staff Morale

F&B COMMITTEE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Jumpstart Your Club’s Recovery

By David Hamilton

By Larry Hirsh

GREEN COMMITTEE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

By Nancy Berkley

What Can We Do While Waiting For Members To Come Back?

RACQUET COMMITTEE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Creating A Vision For Your Racquets Program

By Boris Fetbroyt

Meet Our Trees

RACQUET COMMITTEE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

By Michael Crandal, Cng

GREEN COMMITTEE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

By Dave Moyer

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

By Dave Doherty

Take Time For Introspection

Running Your Club For The Top 25 Percent Of Your Members

By Peter Nanula

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Communication Is The Language Of Leadership

By Steve Mona

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE . . . . . . . . . . 36

Creative Tips For Better Club Communications

By Trevor Kluke

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE . . . . . . . . . . 38

Facts Tell, Stories Sell

By Corey Saban

Making Green Cost Effective

GREEN COMMITTEE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Going Green – Just Another Day In The Office

What Are The Guiding Principles For Your Racquet Sports Program?

INSURANCE COMMITTEE . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Will Property and Casualty Insurers Pay Out Coronavirus Claims?

By Philip J. Harvey

By William Nauroth

WELLNESS COMMITTEE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

The Rise Of Health And Fitness In Private Clubs

By Zach Gulley

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE . . . . . . . . . . 92

Where Everyone Knows Your Name

By Susan Greene

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE . . . . . . . . . . 94

Make Your Members Regulars

By Aj Redetzke

FEATURE - PAGE 80 Crystal Thomas Lifetime Achievement Award

By Nick Bundra

JOHN G. FORNARO

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

Solutions For a Dysfunctional Board of Directors Dysfunctional boards can cause myriad headaches for private clubs and their members as boards often fail to make decisions in the best interests of the club.

All this can lead to stagnation, contentious issues and a poorly run board that faces many problems.

As outlined in Part I of this series, private clubs run into difficult times because of dwindling memberships, mismanagement and boards of directors that are either neglecting their fiduciary duties or they’re out of control, creating not only a dysfunctional board, but a dysfunctional organization.

In short, a dysfunctional board has the ability to cause multiple problems for a private club.

So, what to do? How does a private club overcome uneducated board of directors, disruptive directors, conflict, the lack of communication, support, trust and vision?

And who must take the initiative, address the dysfunction and drive the change necessary to allow for an aspirational, collaborative board. It must come from within, beginning with a board of directors that acknowledges its problems.

As Frank Gore, BoardRoom’s chief analyst for BoardRoom Distinguished Clubs says, “ The board chair and the general/manager, COO must take the initiative.

“Boards need to take the mirror test and be brutally honest. Is the board focusing on the future, is it effective, is the club growing with highly satisfied members with a strong demand for membership? If not, the board members are failing and need to adjust how they approach governance of the club.

“Honest self-evaluation is key. The board must take responsibility for the club’s success. Does the club have the resources to attract new members, does it have the resources to maintain the quality the members require?

Is the club relevant to its marketplace? If not the chair and board need a new plan or approach, “Gore added.

Two of the most important functions of a board is financial oversight and fiduciary responsibility, and there are certain requirement the board must have in place to accomplish these goals.

“Have a long-term strategic plan in place. Have mile markers to ensure the plan is on track and have the proper key business metrics that the club can review to ensure the clubs is moving in the right direction,” Gore expressed.

Defining clear roles and responsibilities for a club’s leaders, board members and committee chairs and members must remain a key objective of the board. Everyone must know what’s expected of them.

This decreases the likelihood of a dysfunction board.

“A board should have established rules of conduct and clear performance standards for itself. Having these in place establishes a culture of self-assessment and accountability. Successful boards aren’t afraid to seek feedback on their performance,” says Rhett Evans, CEO of the Golf Course Superintendents of America.

“Boards that are experiencing dysfunction or simply want to improve performance can benefit from participating in a retreat with a qualified organizational facilitator. This neutral party can often help resolve divisive issues and provide a better sense of focus, purpose and unity among the board members.

Evans reiterates that “every member of the board is responsible for the functionality and effectiveness of the operation, and each one should recognize the seriousness of the situation if disagreements lead to dysfunction. While certainly accountability and a desire to seek solutions should start with the chairperson and follow the chain of command, every board member should be willing to recommend outside help, if needed.”

And to accomplish financial oversight and fiduciary responsibility, Evans says, “The primary responsibility of a board is to hire a qualified management team and ensure that the team is given clear goals to drive the success of the operation.

“However, great boards adopt a servant leadership mentality and have the awareness and foresight on financial and fiduciary issues to be an asset and resource in guiding their management team. Every board member should have a clear understanding of what their legal obligations are and of the level of financial knowledge required to successfully perform their board duty.”

Steve Mona, Club Benchmarking’s director of governance & leadership, suggests the “adoption of The Seven Characteristics of High Effective Boards, can open the door to resolving board dysfunction.

These include: 1) Define the leadership roles 2) Utilize objective data 3) Establish key performance indicators 4) Communicate according to plan 5) Establish accountability 6) Create a culture of continuous learning 7) Plan for succession “The initiative must be a partnership between the GM/COO and the current or incoming board chair. This type of transformation only works when the top leaders are fully supportive of and engaged in SEE PUBLISHER’S PERSPECTIVE | 115

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BOARDROOM | JULY / AUGUST 2020

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

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

Steps to Winning Top Performers It’s said that we live in a disposable world.

The evidence is abundant: Everything from disposable diapers, plates and razors to disposable income. But astute managers of private clubs will be the first to tell you that the one thing that will never be disposable is a great employee.

They know that as the front line to facility management and customer service great employees are vital to their operation. What’s more, in a thin labor market, they’ve seen how recruiting, training and replacing top performers has become as complex as it is costly.

Patrick DeLozier, who led highly respected clubs for a number of years before joining GGA Partners as director of our executive search practice, has seen this challenge from both sides of the issue. Serving in senior management roles at Augusta National Golf Club, Colonial Country Club and the Alotian Club, DeLozier relied on six keys when staffing for excellence.

1. Current employees are your best hiring resource.

If you have a strong culture of excellence in your organization, high-performing employees will want to surround themselves with their peers. When you create a culture where excellence is the standard, top performers will recommend your club to people they are confident will uphold that standard. Of course, it also helps if you have a program that rewards employees for their recommendations.

2. Protect your brand. Your people are the personification of your brand. Their performance, personality and customer service do more than a logo, website or any advertising to enforce your brand reputation. That’s why it makes no sense to make compromises when it comes to hiring. Too many times organizations hire someone because of an immediate need to fill a position rather than going through the rigorous process and taking the necessary time to hire superior talent. Hiring shortcuts are detrimental to your brand and your future.

3. Vary the scenery for interviews. Staff members perform their jobs in a variety of locations and under dynamic circumstances. That’s why, in addition to the traditional

12

BOARDROOM | JULY / AUGUST 2020

office interview setting, it’s wise to see how candidates react in other locations and with other managers. Try taking a walk through the club with the candidate and asking questions along the way. Set up a breakfast or lunch where candidates interact with managers at different levels of the organization and where they have an opportunity to reveal more about themselves.

4. Transparency creates loyalty. Make it clear that your club is a place where the best of the best are welcomed into a culture that recognizes and rewards top performers. What’s more, be forthright about your expectations for their superior performance. As you build a reputation in the community and beyond as a club where the good become great and where management communicates honestly and candidly, you’ll engender tremendous goodwill, which employees will reward with their loyalty.

5. Versatility and multi-tasking are critical. In most cases, you’re hiring for a specific skill set and the background and experience of the ideal candidate are well understood. But don’t overlook the value of a generalist, someone whose background has made her versatile in a number of areas. Someone who could “come of the bench” in a pinch and keep things moving without interruption.

6. Show them a path forward. Top performers want to join an organization where they can learn, grow and advance. Help them imagine a career plan that leads to opportunities to take on more responsibility and to be rewarded for their accomplishments. Broad-based training in multiple disciplines enables aspiring managers to round out their professional capabilities and prepare for the next opportunity.

There’s a war underway for talent out there. Being mindful of these best practices will help you win your share of the battles while building a great team at your club. BR

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BOARDROOM BASICS AND BEYOND

Be One Percent Better, In 100 Different Ways A Different Perspective

As recruiters and consultants for the private club industry, we travel to clubs all over the country and hear the reoccurring theme about the difficulty of attracting and retaining employees.

Even as clubs continue to re-open post pandemic, attracting top talent is still the goal and to do so requires a paradigm shift away from traditional hiring methods.

Believe it or not, it’s a still a competitive labor market out there even with national unemployment numbers at all-time highs. There is no magic pill to solve the competitive market but there are ways to increase your success in attracting and retaining talent.

Many of the easier ways are as simple as making sure your club has a well-articulated value proposition for prospective employees and a robust benefits package but there is another approach that has caught our attention.

While at the National Restaurant Association Restaurant Innovation Summit in Cleveland recently, I ran into a local restauranteur who owns 13 fast casual pizza restaurants in northeast Ohio. I asked how his business was doing and he talked about the tight labor market and how 18 months ago his company did a paradigm shift on how the company views and is marketed. They took their cue from the pizza giant Dominos, he told me.

Several years ago, when Domino’s came back on the scene in a big way, the company branded itself as a tech company (still does) that happens to sell pizzas. Domino’s boasted of over a dozen different ways that you can order a pizza with technology either on your phone, computer or through voice recognition software.

Wow, a pizza company that says they’re not a pizza company?! Interesting.

Well, my friend modified this approach and said that he decided they were no longer in the pizza business but were now in the leadership business and happened to sell pizzas.

He and his team developed a professional growth certification program for all positions in the restaurant from prep all the way up to regional manager.

The company created a professional growth path for its employees, and it has allowed them to attract and retain more of their employees. In the last 18 months there’s been a 15 percent reduction in employee turnover and are 14

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now committed to teaching each and everyone of their associates the business behind the business.

Clubs can certainly apply this same kind of approach and make it a strong recruitment calling card. The best clubs are continually adapting to the changing landscape of their members’ wants and needs, whether it’s building a modern fitness center with a quick serve restaurant offering healthy meals, coffee drinks and smoothies or offering prepared family meals to be picked up or delivered to members’ homes.

This same out-of-the-box approach to member retention must be applied to the employee value proposition if you want to stay competitive in the current labor market.

My high school senior daughter was so excited when she got a job at Starbucks. A friend of hers that worked there talked endlessly about how much fun it was and how cool it was that with a starting wage of $10/hour, and benefits, included a free drink each shift, one food item every time you worked, tips, a free pound of coffee every week, free Spotify, a 30 percent discount anytime and a subscription to an app called Headspace Plus that would normally cost $70/year.

My point here is that Starbucks’ robust benefits of employment package made it a “must have” to my daughter and her friends.

Whether it is by establishing an HR Committee laser focused on employee attraction and retention programming or maintaining a long list of benefits of employment, the best clubs in the country are looking for ways to be one percent better in 100 different ways in order to separate themselves from the rest of the pack. B R Sam Lindsley is a search and consulting executive for Kopplin, Kuebler and Wallace. Sam can be reached via email: sam@kopplinandkuebler.com Michelle Riklan, ACRW, CPRW, CEIC, CJSS is a career strategist, consulting and search executive with Kopplin, Kuebler and Wallace. She can be reached via email: michelle@kopplinandkuebler.com

NANCY M. LEVENBURG

PLIGHTS AND INSIGHTS

Nancy Levenburg, Ph.D., is a recently retired professor in the Seidman College of Business at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She is the president of Edgewater Consulting and is a member of Spring Lake Country Club in Spring Lake, Michigan. For more information, contact her at: levenbun@gvsu.edu or (616) 821-5678.

Free Golf Lessons?

Free for Whom?

CPA Mitchell L. Stump (author of the Club Tax Newsletter) always gives me interesting issues to think about. Recently, he advocated that private clubs should offer free golf lessons to their members as one of the perks associated with their membership. Or for social members, a reason to upgrade to a full golf membership.

So, how would the private club’s golf pro(s) feel about teaching members for free?

Stump stated that “When PGA Professionals teach on a fee basis, the pro makes money, but the club generally does not.” This is because many private clubs allow the golf pros to pocket money collected from private lessons, which has even been described by Linda Tucci in the St. Louis Business Journal as “the best kept secret at country clubs.”

According to payscale.com, a Seattle-based company that maintains a database of 54 million salary profiles – and is updated monthly with 150,000 new salary records – the average head pro’s salary is $47,572, with a range of between $31,000 and $75,000. This figure represents gross income before taxes and deductions; it does not include any benefits, bonuses, profit-sharing, or commissions.

If we add to this the pro’s average bonus of $4,938, commissions of $9,759 and profit-sharing of $7,000 (per payscale.com), the golf pro may be earning upwards of $80,000.

And this data also seems to coincide with that available through salary.com, another salary data collection firm.

So, let’s say the head golf pro’s hourly fee is “$75 for a lesson of 45 to 60 minutes”, which is advertised at one private club’s website. (As an aside, if you were paying $75 for a lesson, wouldn’t you want one that ran 60 minutes versus 45 minutes? If you were serious enough about improving your golf game to take a lesson, would you opt to shave 15 minutes off the lesson time for exactly the same price? This doesn’t make sense.).

Nevertheless, continuing with this example, let’s assume that this particular pro is located in a cooler climate with the prime-time golf season running from April 15 to October 15. If they teach only two golf lessons per week (likely a low number) over approximately 26 weeks, that produces incremental income of $3,900 ($75 x 2 x 26 = $3,900).

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If they are teaching more lessons per week, the revenue increases proportionately. And if the pro is located in a warmer climate (with a golf season that virtually spans the full calendar year), it’s easy to calculate how much additional revenue is possible.

As one pro put it, “Teaching can substantially increase [personal] income.”

And it’s also easy to see why – even though teaching and improving members’ gold games is one of most golf pros’ primary responsibilities – they may be highly reluctant to relinquish this lucrative source of income and begin offering club members free instruction.

Keep in mind that the golf pro also earns a base salary – albeit working up to 55 to 70 hours/week during the high season (though with drastically reduced schedules in the off-season). So in many cases, not only are they earning a base salary during regular working hours but are receiving additional income while already on the club’s timeclock.

By analogy, would it be appropriate for me to offer feebased tutoring to students while on campus…and when using my employer-provided facilities?

The issue becomes even more egregious if the head golf pro offers private lessons to non-club members (i.e., the general public). A first question: Are members and non-club members charged the same price? (Does that make sense?)

And, who’s minding the Pro Shop while the pro is out teaching lessons to the public? When the pro is teaching, are additional employees needed to cover those times and the pro’s other responsibilities? If so, who’s paying for this?

And even more basic, is it right for the golf pro to offer lessons to the general public – while on the club’s clock and using the club’s practice facilities?

These points only address one issue associated with golf pros’ compensation. Yet there are others, namely bonuses (e.g., the annual holiday bonus), commissions and club profit-sharing. B R

KEVIN F. REILLY

ED YODER

CLUB FACTS & FIGURES

Using Razor-and-Blade Strategies How could a change in the tax law passed in 2017 have a substantial impact on clubs today? Given the recent business disruptions caused by the coronavirus, unrelated business income might not seem like a big deal.

Looking back to December 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act requires tax-exempt organizations with more than one unrelated trade or business to calculate UBTI separately for each respective trade or business. All tax-exempt organizations, including clubs, will need to re-evaluate their accounting and tax strategies moving forward.

There are two primary reasons why new regulations for unrelated business taxable income require the immediate attention of club owners and operators.

First, because the changes may make more of the unrelated business income a club has taxable. Secondly, because the generally accepted interpretation of the regulations is that clubs and other exempt organizations may be expected to comply with final regulations quickly, as early as January 1, 2021.

The new regulations apply to all exempt organizations; however, clubs have a unique tax treatment. Under the proposed rules, unrelated business taxable income covers all gross income, except for exempt function income.

Unlike other exempt organizations, clubs cannot exclude investment income such as dividends, interest, or rents and must include this income as UBTI. So for clubs, UBTI is essentially all gross income, minus deductions directly connected with producing that income, except for member income.

There is no de minimis rule, which means there is no threshold under which the new UBTI rules wouldn’t apply. Calculating unrelated business taxable income is not new. Exempt organizations with different revenue streams are already accustomed to it. A big part of the change in the proposed regulations is how it’s calculated.

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Starting in 2021, tax exempt clubs will need to calculate UBTI separately with respect to each trade or business. They are no longer allowed to aggregate income and deductions from all unrelated activities or use net operating losses (NOLs) from one activity to offset the gains of another.

To calculate UBTI: • For each unrelated trade or business, assign a two-digit NAICS code • Add all unrelated business income from each trade or business • Taxable income from each trade or business cannot be less than $0.

In the current draft, unadjusted gross UBTI is specifically mentioned as not being a reasonable method to allocate indirect expenses because it is a revenue-based method that does not account for differences in the prices charged for an activity, such as higher pricing for non-members. This is currently the most widely used method of allocating indirect and overhead expenses.

The new rules for unrelated business taxable income apply to all exempt organizations, but clubs were given a significant amount of attention in the rules. A potential troublesome spot in the regulations prohibit social clubs, such as golf courses and country clubs, from using the NAICS 2-digit code for arts, entertainment and recreation, except for costs related to greens fees.

Other businesses specifically mentioned in the regulations include merchandise sales, food and beverage services, and rental property. This means a Monday golf outing will need to establish separate costs centers for the use of the course and the food and beverage at the end of the day.

Finally, city clubs are not specifically addressed except as social clubs. In their cases, UBTI would typically come in the form of rooms, food and beverage and spa and fitness.

While the final regulations could be slightly different, the general scope and extent of new UBTI calculations is likely to remain the same. Therefore, clubs can start planning for these changes now.

Although it may seem like another challenge on top of dealing with the financial fallouts because of COVID-19, this is a good opportunity to plan for the future, both in terms of operational changes and taxable income modifications. B R Kevin Reilly, JD CPA CGMA is a partner with PBMares, LLP located in Fairfax, Virginia and has specialized in the club industry for more than 30 years. He may be reached at (703) 385-8809 or by email at kreilly@pbmares.com. Ed Yoder, CPA is a tax partner with PBMares, LLP and is located in its Harrisonburg office. He may be reached at (540) 434-5975 or by email at eyoder@pbmares.com.

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COVER STORY |

BY DAVE WHITE, EDITOR

WHO’S ACCOUNTABLE? That’s the question!

We often know who’s executing the membership process, but who’s responsible for membership growth at your private club? A question often asked but less frequently answered.

Historically, members have always been in charge of referring people for memberships, especially in the non-profit equity clubs. However, it seems in recent years, members and membership chairs have relinquished that responsibility.

It’s a chink in the foundation of many private clubs, because there’s little or no accountability for finding new members for clubs. The effect, especially in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, can be crippling.

What should private clubs do about it? That’s one of the questions put to Rick Coyne, president of ClubInsights and Steve Graves, president of Creative Golf Marketing, two very accomplished marketers in the private club industry.

Coyne and Graves, competitors for many years who love the private club industry, have spent a lot of time in the same storm, but in different boats.

“Rick and I have spent our entire careers assisting private clubs in accomplishing their short and long-term membership goals. We may have taken different paths…but always with the same outcome in sight… working in our clients’ best interests and accomplishing the goals they requested from our two marketing entities,” intoned Graves.

What’s changed and what does this mean for the future? Here is the answer from these private club marketeers.

1) WHO IS ACCOUNTABLE FOR MEMBERSHIP GROWTH? SG: They say, “A fish stinks from the head down!”

The concept of membership growth is a mindset and a culture that must permeate through the management team and membership base from the club’s leadership. If the leaders (owners and/or board of directors) do not have membership growth as a priority, then membership growth will not happen.

Membership growth tends to be a reactive thought at the club leadership level whenever the club finds itself in a financial crunch. Membership growth is consistently a knee jerk reaction, rather than a primary focus with dedicated efforts and messaging to the management team and membership base.

When the concept of membership growth is a consistent and stated priority at the club leadership level then you see a private club with a strong and vibrant membership position. The membership and management team of a private club will always take their lead from the club leadership. Ambivalence at the club leadership level results in a less than focused membership base on even the concept of why their club needs a strong membership position.

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RC: Accountability for growth has been a shifting and perhaps even a misunderstood process throughout the history of private clubs.

Members are responsible for deciding who shares the first tee or a table in the dining room. However, the board, committees, general manager, membership director and department heads are responsible for creating the kind of lifestyle relevant environment that is fun and attractive and justifies the cost of membership.

Without relevance to the demographic of your membership and marketplace, members won’t refer new members and price won’t matter.

Member candidates have choices. If you’re not a good one for them, they’ll simply go elsewhere.

2) WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO CHANGE THE ORIGINAL WAY (MEMBERS REFERRING MEMBERS) CLUBS RECRUITED NEW MEMBERS?

SG: This answer is really quite simple.

It no longer became easy. Private club members enjoyed the old process of membership referral. They, as members of the club, were solicited by affluent members of the local community asking a member of the club they desired to join to “nominate them” for membership. It’s not very difficult to go fishing when the fish are literally jumping in the boat.

The laws of supply and demand are very powerful. The private club industry enjoyed a very prolonged era of being almost a monopoly for the discretionary time and spending of affluent consumers.

Unfortunately, as more competition has been created, attempting to lure consumers to their products, the private club industry chose not to act.

Members of private clubs began to act like “customers” rather than “owners” of their clubs.

Customers simply use the product for which they are paying their

monthly fees (dues) rather than thinking like an owner, for which they are motivated to invest in their club through use, support and the invitation of new member prospects.

Inviting friends to join a private club should be a committed and devoted mindset rather than the common reaction by club leadership of, “We need to run a campaign.” Membership referral, when done correctly, is a never-ending campaign of success.

RC: In the earliest days, the membership secretary, one of the most powerful members of the club and perhaps the community, functioned as the gatekeeper of membership invitations.

With few clubs available and largely dominated by the rich and powerful, access remained a sought-after commodity. This still exists in some locations. For most clubs however, things have changed. The responsibility has shifted many times from board, to membership committee and ultimately, to the membership director, none of whom can be successful without building a strong member experience, brand and sense of community.

Change has been necessitated by the oversupply of private clubs, shifting consumer attitudes and the need to listen carefully to the needs of members and those that you wish to attract as members.

While membership was once a sought-after privilege, supply/demand has altered that dynamic. Today’s club must align itself with the needs and desires of its members and potential members. It’s an ever-changing dynamic.

3. WHAT DO YOU VIEW AS THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE BOARD, THE MEMBERSHIP CHAIR AND THE COMMITTEE IN RECRUITING NEW MEMBERS? WHAT ARE THEIR ROLES?

SG: Fascinating question and one with an answer that you may not expect.

These club leaders need to create a culture of positive storytelling about what new member growth will allow the club to do on behalf of the membership and the club’s long-term financial success. ➤ JULY / AUGUST 2020 | BOARDROOM

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from Cover Story | 21

This critical group of influential members will set the tone and temperature at the club and keep the membership knowledgeable and focused on the never-ending efforts of introducing their friends to the extraordinary lifestyle of club membership.

These leaders should not sell the “what” of “we need more members” but rather the “why” of what new member growth will provide to the members in continued financial prosperity for their club. This group of influential individuals/members plays the pivotal role of constantly and consistently personally (not in a blurb in the newsletter) informing the membership of how a strong membership will allow the club to provide them every experience and expectation of private club life they desire.

RC: Stop knee jerk reacting! Build strategy that drives vision beyond your three- year term! Expunge bias.

Know your market, your members’ needs and create a positive member experience.

Price reduction is not a strategy. It’s a potentially devastating and misguided practice to be avoided.

A healthy membership is the private club’s most important product. Growth and retention don’t happen in a vacuum. How you are perceived by members and your non-member community is your brand image.

Your brand attractiveness is dependent on the board’s support and the provision of resources and

The best membership committee chairpersons should be individuals of influence at their club level not their business level. Membership committees need to be a conduit of education, motivation and inspiration to the membership of the club to actively participate in the invitation process at their club. Leading by example and by action is an important characteristic and attribute of a membership committee chairperson. One very successful private club in New York had a membership chair who felt he was the club’s “Rush Chairman.”

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tools to create the most member relevant environment and lifestyle possible.

This is not limited to facilities. It includes events, activities and a staff that understands the importance of making every touch positive.

Membership committees need to activate into three groups – finding members, helping to wine and dine member candidates and the group that helps acclimate and assimilate the new members that join.

4. WHAT KIND OF BACKGROUND OR RESUME SHOULD THE MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE CHAIR POSSESS?

SG: What is not necessary is someone with a “marketing background.” We commonly run into membership committee chairs who feel as though their background in marketing their company or product is going to be relevant to the private club industry.

The best membership committee chairpersons should be individuals of influence at their club level not their business level. Membership committees need to be a conduit of education, motivation and inspiration to the membership of the club to actively participate in the invitation process at their club.

Leading by example and by action is an important characteristic and attribute of a membership committee chairperson. One very successful private club in New York had a membership chair who felt he was the club’s “Rush Chairman.”

This highly successful businessman (Wall Street executive) had zero background in marketing but extraordinary personal skills in communication and motivation of the members. His skills in communication, motivation, education and support for the efforts of the membership base were off the charts successful.

The members of this elite club were led by this Pied Piper to a full membership with a waiting list. He didn’t know how to sell or market the club, but he knew how to excite and motivate his membership to take action.

RC: For most clubs the days of creating ways to turn down members are over. Today’s membership committee must be a working committee. An understanding of marketing and sales is a bonus, but remember that membership in a private club is a unique and lifestyle driven commodity.

Forcing sales through gimmickry or price, without a substantive and relevant lifestyle experience, is simply a revolving door.

Experienced marketers tend to be better capable of understanding core issues that may be creating or contributing to a club’s challenges. Except for location, there is not a club issue anywhere that cannot be solved through core issue analysis. People who can be objectively analytical can be an asset. ➤

IDENTIFY AND HIRE TOP CANDIDATES for key executive leadership positions by utilizing the expertise of the PGA of America’s Career Services department and Senior Consultant, Michael Leemhuis, owner of Leemhuis Consult LLC.

pgacareerservices.org/execusearch

from Cover Story | 22

Here’s a thought. Divide up the number of new members you need every year by the number of members on the committee and get a commitment from each to recruit that number over their annual term.

5. WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MEMBER RETENTION? IS IT THE GM (WHO QUITE OFTEN IS REPLACED EVERY FOUR YEARS), THE MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE CHAIR, THE MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE OR THE BOARD PRESIDENT, OR?

SG: Membership retention is a critical component of a successful private club. It is much easier to get money from someone that is already giving you money.

Membership retention is rather easily defined. It’s like a slow leak in a tire. If you notice that the tire on your car may be losing air it’s much too easy to simply add some air to the tire rather than permanently fixing the leak. Members who leave private clubs tend to slowly trend away from their club.

A club leadership that invests in software to identify these negatively trending members will be able to then put together an orchestrated series of communications and invitations that draws those negatively trending members back to club life. The club’s membership director is commonly the perfect person to orchestrate these strategies of influence.

Additionally, when a club is seeing uncontrollable membership attrition – (death, health, finances or moving), then the controllable reasons given by these negatively trending members need to be acted upon by the club’s leadership and management team. Strong membership retention efforts commonly provide valuable information for club leaders to use in operational changes and offerings.

RC: Like growth, responsibility for retention rests with the club’s ability to make members happy and proud of their club. No one person that can do that alone. It takes the entire team. The days of departmental fiefdoms should be over replaced by an all hands-on deck process of listening to members, building your sense of community and building pride and loyalty.

Membership is job one. Every board member, every committee member, every department head and the general manager should have a palpable stake in both growth and retention. If you believe that each touch a member has with the club is important, then every staff member, starting with department heads must drive personalization and services matching the lifestyle needs of your members. Growth and retention, stimulated by satisfied and happy members enjoying the lifestyle created by your staff, is a self-perpetuating and sustainable recipe for success.

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6. HOW IS A CLUB’S INITIATION FEE DECIDED?

SG: Initiation fees are more of an art-form rather than a science. They’re also a mindset. If your club leadership doesn’t believe in the quality of your club and the investment necessary to maintain the quality and standards of your private club then you can be totally assured of a low initiation fee at that club.

If your club falls into the mindset trap of, “We are simply in the dues business”, then you can be assured of a low initiation fee. Private club leaders that understand how initiation fees are the driving force of funding depreciation and capital investments NEVER consider slashing initiation fees for the short-term gain of some dues revenue.

For example, “Join our club and if you commit to two years of membership we will waive your initiation fee.”

Clubs that employ this flawed type of marketing strategy have not bought into understanding how initiation fees must be commanded to fund the club’s capital investments.

A demographic study of the immediate area around your club will give you an “economic snapshot” of the levels of joining fees that you may be able to command.

The laws of supply and demand are very powerful too.

The closer you are to a full membership base the more bullish and aggressive you can be when considering the joining fees you suggest for your club.

Private clubs should inform all new members that the joining fees they are paying are an investment in the club’s future capital investments.

Just this type of messaging will keep a club leadership focused on maximizing the initiation fee, with the membership expecting their friends to pay a joining fee and the new member understanding that their joining is helping to further their new club’s success. A financial windfall for the club based on a mindset of success at the club leadership level.

RC: In the early years of clubs, initiation fees were a barrier to keep out those not wanted as members.

Since then, the process has been largely arbitrary, increasing wildly during the late 1980s and 90s as golf and club demand skyrocketed and then reversed as supply/demand ratios and golf decline occurred in the early 2000s.

Initiation fees are important for capitalization, but dues are the steam that drives the engine. Clubs that have chosen to reduce or do away with initiation fees are faced with continually deteriorating facilities or assessments, the latter often making matters worse.

The determination of initiation fees should be developed on the basis of 1) your depth of market demographic and their capability to afford, and 2) the SEE COVER STORY | 114

INTRODUCING

CLUB LEADERSHIP ALLIANCE CREATING RELEVANT, ENDURING CLUBS McMahon Group, Kopplin Kuebler & Wallace and Club Benchmarking, three of the most highly respected firms serving private clubs, have established the Club Leadership Alliance™.

Our vision for the club industry is a transformation of the leadership model through widespread understanding and adoption of the best practices that lead to sustained club success. Collectively, the Alliance firms have worked closely with thousands of clubs. Through that experience, we have identified patterns of behavior that are consistent in successful clubs and used data to verify and document those findings.

ALLIANCE MISSION

RALLY CLUB LEADERS TO CREATE RELEVANT, ENDURING CLUBS.

ALLIANCE VISION

TO GENERATE WIDESPREAD UNDERSTANDING AND ADOPTION OF THE BEST PRACTICES THAT LEAD TO SUSTAINED CLUB SUCCESS.

ALLIANCE CORE VALUES

INFORMED LEADERSHIP ▪ STRATEGIC STEWARDSHIP EMPOWERED STAFF ▪ COMPELLING MEMBER EXPERIENCE

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EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Health Wellness Research in Private Clubs in 2020

By JaeMin Cha, SeungHyun “James” Kim, MiRan Kim and Ronald F Cichy

In our May/June 2019 article in The BoardRoom magazine, we asked: Health Wellness, Does It Mean Happiness?

We explored the differences between doing and being, with references to human doing and human being, and used that initial premise to develop a survey to assess health wellness in private clubs.

Now we present key results of our latest survey. These findings shed light on what private clubs are doing and being to address health wellness today, and plan for the future of health wellness using S.M.A.R.T.E.R. Goals. This research study was conducted in collaboration with the Club Management Association of America (CMAA) and the Club Fitness and Spa Association (CFSA).

It’s one of the first such studies with the two associations, led by Michigan State University researchers. We begin with insights into selected demographics of participants in our 2020 study.

SELECTED DEMOGRAPHICS Respondents were 71.4 percent male, 28.6 percent female; average age of 45 years; and most (67.7 percent) had earned their baccalaureate degrees.

Most of the participants (62.7 percent) were CMAA members, 22.2 percent were CFSA members, and 11.9 percent were both CMAA and CFSA members.

Of the total, 40.6 percent were GMs/COOs/CEOs who had been in their current club for an average of eight years and averaged 14 years in the industry.

Club ownership was dominated by member-owned (66.8 percent); 16.1 percent were developer-owned, and 8.8 percent were corporate-owned. The majority (53.9 percent) were golf/country clubs, followed by (31.1 percent) city clubs. In our participant group, 42 states were represented, however, 20 percent of the clubs were from the State of Florida.

WHAT WE EXAMINED We invited private club leaders (GMs, COOs, AGMs, CEOs, fitness directors) to complete our online survey that took less than 15 minutes. We had GMs/COOs/CEOs (40.6 percent), AGMs (16.6 percent), and fitness directors (31.6 percent) respond.

We asked them to tell us about their perceived characteristics of health wellness practices, current health wellness practices, the club’s involvement in health wellness practices and plans regarding health wellness at the club. We asked four questions about the board of directors, including their communication of the positive potential value of health wellness practices, support with a budget for new health wellness initiatives, support for participation in health wellness practices, and health wellness promotion programs and initiatives.

Board support is crucial. The board has to affirm the health wellness initiatives by talking them up, participating in the programs, being role models 26

BOARDROOM | JULY / AUGUST 2020

and, in some cases most important because of the financial implications, the willingness to set a budget to provide modern day health wellness for club members and staff members.

The time horizon for the planned improvements was two years. This considers that a budget must be established, and the required funding must be secured. But it is more, including raising health wellness to one of the club’s strategic planning initiatives and placing health wellness a club priority.

An increased investment in health wellness requires an evaluation of the outcomes relative to member satisfaction, member retention and other metrics. It requires staff to be trained and methods for evaluation of the training results to be implemented.

One way to implement health wellness programs is to choose those that have never been offered by the club. An example might be pickleball, a racquet game that appeals to both young and senior members. Some clubs have member-only pickleball tournaments. Others compete in intrastate or regional pickleball tournaments.

We also included a few open-ended questions, such as: “What are the most important priorities relating to health wellness initiatives for your club members within the next years?”

We asked the same question for staff members. Then, “What are the most challenging issues to incorporate health wellness initiatives within the next two years?”

The next article entitled “Health Wellness 2020 Results” continues the research report. BR Dr. JaeMin Cha is associate professor, The School of Hospitality Business, Michigan State University, Dr. SeungHyun “James” Kim is associate professor, The School of Hospitality Business, Michigan State University, Dr. MiRan Kim is associate professor, The School of Hospitality Business, Michigan State University and Dr. Ronald F Cichy, O.M., is professor emeritus, Michigan State University

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Or if you prefer carryout, Chef Edmonds can package everything for carryout or curbside pick-up. Place your order on the website. We look forward to seeing you soon! Stay Safe!

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ClubTec and WebTec have the technology tools clubs need to prepare for the new normal.

Change happens and we’ve seen it all!

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LARRY HIRSH

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Larry Hirsh, CRE, MAI, SGA, FRICS is the president of Golf Property Analysts (www.golfprop.com), a leading golf and club property consulting, appraisal and brokerage firm based in Philadelphia.

He blogs on variety of club and appraisal issues at http://blog.golfprop.com

Aesthetics or Playability That’s the Question

How many of us have been fortunate enough to travel to Scotland or Ireland to play some of the world’s great “links” courses?

Over many years, whenever I encounter someone just back from such a venture, they typically rave about the experience, exclaim about the weather conditions and often plan their next trip for links golf.

I remember the first time I took my oldest son. Like many, he tried to fight the stiff Scottish winds insisting he could select clubs based on distance. I recall the frustration on my best friend’s face when we played Troon in horizontal rain. Neither of us were too enamored with the links experience at the time.

In both instances the initial frustration was quickly replaced with a fondness and appreciation for more “natural” conditions. Both my son and friend can’t wait to go back and play the brown, firm golf courses.

To many, golf courses are supposed to be lush, green expanses with the quality of the course often judged on the level visual perfection and aesthetics. A trip to the UK for links golf often changes that expectation and one (as my son and friend learned) develops an appreciation for the often brown and firm surfaces experienced in links golf and a not-so-manicured golf course.

In the US it is not uncommon to see some of the more prestigious clubs with maintenance budgets in excess of $2 million for 18-holes. The level of conditions, aesthetics and quality of playing surfaces at these clubs is usually both visually pleasing and very consistent.

Conversely, through some informal research of some top clubs in England and Scotland, I’ve learned that golf course maintenance expenditures are roughly half or less than those in the US. Sure, the courses have brown spots (if not more); conditions are dictated more by the weather and one learns to expect and accept unpredictable bounces. But, the courses in the UK (and now some in the US) don’t use as much water, chemicals and other resources and are more economically and environmentally sustainable.

The real question, in my mind is what would US golfers trade in aesthetics while maintaining (and perhaps even enhancing) playability?

Though I too enjoy the “perfect” conditions often present at my club, I often wonder if such conditions are sustainable, how much money and resources can be saved by compromising some of the aesthetics versus focusing on less visually pleasing, yet equally high quality playing surfaces that might go brown during dry periods. It might take some getting used to, but those same members that spend considerable sums for trips to play links golf might actually enjoy the experience at their home club.

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The economic and environmental benefits could be substantial. For instance, if a club with a maintenance budget of, say $1.5 million (not atypical for private clubs) manage to save 25 percent, the savings would be $375,000. That savings could fund a variety of capital improvement projects, address deferred maintenance or simply help balance a budget for the club.

Additionally, the club could possibly promote itself as an environmentally responsible member of the community, combating the often-negative PR that clubs experience as being environmentally insensitive. For those clubs and courses operating for profit, the economic impact can make the difference between staying in business or not.

Even a course with a more modest maintenance budget of say $750,000, reducing costs by 20 percent can save $150,000, which can be the difference between profitability or not, and add more than $1 million to the market value of the course.

It can’t be over-emphasized that the market would need to be “educated.” There are examples. Famed Pinehurst No. 2, the host for two recent US Opens has not only been well received after creating similar conditions but has saved maintenance dollars in the process.

Are both aesthetics and playability sustainable? Of course, with different climates and more importantly different budgets, the answer varies from course to course. Each club needs to make its own decisions. Like I always tell my kids, “every decision has a price.” Personally, I’d vote for playability every time. B R

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EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

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 directly at (760) 464-6103.

Take Time for Introspection I’ve been blessed with serving and working alongside many very gifted club presidents.

Each in their own unique way helped clarify my own thinking not only about past performance, but also current conditions and (perhaps most important) what responsibilities and expectations were most critical in successfully developing as a leadership team into the future.

Critically important is the board of directors and their GM/COO both fully understanding and agreeing on what specific management expectations and performance will be appraised. These should be in writing and serve as the lens through which the board views their GM/COO’s performance.

I’ve kept the handwritten notes on the back page of a formal annual performance review offered by the president of a club where I served as GM/COO for 10-plus years. I did appreciate his closing remarks, “Congratulations on a very successful year — maybe best performance ever when you consider our major renovations, reopening and then operating a new kitchen, casual dining area and pool.”

But he then went off script at the very bottom of the page, where next to an asterisk he wrote, “Coming year expectations” with an arrow pointed to the back page.

The writing on the back page became the bedrock of the mutual understanding and agreement on the critical areas management performance would be appraised. Here is what he wrote.

GM/COO’s Five Key Responsibilities / Expectations 1) Membership satisfaction!

2) Financial condition of the club (operating efficiency and capital requirements) 3) Staff development 4) Be the face of the character and traditions of the club, in collaboration with the board.

5) Leadership: Always balance big picture versus details.

At the bottom of the page he put another great big asterisk and closed with the key to keep all the above in focus: * Use introspection to monitor your progress in these areas. In some cases, once a day. In other cases, once every week or two. While I quickly grasped the five key responsibilities and expectations, it was that last asterisk that has to this very day, many years later, remained so very important.

“Introspection” is not a word that we contemplate much. In fact, when I first read his handwritten notes, I had to look up the definition. Here is the best I found: Introspection: “The contemplation of your own thoughts and desires and conduct. Self-contemplation, self-examination. musing, reflection, 30

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rumination, thoughtfulness, contemplation, a calm, lengthy, intent consideration. Self-analysis, soul-searching - a penetrating examination of your own beliefs and motives.”

Whew! Talk about starting with the question, “WHY?” It’s easy for those in club leadership positions to spend time contemplating how we think others think, what their desires are and examine what we think their beliefs and motives are. But, how often do we really stop and do the same for ourselves?

Frankly, I’ve recently had some healthy doses of much needed personal ongoing introspection. While my presentations over the years to schools, CMAA Chapters, staff and board retreats generally receive rave reviews, there’s no question that they will be far better in future because of some deep reflection and making needed adjustments. Fortunately, some kind folks shared some points that prompted introspection and helped me greatly!

Introspection is not just for individuals. It is something the entire board should engage in from time to time. Oftentimes it is good to deeply contemplate the club as a whole to really reflect on where it has been, current conditions and if the responsibilities and expectations for the future are fully understood and agreed to by all.

The five key responsibilities/expectations shared here may need to be tweaked somewhat at each individual club to reflect their unique culture. However, it is indeed Mission Critical that the board and management are on the same page. And, I submit, that regardless of how many key areas you may wind up with, it is recommended that on the back page we all have a great big asterisk on how to answer the “WHY?” question.

It starts with introspection. BR

“As a private club, our members and guests expect the same caliber of Five-Star service that Forbes Travel Guide offers.

Forbes Travel Guide worked with our leadership team to create custom standards, tailored training, and quality assessments which have been implemented throughout the club. We value our partnership with Forbes Travel Guide and look forward to continuing to raise the bar at The Union League of Philadelphia.”

Jeffrey P. McFadden

Chief Executive Officer/General Manager The Union League of Philadelphia

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CUSTOM CLUB STANDARDS DEVELOPMENT

PETER NANULA

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Peter J. Nanula is chairman of Concert Golf Partners (www.concertgolfpartners.com), an owner, operator and all-cash buyer of private golf and country clubs. He can be reached at (949) 715-0602 or via email: pnanula@concertcapital.com.

Running Your Club for the Top 25 Percent of Your Members Here’s an under-appreciated fact about the club industry: Most clubs are focused on their top members. This has benefits, but it carries subtle costs also.

Sure, every hospitality business needs to cater to its biggest spenders.

However, a club board consisting primarily of wealthier people might favor higher dues rates and capital projects aimed at low handicappers like themselves. There are several ways that this bias can erode a club’s market positioning over time.

Pricing: Dues need to be high enough to balance a non-profit club’s books at year end but affordable enough to retain current members and attract new members. This balance can be achieved by adding more affordable categories and keeping across-the-board rate hikes near inflation levels (typically two to three percent).

Sometimes, a board dominated by a club’s more affluent members might push for higher dues because they believe the member experience is worth more than current rates. The same goes for initiation fees and assessments – we often hear board members say higher rates attract “the right kind of member” and push out the low-spenders.

We are reminded of the old club development rule of thumb: It’s relatively easy to start a new club with 100 wealthy folks who are excited about the vision, but it’s much harder to reach the 400-member level that will allow the club to remain viable.

You simply cannot price a club’s dues or initiation fees at the level that only your most affluent 25 percent can afford without seeing a steady decline in the number of members supporting your club. Shrinking membership means not only a loss of revenues over time, but a less vibrant social hub, too.

Governance: The way boards are elected has a lot to do with policy setting. It is common for the most active members to run for office – or be recruited. After all, these are the members most seen around the club, spending the most and having the greatest knowledge of staff and club operations.

It makes good sense to have some of these “power users” on the board. However, if these insiders are the only voice in decision-making, over time the club will shrink its vision to cater only to this subset of membership. Pleas for family amenities or upgrades to the women’s locker room will go unheeded. Soon, younger families won’t see themselves fitting in at the club and they will join elsewhere.

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Capital projects Private clubs have relentless needs for capital. With 150-200 acres of land, buildings and amenities, clubs are like spread out resorts – a hospitality business that must remain fresh and up to date in order to attract and retain customers in a competitive local market.

If your board consists primarily of avid golfers, you can guess which capital projects will get priority. Similarly, if your board is mostly older white men, your club will probably respond more slowly to the aging tennis facilities, the need for a kids’ club and splash pad by the pool and the needs of women and younger families generally.

We often see boards proposing assessments to be paid for by 400-plus members, but only 200 are enthusiastic about the planned investments (greens renovation, men’s grille, men’s locker room, etc.). The board’s reaction is to throw in a few small non-golf projects to gain broader support.

Want to avoid the slow fade into irrelevance that so many equity clubs have experienced in recent years?

Recruit a diverse array of board members from all segments of your club population, with different interests and differing ability to pay than your current board members. Instead of making all decisions with only board member input, use surveys to gauge broader member support before proceeding.

Ask your membership director why the last 25 prospects did not join your club after taking a tour. Aligning your club’s governance with 100 percent of the members’ needs will ensure a longer, brighter future for your club. B R

STEVE MONA Steve Mona is Club Benchmarking’s director of governance & leadership.

He can be reached at smona@clubbenchmarking.com

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Communication Is the Language of Leadership James Humes, best known as a speechwriter for five US presidents, once referred to the art of communication as “the language of leadership.”

Before his speechwriting career, Humes served as a communications advisor to major US corporations including IBM and DuPont, where his responsibilities included developing internal and external communication strategies.

As the club industry navigates its way through the rapidly shifting realities of COVID-19, the importance of effective communication is obvious. In the coming weeks and months, club boards and management teams will be the primary source of club-related information for members, employees, committees, past presidents, the surrounding community and suppliers to the club.

After 35 years of serving boards as CEO of state, national and international associations, I’m convinced that one of the most important resources in a club board’s toolbox is a well-developed strategic communications plan. Clubs that had communications plans in place before the current crisis hit the ground running with timely COVID-19 communications.

If you weren’t among those clubs, we recommend making it a top priority and we’ve outlined some key considerations to help you get started.

• Designate a competent media spokesperson for the club before the need arises and establish policies regarding unauthorized release of information or statements to the media by other staff or members.

• Communication targets should be well-defined to ensure each group of club stakeholders gets role-appropriate information in a timely fashion. The messaging and approach will often need to be different depending on the nature of the group and the subject being communicated.

Stakeholder groups include members, employees, committees, past presidents, the surrounding community and suppliers to the club.

• Timing is everything. Boards wrestle constantly with the balancing act of communicating too often versus not frequently enough, though in the current environment it seems prudent to err on the side of over-communication. Polling the various constituent groups may be helpful in determining communication preferences including channels and frequency.

• Effective communication has a clearly articulated purpose. Much of what a board communicates is informational, intended to provide an update or bring an issue to the recipient’s attention. If a specific response is required such as acknowledging receipt of the information, providing feedback on a topic or participating in a meeting or event, then the request itself should be obvious and the communication should include all pertinent details including the timeline and pathway for responding.

• Identify reliable sources for fact-based communications about important issues like club finances, member activity, capital projects, etc.

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Likewise, establish connections with recognized experts for situations where objective third-party input is needed. Examples that come to mind currently include legal counsel, financial expertise, medical/community health professional and an HR/employment law specialist.

• Choose the right vehicle for the message and the audience. Given the diversity of a typical club’s membership, a one-size-fits all approach to communication is not going to be effective. Older members may still prefer hardcopy format and be unwilling or unable to make the shift to digital. The digital vehicle for sensitive communications should be email versus social media platforms like Twitter or Facebook. In the current scenario, the majority of information and announcements will be outbound, but under normal circumstances signage can also be used effectively.

• Develop a communications calendar to establish clear expectations for seasonal and recurring communications. The calendar should include key messages that will be communicated, the specific audiences to which the communication will be targeted, how the communication will be disseminated, and the dates on which the communication will be delivered. This calendar should be reviewed and approved by the board before the beginning of the year and updated throughout the year as circumstances dictate.

A well-established communications plan is an essential component of healthy club culture under normal circumstances and potentially a lifesaver during a crisis. Boards owe it to their constituents and themselves as trustees of the club’s assets and reputation to develop a plan that is easily understood and executed, now and in the future. BR

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COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE

Creative Tips for Better Club Communications As clubs become more comfortable using digital tools to communicate Live Chat gives your website visitor a way to with their members, we’re always impressed by the creative applications type a question into a chat box to begin a diaacross social media, signage and club websites. logue. The question is sent to a staff member at the club who can answer it from anywhere. Live Here are a few inspirational examples that caught our attention Chat can even be managed right from a mobile that many clubs could easily implement. app on your phone so that staff members are not Club calendar: An online calendar is one of the most effective ways to keep members informed of events and key dates at the club. tied to a computer to answer incoming questions.

This new communication tool can also connect Take the power of an online calendar to another level by encouragto your CRM so that conversations are tracked for ing your members to subscribe directly to the club calendar feed on future reference. Addison Reserve Country Club, their mobile phone, Outlook Calendar or Gmail Calendar.

Delray Beach, FL, is using a Live Chat tool on the club’s website homepage. Check it out at addisonSocial media: “Instagram users will spend an average of 28 minreserve.cc. utes per day on the platform in 2020.” – Hootsuite C

Many clubs are already using the platform and benefitting from the exposure to potential members but there is an opportunity for clubs to use Instagram to connect with their members in different ways.

Clubs can embed their Instagram feed directly into their website so that even those members who don’t use the social media platform are exposed to the most current photo and video posts.

Visually engaging stories are always at the top of a follower’s Instagram feed and the more often a follower watches your club’s stories, the higher they will appear in the queue, driving even more views. The University Club of Boston - @uclubboston and the Union League of Philadelphia - @theunionleague are using stories effectively with well-curated content so be sure to check them out.

“More than 80% of US women ages 18-64 with children use Pinterest.”– ComScore As more and more clubs transition to a family focus it’s important to reach members, and in this case mothers, on the platform they’re using. Pinterest also applies if you’re promoting your club as a dream wedding venue.

The platform is the third-largest social network in the US and for anyone planning a wedding, it has become the de facto tool to collect inspiration for their big day. Clubs can even go a step further by embedding their Pinterest boards right into their club website. Check out Manchester countryclub.com/Pinterest for a great example.

Live Chat: This marketing tool is used by most industries to engage with prospects and even answer questions from current customers. Imagine someone is visiting your club website and wants to ask a few quick questions without picking up the phone.

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Digital signage: Strategically placed digital signage in your club can drive awareness and participation in club events, keep members updated on club announcements and showcase club members in a unique way. Menus can be displayed on digital signage at your club so that quick updates and daily specials can be promoted without having to print.

Remember Instagram? Digital Signage can display your club’s Instagram feed so members can view those shareable moments. If you’re hosting a wedding, a hashtag could be created by the wedding party and every photo that is shared on Instagram with that hashtag could be displayed in real-time on the digital displays.

Club members make up a broad demographic and not all communication tools will be effective at reaching everyone. The challenge is to find what works at your club. It takes trial and error and sometimes a bit of time for everyone to get used to the new tools. These examples are working well for many clubs and might be the right fit for yours. If your club has a creative communication tip or tool, we’d love to hear about it so please get in touch! B R Y

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COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE

Corey Saban is the founder of Newstation.com, named the membership engagement tool of the Year by The Boardroom magazine. A former Emmy nominated and Associated Press winning journalist, Saban and his team help clubs tell their story through affordable short form videos, which are produced in just 48 hours.

Facts Tell, Stories Sell Innovation – it’s one of the buzz words in the club industry right now.

Its presence can be seen in everything from culinary creations to club communications. As the former Disney chairman Michael Eisner once said, “There’s no good idea that cannot be improved upon”, and that rings true for the communication programs at clubs throughout South Florida.

“Clubs need to adapt to what today’s and tomorrow’s member wants.

A big part of making that goal a reality has to do with how we communicate,” says Rob Martin the GM/COO of Wycliffe Golf and Country Club in Palm Beach County, Florida.

At the core of every club is the one struggle they all seem to have in common – member engagement and retention. “I didn’t know,” “Why weren’t we informed,” “No one, told me.” Easy access and mobility have led to communication fragmentation, which is a challenge many clubs have yet to address.

“Mobility with simplicity and the way we communicate with our members is a necessity and a way of life. Members want information at their fingertips and clubs need to stay ahead of the curve to make sure members are informed. Quality videos play a big part in attracting new members and engaging our current ones,” says Brett Morris, GM/COO of The Club at Admirals Cove in Jupiter, FL And like Martin, Morris uses videos regularly. The club pushes out content about construction projects, social events and regular member updates. The videos create a feeling…they get people to act and every generation is watching.

Wycliffe Golf and Country Club video to get people using the app. https://www.dropbox.com/s/l9gj3n8whxvw1q7/WYCLIFFE-11.mp4?dl=0

Three of the most trafficked sites are Google, YouTube (owned by Google) and Facebook and all three favor video over text. By 2022 Cisco predicts 82 percent of all internet traffic will be video.

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“Videos create an immediate impact. They grab out member’s attention and create and instant response.

We share them everywhere the members interact with our club and we have seen a huge response” says Matthew Linderman, president/ COO of Boca West Country Club, Boca Raton, FL The videos get shared on digital displays, TVs and social media. A message in video outperforms text across Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. It also does two times better than an image on Instagram.

“Our members love the video experience. It’s highly engaging and shareable. It helps us from a marketing standpoint to make sure our message is received,” says Michael McCarthy, CEO of Addison Reserve Country Club in Boca Raton, FL Clubs of course, still rely on flyers but before calling Dunder Mifflin for next year’s paper order, perhaps rethink things. Many of the top south Florida clubs have cut back on their print.

“Whether we are promoting our new restaurant concept or explaining the benefits of our app, the engagement levels with our videos far outpace anything we’d put in text. We rely on a third-party company in the club space that writes, produces and even has a professional host delivering our message.”

To Martin’s point videos in your club’s app are quite effective. A simple click delivers content that can be informative, entertaining and educational.

“But remember quality and storytelling matter.

So, think twice before pulling out your smartphone,” says Morris.

“We want seamless communication and the ability to deliver our brand promise in a professional, compelling way that tells a story. We rely on a thirdparty company to deliver that in video at an affordable price and a quick turnaround time.”

So, as our attention spans continue to shrink, think of what you need to do to get people to act.

Trying to cram too much of a message in one video is overwhelming. Keep your messaging simple, tell the “why” and then the “what” to create intrigue.

As we used to say in the news business, facts tell but stories sell. And to quote Thomas Edison, “The value of any idea lies in the using of it.” B R

SPECIAL TO BOARDROOM

CSCA Joins Groups Opposed To California’s Tax Initiative Private clubs in California are facing an unpredictable future if a tax initiative proposed for a November vote goes ahead.

And the California State Club Association, the leading voice of private clubs in the state, is working to defeat the split tax roll initiative.

A split roll property tax initiative, Proposition 15, will go forward on the November 2020 ballot. Under Prop 15, limitations on increases in real property taxes will be eliminated for most commercial and industrial real property. It will require counties to assess “commercial and industrial real property” at the fair market value of such property at least every three years and as often as annually.

If the initiative passes, owners of “commercial” real property will face massive tax hikes. Non-profit entities including clubs are not exempt from the reassessment of commercial properties and will face massive tax hikes. Lawyers analyzing these initiatives believe that city clubs, beach clubs, country clubs, yacht clubs and golf clubs will all be at risk of being taxed at substantially higher levels, and potentially taxed out of existence.

PROP 13 HISTORY

“Prop 13 came into effect in 1978 and has capped reassessment of properties for property tax purposes at two percent per year, unless the property has changed ownership,” said Marty Mueller, CSCA president and a partner, NMOLLP, Rancho Mirage, CA. “Two ‘split-roll’ initiatives had been qualified for the November ballot (both done by the same designers and sponsors), but one was withdrawn and the other has now been identified as Prop 15 on the ballot,” he added. “The purpose of the initiative is to eliminate Prop 13 protections for most commercial property, leaving it intact (for now) for residential property. The goal is to generate $7-13 billion in new revenue with 40 percent allocated to schools and 60 percent to local governments.

“In my opinion, the impacts on California business, particularly small businesses with triple net leases, will be catastrophic. After a three-year phase in, the persistent reassessment of commercial property at FMV will drive some business out, will cause costs to rise for the sur-

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association says, “the initiative would revoke Prop 13’s protection from non-residential business and commercial property and require reassessment of those properties to fair market value. This would mean a massive tax increase on office buildings, retail stores, shopping malls, movie theaters, gas stations, supermarkets, factories, warehouses, self-storage facilities, auto dealerships, car washes, restaurants, hotels and every other job-creating business in the state. The cost of living, already high in California, would be pushed even higher by this huge tax increase, which would hit every business in the state at the same time,” the association claims.

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vivors with the impacts passed through to all state residents in the form of an even higher cost of living,” Mueller explained.

IMPACT ON CLUBS

Prop 15 appears to provide for reassessment of commercial real property “that is not otherwise exempt under the Constitution.” However, with no clear “exemption” under the Constitution for ANY private club, and no carve-out for nonprofit entities, even the golf course portions of private clubs face dramatically higher assessments.

CSCA has watched the development of this initiative and is actively opposing Prop 15, which will appear on the ballot, specifically because of the likely impact on private clubs in the state. So how do these initiatives impact private clubs?

“As property owners, all clubs benefit from Prop 13, which controls increases in property taxes. But because clubs are not residential properties, even though clubs are not actually ‘commercial enterprises’, they will lose Prop 13 protection if Prop 15 passes.

“Yacht clubs, city clubs, beach clubs and of course golf clubs will all face new reassessments, at potentially dramatically higher levels than ever before. Some clubs will simply be taxed out of existence, where the highest and best use of their property (think of the valuation issues in metropolitan areas) will generate a tax bill that bears no relationship to the budgets/resources available to the club and its members,” CSCA President Mueller stressed.

Golf clubs will still have some measure of protection because of

Article XIII of the Calif Constitution, which requires that most golf courses are valued for tax purposes as golf courses. But the protections don’t apply to other types of clubs, and do not protect the non-golf course portions of a golf club’s property.

“The new reassessment model would value the golf course annually at the FMV of a golf course in its location, instead of its pre-1978 value subject to two percent increases.”

Mueller says the CSCA and its lawyers and experts believe that all clubs, including golf clubs, will be impacted. “The threat to private clubs is massive and imminent.

These initiatives have ramifications for all clubs and their ecosystem of professionals and businesses,” he emphasized.

The California State Club Association has formed a PAC to oppose Prop 15 and is working with other groups opposed to the tax initiative. These groups include over 1,200 coalition partners including every statewide business and taxpayer organization along with the NAACP, United Latinos Vote and the American Action Network.

It is being led by the California Business Roundtable, California Chamber of Commerce, California Taxpayers Association, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and California Business Properties Association.

“All clubs in the state need to contribute to the PAC, which will partner with and help fund the “No” campaign opposing their passage. Additionally, all of the state’s individual members of clubs need to contribute to the PAC and of course vote “No” in November,” Mueller expressed. B R

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Private clubs need protection NOW VOTE N0 on Proposition 15.

Stop higher property taxes.

The biggest threat ever to clubs and their ecosystems.

Private clubs are facing a huge taxation threat in the November 2020 election.

CSCA is taking the unprecedented step of earmarking $100,000 to defeat these initiatives.

Every club in the state needs to take action to protect its future and immediately contribute to the PAC, which CSCA has formed. The funding for this fight must come not only from CSCA but also from every club and the individual members of the clubs. Getting immediate donations from all of our members and from our members’ members may well make the difference between extinction and survival for many California clubs.

Do your part and inform your members and staff.

Support California State Club Association Against Prop 15: NO to Higher Property Taxes Ad paid for by California State Club Association Against Prop 15: NO to Higher Property Taxes Committee major funding from California State Club Association

before they’re taxed out of existence!

We stand alongside fellow Californians to stop higher property taxes.

The CSCA stands with over 1,200 coalition partners including statewide businesses and taxpayer organizations along with the NAACP, United Latinos Vote and the American Action Network.

Our initiative is being led by the California Business Roundtable, California Chamber of Commerce, California Taxpayers Association, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and California Business Properties Association.

The detrimental effects to CSCA’s membership and private clubs across California will be massive if Proposition 15 is passed. The California State Club Association Against Prop 15: NO to Higher Property Taxes informs and engages clubs across the state and those clubs’ members about the threat this initiative poses to the existence of these important community organizations.

Clubs are asked to contribute to CSCA Against Prop 15: NO to Higher Property Taxes.

To learn more or to donate, visit www.caclubs.org

Angela Grande Design | BOARDROOM DESIGN FEATURE

by Angela Grande

Preserving Tradition and Creating New Experiences THE PROJECT: ANNAPOLIS YACHT CLUB, ANNAPOLIS MARYLAND

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our years ago we welcomed the invitation to work on one of the most “premier” Rooms are wrapped in walnut paneling that create a yacht clubs in the world, The Annapolis Yacht Club, rich in history and culture boutique interior yacht feeling and its most sophisticated located in the capital of Maryland, home of The United States Naval Academy and upper floor is lit with crystal chandeliers along with teak and the host of sailing championships, regattas and international races. holly floors in the bar.

The scope of the project included three new multi-level buildings: main clubhouse, sailing SAILING CENTER and family centers all which included over 40,000 square feet of interior spaces each having The Sailing Center has created an exciting campus for three distinct looks, requirements and budgets. young and new members. It is the home of the club’s worldSERVICES PROVIDED renowned sailing school with direct access to Chesapeake We were delighted to be engaged to provide our services which included: Bay. It includes a large classroom facility which hosts interior design, collaboration throughout all phases with the architectural firm Hart the club’s burgee collection opening up to a deck facing Howerton and contractors, procurement of the FF&E and the Installation. downtown Annapolis. In addition, there are multi-use The interior design opportunity was “tremendous” allowing for us to custom rooms, and men’s and ladies’ locker rooms. design all furnishings, carpet and decorative lighting specifically for the club. In Interiors are fresh and expansive with white wood wall addition, the amount of finishes were extensive in range and requirements. paneling and rich walnut floors along with carpeted areas.

APPROACH AND PROCESS: Our approach as always is to work closely with the committee in this case headed up by its commodore and general manager. We knew that this would truly be a “hands on” project which we loved and that the club would be very earnest in preserving tradition along with their appreciation for a new look. Some of the requirements were: 1. Identifying the program.

2. Understanding the club’s culture and how the spaces should reflect the boating life of its members.

3. Creating a forward thinking look that would be a new standard for clubhouse Interiors.

4.Working closely with the club’s historical society in placing memorabilia, trophies, art, burgees and half models, which represent the club’s signature.

FAMILY CENTER 5. Accommodating the membership in all areas, which included dining facilities, A key feature in this complex is the casual restaurant fitness center, locker rooms, outdoor living areas and an expanded sailing school in with an open kitchen, pizza oven and diverse seating options. keeping with function and comfort knowing that all areas would be very active.

It opens up to an outdoor dining deck, bar and spa area with pool and snack bar.

MAIN CLUBHOUSE There is also a fitness center, multi-purpose exercise The clubhouse sits on Spa Creek and has spectacular views of the surrounding water, which creates an intimate setting from all three levels and is the club’s year- room and its own men’s and ladies locker room. The interior which has a sporty feeling is colorful and uplifting and round most formal building, which includes: accommodates a full circle of family activities.

First Deck: Skip Jack, an event space set up banquet style accommodating The Annapolis Yacht Club has won several awards for its parties up to 250 with the most intimate connection to Spa Creek and the elaborate architecture and design and we are pleased with the success view of the dock. of this property which touches all aspects of a vibrant club Second Deck: Casual dining with bar and sushi station: The largest setting for members dining accommodating 100 seats plus 40 at the bar opening up to an outside culture. B R dining deck seating 130.

Angela Grande Design is an award-winning, full-service interior design Third Deck: Two formal dining rooms and an intimate bar. firm specializing in clubhouse and high-end residential interiors. Angela The interiors are modern in both architecture and furnishings along with a Grande, principal can be reached at: (917) 873-2425 or via email at traditional yacht club palette of navy, white and grays. agrande@agrandedesign.com 44

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Angela Grande Design Interior Design ▪ Architectural Collaboration ▪ Custom Designed FF&E ▪ Procurement agrande@agrandedesign.com (917) 873-2425 www.agrandedesign.com

2018 & 2019 BOARDROOM EXCELLENCE IN ACHIEVEMENT WINNER FOR YACHT CLUB DESIGN

ANNAPOLIS YACHT CLUB

Architect: Hart Howerton

Photo: David Sundberg / Esto

Bozeman Club & Corporate Interiors | BOARDROOM DESIGN FEATURE

by Susan Bozeman

Creating Inviting and Comfortable Spaces THE ATLANTA ATHLETIC CLUB

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ounded in 1898, the Atlanta Athletic Club was the home course of legendary golfer, Bobby Jones. Later, renowned Georgia Tech football coach John Heisman, for whom the Heisman trophy was named, became the AAC athletic director. When the club moved in 1967 to its present site, the history and traditions continued. Today the club is internationally renowned and named a Platinum Club by the Club Leaders Forum. For over 11 years, the AAC has been ranked among the top 10 athletic club’s in the country.

Boasting two championship 18-hole golf courses; a nine-hole par 3 course, tennis and pool facilities, a 42,000 square-foot fitness center, and numerous dining facilities and club rooms, the AAC attracts discerning members who appreciate the best in both their recreational and social experiences.

The club has been designed to reflect the refined aesthetics of the members, while creating spaces that are inviting and comfortable. “Whenever a space is refreshed, members become really exited and appreciative of the updates,” says golf and country club designer, Susan Bozeman. With interiors that meld traditional elements with modern conveniences, the AAC offers classic designs created to meet the demands of a busy club.

Previously dark and dated spaces were given a remodel so that they’re now open, light, and inviting. Whether gathering for drinks after a round of golf, or hosting a dinner for a special occasion, guests are ensured that the interiors are welcoming and relaxing.

Susan Bozeman Designs has over 125 years of combined experience in designing golf and country clubs across the nation, and each club is unique and specific to that particular membership and geographical location. For the AAC, Bozeman incorporated memorabilia from Jones’s career into multiple spaces within the club while concurrently creating a fresh and modern sensibility. A warm color palette with highly durable finishes and furnishings ensures that spaces will remain current for a long time. “We want both longstanding members as well as potential new members to feel at home when they’re at the club,” says Bozeman.

A sophisticated residential feeling that incorporates ample seating, multiple layers of lighting, and a mix of antiques and contemporary pieces are the hallmarks of a Bozeman designed club. This dining area reflect the firm’s ability to appeal to all members and every need.

Bobby Jones was President of the AAC, and remained an active member until his death in 1971. The interiors of the club today reflect both his legacy and his vision for how golf would continue to influence the lives of so many athletically and socially. Susan Bozeman Designs is proud to have been part of the creation of such an important golf and athletic club. B R Bozeman Club & Corporate Interiors is a full service interior design firm located in Atlanta, Georgia. For further information please contact Susan Dario at (404) 237-7745 dario@sbbdesigns.com 46

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C2 Limited Design Associates | BOARDROOM DESIGN FEATURE

by Craig J. Smith

Creating “Safe” Spaces ENCOURAGE YOUR MEMBERS TO COME BACK TO THE CLUB AND “LINGER LONGER WHILE SOCIALLY DISTANCING”

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ow more than ever, it is time to take things outdoors! Before the pandemic, we had been creating various outdoor environments that mimic spaces previously only envisioned to be on the inside of the clubhouse. From covered outdoor bars overlooking the 18th tee, enhanced alfresco dining areas with sophisticated chef grill stations, to open aired covered lounge areas with TVs, fireplaces and communal fire pits. Now with our new state by state regulations on social distancing and indoor dining/bar seating capacity limitations we have been working with clubs to re-imagine their current indoor and outdoor dining and lounge environments.

The adjacent photo captures several distinct club environments and how one can setup up outdoor lounge and dining spaces while maintaining social distancing.

To truly redefine your exterior spaces, it takes more than just setting out furniture. You have to “set the stage” so to speak, based upon your strategic programming, envisioned offerings, and finally how the space is set in context with the adjacent landscape, views and clubhouse architecture. BR

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Craig J. Smith, ASID is a co-founding partner/co-creative director at C2 Limited Design Associates, LLC, an award-winning clubhouse design firm with offices in Connecticut and Virginia. Contact Craig via (203) 259-2555 or csmith@c2limited.com

Repurposing covered walkways to create new outdoor dining environments.

Utilizing your landscape to create social separation without isolation.

Simply spreading out your current furniture groupings.

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lifestyle master planning • clubhouse design + detailing • furnishings

turks & caicos sporting club, bwi

Clubhouse Master Planning

wee burn cc, ct

orchard lake cc, mi

Boardroom Magazine Excellence in Achievement Award Winner

contact: Craig J. Smith csmith@c2limited.com

Christina H. Romann cromann@c2limited.com

Tel: 203.259.2555 www.c2limited.com

Castor Design Associates, Inc. | BOARDROOM DESIGN FEATURE

by Timothy N. Castor

A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

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fter attending many country club grand openings, we are usually complimented by the design and interior transformation the club has experienced. Despite having numerous focus groups, design committee meetings, and board presentations, which include sample boards and PowerPoint presentations, the typical member has difficulty envisioning the final renovation.

Often, the members comment at the grand openings, “I had no idea this is what the clubhouse renovation would look like! It’s fabulous!” We believe that most members will have no idea of what the end result will look like. Five percent may have some idea, and perhaps one percent will envision the outcome. We all know the challenge and design opinions involved in the process of developing a design in which everyone will embrace equally.

To assist in developing the design we turn to computerized digital renderings. Because of today’s technology and the creativity of the design team, we are able to program and forward design elements to the rendering team in order to create a virtual likeness of the future space. The renderings are so lifelike they typically appear as if they are actual photographs.

The process of developing a rendering is similar to creating a wedding cake that has many layers: • Have the committee agree on a view or angle which will get the most mileage.

- Example: The main bar is usually the locomotive that runs the club and is the most popular rendering view.

• Your color rendering company should develop what we referred to as a “gray tone.”

- This indicates the view and placement of design elements for the club to approve in order to proceed to the next step.

• Your designer should be prepared to forward project furnishings designs, decorative lighting, carpet designs, and master color system to the renderer.

• With today’s technology the renderers amazingly duplicate and input furnishings, fabrics, and colors exactly as submitted for a realistic likeness.

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• Next, the renderer will submit a first pass color view for the designer to mark-up with comments for final rendering.

• Finally, once the rendering is complete and club’s approval has been obtained, the rendering company will freeze the view in high definition.

• This rendering can now be used for all press releases, magazine articles, websites, and club newsletters. It is also used for recruiting future members, as the rendering is often displayed in main lobbies and sales centers.

A typical interior rendering can cost anywhere from $3,500 to $5,000 each, depending on the view and complexity of rendering you desire to achieve. Exterior architectural renderings can cost as much as $10,000 - $20,000. There is great value in this when you are attempting to gain consensus in order to proceed with a much-needed renovation. It also convinces members who may not have been able to visualize what the club was trying to achieve through the renovation process. These members can be the critical votes needed to pass such a clubhouse renovation.

Renderings create an overall excitement and anticipation of what is to come. It is much easier for club members to get through the construction renovation process and temporary disruption to their club when they have a visual of the end result. These virtual images encourage the members to move forward and keep the club looking current. With most clubs working to increase new membership, a stunning rendering can be a useful tool in capturing potential members. B R Tim Castor is principal, Castor Design Associates, Inc. He can be reached at (303) 346-0062 or via email: timc@cdainterior.com.

ClubDesign Associates | BOARDROOM DESIGN FEATURE

by John Cochran scottsDale | Beverly hills | Fort Worth | Palm Desert Phxarch . com

| 888-217-1117

The Increasing Need For Long Range Planning

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his project is currently under construction set to be fully completed by late Summer 2020. Designed in collaboration with ClubDesign Associates and PHX Architecture, The Summit Club of Tulsa consists of the top three floors of one of the tallest buildings in Tulsa, OK. This club project is much different than our other club work as The Summit is a social club, instead of a golf country club.

In total the $8 million renovation includes three floors (30,31 and 32). The two lower floors were to be completed by end of July with the upper floor scheduled for a later completion date. The renovation will give a much-needed refresh to the historic club.

Offering a relaxing place for men, women, families and business people alike. The ballroom will have increased seating capacity, and improvements to the 31st floor include the addition of private dining areas for small events. The renovation will also feature a new semi-formal and/or casual dining area with varied culinary options.

Other upgrades include the penthouse and cigar room.

The overall goal of this design was to incorporate what catches members attention today, which is giving them options and providing members with not just a place, but an overall experience. Additionally, PHX Architecture and ClubDesign Associates will be renovating the Penthouse, which will include a more formal option for dining as well as private dining. Almost “Soho� club like, the design is upscale yet comfortable. B R John R. Cochran founded ClubDesign Associates, a Forth Worth, TX firm, in 1992 and has been involved in 250+ renovations of country clubs during his career. John is a board member at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Fort Worth | Palm Desert | scottsDale | Beverly hills TX. He has served on their long range planning committee cluBDesignassociates . com | 866-484-9853 and will be serving as chairman of the building committee in 2018. For more information please call (817) 810-0333 or visit www.clubdesignassociates.com.

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R e n d e r i n g - S u m m i t C l u b o f Tu l s a

Fort Worth | Palm Desert | scottsDale | Beverly hills cluBDesignassociates . com | 866-484-9853

scottsDale | Beverly hills | Fort Worth | Palm Desert Phxarch . com | 888-217-1117

ELM | Ervin Lovett Miller | BOARDROOM DESIGN FEATURE

by Steve Lovett

The Many Dimensions of a Successful Master Plan

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n the May/June issue of Boardroom magazine, I discussed the importance of master planning, especially during times of economic crisis. Times such as these present unique opportunities to create lasting and sustaining value with a proper plan and well-conceived vision.

There are many highly qualified master planning and design firms serving the club industry, several of which are more than capable of creating beautiful design solutions. However, there are many dimensions of a successful master plan that go beyond a pretty picture.

Learning Listening and Understanding One of the core guiding principles of our firm is that each project must begin with a true understanding of the club’s unique culture and history. What are its values and traditions? How can they be expressed through design in a way that is desirable to today’s membership, while maintaining relevancy for future generations?

Though there are certainly similarities shared by every club in the industry, it is paramount that your chosen firm avoids an unoriginal methodology to planning. Having a clear sense of the club’s brand and identity allows for a more tailored process, rather than the old “one more time with feeling” approach. Extensive industry expertise is undeniably important, but equally so is ensuring your master planner can deliver ideas and products that are deliberately customized to your needs.

Your master planning firm should engage with department heads, staff, and CFOs early in the process.

Having a clear sense of the club’s unique culture and identity allows for a more tailored process, rather than the old “one more time with feeling” approach. Extensive industry expertise is undeniably important, but equally so is ensuring your master planner can deliver ideas and products that are intentionally customized to your needs.

Funding In the planning process, inspired solutions must be paired with prudent financial planning in order to be successful. Building proper investment forecasts that evaluate capital dues, initiation fees, assessments, and borrowing will ensure that both short-term and long-term master plans are realistic and well-conceived. Undertaking 54

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a thorough facilities analysis and capital reserve study will allow for pragmatic, proactive decision making. Cutting corners during this critical step will almost always guarantee marginalized outcomes.

Operational Financial Assessment Though often overlooked, an essential factor to consider before undertaking a master planning endeavor are the operational consequences of each design decision. While we expect and plan for membership and revenue growth, we may discover unintended pitfalls without exhaustive and precise forecasting. Your master planning firm should engage with club management, department heads, staff, and appropriate stakeholders early in the process. Can the firm produce quantitative operational results from its proposed projects? Will these enhancements realistically be supported by the membership’s monthly dues and usage? Will they have a significant impact on how daily procedures are carried out by your team? If you are in the selection phase, be sure to ask these questions. If the selection has been made, we strongly suggest that the firm and the club’s team work cohesively to develop operational budgets that can support the design. You might find that creative collaboration can yield a design that creates incredible member value while also keeping expenses in line with the club’s goals.

Whether you are in the midst of building your club’s master plan or are just beginning to take those early first steps, make certain you and your chosen firm take the time to adequately assess your organization’s core values and identity. It is important to have a clear understanding of your project goals, as well as the financial requirements to achieve them. Taking a boutique-style approach to master planning allows room for long-term strategies to develop, which may address problems you were not even aware existed.

Highly personalized service, together with comprehensive financial diligence, is the key to creating enduring value that will serve your membership for generations to come. B R ELM is an architecture, landscape architecture and planning firm located in Jacksonville, FL specializing in private clubs, resorts and master planned communities. Steve Lovett, principal can be reach at (904) 562-5575 or via email slovett@elmplan.com

planning architecture landscape architecture urban design visual communication

Creating enduring value and enhancing the quality of life through design.

ELMPLAN.COM | (904) 296-8066

Harris Interiors | BOARDROOM DESIGN FEATURE

by Kelley Harris

Ladies Need Love, Too!

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herokee Town & Country Club, located in Atlanta, Georgia, recently renovated its country club campus to improve member areas. The project focused primarily on indoor and outdoor dining, and as a result, the ladies’ locker room and Lounge received a long overdue transformation.

The relocated and expanded ladies’ lounge now features ample space for card playing and gathering after tournaments.

The ladies desperately needed an improved self-service amenity bar to house their snacks and beverages, so our design team met with a small committee to identify their needs. With this information and programming, we were able to design custom millwork with the look of a residential kitchen.

New, large windows allow daylight to flood the room with views that overlook the range and golf course. A new covered outdoor terrace just for the ladies is another new amenity.The

bathroom areas were completely renovated with upgraded millwork and finishes. An expanded and reorganized locker room now has several grooming vanities, improved lighting and upgraded finishes.

The entire suite is now elegant yet sporty and is exactly what the ladies waited for so long! The timeless design will last for years to come and has left the men very jealous of the ladies’ new and improved digs! B R Harris Interiors is a full-service clubhouse interior design firm based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Please visit our website for additional information www.hintatlanta.com, or contact Kelley Harris, Principal Interior Designer, (404) 492-5997, kelley@hintatlanta.com.

“The ladies are using their locker room and lounge more than ever before. Their new spaces are truly magnificent! Each room provides the most special sense of calm and serenity. The ladies feel like their every need was considered and they have the most beautiful locker room in town. Thank you for all your team did for our ladies.”

– Julie Bottiglieri, Country Club Manager Cherokee Town & Country Club

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HINT|HARRIS INTERIORS www.hintatlanta.com

Marsh & Associates | BOARDROOM DESIGN FEATURE

by Bryan Webb

Keeping it Social RENOVATION AT THE COUNTRY CLUB OF LANDFALL

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or 25 years the Country Club of Landfall has focused on creating and enhancing the social and active lifestyle for its members. The amenities make that easy with 45 holes of championship golf, 13 tennis courts and one of the top health and fitness facilities in North Carolina.

The Country Club of Landfall management team has learned that the only way to keep up with membership usage is to continue enhancing the experience. They focused their attention on the clubhouse by turning to an award-winning golf clubhouse architecture firm, Marsh and Associates, Inc. “The desire was to reflect the social activity and bolster the indoor-outdoor experience,” said Bryan Webb, director of design for Marsh and Associates. “We immediately focused on how to best capture the picturesque views of the golf course by intermingling the dining and social areas with the exterior terraces.”

We have seen our member usage increase significantly due to this renovation. On evenings that we would normally have 100 covers, we are now seeing up to 300 covers post-renovation.”

The design team created a sunlit central living room that opens directly to the expansive terraces and creates a central hub that leads to the new dining venues. This provided direct flow from the inside of the clubhouse to the exterior, making the views to the championship Pete Dye course and iconic water features the focal point for the dining and social areas. A variety of additional spaces were created to offer outdoor lounging for golfers, fine dining, a casual family bistro and Jack’s Bar &

Grill – which is the main congregating offering that binds the spaces together. Amenities include an outdoor bar surrounded by shaded terraces, fire-pits, open pizza kitchen, full-view wine display and a vibrant common dining area centered around a large U-shape bar. “Our outside terrace is a popular spot on the weekends to relax in a comfortable seat and listen to live music while enjoying a cocktail from the terrace bar,” said General Manager Jessi Reutter.

The design team was also tasked with improving flow and efficiency within the building’s original footprint. The existing facility leveraged the main dining venues off a small satellite kitchen. This underutilized the main kitchen, in-turn duplicating staff and creating a significant operational inefficiency. The design team reconfigured the dining spaces to service all main venues from the central kitchen and repurposed the satellite kitchen to appropriately service fine dining.

“Aesthetically, we honored the traditional colonial character and blended it seamlessly with current design elements to create a timeless coastal-contemporary interior fitting to the North Carolina region,” said Webb. “Our pursuit during design was to prepare for the club’s future by incorporating a diverse array of social spaces to foster the culture of a communal and elegant lifestyle.” An effort that has paid off according to Reutter. “We have seen our member usage increase significantly because of this renovation. On evenings that we would normally have 100 covers, we are now seeing up to 300 covers post-renovation.” B R Looking to celebrate an active and social membership by reinvigorating an existing clubhouse? Contact Marsh & Associates to explore your options. Bryan Webb is principaldirector of design at MAI, for more information, please visit www.mai-architects.com.

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McMahon Group, Inc. | BOARDROOM DESIGN FEATURE

by William P. McMahon, Sr.

The 10-Year Financial Roadmap for Club Facility Planning Facility Capital Modeling for Club Success The biggest challenge in facility planning for clubs today is not designing them but funding them. Almost all clubs are strapped for necessary capital dollars. Most can’t even fund their real facility depreciation much less their critical aspirational projects which keep new members joining. Sure, clubs can borrow money or assess their members, but there is a limit to this that many clubs are now bumping against.

By far the majority of clubs today have a weak grasp of what facilities and programs they will need 10 years out and almost no idea of how they will raise the necessary capital to fund them. Establishing capital reserve accounts for future facilities, except for progressive clubs in hurricane zones, is almost unheard of. Clubs and their finance committees have to become more financially proactive, plan ahead and think like businesses if their clubs are going to survive and prosper. With $5, $10, $20 and $40 million-dollar annual club operations, boards have to invest responsibly with their capital funds. It is proven that clubs which invest wisely in facilities are much more successful, have much stronger memberships and weather financial storms much better than the “hand to mouth”, underfunded clubs of yesteryear.

Fortunately, we in the club industry don’t have to reinvent the financial wheel on raising facility capital. Homeowner Associations in communities across North America have developed capital reserve accounts to raise capital “now” for future have-to-projects so funding is not a problem. Clubs need to start doing this, and a few clubs already do like The Country Club of Virginia and Mariner Sands in Stuart, FL. The Simple Capital Modeling Process It all starts with a club understanding its purpose, who it serves and what programs and facilities are needed to fulfill members’ expectations. In other words, a club must have a strategic understanding of its real purpose. Then in tackling its facility challenges, a club must know its strengths and weaknesses so it can plan to improve

them. A club’s leadership must also understand the major trends in society so the club doesn’t become a dinosaur. So maintaining high quality facilities and the costs to accomplish them begins with developing a facility financial model for the future by: 1. Analyzing a club’s facilities in the context of following its strategic plan, 2. Utilizing a capital reserve study by Club Benchmarking to understand the basic depreciation annual costs to be sure they are funded out of operations, 3. Developing a facility existing conditions study to dollarize the costs of properly providing facilities over and above normal depreciation improvements, and 4. Creating a 10-year-out, facility modeling study identifying future facility projects and their cost so funding can be created in anticipation of them. Please know that such a study is not an architectural plan, but a financial plan that works with Club Benchmarking’s capital cash flow analysis.

Try McMahon Group’s New Facility Modeling Study Over the past 37 years McMahon Group has been developing financial modeling studies for over $2.5 billion in club facility projects. But now with new forces impacting clubs, much larger projects are being built, and clubs are being stressed in determining funding for long-term projects. This has caused McMahon to formalize its capital modeling and projection process as a special financial service. The goal is to be sure clubs know what facilities need to be built and where the money will come from to pay for them. We call our new service “Facility Capital Modeling” and it is easy to do, not too expensive and is complementary to facility capital reserve studies. Call McMahon Group to learn more about how capital modeling can help your club. B R William P. McMahon, Sr., AIA, OAA is chairman, the McMahon Group. He can be reached at 314.518.5910 www.mcmahongroup.com wpm@mcmahongroup.com

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Wegman Design Group | BOARDROOM DESIGN FEATURE

by Lori Wegman

The Five-Year Financial Roadmap for Club Facility Planning

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urrently, only the original clubhouse foundation and two exterior walls of the Pelican Sound Golf & River Club remain.

Approaching 20 years of success in serving their community, the club management and board decided it was time to look ahead.

Their Tuscan-style clubhouse renovation, completed in 2007, had met the end of its usefulness. Not only had the furnishings and décor reached the end of their life, but the floor plan and food service were no longer meeting the expectations of its members. Talks for a revolutionary change began in 2016 when Wegman Design Group, Inc (WDG) was hired. Together with partners RG Architects and contractor, EnviroStruct, a bold plan to reinvent this amenity was laid out and executed.

The clients felt that the clubhouse lacked the desired vibrancy and variety of experience. Those concerns informed the new design. In the new Vista Dining, ceilings were raised to a vaulted center section with large glass openings exposing the beautiful views. Developing pivoting walls between this space and the bar allows for flow between the spaces when needed. The Grille Room was revitalized as the Pelican Pub with a 60 percent seating increase and a new 21-person u-shaped bar with an adjacent covered outdoor patio for all-day service. The space is distinguished by a 30-foot custom driftwood and cast aluminum fish sculpture installation. With improved flexibility, the club can respond to the new challenges it now faces. “Currently, we are in unprecedented times with the global pandemic that has created many uncertainties for the future.

On the bright side, we are fortunate to have worked with a design team that created expansive and functional dining spaces that allow us to still provide intimate experiences while practicing safe social distancing,” says general manager Eric Long.

Some of those functional spaces include the Pavilion’s elongated bar with views into a new second kitchen feature for “chef to table” transparency increasing entertainment value and emphasizing the newly created fresh, local menu. A new eight-foot pizza oven is enjoyed by members for dine in or takeout. The curved glass storefront of the expanded Pro Shop displays the latest merchandise. Outside, the popular Terrace now features a separate post-dinner menu where guests can enjoy fireside cocktails in comfortable lounge groups.

The project was completed in fall of 2019 with an overwhelmingly positive response. According to Long, “Immediately following the reopening of the clubhouse in early November, we saw a dramatic increase in utilization and participation in our dining and beverage programs. January and February beverage revenues increased 40 percent year-over-year.

Dining visits per door for the month of January increased from 8.4 visits in 2019 to 11.7 visits in 2020.” With such a massive undertaking WDG prioritizes listening to their clients to deliver quality beyond expectations, but also to stay true to the goals. “The trust level with the design 62

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team was a tremendous asset to the overall success of the project.

Trust your gut. That initial feeling is usually the direction you should follow.” says Long. B R Wegman Design Group is a full service commercial interior design firm located in Naples, Florida. For further information please contact Lori Wegman at (239) 596-8551 lori@wegmandesigngroup.com

C R E AT I V E

STRATEGIC

CHAMBERS | BOARDROOM DESIGN FEATURE

by Rick Snellinger

Bald Head Island – Case Study

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ald Head Island is a peaceful environment where residents can enjoy the natural beauty of its beach, marsh, and maritime forest preserves. BHI Club set out to complement this experience with enhanced pool and dining offerings for their members.

Our design team aimed to create a fun, ultra-casual environment unlike its previously offered on the island. A new, two-story, 10,000 SF building replaces the small snack bar and features indoor/outdoor dining with a fresh, coastal aesthetic. This open floor plan on the second level maximizes views and natural seaside breeze, while creating space below for new pool restrooms and cart parking for member-owned carts on the first floor.

An open kitchen concept supports the ultra-casual, family-friendly experience and an operable, glass NanaWall system supports the meaningful indoor/outdoor connection. A covered, wrap-around wood deck (sourced from responsibly grown and managed forests) offers expansive views of the property and a new outdoor bar. Shielded light fixtures are not visible from the beach, which protects the view as well as the local turtle habitat (since hatchlings utilize the moon’s reflection to navigate their surroundings).

The expanded site includes four pool areas nestled between the existing clubhouse and tennis courts—a zero-entry resort-style pool with chaise ledge loungers, a lap pool, a separate children’s pool with slides, and a children’s splash pad with interactive water features. Between the lap pool and resort-style recreational pool, a Cabana Bar provides

an area for adult socialization and poolside beverage service with trellis-covered lounge seating nearby.

This reimagined facility has reinvigorated family and social activities at the club and further elevated the amenity offerings. B R Chambers is an award-winning planning, architecture and interior design firm that specializes in developing innovative solutions that enhance the member experience for private country, golf, yacht and city clubs across the country and abroad. For more informa­tion please visit www.chambersusa.com.

Lifestyle Design TO ENHANCE THE MEMBER EXPERIENCE

Bringing members closer together with spaces that foster community and camaraderie.

STRATEGIC PLANNING MASTER PLANNING ARCHITECTURE INTERIOR DESIGN PROCUREMENT

SIGN UP FREE! for club industry trends & insights

BALD HEAD ISLAND CLUB North Carolina

MD 410.727.4535 / FL 239.673.1790 / TX 972.253.3583 / DC 202.851.3201 / MN 612.295.0725

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Follow @chambers1899

BOARDROOM DESIGN FEATURE | LICHTEN ARCHITECTS

by Kevin P. Lichten

Saving a Treasured Landmark

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overnance and management of this private urban club knew that their beloved clubhouse should meet present-day codes. HVAC and sprinkler systems were the most challenging. Club leaders wanted to avoid the common appearance of historic interiors, butchered by sprinkler pipes and air-conditioning ducts flying above members’ heads.

Fundamental to the members’ and staff’s safety is the ability to limit the spread of fire and smoke. Compartmentalization of various parts of the building and fire suppression are the basic tools. Our greatest challenge was to introduce sprinklers into the grand public rooms, knowing that exposed piping was out of the question. Neither could we chop up the ornate plaster ceilings nor access them from above. Careful routing of piping and use of side-wall sprinkler heads allowed us to disguise the intrusions in the existing plaster crowns. This cutting-edge technology provided full coverage of the spaces from just one side wall.

Each area of the clubhouse, including the monumental staircase rising through the building, was segregated with self-closing doors, disguised and held open by magnetic catches controlled by the fire detection system. Air conditioning units were tweaked, providing cooling to individual rooms rather than multiple spaces.

LICHTENARCHITECTS.COM

Governance and management of this private urban club knew that their beloved clubhouse should meet present-day codes.

Introducing sprinklers into the grand public rooms, self-closing doors and AC units that cooled individual rooms rather than multiple spaces.

New systems were inserted while preserving the beauty of historic rooms. And the spruced-up rooms looked magnificent. B R Kevin P. Lichten AIA is principal with Lichten Architects. He can be reached at: (212 229.0200, ext. 120 or via email: lichten@lichtenarchitects.com

LICHTEN

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PEACOCK + LEWIS ARCHITECTS AND PLANNERS | BOARDROOM DESIGN FEATURE

by Brian D. Idle

A Nod to Historic Surroundings

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eacock + Lewis Architects and Interior Designers recently completed a 12,000 square foot renovation and addition to the historic Key Largo Anglers Club in Key Largo, FL. Established in the 1920s as a Florida Keys Fishing Camp, the club’s rich and unique history is still evident today as you walk through the club where past presidents and their families spent their leisure time.

Some of the unique features that were painstakingly preserved include the original cypress log walls in the main living room, coral stone walls and heart pine flooring. The historic piano bar in the heart of the club was meticulously restored to its original beauty and charm.

The existing casual grille facing the pool area was enlarged to feature an open concept display kitchen and a 24-seat back-to-back bar with folding doors in the center to create an indoor/outdoor experience. The existing adjacent terrace facing the marina and daily sunsets was given permanent cover to enjoy dining and entertainment in any weather condition.

To further enhance the club’s own history, native Florida heart pine was reclaimed from the now demolished 400,000 square foot grand historic Belleview-Biltmore Hotel, which was situated along the eastern shores of Old Clearwater Bay and reclaimed to clad the walls and ceiling of the members’ lounge and library.

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The Anglers Club renovation represents a true and authentic marriage of a historic surroundings while bringing club operations and member experience into the future. BR Brian is president at Peacock + Lewis Architects and Planners, located in North Palm Beach, FL. He can be reached at (561) 626-9704 or brian@ peacockandlewis.com.

BOARDROOM DESIGN FEATURE | ROGERS MCCAGG ARCHITECTS, PLANNERS, INTERIOR DESIGNERS

by Chris McCagg

Dupont Country Club Unveils New Golf Academy

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rom the start, the new owners of Dupont CC wanted to provide a fun experience for the entire family while growing the game of golf in the Wilmington area. In the end, they developed a community amenity that has attracted new members and tournaments alike.

Having no prior golf or private club experience, the new owner team retained Rogers McCagg to develop a campus master plan that encompassed what they felt was necessary to revitalize the club’s lagging membership and would serve as the pitch package to win the purchasing bid on the property.

The program included a new 19,000 square foot pool/fitness facility, expanded tennis facilities and importantly to golf relocating the existing practice facility from a remote property.

At its center, the new Golf Academy encompasses a 9,000 square foot learning and teaching academy to better serve changing member demands; including six indoor/outdoor hitting bays, four covered outdoor hitting bays, Trackman

technology providing state-of-the-art analytics, as well as, simulator play for practice, socializing and instruction. Unique to the facility, is the opportunity to enjoy the convenience and congenial setting of a 40-seat grill room and bar open to the hitting bays as well as the outdoor terrace overlooking the short-game practice area.

John Burke III, DPCC’s director of golf said, “Members love everything about it. The campus master plan’s success is due to Rogers McCagg’s ability to understand and interpret our vision into something constructible and affordable, along with Sanford Golf Design’s prowess at making the land work for the new range and short game facilities within the confines of our underutilized short course. I am grateful for their ability to create and transform our facilities into what is, in my opinion, one of the best in the country.” B R Chris McCagg is a partner at Rogers McCagg Architects | Planners | Interior Designers and can be reached at (203) 354-5210.

Architects

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STUDIO JBD AND JEFFERSON GROUP ARCHITECTURE | BOARDROOM DESIGN FEATURE

STUDIO JBD & JEFFERSON GROUP ARCHITECTURE Featuring a classic and revered Donald Ross golf course and an original Clifford Wendehack clubhouse, the faciality overhaul completed in 2019 pays homage to both while treating its members to new expanded dining and gathering destinations and a new golf-centric “Tee House”.

With emphasis on spectacular vistas to the course, indoor and outdoor dining venues were created to effectively join the classic golf course and clubhouse.

Mountain Ridge Country Club, West Caldwell, NJ

Designing Traditions

MASTER PLANNING

ARCHITECTURE

INTERIOR DESIGN

PROCUREMENT

P R I VA T E C L U B S & H O S P I T A L I T Y STUDIO JBD & JEFFERSON GROUP ARCHITECTURE Peter Cafaro / 401.721.0977 / PCafaro@JBDandJGA.com 68

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Oakley Country Club, Watertown, MA

BRUCE BARILLA Bruce Barilla is president of Locker Room Consulting. www.lrcgolf.com

HOUSE COMMITTEE

Suggestions for Increasing Staff Morale If you give employees proper attention and meet their needs staff morale will increase.

Seek ideas from your staff and the most important question to ask is, “What do you need to make your job the best it can be for the members and guests and more efficient and satisfying for you?”

Employees who respond positively are better workers than those who respond negatively; maybe thinking that changes will create more work, their suggestions won’t matter, or they simply have a bad attitude.

It is very discouraging when “outsiders” come in and make changes without input from employees who know what is and is not needed. That’s why, when consulting, I stress to the locker room staff that I want to make conditions better for them, ask for their input and let them know I will share it with the general manager. It’s just as discouraging to then ignore their input afterwards.

clock out. Then if you want to use the steam, sauna and whirlpool It’s OK. Just be careful. Order a pizza if you like and watch the ball game. I don’t mind.”

He also included a service charge for us on Monday outings to cover the 200-plus pairs of shoes we did. I was also extremely grateful when a member placed me on his company’s ticket list for Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks games and for free golfing privileges at Big Run Gold Club, owned by the club’s best tipper.

Overworking is unhealthy but will happen. Continually overworking yourself and your employees will cause irritability and have them begrudging members coming to their own club. I recommend that any club hosting a tournament be closed the day afterwards. While I agree that locker room managers need to work each day the club is open during the peak season, it’s wise to have assistants open and close. If the assistant works a 15-hour-day then they need to either be off the next or start later.

It is very discouraging when “outsiders” come in and make changes without input from employees who know what is and is not needed.

That’s why, when consulting, I stress to the locker room staff that I want to make conditions better for them, ask for their input and let them know I will share it with the general manager.

COMPENSATION

Full time employees need to make a good living with benefits. Guests at The Greenbrier would ask Don “Chief” Crump (52 years of service) why their own club has trouble keeping employees. Don’s answer? “What do you pay them?” Part time employees can be satisfied with an hourly wage, uniform golf shirt, employee meal and comp golf.

A private club in Kentucky hires retirees for volunteer part time positions offering 50 percent off food, one round of golf for each day worked, discounted guest green fees and substantial savings in the pro shop. Being employed at The Greenbrier was encouraging as we were receiving the extra gifts from outings, a $99 employee room rate, daily meal in the cafeteria and golf.

My loyalty to Butler National increased all the more when former GM, Matt Morgan, said to me, “Lock the clubhouse after the last member leaves. Finish your work and

KNOWING WHAT IS EXPECTED

It’s important that the staff members know in detail what is expected, receives training, if needed, is given frequent informal reviews, and if necessary, a second or even a third chance with the understanding that those who don’t do a good job will be replaced.

How hard is it to get and keep good help? It’s a question we all face. But when you do have good help, do all you can to keep them. I know of three clubs that have named rooms after employees with their photos prominently displayed.

Christmas parties, employee outings, birthday presents, years of service pins and an occasional sleeve of balls or a golf shirt also go a long way in increasing staff morale as does a simple, “Thank you. You’re doing a good job. Is there anything I can do for you?” B R

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BILLY KNIGHT Billy Knight is ClubCorp’s vice president of corporate development.

He can be reached at billy.knight@clubcorp.com or 678-859-5497.

CASE STUDY

Crisis Management Playbook It goes without saying that the COVID-19 outbreak has delivered a shock to the private club industry unlike anything we’ve ever seen.

The impact of the virus far exceeds the fallout from the 2008-2009 financial crisis, and fears of a second wave on the horizon continue to shift the landscape in which private clubs operate almost daily.

Nearly five months into the pandemic, there’s still a great sense of the unknown as it relates to the timeline we’re operating on – forcing private club leaders to make decisions today with limited information that will have long-term implications on the member experience, and ultimately the financial health and sustainability of the club going forward.

Looking back on the dozens of conversations I’ve had with private club board members across the country over the past five months, one of the clear trends that has emerged is a sense of “paralysis by analysis” that seems to have made its way into the decision-making process of many private clubs. When analyzing the critical issues facing clubs today, many private club leaders are afraid to make the wrong decision – creating a ton of inertia as it relates to key issues that must be addressed.

Some of the most common questions I hear include:

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Private event and outside golf event revenue has been significantly impacted. Do we abandon this part of our revenue model altogether?

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We’ve furloughed the majority of our front-of-house employees, but now that restrictions are being lifted, should we bring everyone back?

What if lockdowns or restrictions are imposed again this fall?

•

Should we alter our long-term strategic plans with respect to capital improvements? What is the correct blend of member assessments and debt to fund these projects?

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Should we ask our lender to restructure our debt? Or increase our debt service assessment?

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Government restrictions have forced significant changes to our operations. How do we maintain our dues line?

•

Member enrollments are down and attrition is up. Do we offer aggressive promotions and incentives to encourage new enrollments, and how will this impact our position in the market moving forward?

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Where do we even start to develop an operating budget for 2021?

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Speaking frankly, many clubs don’t have the luxury to punt on these decisions much longer. The harsh realities facing clubs today are very real and with little certainty on the timeline for delivery of a widely-available effective vaccine, aren’t going away any time soon.

The good news is these critical decisions don’t have to be made in a vacuum. Over the past five months, our team has developed a comprehensive playbook designed to steer our management and consulting clients through these uncharted waters. Leveraging many of the same tools and resources used across our portfolio of over 200 owned clubs, as well as the institutional knowledge developed over 60plus years in the private club space, our ClubLife Management clients are emerging confidently from the initial Covid-19 shock with an eye towards a brighter future ahead. For more information on how we’re working sideby-side with our partner clubs during these turbulent times, visit clublifemanagement.com/ covid-19. B R

“

“From helping us navigate the challenging COVID-19 impacts, to delivering a digital member engagement platform to keep our members connected – ClubLife Management has worked in lock-step with our Board to keep our club running smoothly during the pandemic. Their partnership has been invaluable, and together we look forward to an even brighter future for our Club.”

– Bob Baird, President, Board of Directors Santa Rosa Golf & Beach Club, Santa Rosa Beach, FL

Visit clublifemanagement.com/covid-19 to learn how we’re helping our clients manage through these turbulent times with an eye towards a brighter future.

Management & Consulting Services | Powered by ClubCorp®

BoardRoom magazine Recognizes the Private Club Presidents of the Year

By Meghan Thibault Now in its 12th 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 five of the top 24 presidents for 2019. 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 74 & 75.

To view all the Distinguished Club Presidents from the past 12 years, please visit: www.boardroommagazine.com/presidents.html

TOP PRIVATE CLUB PRESIDENTS SPONSORS

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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 Kopplin Kuebler & Wallace Partners pictured left-right: Dick Kopplin, Tom Wallace and Kurt Kuebler

The only merit-based award program that recognizes private clubs and their management for outstanding delivery of exceptional Member Experience. www.distinguishedclubs.com

HOWARD LIEBMAN, PRESIDENT | BOCA WEST COUNTRY CLUB | BOCA RATON, FLORIDA ure. Liebman led this significant transition smoothly and the club’s board and management didn’t skip a beat.

“Howard is a volunteer who takes his role as the CEO of this corporation very seriously. He reviews all of his thoughts and ideas with me and always has the members’ best interest at heart. Howard is a true visionary that first educates himself and then leads others by telling the ‘story’,” said Linderman.

Liebman’s insistence on transparency in an apolitical organization, paired with his unique style of communication, has resulted in a stronger relationship between board and management and increased membership support. “Every day HOWARD LIEBMAN, PRESIDENT MATT LINDERMAN, GM/COO should be a learning experience. Never underestimate the value of hearing and understanding what others have to say,” Liebman said.

Boca West Country Club is a more than $60 The president’s most significant accomplishment has been orchestrating million-dollar organization with more than 6,000 with the leadership of the POA in working collaboratively with the club for the members, according to the club’s GM Matt Lindbenefit of the Boca Raton community. His work in this area has been a gameerman. In the height of high season, the club changer for Boca West, according to Linderman, allowing the club to establish a employs as many as 875 staffers. controlled real estate organization.

Howard Liebman has been instrumental in Boca West has increased external demand, resulting in record home sales to creating a leadership development curriculum, new members, in addition to reaching a younger demographic. The club has which focuses on governance and strategic issues been better able to market the amenities and lifestyle enjoyed by residents, facing the club, with a view of educating future volunteer leaders about the operations of a club develop programs to enhance the appeal and value of the club’s real estate offerings, and ultimately, sell the lifestyle when selling the real estate. the size of Boca West.

Liebman spent 28 years with Deloitte & Touche, where he served for two Liebman took the helm at Boca West just as decades as senior audit partner in New York City. He has served as the COO, CFO the club welcomed their new general manager, and board member for both privately owned and publicly traded corporations.

Matt Linderman, following the departure of the club’s iconic GM Jay DiPietro and his 32-year ten- He and his wife Marsha have two children and six grandchildren. BR

JEFFREY C. MAPSTONE, PRESIDENT | THE COUNTRY CLUB OF ROCHESTER | ROCHESTER, NEW YORK

JEFFREY C. MAPSTONE, PRESIDENT

MICHAEL SMITH, GM/COO

At the Country Club of Rochester, Jeff Mapstone has worked closely with management and the board of stewards on a strategic plan designed to keep the club focused on the future, while also preserving and upholding the traditions of this historic club founded in 1895.

As one of the oldest clubs in America, the club

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seamlessly combines new, contemporary facilities with the ambiance of its original, 19th-century clubhouse.

Mapstone recognized the need to reinvest in capital projects and has remained committed to providing the best information to the board to allow it to make sound decisions.

“President Mapstone provides an exceptional level of leadership,” said Michael Smith, the club’s general manager and COO. “He allows our management team the opportunity to lead the club, make changes where necessary and he works actively with us.”

In his role, Mapstone has supported Smith’s vision to increase member satisfaction. The club’s priority is to take care of members, always striving to provide the highest level of service excellence. Mapstone provides reliable guidance and strong support to the membership and encourages member involvement.

Jeff Mapstone is a founding partner of Mapstone|Veritas Comprehensive Wealth Management and has more than 45 years of investment and planning experience. His company’s primary focus is on providing estate, business, and charitable planning solutions for private client groups. BR

JOHN MORRIS, PRESIDENT | DEDHAM COUNTRY AND POLO CLUB | DEDHAM, MASSACHUSETTS

JOHN MORRIS, PRESIDENT

RYAN KENNY, GM/COO

In 2014, Dedham Country and Polo Club decided to change its governance model to a GM/COO concept.

Since then, the club’s board has been able to focus on strategy. With a full and vibrant membership, a completely restored golf course, and most recently, stronger financial footing because of a newly imposed capital dues structure, the club is now focusing its attention on broader initiatives for its membership.

Club president John Morris has trust in the GM/COO model and respect for the high level of respect for the hard work that has been accomplished before he took the reins. The recent capital dues initiative will allow the club to strategically reinvest into its facilities for years to come. Morris has had a very impactful role in bringing this capital dues initiative to fruition.

Under his leadership, the club’s membership has embraced the need to reinvest in their club. Dedham boasts more than 12 heavily subscribed programs, including golf, tennis, paddle tennis, shooting, skating, dining and aquatics. Over the past six years, Dedham has reinvested over $15 million, bringing the facilities to meet today’s consumer demand.

“John is part of a long lineage of thoughtful and innovative club presidents at Dedham,” said the club’s GM Ryan Kenny. “He trusts the management team to carry out the objectives set by the board. His actions inspire others to learn more, do more, and become more.”

Morris co-founded Crestwood Advisors in 2003, where he serves as a wealth manager and managing partner. He has a B.A. in History from Kenyon College and an MBA from the FW Olin School at Babson College. A father to five children, he enjoys fishing, paddle tennis, golf, skiing and reading. BR

JEFF PERO, PRESIDENT | LAKE MERCED GOLF CLUB | DALY CITY, CALIFORNIA

JEFF PERO, PRESIDENT

NICK BAILEY, GM

Under Jeff Pero’s leadership, Lake Merced Golf Club in Daly City, CA, commenced a long-term strategic planning process.

“A club cannot expect to maintain a healthy membership flow without a long-term strategic plan that anticipates the needs of potential future members,” said Pero.

Since Pero took the reins, the club’s board of directors has accomplished a series of important goals, not the least of which has been a survey of member feedback. Pero has enhanced transparency by increasing the frequency of management communications with the membership, both individually and as a whole.

His strategy has been well-received by members, who now enjoy increased confidence in the board, knowing member sentiment will be carefully considered as the board formulates policies or takes actions that impact the member experience.

With Pero leading the way, the board retained a world-renowned golf course architect to develop a golf course master plan and commenced the process of hiring a building architect to assist in developing a facilities master plan. The board also began work on a plan to build a capital reserve fund sufficient to address the club’s future capital needs.

Throughout his term, Pero held that the strategic plan was of utmost importance and focused on the creation and finalization of this plan while allowing the club’s management team to execute clearly defined objectives.

“As club president, Jeff was instrumental in redefining the culture and setting the framework for future successes of our club,” said Lake Merced’s GM Nick Bailey.

“Jeff created and fostered an environment that allowed our management team to excel and obtain clear direction from the board of directors. He provided supportive guidance as to how best navigate through a transitional time for the club.”

Pero is an experienced board volunteer, having served on the boards of two public companies and seven local, state and national non-profit organizations.

Though he is now retired, as a lawyer at the law firm of Latham & Watkins LLP, Pero specialized, among other things, in advising boards about corporate governance matters. BR

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GORDON WELCH

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Gordon Welch is the president of the Association of Private Club Directors (APCD), the only association representing the club’s board. For more information or a copy of BoardRoom Institute’s complete board assessment contact Gordon Welch at gordon@ BoardRoomInstitute.com.

The Why A few months ago, I heard my business partner, John Fornaro, publisher of BoardRoom magazine tell someone that to grow their new business they needed to tell the readers the ‘why’ of their business.

It was at that moment I had two thoughts: That’s brilliant!

And, why haven’t I done that?

John is a master at putting people together to build a better business, to grow a business or to launch a business. One of the ideas he shares with everyone and is true is this: “Yes comes easy and no takes time.” That’s a true statement.

When I am on the phone with general managers and chief operating officers and they “get” BoardRoom Institute they say “Yes! Sign me up!” On the other hand, when I’m on the phone with someone who feels uneasy or threatened about what the board might learn, or that the board might ask a few questions, they say, “Let me think about it!” I usually don’t hear back from them.

We do not like candor in our country. We don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings or maybe risk someone not liking us, but in business, we need to have candor. If a product stinks, causes you fear or worry, or doesn’t fit into the budget, just say no thank you and let’s move on down the road! Don’t waste each other’s time. But it’s hard for hospitality professionals to do that. I know, because I used to do it too!

So, here is the why about BoardRoom Institute: We have a dedicated staff that wants to assist a club in improving the

BoardRoom Institute’s 43 videos provide a good base for a board to understand the industry and how governance is supposed to work. We focus on seven areas, including: 1) Intro to Private Clubs 2) Private Club Governance 3) Committee Roles & Responsibilities 4) Private Club Finance 5) Management 6) Ingredients of Successful Club Boards and 7) Strategic Planning/Long Range Planning.

With over four hours of video available most of our videos are five to eight minutes each.

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governance of their club. We feel that a club with a clearly, understood governance model is a club with good communication, clear goals and direction.

We know that a club that subscribes to a better understanding of governance is a club that is missing a few things.

They are mistrust, micromanaging, committee interference and a lack of direction. Is this a more insane way of living?

Jumping from club to club because of poor communication, mistrust, committee interference and poor hiring practices is why the average tenure of a GM/COO is three years.

But I may have too much candor at times.

BoardRoom Institute’s 43 videos provide a good base for a board to understand the industry and how governance is supposed to work. The 501 (c) 7 private club is unlike any other business in the world. It’s not a 501(c) 3 non-profit and should not be run like one.

We focus on seven areas, including 1) Intro to Private Clubs 2) Private Club Governance 3) Committee Roles & Responsibilities 4) Private Club Finance 5) Management 6) Ingredients of Successful Club Boards and 7) Strategic Planning/Long Range Planning. With over four hours of video available most of our videos are five to eight minutes each.

The videos are designed to help the board and staff understand the governance process and how it can be innovative for the club. Whether you are a corporate leader, an entrepreneur or a manager, this program will give you insights that you haven’t understood before.

A corporate executive with a major firm told me that after his 12 years on the board he felt he knew everything there was to know about board leadership. After showing him just three videos he asked me to stop. He apologized and reflected how much he learned in those 15 minutes and signed his club up! He got it!

We’re in the process of developing new videos designed to focus on the profit centers of your club. We will continue to add knowledge.

So, our WHY is this: We want to arm your board members with the knowledge they need to govern the club, the tools management needs to communicate the goals and direction and improve the communication within the club.

If we can do that, we will be able to increase the average tenure of a GM/COO through trust and respect. And that’s a good thing! I would love to show you BoardRoom Institute.

Call me for more information at (918) -914-9050. BR

RAISING THE STANDARD TO

RAISE OUR GAME USPTA is the first and only USTA accredited tennis teaching professional organization.

Together, we will set a new standard of excellence and provide even more opportunities for those who teach tennis to grow and advance.

To learn more, go to usta.com/raisingstandards © 2019 USTA. All rights reserved.

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JERRY MCCOY

WINNING STRATEGIES

Jerry N. McCoy, MCM, is the president of Clubwise, LLC, a consulting firm specializing in strategic planning, master planning, operational audits and governance issues. Clubwise is the 2017 Strategic Planning Company of the Year, 2018 Strategic Planning and Capital Funding Company of the Year and 2019 Facility Enhancement Company of the Year. Jerry received the Lifetime Achievement Award from BoardRoom Magazine in 2018. He can be reached at www.clubwiseconsulting.com or CMAAMCM@msn.com

Having the Right Membership Perspective All Members Are Created Equal

Too often in our decision-making process we make assumptions based on flawed understanding of what is important to our members.

We assume that long term, full voting members who use the club regularly have a better understanding about what the club is, how it should function and where the priorities are for spending club capital dollars, than the rest of the members.

This thought process is prevalent in the club industry today. Why? Because the decisions are normally being made by the long term, full voting members who use the club regularly. They just can’t buy the premise, “That all members have value and are created equal.”

Why are all members important? Each member has a role to play in the success of the club. Let’s consider five examples of different types of members and examine the arguments being made about their importance.

1) A new member versus a tenured member: Long-tenured members have supported the club for decades. They know the club and better realize what is best for the club.

New members do not understand the culture and it is up to them to adopt to tenured members.

However, new members are representative of the present potential market for membership. There is an old saying in the club industry. “If you want to know what the club should look like in five years, ask everybody who has joined in the past two years.”

Members who have been in the club for a long time most likely have social circles made up mostly of club members.

They most likely don’t have groups of friends who are not already members.

New members may know some club members but are more likely to have large circles of friends who are not club members. If you provide new members high value and satisfaction by meeting their needs then they will be likely to invite their friends who are not club members to join.

Therefore, if you want to grow, or just maintain membership levels then who is more likely to help in that process?

The new member.

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2) A full member versus a lesser class: Full members pay more in dues. Therefore, they think they are of more value. Wait a minute. Why are there lesser classes in the first place?

One reason is because the club couldn’t get enough people to join as full members so the club formed lesser classes. By growing membership through lesser classes, the club has been able to generate more dues income that helped pay the overhead.

Another reason for lesser classes has been to generate revenue without impacting areas of the club already compacted. Assume the golf course is full and it’s hard to get tee times. Certainly, the full members wouldn’t want to take in more full members that would negatively impact their enjoyment of the course.

So, they formed lesser classes to grow revenue without affecting them. Some call that a win-win. Lesser classes help cover the club overhead where there are not enough candidates for full membership or where the club needs additional revenue to cover the operational cost of running the club.

3) A young member versus an older member: Older members have been around longer and should receive priority treatment. Just think of the number of clubs whose average age of the members keeps increasing. Unfortunately, we all get older. Some members die or move.

Without the addition of younger members, the club can’t replenish itself and would eventually die. It’s important for the club to be an attractive alternative to young families.

That’s why so many clubs are trying to meet the needs of the next generation of members.

4) A voting member versus a non-voting member: Voting is a right reserved to these members because they paid a full initiation fee or have become a stockholder. Lesser classes do not have the right to vote.

Since full members have the power, they should say what happens at the club. Too many times voting members vote for what satisfies them without considering all the other issues we have just talked about.

I’ve argued many times to club boards that a large investment in aesthetic improvement to the golf course may not get you any new full golf members. If a person plays golf, they probably already have a venue to use.

There are not a huge number of avid golfers just sitting out there waiting for the club to beautify its golf course.

However, a large resort style pool complex, cutting-edge additions to the fitness experience, vibrant youth programs, new services like practice facility upgrades or golf simulators may be just the ticket to draw new family-orientated members. The industry is experiencing real growth in these areas.

5) A high spender versus a low spender: Active members can’t understand why all members aren’t as active as they are. They try to get members to use the club by imposing food minimums.

You have to understand that all members do not join a club for the same reasons. Some are members of multiple clubs. Some just want a place to bring clients to play golf.

Many times, members’ wives aren’t very active. In these cases, you don’t want to punish this type of member. Minimums can be punitive. I’m a strong believer that, if a club

cannot provide a food and beverage venue that members want to come to, why are they trying to force members to use something they don’t want to use? This becomes management’s responsibility to perform to provide satisfaction and value in the F&B department. If the club wants to share the cost of providing service across all member classes, then it should be done with a standardized service charge program.

As you can see, the traditional thinking about membership is flawed in today’s clubs. There are good reasons why new members, lesser class members, young members, non-voting members and low spenders can have real value to the club. Just goes to show you, “all types of members should be considered important and equal.”

Albert Einstein was quoted as saying, “The world, as we have created it, is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” Consider this: The club we have created is a process of our past thinking. It cannot be changed without changing outdated thinking. I think most new members would agree. What do you think? B R

HIGH RIDGE COUNTRY CLUB LANTANA, FLORIDA

FOR MADE IN USA

954.614.1505 | WWW.XHIBTZ.COM | XHIBTZ@GMAIL.COM JULY / AUGUST 2020 | BOARDROOM

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Crystal Thomas, MCM, CAE, CHE RECEIVES BOARDROOM’S LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

By Nick Bundra “Twenty-year-old takes overGM role at the University of Calgary Faculty Club.”

You’re not alone if you do a double take at the headline.

Though small, the club had the panache to host pairing events for the 1988 Winter Olympics, to feed Mikhail Gorbachev and many Canadian Prime Ministers.

Crystal recalls her promotion matter-of-factly, “I took the position when I was 19 and learned it from the ground up. I took the GM’s job when I was 20.” It doesn’t happen for every accounts receivable clerk, but that was the auspicious start for the now managing director of The Golden State Chapter of CMAA (TGSC) and executive director of the California State Club Association (CSCA).

With 20 employees, the club required total involvement.

After many events, she joined her team washing dishes and more. Crystal laughs, “I still remember taking off my suit jacket to get under a dishwasher and fix it because the club didn’t have the budget to repair it.”

Mindfulness expert Craig Marshall, guru to Steve Jobs and other world icons, comments that when he started coaching in the club industry, “people kept asking me, ‘Do you know Crystal Thomas?’ I heard that question so often that it actually started to bug me. Eventually, I met Crystal and instantly understood why so many people wanted me to meet her. What a force of nature!”

That drive was evident in Calgary. “We closed the old clubhouse on Friday night and did a prominent person’s 50th birthday the next night at the new club. I didn’t know you couldn’t do that.”

After nearly two decades, she left the club to work on a restaurant she and her late husband had launched. Within a year, though, headhunters came calling.

While helming the University Club of Missouri, she also taught the university’s private club management course for seven terms. She required integrity and excellence. When an influential coach sought “help” with an athlete’s grade, she demanded that the student-athlete earn it. Thanks to Crystal, he passed on his own merit.

Likewise, Ivee Yu, recently named GM at The Beach Club, describes Crystal as a consistent guide, giving her candid feedback about her life and career first as a student and then as a professional. She still looks to her as a friend and mentor because Crystal will always give “sincere and loving advice.”

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CMAA Fellow Donna Otis recalls a similar experience. “My first meeting with Crystal was back in 2001 – her smile was infectious. I was new to the club world and she nurtured me through education and mentorship.”

For Henry DeLozier of GGA Partners, Crystal epitomizes “grit” and “servant leadership” as she puts those she serves foremost.

Ana Muniz-Trboljevac, GM of the Metropolitan Club, puts it succinctly, “Crystal has a special way of making people feel heard, motivated, capable and cared for.” In terms of motivation, she asks her board and team to pursue personal stretches. Of course, she leads by example, even in simple risks like sending a video to TGSC members of her spiritedly singing before a TGSC golf tournament because she felt it would inspire members.

Her uniqueness is contagious and infectious and, as all this indicates, she lives by a motto of “Love.” TGSC’s twotime past president Bill Johnson comments on her utter dedication and care, “Crystal manages her business and our chapter with ‘Love’… Her ‘Love’ philosophy is apparent every day.”

Returning to her career timeline, Ron Banaszak calls her “a gift from the Missouri Chapter” because her strong and caring leadership got her noticed by The Athenaeum at Caltech. As GM, she led the club in a plan that turned around its bottom line by nearly $700,000 in an eight-month period. She also became the second woman ever to earn her MCM through CMAA. The Athenaeum left her with some unforgettable moments. JPL invited her to watch right outside the control room as it landed the Mars rovers in January 2004. Separately, a hostess once ran up to her breathlessly, “Ms. Thomas, we have five Nobel laureates in our dining room at lunch today!”

Then, after 30 years as a club manager, she started her own company. It seems only fitting that someone who, as Muniz puts it, is “selected by life to

Ron Banaszak calls Crystal “a gift from the Missouri Chapter” because her strong and caring leadership got her noticed by The Athenaeum at Caltech.

As GM, she led the club in a plan that turned around its bottom line by nearly $700,000 in an eight-month period. She also became the second woman ever to earn her MCM through CMAA. make people feel encouraged, confident, happy and lovable” increase their sphere of influence.

She began focusing on revamping the service and mindsets of teams, often for clubs going through rebuilds. TGSC’s Partnership Coordinator Alexandra Chordas happened to be GM at The University of Washington Club in 2008. “Like many organizations, the university had cutbacks, layoffs, and wage freezes. General morale was low. With Crystal’s guidance, we worked on leaving the recession outside the doors of our club. No one was laid off, we beat our budget that year and pay raises were given,” she said.

California’s managers saw her giftedness as well. Johnson notes that every manager saw Crystal, then the managing director of the Southern California Chapter, as the “logical choice” in 2008 to lead the newly formed TGSC. Concurrently, she began working as the executive director of CSCA. During the COVID-19 crisis Crystal has demonstrated incredible foresight, supporting the quick pivot of both associations. For CSCA, that has meant continuing to work with its board and members in uniting clubs to fight a November split roll tax ballot initiative that financially threatens the existence of many private clubs in California.

For TGSC, between mid-March and the end of May alone, that meant working with her board and leading her staff in producing 17 video webinars with up-to-the-minute management best practices related to COVID19, creating several club industry pulse surveys delivering next day results, and facilitating weekly partnership meetings that spurred vendors to provide innovative services and products to clubs.

Meanwhile, she has published books, provided education in the states, Mexico, Canada and China, and developed and sold a performance evaluation tool for the club industry. And, in the next few months, she is launching The Clear Solution, a life balancing tool for managers and teams in the private club vertical.

TGSC’s President Greg Gonsalves shares a sentiment echoed by many when after noting that “Crystal is the most dedicated professional in the industry. I am happy to say that outside of the professional realm we are also friends – we can call each other when we need advice, be it personal or professional – and that we can cry and laugh together. You don’t meet and get to share those experiences with too many people in your life.”

“Crystal makes all of us in The Golden State Chapter very proud,” says Johnson. “We ‘Love’ you Crystal!” B R Nick Bundra is the COO of Management Connection, Crystal’s organization that manages The Golden State Chapter of CMAA and California State Club Association. He can be reached at (949) 484-7560 or nick@mgtconnection.com.

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F&B COMMITTEE

Jumpstart Your Club’s Recovery

Set The Groundwork For Higher Revenue In The Future Creating convenient foodservice options for your members and reevaluating your purchasing habits will help retain revenue now and prepare your club for the post-Coronavirus economy.

Private clubs are grappling with the uncertainty and financial risks associated with COVID-19. The restaurant, bar and clubhouse are the face of your club, where members are welcomed, and these foodservice and retail environments are important income streams for your business.

There are adjustments you can make to your business processes that will recover revenue now and possibly boost profits in the future.

Increase revenue right now: During the crisis and initial recovery, the safety of your staff and members is paramount. Whether dining rooms are still closed or have already reopened, offer your members Grab-N-Go and TakeOut options during all dayparts.

• Offer packaged breakfasts of baked goods, breakfast sandwiches and coffee for members to enjoy.

• Prepare wrapped sandwiches and to-go options to purchase on the way home for lunch.

• Create refined take-out dinner menus for members to pick up or for your staff to deliver to nearby member homes.

• Consider setting up a Pop-Up Grocery Shop or ‘Farm to Table’ market on the weekends, with paper products and easy to prepare foods for convenience.

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You might find that some members will favor on-the-go meals over seated dining in future. These options could become permanent, added revenue for your business depending on your 501(c) status and eligibility.

Revamp purchasing for higher efficiency: Now is the time to reevaluate your purchasing processes. For long-term benefits to the bottom line, how you purchase is just as important as what you purchase. Streamline your procurement procedures to cut costs without cutting back on quality for your members. A good procurement program saves on product costs, and also saves time, labor and frustration – all of which add to your financial overhead.

If you are purchasing from a variety of distribution centers and individual vendors, there’s a possibility that you are not getting the best prices and are spending a lot of time on research, organizing delivery logistics and combing through an assortment of invoices.

This is where a group purchasing organization (GPO) can shore up your finances during COVID-19 and help you recover more quickly.

A GPO’s distribution contracts and volume purchases from their national, multi-facility clients allows a GPO to provide cost leverage and value to smaller businesses, like private clubs and restaurants. Lower costs can be seen from the moment you sign on.

A GPO will also provide strategic guidance and additional programs and services, such as streamlined invoicing, online reporting tools, trend information, and a variety of limited time offers from vendor partners. These benefits will help your business during a recovery period and allow for higher revenue in the future.

RECOVER AND RENEW

As we recover from the epidemic, restaurants and clubs will reopen, but there will be a new normal. The public may remain wary of spending time in crowded dining rooms or social gathering spots for many months, until it is clear this crisis is far behind us.

When you reopen your restaurants and bars, be sure that your disinfecting efforts are obvious to your members. Visibility in a newsletter will not suffice.

• Train bartenders and other wait staff to wash their hands in view of their customers.

• Consider installing sink stations in outdoor areas where people tend to gather.

• Dining room servers should use clearly labeled disinfectant spray bottles on tabletops after clearing away dishes and setting up for the next dining party.

• Have your cleaning staff visible to members during peak hours, wiping down handrails, doorknobs, and other surfaces that are frequently touched.

• Provide attractive hand sanitizer stations at the entrances of all dining rooms and gathering areas.

Sharing resources and information is the best way to pull through this difficult time as an industry. Together, we will fine-tune the changes that will lead us into a new chapter for private clubs across the country. B R

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NANCY BERKLEY Nancy Berkley is an expert on women’s golf and junior girls golf in the U.S. Nancy is a member of the World Golf Foundation Women’s Committee, and a member of 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 currently is on the green committee and marketing committee at Frenchman’s Creek Beach & Country Club. She is a contributing writer for LPGA publications.

GREEN COMMITTEE

Meet Our Trees

Our Golf Club Goes Green I began this article a few months ago before the COVID -19 dominated our relationship with the game of golf. At my course, Frenchman’s Creek Beach & Country Club in Palm Beach County, Florida, our golf courses were closed for many weeks. But members were allowed to use the golf course cart paths for biking and walking. On those paths, members noticed trees on the edges of fairways that they had not noticed before. And, with no need to rush home for a restaurant reservation, our members discovered the groups of trees that formed shady canopies for small cocktail golf-cart-gatherings while observing social distancing. More members have met more trees than I could have imagined. Enjoy them!

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It is not often that a Pulitzer Prize winning book inspires “Nancy’s Corner,” but after reading The Overstory by Richard Powers, winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize, I look more closely at the trees on our two 18-hole championship courses at Frenchman’s Creek Beach and Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Both courses have many of the original trees that were planted in the 1970s by the golf course developers. Frenchman’s Creek bought the courses and adjacent land and established the club community 35 years ago in 1985. (www.frenchmanscreek.com/about) In Powers’ book, trees interact with the book’s characters. Sounds like a round of golf doesn’t it? Many times I ask myself: “What golf club will take me over your tall pine trees onto the green?” And, after hitting a good fairway shot on a hole lined by a row of beautiful oak trees, I look over at the oaks and listen for their applause. Learn more from an entertaining TED Talk by Suzanne Simard, a Canadian scientist who explains how trees communicate with each other through their root systems. Share the talk with your members and they will never look at trees on your course the same way again! (www.ted.com › talks › suzanne_simard_how_trees_talk_to_each_other) Wes Dillard has been the director of golf course maintenance at Frenchman’s Creek for over 15 years. Wes knows everything about our trees! He knows their names, when they were planted and where the osprey will build their nest and lay their eggs in a dead tree that his crew carefully protects. Wes photographed over 30 trees on our two courses and wrote short narratives about each for the “Meet Our Trees” guide. (see bottom left) Let’s go green! Let’s stay healthy! A special section in our monthly newsletter lists good environmental practices at Frenchman’s Creek. In fact, the newest club at Frenchman’s Creek is the Eco Club where members learn about the safe use of chemicals and herbicides. Wes works with our golf department seasonal J1 interns from other countries. He teaches the interns golf course maintenance skills and the newest environmental practices which will prepare them for future careers in the golf industry.

Our ponds, fish and birds: On my eco-course tour PICTURED L-R NANCY BERKLEY AND WES DILLARD with Wes, we stopped at my favorite pond that borders two tees and two greens on four different holes. Our pond and lake management system relies on the distribution of beneficial bacteria in the ponds in order to convert unwanted nutrients that ultimately encourage a larger fish population that also attracts our beautiful birds. The goal is to rely less on chemicals to control aquatic weeds and instead rely on a healthier and more diverse eco-system. As we were talking a beautiful pink roseate spoonbill flew overhead to prove the point.

The next generation: Every golf club should be concerned about attracting young members. Those future members will be from a generation that has grown up with heightened environmental awareness. Yes! Let’s Go Green! It’s more than just an option.

It’s the right move at the right time. B R

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

GREEN COMMITTEE

Making Green Cost Effective Restrictions on water and chemical usage are here, and the recession is here. None of which is going away and we as professionals must accept these two facts and adjust.

Big job? Yes it is, but if we truly are professionals we will adjust and be more effective in how we meet the challenges and produce an even better product for our customers and members.

A recent conversation with a very successful superintendent centered on how he needed to be much better at his job than three years ago. The recession and recent high temperatures forced him to rethink many of his practices and to think further about what his plants need for oxygen.

We learned last year that even with ideal physical properties in our greens root zone that there was not enough oxygen in our root zones [during severe heat stress] to meet the needs of our bent grass plants.

Last year I worked with a number of golf courses on ways of supplying more oxygen to the plants root system through the root zone by way of the drain tiles and gravel blanket.

We used sub-air and precision air units, converted surface air blowers such as the Toro and Buffalo units, and backpack blowers to push air from the surface, through the drain tiles, from where it traveled through the gravel layer and up into the root zone for uptake by the plants root system.

The particular superintendent was continuing the process he had started of finding his greens’ drain tiles and clean outs and transforming those that needed it into being able to accept and successfully distribute surface oxygen to his plants roots.

It had become a practice that works for him.

CHEMICAL AND WATER

The U.S. government issued an edict a few years ago requiring that the usage of all chemicals be reduced by 20 percent over the next 10 years and follow that with a requirement that all water usage be reduced by 20 percent over the next 10 years also. This edict applied to all sports turf areas, including club house grounds and all areas surrounding a sports turf facility, golf, tennis, athletic fields, play ground areas etc.

During the spring of 2010, the water edict was changed to read that water usage would be reduced by 20 percent by the year 2015, based on the usage from the year 2009. The new edict applies to all U.S. government areas and not just sport turf areas, including the Pentagon and the White House grounds.

The U.S. government is going green everywhere. This program of reducing chemical and water usage that the government has started is for real and is here to stay.

The information that we at I.S.T.R.C. have gathered over the last 20 years about physical properties, water retention and plant stress will allow the government’s program to be successful and be a role model for all of us in the years to come.

The non-government sector of sports turf will follow the government’s lead if for no other reason than the cost savings, which are on average 20 percent a year.

What a wonderful thing of beauty when we can reduce cost of chemicals and water, produce a better product – healthy turf – and help the environment. B R

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WILLIAM NAUROTH

GREEN COMMITTEE

William Nauroth GCSAA, CGIA is president/agronomist of Golf Maintenance Solutions.

He can be reached at: (480) 595-2699 (office), (602) 363-3242 (cell). www.golfmsolutions.com

Going Green – Just Another Day in the Office Golf courses often get a bad rap as polluters of the environment when nothing could be further from the truth.

Course superintendents and the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) have been concerned about environmental issues for a long time. GCSAA has been at the forefront of the golf course industry to help figure out solutions to environmental issues like golf course water usage, pesticide use, wildlife habitat, ground water contamination and many others. This doesn’t mean we can’t do more to protect our environment and educate the members, guests and others on what golf courses do to enhance the world we live in.

Superintendents should take every opportunity to improve their footprint on the environment. Here are several ideas that superintendents and others in the industries are doing to help push the green initiative.

• Joining the “Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program” (ACSP). This program is directed at golf courses to help them identify and support all the existing wildlife and vegetation on the golf courses by understanding how everything coexists. The program encourages education of the members, guests and the community to understand the vital role the golf course plays in the environment and in their community. ACSP understands how the course has to be financially sound and works with the golf courses to support the overall plan to provide a win, win, win (golf course, environment and community). ACSP helps increase the awareness and sets a plan in place to continue managing the environmental-friendly open space while allowing an enjoyable experience for the members and guest on the golf course.

• Recycling program. You may be doing this already but to what extent? Do you know what waste you can recycle? Do you have the right bins with easy to read signage on them? Are they in the right areas (i.e. high traffic areas)?

Do you request recycle containers from your vendors’ products? All of these can help improve your environmental footprint and go a long way in reducing waste.

• Composting organic waste. This takes a bigger effort but can help with producing materials for landscape beds and even divot mix. How can you convert your property to a zero-waste golf facility?

Start with auditing your entire facility to understand your waste stream and figure out what all can be re-cycled, re-used or eliminated. There are ways to compost that can be efficient while creating by-products that are useful to the golf course operation. Start with a good audit to understand the waste stream at your facility.

• Conducting an irrigation audit on your system. This should be done yearly on different areas to ensure your entire irrigation system is functioning properly. This also helps identify areas that need upgrading to reduce water use.

These audits are excellent resources to help understand if it’s time for putting in a more efficient system and where you can maximize irrigation upgrades.

• Turf reduction programs. This sounds easy but is usually controversial as all members or guests may not understand the benefit and/or what the work will look like when completed.

When reducing frequently mowed turf areas, it’s important to develop a plan to make sure the areas that lose turf are turned into native or landscape areas 88

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that fit the golf course and have the same benefit as intended (i.e. less water usage, maintenance, etc.). These areas will require maintenance to establish and should have fewer inputs as they mature.

• Conducting energy audits on your facility. These audits can help identify areas of change, like changing light fixtures to more efficient LED lighting. There are programs in place with government and power providers to help you do this not only in the maintenance facility, but throughout all buildings at the course. Adding solar panels to help reduce electrical use is becoming more and more popular with excellent benefits back to the golf course.

• Using bio-controls to control pest.

Algae eating fish in ponds and lakes can control aquatic weeds (i.e. white amurs, tilapia, etc.). Planting disease resistant varieties of grasses helps reduce use of pesticides.

• Producing healthier turf to fight back pests. A lot of pests get the upper hand on turf when it is weak or stressed. By allowing managing the turf for health in stress times makes a difference in how that plant handles the pest.

Higher cutting heights, fewer mowing frequencies, rolling instead of mowing, managing correct moisture levels (use of moisture meters) and proper cultural practices (aerification, topdressing) can help make the plant healthier and better able to fight the pest. This is a sound part of integrated pest management (IPM).

• Electric or hybrid equipment. Look at changing to newer electric or hybrid equipment when the time comes around.

Don’t be afraid to reduce your environmental footprint on your golf course and let people know what you are doing to help the environment. Communicate your efforts throughout your club and your community. B R

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BONNIE J. KNUTSON

MEMBERSHIP MUSINGS

Bonnie J. Knutson Ph.D. is a people watcher. A professor in The School of Hospitality Business, Broad College of Business, Michigan State University, Dr. Knutson is a member of the Country Club of Lansing and the Michigan Athletic Club. She can be reached via e-mail: drbon-nie@msu.edu

Do you Market to Members’ Heads or the Hearts?

“Change happens in the boiler room of our emotions…so find out how to light their fires.” – Quotation by Jeff Dewar These 17 words should be embossed on the wall of every GM’s/COO’s office in every club. Said another way, people buy with their hearts and justify with their heads. And it is getting more so by the minute because, as Dr. Robert Passikoff points out, the consumer decision-making process has become more emotional. Therefore, so must your club’s marketing since that emotive connection between your club and your members is what differentiates you from all competitors.

Dr. Passikoff’s research found that, on average, 80 percent of our buying decisions are emotional while only 20 percent is rational.

Hmmm. Given those findings, why is it that so many businesses tout price in their commercials? Why is it that they push sales, special and discounts in their promotions?

The more any brand competes on price, the more it becomes a commodity instead of a brand. And, by definition, a commodity can only differentiate on price. It is simply a basic product or service that is interchangeable with other products of services of the same type in the same category.

Think gasoline at the pump. Think potato chips at the supermarket.

Think pork belly futures. How close is your club to becoming another commodity? This brings us back to the head-heart dichotomy and the requisite need for you to make sure you embrace emotional marketing.

To do this, consider two truths. First, people have five core emotions: joy, fear, anger, disgust, and sadness. Or as my dad always told me, people will buy when they are either sad, mad, glad or scared. You just need to know how and when to tap into the right one. The tricky part for marketers, however, is that people rarely feel just one emotion. Usually, our emotions are a combination of several at a time.

Secondly, emotional marketing makes people notice your message, remember the brand, share the idea and most importantly, buy. Or in the case of a club, become a member, make a dinner reservation and be active. Most of us can name some commercial that tugs at our heart strings.

For me, I go back the 1979 Mean Joe Green spot for Coca Cola, the humorous 1984 Wendy’s Where’s the Beef, Cheerios 1999 segment with Grandma sharing her grandchild’s first Christmas and the famous 1984 Superbowl ad in which Apple introduced Macintosh. It was only aired once, but people still vow that they saw it repeatedly.

Emotional marketing tells a story that is honest, authentic and can tap into the heart. It must connect with consumers in a human, personal, and memorable way. While the Internet is awash in how to or strategies for or steps in articles on emotional marketing, there seems to be several common threads that run through all or most of them. I’ll call them the Triple Play: 90

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• It is said that love is the strongest of all human emotions so it stands to reason that your club can incorporate it into its strategy to stay ahead of its competitors. One of my favorite examples is from New York Life Insurance because it educates as well as wins the emotional prize.

Based on the premise that love is an action, it shows how the Greek language uses four words for love – Philia, Storge, Eros, Agape – and connects each to everyday real-life situations so that consumers can relate to the brand on multiple personal levels. Although not a commercial, but a movie short, if you want to see an incredibly creative illustration of using love as an emotion, watch Sony Pictures short called Hair Love. It won the 2020 Oscar in the short film category.

• Everyone can connect with a milestone because they have them throughout their own lives. So, it is a natural to use your club’s milestones in emotional marketing. And they are often linked to a great story that can likewise be used.

The lowly potato chip has annually celebrated chef George Crum dropping the first thin slice of a potato into hot oil at the Moon Lake Lodge Resort in Saratoga Springs, NY. Who of us hasn’t opened a bag or two watching a game on TV? We can relate. We can connect. And while the exact date isn’t known, the famous Peabody ducks has offered a host of milestones to use since Frank Schutt, general manager during the 1930s, amusingly left his decoy ducks in the hotel fountain. We can relate. We can connect. Your club can focus on life’s milestones that are important to members and develop an emotional marketing strategy that will resonate with them.

• Emotional marketing is also inspirational. Behaviorists say that, when people are inspired, they think or act differently. They can be proud to be a member or even be motivated to help, service, participate, or accomplish something themselves.

Remember Dawn dish soap being used to clean grease-covered birds in the 2010 Gulf Coast oil disaster? Here is also where encouraging human interest stories about employees can embody the SEE MEMBERSHIP MUSINGS | 114

ZACH GULLEY Zach Gulley is the golf fitness professional at Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club, as well as the assistant director of programs at TeamUp Health & Fitness. He received his bachelor’s degree in exercise and wellness from Arizona State University and is specifically trained in personal training, group training and golf fitness. Additionally, Gulley has completed all three fitness tracks at Titleist Performance Institute and received his level three fitness certification.

WELLNESS COMMITTEE

The Rise of Health and Fitness in Private Clubs While golf continues to be a driving force for new members at private clubs, health and fitness programs have become a newfound attraction.

That being said, it’s important now more than ever to keep our fitness programs in line with today’s trends and evolve our offerings to meet the demands of our members.

Golf fitness doesn’t receive a lot of attention compared to other aspects of the sport and offering the proper training to improve a player’s game is a high priority for Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club in Gold Canyon, AZ. Group classes: There are a few trends taking over the fitness industry in general, but group fitness classes seem to be the most popular.

Not only do group classes offer high-intensity, high-interval training that drives results, but they form a sense of community – which is the foundation of many private clubs. At Superstition Mountain in particular, these types of classes have achieved great success and allowed our trainers to build meaningful relationships with a majority of our members.

Demographic sensitive: Alongside overall trends, the key to creating a successful fitness program is being aware of your club’s member demographics. At Superstition Mountain, we see primarily two groups of people – the first being 40 to 60-year olds who have been exercising throughout their whole lives and the second being 65-plus members who have never been active or may have regressed in the past few years.

Golf focus: With golf being a such high priority for many members, it’s critical to introduce workout programs and resources that can improve their swing and overall game. When working with golfers, the most important thing to remember is that every player is different, and that it takes time to identify what movements and exercises are most beneficial. By removing the club and focusing on flexibility, stretching and movement-related exercises, golfers can increase their body’s mobility, stability and club speed– which translates into an overall more powerful swing.

Fitness advice for golfers: At Superstition Mountain, we’ve created a comprehensive golf and fitness program that combines golf instruction, fitness and physical therapy to help athletes achieve more than their golf swing. Our team offers dual lessons with me and our director of golf, Matt Brooks, to help get a detailed profile on the golfer. For example, if they are struggling with distance, Matt may notice there is a limitation in their hip movements. This is when I will step in and create a workout plan that incorporates strength and flexibility exercises to help increase their hip mobility - which directly correlates with their swing and overall game.

We also incorporate the club’s physical therapist, Austin Fair, in situations that require further medical instruction. We’ve found this strategy works especially well with aging golfers.

There are 12 swing characteristics that can lead to mechanical inefficacies in a player’s swing and put them at a greater risk for injury.

These can include loss of posture, excessive lower body movements, elevated trail elbows in a backswing or aggressive forward lunging during the swing. Having detailed information on how a player’s body moves from a fitness or medical professional can help the golfer identify which category they fall into and fill in the dots to why they swing a certain way.

Overall, health and wellness is trending in private clubs and to maintain our vibrant membership base we must be willing to invest in quality services and amenities. At Superstition Mountain we continually communicate with members to ensure we’re meeting their needs through surveys and follow-up sessions. Listening can go a long way in improving your club’s offerings and help create a sense of a community – which is what we strive for at Superstition Mountain. BR

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SUSAN GREENE

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE

Susan Greene, a master certified membership professional, is a former national president of PCMA (Professional Club Marketing Association), vice president of membership and general manager. She is often called upon as an industry speaker and serves as the director of membership and marketing for The Oaks Club, Osprey, FL.

Where Everyone Knows Your Name While many might be a bit too young to remember the classic 1980’s sitcom Cheers, there is a good chance that you have at least heard of it.

Everyone wants to be “Norm” at least one time in their life.

Even Domino’s Pizza, best known for delivery, which also has a significant and growing carryout business, is turning to Norm. Their new promotion promotes Pie Pass, which asks people who placed online carryout orders to tap their app when they pull up to the store. Clicking “I’m here” alerts the Domino’s staff that a customer has arrived. Then, they can get the order ready and greet the customer by name.

“The heart of this technology is the personalization and knowing your name. Nothing spells being a regular more than the concept of ‘Cheers’ and going to that bar (where) everybody knows your name,” says Kate Trumbull, vice president of advertising and Hispanic marketing at Domino’s.

No matter what generation you are part of, it’s easy to appreciate the humor of “Cheers” because the characters and situations are as relevant today as they were over three decades ago.

them all equally and with the same level of respect creates a family. You know your family’s favorite food and drink, why shouldn’t your staff remember your member’s preferences?”

Does your club track the names of guests?

What would happen if your guests were recognized by name? What if we found out one thing about a member’s guest and their preferences?

What if a guest felt like part of the family– a new membership perhaps? Never underestimate the power of the time it takes a board member to work their way to their specific table on a Friday night. It might take you 10 – 15 minutes as you make a point to speak to your cub family members and their guests.

Care about your community. The sitcom revolved around the city of Boston, and the town itself was almost a character. How is your club

“Sometimes you wanna go where everyone knows your name.”

I’ve often heard when conducting a resignation exit interview, “I just didn’t know anyone at the club anymore.” This can actually means, “No one knows me anymore,” and that poses a problem.

A recent article on Humanity.com points out the lessons that might be learned from this iconic show.

“Sometimes you wanna go where everyone knows your name.”

I’ve often heard when conducting a resignation exit interview, “I just didn’t know anyone at the club anymore.” This can actually means, “No one knows me anymore,” and that poses a problem.

Using systems for name recognition and making members feel like they are part of the experience is one of the cornerstones to success in a club. Do board members and committee members in your club interact with new members?

With staff turnover, how do you ensure long-time members still get the feeling they belong. How many times do we hear, “After 15 years of being of member, I should not have to tell my member number.” Do you have a system in place from the reservationist to the maître d, to the captain, to the server, that ensures the member’s name is known?

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positioned in the community? As a board member, what can you do to promote your club? Does your board have a representative to serve as a community spokesperson?

The more you show that you care about your community, the more your community will care about you. You will no longer be “that club,” you’ll be their club. See the difference?

Think about your club. Do you go there because it has absolutely the best food that you can’t get anywhere else? Does it have a special drink menu that is unmatched in your area?

Probably not. Most likely, you love it because of the experience. You enjoy going to your club because you feel comfortable. You like the people that work there, the friends you meet, and the spirit you feel.

That’s the Cheers effect! Makes cents to me. BR

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AJ REDETZKE AJ Redetzke is vice president, marketing, Creative Golf Marketing. He can be reached at (800) 526-8794 or vial email: AJ@creativegolfmarketing.com

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE

Make Your Members Regulars Early in my career I worked in food and beverage sales…in and out of every restaurant in town almost every week.

I knew everyone’s name and they knew my name. It produced a wonderful feeling that I didn’t even realize I had until it was gone.

It’s almost reminiscent of the embracing shouts of “Norm!” from the classic TV show Cheers. There’s a certain element of comfort you feel from that simple phrase of familiarity where everyone knows your name.

Every private club strives to be that third place in the lives of their members (first place being home and second place being work). Everyone is competing for that third-place decision. Being welcomed, appreciated and respected are all elements that make a person feel like a regular. Face it, we’re in the entertainment business and our stage is our club.

Private clubs should be designed with one simple and easy to recognize mantra: To make their member’s lives better.

The more you know your members and the more comfortable they are, the more they will become regulars at the club. Regulars don’t simply just happen. Club staff and leadership must foster this relationship by going above and beyond to produce this wonderful feeling of belonging.

Additionally, there’s a certain element of confidence that comes with being a regular. Confidence commonly produces more usage of a private club because of the comfort members have simply by the familiarity and respect that’s consistently offered to them every time they frequent their club.

Human beings crave recognition. Give it to them and you will see more of them. See more of them and they become regulars. It’s a very positive cycle. To be a regular takes connection. It takes two to tango and certainly two to connect. Connection takes specific effort and desire.

Perhaps the most famous Yogi Berra quote is, “No one goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.” It’s never too crowded for regulars. Regulars are happy because someway, somehow, they’re always accommodated.

Everyone is talking about how private clubs need to reinvent themselves. Clubs are working very hard on the promotion of exciting capital projects. While it’s obviously important to maintain beautiful facilities, it’s the relationships that members have that will keep them as longtime loyal users.

Each of your venues gives your team the opportunity to give your membership the welcoming interest that they deserve from you.

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You can easily break every private club into venues (tennis/paddle/pickle ball complex, golf operation, swimming pool complex, food and beverage operation) of usage. Each individual venue tends to have its own “norms” when it comes to high usage patterns.

The natural instinct is to embrace the heavy users more than your less frequent users. Your staff must be trained to overcome that instinct and attempt to give a warm hello and a hearty farewell to each member that enters their venue every day.

Get to know their names, their children’s names, their likes, their dislikes. Ask your members simple and pointed questions and pay very close attention to their answers. Ask them in a sincere and interested manner and when you hear their answers, document them!

Panera Bread is currently selling an unlimited cup of coffee for $8.99 per month. This promotion is brilliant and a great example of a business actively trying to produce regulars. Although many people will take advantage of this promotion and try to abuse Panera by getting more than they paid for, I believe it will ultimately work to Panera’s advantage.

The staff will get to know high users personally and the new regulars will most certainly spend on additional products when they frequent the store.

They will bring friends to have coffee with them and they will be walking talking billboards for the restaurant because of them becoming comfortable as regulars.

These strategic efforts by your team to create as many regulars as possible at your club will pay enormous dividends. Additionally, your staff members will enjoy their work environment that much more as they have a more meaningful relationship with the members of the club because everyone knows their name too! BR

TED ROBINSON Ted Robinson is a partner with Private Club Associates and can be reached at (478) 741 7996 or via email: tcr@privateclubassociates.com

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE

What Can We Do While Waiting for Members to Come Back?

“Don’t Wait for Opportunity; Become Opportunity!”

– Baylor Barbee

“You can’t stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you; You have to go to them sometimes.”

– Winnie the Poo

“The single most important ingredient in the success of a private club is the use of the member’s name.”

– Robert Dedman In my March/April BoardRoom article, “Building Relationships & Trust”, written before the pandemic shutdown, I recommended visiting your members one-on-one – and when the world fully opens up again, when there is a cure and a vaccine – visiting each member will once again be a valuable, albeit time-consuming task.

So now, while we wait – and even when we are fully open again – what can we do to build relationships and trust?

We can get ready by learning all of the member’s names – and by calling them. A very successful club in a major Southern city requires each employee to memorize the names of all 600 members. Now, when staff is not busy, why not emulate that club with the following initiatives: First, start memorizing the names. Have games, contests and tests with suitable rewards and recognition for learning names.

Secondly, begin a calling plan. Divide the roster among all the working employees and task each with calling the members. Script and train for the call. These are not sales calls, but what Anita Welch called “KIT” calls (Keep In Touch).

Start with older members who may be isolated in their homes. Follow up with members who do not use the club frequently. The sincere message should be: “We want to be sure you are well. Is there anything you need? Do you like to hear news about your club? Here is what we have done to assure as best as possible – by following CDC guidelines and more – that all of us who work at the club

and all of our members visiting are and remain safe and healthy.”

Third, follow up all of the calls with a personal hand written note: “I enjoyed talking to you and look forward to seeing you when you can be here in person. If there’s anything we can do please call or leave a message for me, or for our membership director Audrey Hepburn - email audrey@MoonRiverClub.org or call the club’s main number (123) 456-7890.

Fourth, wait a month and then start all over again.

There are servers who, while we wait for members to return, have available time to call and write. Many virus gurus suggest you cannot communicate enough with your customers (our members) during times of stress. This COVID-19 thing counts as major stress. B R

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Contact: Lynne LaFond DeLuca Lynne@TheACCP.com JULY / AUGUST 2020 | BOARDROOM

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FRIEDRICH EDER

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Friedrich Eder, CCM, CCE, is the general manager/COO of Fairview Country Club in Greenwich, CT. He has completed multiple BMI programs in the past and looks forward to attending more in the future. He can be reached at feder@fairviewcountryclub.org or (203) 489-3066.

Why Attend the Business Management Institutes?

The education provided through the Business Management Institutes (BMI) is one of the only formal continuing education tools for club industry professionals.

The education is customized to enable managers to continue a formal education while working. Education never ends!

For many years, BMIs were the only way industry leaders were able to learn firsthand about club management. The Club Management Association of America (CMAA) has done an excellent job updating BMI content to current industry needs and applications.

BMIs are not just part of the roadmap to obtain your certifications [Certified Club Manager (CCM), Certified Chief Executive (CCE)]. You get out of this weeklong education just as much and more than you are willing to invest. It is an excellent education and networking event.

Education is specific and opinions and experiences are shared in an open forum classroom setting. Participants often form deep, long-lasting relationships and share experiences and advice for years to come. In some of the BMIs I participated in, social media networking groups have formed, and members post updates regularly and share their successes and challenges. You get to know someone very well on a personal level if you spend a week in the classroom with them.

Often, we need to remind our board of governors, owners, etc. why education is so important to the well-being of the club. The last time I answered the question with this riddle: A CFO asks the CEO: “What happens if we invest in developing people and then they leave us?” The CEO replied: “What happens if we don’t, and they stay?

Should your club not be set up for you to attend the CMAA World Conference and a BMI, I suggest the following: Instead of attending the World Conference every year, you should skip a year and build in a BMI instead.

I differentiate between the core BMI club management, BMI leadership principles, and BMI general manager/chief operating officer programs, which are needed for your certification, from the tactical leadership, strategic leadership, which are needed to attain your CCE, and from BMI golf management, BMI food and beverage, the new sport and recreation management, BMI wine and food experience, and BMI international.

All BMIs are updated with industry trends and new innovative practices often shared at previous classes. Also, BMI international changes location, bringing me back to the point of new updated innovative experiences. If you build this into your budget every three to five years, it will keep you on 96

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track to be one of the top club managers in the industry. Managers starting in the industry should focus on attending at least one BMI a year until their certification.

The best managers working in clubs usually have included into their hiring agreements CMAA education supported, or have a set dollar amount set aside for further education. Management postings often make this part of the job posting in order to attract successful leaders of the future.

Year after year The Club Foundation has raised funds to financially support the professional development of club managers on a national level. Many local chapters have formed foundations that provide an excellent resource to aid and support clubs financially and to support the education of their managers.

If after every BMI or any other education, trip, meeting, etc., you change only one thing at your club to provide a better member experience, it was well worth the investment of the club.

Nevertheless, time away from your club, learning how to get better and how to improve your operation, energizes you, saves you from burn out, brings ideas back into your memory that you might have long forgotten, reminds you as to why you love your job and gives you a new start.

Often, we need to remind our board of governors, owners, etc. why education is so important to the well-being of the club. The last time I answered the question with this riddle: A CFO asks the CEO: “What happens if we invest in developing people and then they leave us?” The CEO replied: “What happens if we don’t, and they stay?” B R

JIM WISNIEWSKI Jim Wisniewski is vice president, business development, Northstar Technologies.

He can be reached at: (615) 717-7061 www.globalnorthstar.com

CASE STUDY

Northstar Institutes New Approaches Many weeks before the beginning of the pandemic’s descent upon the United States, at a time when it barely interrupted the news cycle’s near constant deluge of impeachment hearing proceedings, Northstar began its efforts to become ready to assist not only its own employees but all of its clients as well.

Internally, Northstar began a phased approach of instituting new methods of communication including the use of Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp and increased use of Webex and Zoom.

Immediately, social distancing was put into place as necessary and as the time approached, shifted a global workforce of nearly 240 employees to a complete workfrom-home paradigm. This has resulted in no COVID-19 cases being reported within the Northstar family and the continuation, without interruption of all support, implementation and training.

Once Northstar was sure that the team was stable, the firm turned its attention outward to its clients and how they could best be served.

In an effort to assist clients with their food and beverage operations, Northstar provided the license, implementation and training for the “Grab-N-Go” mobile food ordering module, as well as complimentary support during the pandemic for as long as it lasts.

This functionality allows club members to order food from their mobile device or club website and pay for their order.

Similarly, Northstar also has provided the license, implementation and training for the kitchen display system (KDS), as well as complimentary support, so that the club can best manage the flow of the orders into the club and control the pace.

The response has been overwhelmingly positive as Northstar implemented these systems in nearly 70 properties in just eight days. Northstar properties have managed to process thousands of food orders safely, efficiently and generating many dollars of revenue that otherwise would have been lost.

During this time, Northstar also saw the need for a slightly different version of food ordering and put this task to its development team to come up with a solution.

After round-the-clock development sessions, “Marketplace” was created. This functionality allows a member to order groceries and other sundries directly from the club, directly on their mobile device.

Immediately again, Northstar has made this functionality also available to its clients free of charge during the pandemic.

The pandemic has been around for quite a while now.

We’ve marveled, complained, made jokes, shared countless memes and watched far too many Tik Toks. Now we’re realizing that the America we stepped away from when we walked into quarantine, isn’t the America into which we’ll re-emerge.

It may look the same, but it will be different.

Lastly, in an effort to take advantage of some of the time that is available, Northstar has been putting on nearly 10 hours of educational, instructional webinars for a number of weeks on every module and functionality within the system garnering well over 700 attendees. Much of the learning has been focused around more advanced situational-based applications and entry-level approaches so as to cover the newer Northstar users, as well as the more tenured veteran operators.

The pandemic has been around for quite a while now. We’ve marveled, complained, made jokes, shared countless memes and watched far too many Tik Toks. Now we’re realizing that the America we stepped away from when we walked into quarantine, isn’t the America into which we’ll re-emerge.

It may look the same, but it will be different. Northstar realized that going in and was committed then and remains committed now as it looks for new ways to assist once everyone reopens – however that actually is defined. B R JULY / AUGUST 2020 | BOARDROOM

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BORIS FETBROYT Boris Fetbroyt, USPTA, PTR, CTPS, is director of tennis, The Country Club of Fairfax, Fairfax, VA. He can be reached at (240) 413-0614 www.ccfairfax.org

RACQUET COMMITTEE

Creating A Vision For Your Racquets Program Educating committee members with current Often members and racquet directors can’t wait for a committee meeting to end or even get canceled, some members even stop attending and those and upcoming racquet trends remains the best that do attend only attend if they have a specific issue they need resolved. way to counter these committee members For example, a member might think getting more Not the type of commitment you want because at the end of the day clay courts is beneficial for the tennis program, this type of commitment to excellence doesn’t grow a program. So, it’s however you can counter that argument and up to the racquets director to create a purpose and value for commitsay why it’s important to get pickleball courts tee members to attend these meetings. based on the current racquet trends and how it reaches different parts of your membership 10-WEEK MODEL within the club.

Regardless if you’re a new racquets director or someone who has To educate your committee members, you been there for many years, make sure to set realistic goals with your will need to show trends from the industry so committee. I prefer to use the 10-week model with my committee, they can believe in your vision for the racquets based on where we are in the season.

The 10-week model lets you focus more on the specifics of your pro- program. gram based on what season you’re in and it also demonstrates to the committee how you plan to execute those upcoming events with the help of the committee. So, when you have your first committee meeting make sure to explain to your committee chair and committee members this is the model you will use. It’s a lot more effective than just having a simple goal of “making sure all your members are satisfied with your racquets program.”

FEEDBACK IS A MUST

Be humble about your racquets program. No racquets program is perfect because the demographics of your club will keep changing during tough times in the private club industry.

A few years ago you might have had a great junior tennis program and now most of those kids have aged out and moved on to college and the club hasn’t been successful in retaining new members so you find yourself struggling to rebuild the junior tennis program. It happens, it’s ok!

Ask your committee members for their honest feedback on all aspects of your racquets program. Remember they are there to help you grow the program and they have eyes and ears about what membership would like to see happen, so use it to your advantage. They are volunteering their free time to help the racquets program grow.

EDUCATE VERSUS SELF-INTERES

As the director of racquets, you must remember you were hired for a reason – you’re the expert in the industry but be open and humble to feedback. You will encounter committee members that join committees just for their self-interest…their personal agenda, and to get things done they think are beneficial for the program.

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MARKETING THE PROGRAM

Committee members make up your best marketing team. It’s important to remember that committee are composed with members from different demographics of your club, and this is very beneficial when it comes to marketing your racquet events because they can reach different social groups within your membership.

Word of mouth is your best marketing tool.

Have your committee member promote your programs and as this happens you should find your committee members extremely valuable in helping grow your racquet events.

Remember, the goal of the racquets committee is to grow the program as a team. The director is the leader and the members are there to help in any way they can. The director provides the vision with trends and facts while respecting committee members feedback and encourage your committee members to use their marketing skills to help grow the program with this 10-week model. B R

DAVE MOYER Dave Moyer is a USPTA Master Professional and the director of tennis at The Country Club at DC Ranch in Scottsdale, Arizona and can be reached at dmoyer@ccdcranch.com

RACQUET COMMITTEE

What Are The Guiding Principles For Your Racquet Sports Program?

4. Do new and don’t be complacent with When you are evaluating the progress and growth of your racquet sports what is. Our tennis program is constantly program, you need to dig deeper than just how good the tennis professional evolving as we try new programs and look for is and the events the club runs. ways to improve the successful ones that we Every program needs to have a great staff, good programming, a currently have in place. You should never be wide variety of lessons and clinics and fiscal responsibility, but do you afraid to try new things for fear of failure beknow what the guiding principles of your racquet sports program are cause it is sometimes the failure that allows you and does the staff live by those guiding principles every day? to eventually achieve greatness. If you have a At the Country Club at DC Ranch, our mission is to provide a tennis successful program, don’t just pat yourself on program that’s built on family, fun and friendliness and which strives the back but instead ask your staff how you can to include members of all levels of play and competitiveness. Are we make it even better. meeting member expectations? Do we just try to maintain or are we striving to constantly exceed member expectations?

5. Expect constant improvement in facilAt our weekly staff meetings, we will ask ourselves these questions ities, programs and services. What do you and talk about how we can use our core values to ensure that we are have budgeted for future projects at your facilfollowing our guiding principles throughout the year. ity? What can you do to enhance the programs So what are our guiding principles and how does our staff use them and services at your club? We recently started to grow our racquet sports program? Here are a few. presenting our ladies’ league snacks in a different way to give it a more resort feel. We only 1. Strive to make each member feel welcome and “at home.” Greet added a few small items, but the presentation members with a warm welcome and make sure they understand this has made it a big hit. is their home away from home. Members come to the club to have fun and feel good so strive to make it a positive experience every time.

6. Promote fun and participation for all members in recreational activities. This goes 2. Do the unexpected. Get to know your members and anticipate to the heart of our fun, family and friendliness their needs. If they have a weekly game and always come in to buy beer mission. Our motto is that no member shall during play, take a bucket out to them instead and give it a personal leave here feeling like there isn’t a place for touch. Have your kitchen bake tennis ball cookies one day and serve them. Even if you have to start a new program them when you have a big ladies’ day. with just a couple of participants, the member will feel special and you will eventually grow 3. Do it better than anyone ever thought. At our big event each into something. year, the “Cactus Classic” member-guest, we try to have every detail covered to make the experience unlike anything they have ever done.

7. Communicate. Are you using all ways to We have a welcome sign greeting them as they drive up. communicate – text, social media, newsletWe make sure to have scoreboards made in advance with everyone’s ters, email? Tell them, tell them and tell them name prominently featured. We decorate the facility in a warm and again. B R welcoming fashion, and we take pictures of each team and have them ready for them before lunch is over that day. You know you did a great job when guests are taking pictures of everything to show their GM at their club!

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JOHN R. EMBREE John Embree is CEO at the United States Professional Tennis Association and can be reached via email: john.embree@uspta.org.

USPTA Focuses on Environmentally Friendly Complex When editor Dave White told us about the focus on environmental initiatives traditional drywall) but the ability to reconfigure for the upcoming issue for Boardroom magazine, I jumped at the chance to the dimensions of an office or a board room or classroom makes that initial outlay well worth it. boast about our new worldwide headquarters located in Lake Nona, FL. Other than the guts of our building, which Having resided in Houston, TX for 26 years in an outdated, c-rated houses our bathrooms/showers, IT server building that was constructed in a traditional fashion, we knew we wanted room, our kitchen and our multi-media quarto make a statement to our industry when we relocated to be a neighbor ters (which requires sound proofing), the rest of the governing body. After all, Lake Nona is a community committed to a of our building uses moveable, sustainable “living well� theme that embraces wellness and a work-life balance. walls. Senior management offices are located As we planned for our new, 10,000 sq. foot structure, we knew we in the middle of the building surrounded by needed to create an office environment that would stand the test of time. glass walls that were manufactured to one It had to be cutting edge, both from a technology standpoint while being eighth of an inch of tolerance and put together environmentally responsible. like Legos. Our storage room has walls that We envisioned a semi-open workspace with floor to ceiling windows that are paneled with recycled denim inside to help would be bright, airy, and welcoming. We also wanted our members to take dampen sound. great pride in this complex, because at the end of the day, it is their building!

One additional benefit of these moveable, susSo, what makes a building environmentally responsible? We used LEED tainable walls is that you can amortize the cost certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) as a guidelike you do furniture. It offers a nice tax advanpost but we took it upon ourselves to follow our own environmental aptage that helps justify some of the initial expense. proach that supports responsible behavior.

While we considered going solar during the deThe first and maybe the most important factor is the interior construcsign phase, the first cost was more than what we tion. Traditional dry wall is not flexible and is actually toxic to the environ- could justify at that time. But we are keeping it ment when it gets wet in landfills. Thus, we tried to minimize the amount of on our radar because it is the right thing to do. As drywall that was installed and relied on moveable, sustainable walls. solar becomes more affordable, we have the opThese structures can be flexed if needed or can be removed without tion to incorporate solar panels on the roof. But, dealing with the typical mess associated with drywall. Sustainable walls, be to help manage our energy costs, we installed they glass or paneled, may be slightly more expensive at the outset (versus low voltage lighting throughout versus traditional lighting, which is saving 40 percent on our electrical bills.

The last feature that is instantly noticeable when you enter the premise is the living green wall that is installed in our lobby. Not only are the plants stunning to look at, they provide additional oxygen to the inside climate, which is healthier for our employees.

If you have had the chance to visit us, I hope you came away with an appreciation for this futuristic complex. And if you have not had the chance to come to the USTA National Campus, which is the epicenter of tennis in the USA, you have an open invitation to do so. While here, come see our new digs just across the street. I think you will be impressed. B R

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PHILIP J. HARVEY Philip J. Harvey is president of Venture Insurance Programs.

He can be reached via email: Pharvey@ventureprograms.com

INSURANCE COMMITTEE

Coronavirus And Your Club

Will Property and Casualty Insurers Pay Out Coronavirus Claims?

Here we are again in an industry that has pretty much figured out all of the the SARS epidemic, specific exclusions for bacterial or viral infections and standard pollution pieces of the puzzle. exclusions could result in denial of coverage But something new has arrived that in the end may create substantial for losses related to COVID-19. business interruption as well as potential Workers Compensation claim How about exposure to Directors & Officers exposure to your staff. policies? Policies could be triggered by losses As the threat of the coronavirus {COVID-19} outbreak continues, the related to the coronavirus, due to members’ global economy is feeling the pressure in grappling with its effects and suits alleging that unreasonable actions or inthe number of confirmed cases across more than 80 countries continaction, in response to causing the club to suffer ues to climb. Who knows what the number of reported deaths will tally. an economic loss. Executives and management While the virus poses a significant threat in a health and benefits of the club could be accused of failure to concontext, the spreading virus is also putting the global economy under form to government-mandated epidemic prostrain by forcing business closures, disrupting the supply chain, shuttocols or failure to properly apprise. ting down global travel and much more.

How about Workers Compensation as a reIn recent weeks there is already proof of concern among insureds sponder on the club’s behalf? and there already exists a good deal of speculation about what will be The big question here is whether the disincluded and excluded in commercial P & C policies around the globe. ease is related to one’s occupation. Chris Insureds will likely face high hurdles before claims are paid.

Boggs, executive director of the Independent Although there is a great deal of conjecture among industry exInsurance Agents of America, explains a disperts, epidemics and pandemics are often deliberately excluded ease must pass two tests to be occupational. from cover.

Was the disease contracted during the course Various covers will respond in different ways within the club industry of employment? And was it contracted beitself, such as business interruption and event cover, which normally is cause of conditions “peculiar” to the work specific in the cover whether it is included or excluded. In the past after performed?

A great deal of the differentiation in qualHow about Workers Compensation ification relates to the interpretations and as a responder on the club’s behalf? intricacies of various state laws. Coverage interpretation also suggests that a claim may be The big question here is whether the disease successful if proven that it was caught from a is related to one’s occupation. Chris Boggs, coworker.

Another issue that could complicate matters, executive director of the Independent Insurance if quarantines become more prevalent, then the Agents of America, explains a disease must pass interaction of being on and off the job may endanger the employee in contracting the disease two tests to be occupational. Was the disease because the employer placed the employee in contracted during the course of employment? an adverse situation.

All in all, it remains to be seen how the club And was it contracted because of conditions industry as well as the global community itself, handles this new challenge! B R “peculiar” to the work performed?

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CAROL PENCE

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Carol Pence is a PGA Career Services consultant serving the northern California section. She can be reached at (707) 843-5033 or cpence@pgahq.com.

Making a Difference “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill them share of their challenges.

These can be very beneficial converRecently, a new shelter for the homeless opened in my town. While there is consations for you, them and the club. troversy voiced in the local press about this opening, the overwhelming response has been one of giving.

Lead by example: Your staff is Many who have the funds and/or can contribute time, have done so. That inlikely to adopt much of what they cludes some that have expressed being homeless in the past. For me, that brings see in you as their role model, as the strong notion of the importance of “paying it forward.” well as what you have taught them – We’ve all heard the adage, “Pay it forward”, where you do something nice for your values and beliefs, your life exsomeone else because someone was kind to you. Being leaders at our golf clubs periences, your professional image, invokes this adage to me. how you manage your business, your One or some in our past have been a role model or taught, coached, counseled, attention to detail, how you interact promoted us, assisting us in where we are today. Whether now a board member with people and handle situations or manager, now is the opportunity to do the same for others. Here are some and how you conduct yourself. thoughts in assisting or mentoring other staff at the club.

Show compassion: Consider the example of the late Katharine Graham, publisher of the Washington Post for many years. Although she led a powerful and influential newspaper in the nation’s capital, she did so with compassion, kindness, and sincerity.

Graham was well-known and highly regarded for the humble, respectful way she treated those who worked for the paper. Richard Cohen, a columnist with the newspaper was one who admired her for those qualities.

He tells of a hot, humid Sunday one July when a tent was erected in the Post’s parking lot. “It was for a company party, given for people whose names you never hear – those un-bylined, non-TV-appearing types who take the ads or deliver the paper or maybe just clean the building.”

Cohen saw Katharine Graham making her way toward the party. “She was older by then, and walking was difficult for her. She pushed her way up the ramp, moving in a laborious fashion. Yet here she was…” The way she treated everyone with compassion and kindness, whether they were famous and powerful or anonymous and vulnerable remained as one of Graham’s great legacies.

Create an enjoyable and stimulating environment: Encourage creativity and initiative. Challenge them to develop new ideas. Express appreciation for what they contribute. Praise loudly. Be generous in giving credit where credit is due. Show optimism.

Show sincere interest in their career development: Allow them to be involved in or learn about different aspects of the business.

Counsel them on opportunities in the business that would fit their skillsets. Connect them with other club leaders that you know. Help Recognize the diamonds in the rough: Understand that all staff members have them network within the industry. potential, however lacking the polish in their skills or the need additional training. Support them moving up in their chosen career path. Be their number This may be where you can assist. one promoter.

Help them build the necessary skill or increase their knowledge. Share some “Paying it forward” can profoundly of your life stories or experiences. Or provide opportunities for training and impact the future of others and at guidance in those areas. Depending upon their job title, most all of the allied asthe same time provide great benefit sociations offer applicable education. There are countless Ted Talks online about different topics and organizations that provide education. Connect them with peo- to the club and its mission. If enough people make a practice of this, the ple you know who can share their expertise. ripple effect can be big. How will you Stay connected: Keep the lines of communication open. Provide timely feedmake a difference? B R back. Most importantly, offer opportunity often for informal conversations. Let

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LINDSAY HESKETH

ROBYN STOWELL

LAW & LEGISLATION

Simple Steps to Help Limit Employer Liability What can a club do with a reasonably modest investment to ensure it has done all it can conduct and can help the club demonstrate its proactive efforts in preventto limit its exposure to potential claims by employees? ing inappropriate behavior.

Here is a short list to get you started.

Social media. Update your social Overtime rules: The Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently updated federal overmedia policies and ensure that they all time rules, effective January 1, 2020. The new rule changes the base pay that an comply with legal requirements. There employee must be paid to be exempt from overtime and permits employers to use are federal and state laws that limit non-discretionary bonuses, incentives and commissions to meet up to 10 percent of how an employer can restrict employthe new base pay levels but did not change the duties test. ees, but there are minimal restrictions What does this mean for clubs? Looking at federal law (state laws vary), the club that should be in place and included should review employee job descriptions and pay rates to ensure that all employees in the club’s training and employee are properly classified. Most employees in the United States who make less than $684 handbook. At minimum, employees per week are eligible for overtime. should understand that their on and Generally, employees who fall under a white-collar exemption and earn at least the off-duty social media conduct can viominimum weekly salary are excluded from overtime requirements. White collar exemplate club policies. tions typically apply to employees performing office or non-manual work in addition to Joint employers. If you have a one or more duties of an executive, administrative, or professional employee, such as management company in place at responsibilities requiring discretionary and independent judgment. your club, the board should be aware Keep in mind that an employee’s responsibilities rather than job title determine of the new DOL joint employer rule whether an individual qualifies for an exemption. issued in January, effective in March Pay rates: Have pay rates spot checked. A relatively quick and inexpensive step em2020. While we expect these rules to ployers can take is to have an outside service provider spot check employee pay rates to be tested and challenged in the comensure that the employer is not unintentionally paying “straight white males” more than it ing months, a club might benefit from is paying equally qualified women or members of other various groups. doing some planning in advance to Consider the risk/reward: If you find disparity, you can correct it. If you find no minimize the likelihood that it could be issues, then you are making a record of being proactive in this area, which might help found a joint employer of the managewith a later potential unmeritorious claim. ment company’s employees under the Employee handbook: Now is a good time to update your employee handbook.

Fair Labor Standards Act. There are a number of provisions in a good handbook that can be helpful to an emClubs that keep their policies upployer. For example, the NLRB recently overruled an earlier decision requiring emdated, take time to spot check their ployers to allow employees who have access to company email systems to engage in compensation and employment concerted protected activity. practices and keep their employees In addition, more states are beginning to broaden the types of employee characterinformed of their expectations help istics and class groups protected by anti-discrimination laws, including certain hairreduce the risk of exposure to disstyles and gender identities and implementing mandatory paid time off laws. Keeping gruntled employee lawsuits and, in the your employee handbook up to date can help defend against future potential claims worst case, set a solid foundation for a based on alleged employer inaction or discriminatory conduct. defense against those lawsuits.

And as a general rule of thumb, make sure your employee handbook clearly states that it is not a contract with any employee and is subject to modifications at the club’s discretion.

Robyn Nordin Stowell is a partner in the Recurrent training. There are many benefits to conducting recurrent annual training. law firm of Sherman & Howard L.L.C. in First, you can document that employees are aware of company policies and advised Scottsdale, Arizona. Robyn may be reached of many alternative avenues to express a complaint or unsatisfactory work condition. at (480) 624-2736 or by email at rstowell@ Secondly, training sessions allow you to document that on the given date, the employee shermanhoward.com. Lindsay Hesketh is confirmed they did not have any complaints or issues to report or, alternatively, an an associate at Sherman Howard and can employee may take the opportunity to raise an important issue to your attention. Recur- be reached at (602) 240-3063or by email at lhesketh@shermanhoward.com. rent annual training helps employees stay knowledgeable on appropriate workplace JULY / AUGUST 2020 | BOARDROOM

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INNOVATIVE

IDEAS

Cellphones and Social Media Boost Staff Productivity If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em

It seems as though social media has taken over the world as we know it. Can this power be used for good? Staff at the Hollywood Golf Course in Deal, New Jersey, seems to think it can.

Speramus Inc. created the crew messaging and scheduling app in order to give employers and employees an easy communication and scheduling platform for work.

Hollywood’s general manager Sakil Bokil first learned about the software at a CMAA event.

He then took it back to the club and introduced it to dining room manager Bob Egan.

“It’s a great format to keep great communication between my food and beverage staff with just a couple clicks of a button,” says Egan.

The app can be used for communication between staff, putting out announcements, organizing day off and shift coverage requests, providing staff training, learning and development and much more. Egan says one of the best parts of using the app is the protection it provides.

When trying to organize small pieces of paper holding shift changes, day off requests and small messages from staff, miscommunication can easily happen. Having everything in one location eliminates the confusion and allows for immediate access to all messages and requests.

STAFF IMAGE (DOESN’T INCLUDE ALL STAFF) - LEFT TO RIGHT: SIYABONGA DUBE, MARILYN GREENWOOD, VERONICA PEREZ, BRYAN PEREZ, SAMANTHA ADAMS

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“It’s an easy way for me to keep everything in check,” Egan added.

This also allows for seamless communication between employees or with their employers, especially with younger staff entering the club that have grown accustomed to using their phones.

According to staff member Bryan Perez, this app has been a big improvement. Perez, in his eighth season at the club, had used the paper system previously.

He says in terms of communication, the app is much easier than tracking people down over text messaging. “It just makes work a lot easier to be honest,” says Perez. “Even just getting in contact with our bosses.”

The app not only received great reviews from the staff at Hollywood but also has a 4.5 star rating in the Apple app store.

As the world goes increasingly online, this is the logical next step for scheduling and streamlined staff communication. BR

ELLERY PLATTS Ellery Platts, Innovative Ideas editor, earned a Bachelor of Journalism (Hons) from the University of King’s College where she balanced her love for writing and photography with varsity athletics. An avid golfer, she has been in the club circuit since early childhood where she played as a member of Silver Springs Golf and Country Club, Calgary, AB. To submit an idea or story for this section, please email ideas@boardroommag.com

Putting The Social Back In Social Distancing Georgia club strengthens connections With the COVID-19 pandemic keeping everyone apart, the Ford Plantation in Richmond Hill, Georgia, has found a way to keep their community together.

Marianne Schofield, the director of first impressions at Ford, happens to be the creator of the Driveway Drop-Ins program, a way of checking in on her members. During these visits she’s able to inform members about new information surrounding the club, while also updating their member profiles.

It has worked like this: Schofield initially contacted some of her members, to see if they were available and willing to have a visit.

From here she packed lawn furniture in her car and made her way over to their member’s residence, visiting for two hours on average.

To date, she has visited 13 families at Ford, including the Dormans.

Larry Dorman was impressed with Schofield’s initiative to get out to see the members and hear their experiences.

“When she came up, she had chairs in the car and a little table,” said Dorman.

“She was very prepared to set up in the driveway.” He added that he, along with other members, had felt safe enough to move the meetings to either a front porch or back deck while maintaining a safe social distance.

Schofield also visited Bruce and Liz Pendleton while they stayed at Ford before going to their main home in Kansas. Bruce expressed how much it meant to him and his wife having Schofield check in, saying the visit “helped with a sense of community”, adding that it had made them feel better about where they were.

Both the Dormans and Pendletons own homes on the 1,800-acre property and take advantage of the generational mem-

bership that Ford offers. This means that their families by extension are thought of, and treated as, members of the club.

Because of the extremely positive reaction and ongoing requests for drop-ins, Schofield says she hopes that the program continues on past COVID-19.

“It did start with the pandemic,” says Schofield. “But my goal is to have it be a part of an initiative that keeps growing.”

The hope is the program becomes a permanent part of the membership vernacular in the future knowing that she has more anticipated visits scheduled into the fall as more members return to Ford. B R

LEFT TO RIGHT - BRUCE PENDLETON, LIZ PENDLETON, MARIANNE SCHOFIELD

LEFT TO RIGHT - MARIANNE SCHOFIELD, JAN DORMAN, LARRY DORMAN (AND DOG).

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INNOVATIVE

IDEAS

Addison Reserve Eliminates Taxes with Merger The relationship between a club and a community association is well known.

Recently, more and more private clubs are altering that relationship.

Late last year, Addison Reserve Country Club in Delray Beach, Florida, underwent a merger with its master property association.

Before this merger, taxes for members were high and there was constant confusion. Since the decision to combine, member taxes have gone down nearly $2,000 and real estate taxes for the club have been eliminated. This also eliminated the need to ask the community association for answers to member questions.

CEO of Addison Reserve Michael McCarthy says this has made a big impact.

“If [members] call the club if there’s an issue, it’s addressed immediately,” says McCarthy. “To have one team united has delivered a much better experience for the members.”

The merger came shortly after the club underwent a $25 million improvement program. McCarthy says they knew there would have been significant tax increases after reassessment. The merger happened to be a logical next step.

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But the merger has many more benefits. Bringing the two organizations together has greatly increased efficiency in terms of buying power, landscaping, accounting and human resources.

McCarthy describes it as “being able to consolidate a lot of manpower” by having one standard.

Another huge benefit the club has experienced is the ability to foreclose on a property.

This gives McCarthy and his board the power to begin the foreclosure process if, after 90 days, a member hasn’t paid dues rather than having to go through the community association.

Not only has the merger provided significant savings to members, but it has also provided savings for the club and created a more streamlined operation.

As McCarthy says, “there’s one vision and there’s one person accountable for the performance of the entire organization.” BR

ELLERY PLATTS Ellery Platts, Innovative Ideas editor, earned a Bachelor of Journalism (Hons) from the University of King’s College where she balanced her love for writing and photography with varsity athletics. An avid golfer, she has been in the club circuit since early childhood where she played as a member of Silver Springs Golf and Country Club, Calgary, AB. To submit an idea or story for this section, please email ideas@boardroommag.com

Reduce, Reuse, Reimagined Private Clubs Tackle Sustainability Eliminating single-use plastics can easily reduce a club’s environmental footprint. Other ways include reducing the amount of chemicals put into the environment.

Three clubs, including Fiddler’s Elbow in Bedminster, New Jersey, across the United States recognized this waste and have made small changes that can make big impacts.

Amy Picard, human resources generalist for the club, has helped introduce a reusable bottle initiative for staff.

“Fiddler’s uses about 80,000 single-use water bottles every year, a lot of that coming through staff and more coming through the members,” says Picard. “Hopefully this year that number will be a little smaller.”

A trustee at the club wanting to help with the green movement suggested Corkcicle bottles. From there, Picard took off. After 30 days of work, a Corkcicle bottle is ordered, featuring the staff member’s name and the club’s logo. This gives staff a way to hydrate sustainably instead of the single-use alternative.

Much like Fiddlers, Champions Run in Omaha, Nebraska noticed a similar issue.

Creative director Ben Lorenzen decided to implement a refillable cup program for the members. Purchased for $125 or $85 for children, it gives members unlimited non-alcoholic beverages from anywhere in the club for an entire year.

Lorenzen says there are two main advantages of the program. First, members save money as daily small beverage purchases add up quickly. Secondly, single-use plastic consumption declines, reducing the club’s eco-footprint.

The program has been very well received. Lorenzen says the club is constantly selling out when summer rolls around. “There’s always a waitlist.”

Jason Sprankle, golf course and club grounds director at Woodfield Country Club in Boca Raton, Florida, found an innovative way to reduce their environmental impact by ridding the golf course of the Goose grass weed without using herbicides.

Sprankle was introduced to the idea while in the Philippines before bringing it to Woodfield. On a Monday afternoon, with the course closed, he gathered his staff, took the chemicals away, gave them a machete and sent them onto the course.

“They got over 4,000 weeds in a two-hour period,” says Sprankle. “The golf course was immediately cleaned up in a matter of a couple afternoons.”

He made this a friendly competition every Monday for four weeks with each daily winner earning $100, and the overall winner earning an additional $500. The winning employee took home $700.

Not only did this contest rid the course of Goose grass, it also had a large financial impact. Sprankle says it reduced their herbicide budget by 30 to 40 per cent. All three initiatives helped reduce the environmental impact the clubs have, while cutting costs and increasing engagement - a classic win-win scenario. B R

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WHITNEY REID PENNELL

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Whitney Reid Pennell, president of RCS Hospitality Group, is a celebrated management consultant, educator, and speaker. She was recently recognized as one of BoardRoom’s Top Club Influencers.

RCS continues to offer innovative solutions through RCSUniversity.com, an online virtual training portal for employees and managers. For more information, phone (623) 322-0773; or visit the RCS website at www.consultingRCS.com.

What Matters Most Working with a strategic plan is always a good idea, but there is no better than 2020.

Global events can take our economy into a downturn; an election year can send shockwaves in many directions; evolving member needs and competition bring new considerations; technology advancements bring pros and cons and the employment trends are on the move. Club leadership is no doubt thinking of its future. So, let’s get ahead of a couple of common conversational topics: Food and Beverage (F&B) is still a service amenity. Yes, local restaurants are busy. But that’s not the club business.

Just a few quick questions to ask yourself about those other restaurants before you try to make your F&B operation profitable like the busy local restaurants: • Do these restaurants: - Serve 600 – 800 families only? Open unprofitable hours or in multiple locations?

- Know their customers by name and their special preferences?

- Seat customers immediately or do they ask customers to wait 15 – 45 minutes?

- Have one kitchen producing up to five different menus at once while honoring over 70 percent special orders for the tickets coming in?

- Have gratis coffee, fruit, or premium bar snacks available at various locations throughout the day?

- Throw loss-leading special events and theme parties every month or week?

- Employ a true executive chef or a kitchen manager?

- Pay service staff a tipped wage?

If the answer is yes to all of these, then they are operating much like a private club. If not, it’s not a fair comparison. F&B is an amenity like tennis courts, a boat dock or golf course.

Now, onto the next biggest conversation. The first budget line most club leaders look to save money is payroll. It’s understandable and also dangerous to the dues’ income.

Club revenue and most importantly, dues, is directly tied to the members’ satisfaction.

Employees are the ones responsible for delivering exceptional experiences. Staff members interact with the club members daily making them feel special and welcome, regardless of the request. Before making any cuts, consider 110

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opportunity costs, then conduct an exercise called “think outside of the box.”

Before making cuts in areas that ‘touch’ the member experience, put everything on the table. Very often it is the sacred cows or antiquated processes/systems at the root of high employee turnover and the related costs, which can easily eliminate any savings made elsewhere.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) reports nationwide turnover rates of 18 percent and recent studies show turnover comes with a hefty price tag of up to 33 percent (up from 20- 30 percent) of an employee’s annual salary. For a $45,000 employee, the cost can be as high as $15,000. At 18 percent overall, that cost can really add up.

Here’s the overall breakdown according to SHRM: • 13 percent voluntary turnover • 6 percent involuntary turnover • 3 percent high-performer turnover If you’re in the market to lower your turnover costs, which will result in more savings and increased revenue, here are five tips: 1. Before you troubleshoot your turnover numbers, take some time to evaluate your hiring and onboarding processes. The most common reason people leave a job is skill or culture mismatch. One of the most important things clubs can do to protect their cultural values is to hire for fit, then train for skill.

2. Hiring and recruiting studies depict that opportunities for growth and advancement are key to employee retention. Growth prospects and continuing education will do wonders for retention and employee engagement.

3. Foster social connections; give employees the sense of belonging.

4. Solicit, listen, then act on employee feedback.

5. Serious retention goals require serious data tracking.

Valuable data includes employee training progress, turnover rates, referrals, engagement year to year.

A healthy bottom line doesn’t just happen. We must stay alert to changes in member needs, spending behavior and employee engagement trends.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to a club’s overall success, but there are best practices, benchmarking data and industry trends to guide us. Let’s use them! BR

GREGG PATTERSON Gregg Patterson is president of Tribal Magic and can be reached via email: GJPAir@aol.com

TRIBAL MAGIC

Old, Geeky, Retired, and Hungry Hungry I’m an old, geeky, retired general manager and I’m hungry for World Conference.

I was 40 years in the business, 34 as a general manager. I loved club management. I loved the BUZZ from operations.

The people. The clubhouse. The big events. The victories.

The disasters. The committee meetings. The board meetings. The staff meetings. The bitches and the moans. The creative opportunities. Discovering the next new thing.

The excitement of something different every day. It was a HOWL! We, who’ve retired from the day-to-day operational buzz of clubdom, know what it’s like to experience – the Big Gone. Daily and annual routines – GONE. The madness of operations – GONE. The zing from writing white papers – GONE. The stimulation of board meetings – GONE. The joy of reflecting with the management team – GONE. The joy of doing the three-times-daily walk and talks – GONE. The “stroking” and the love we got from members and staff – GONE. And all that GONE has left us hungry for club.

But those of us who are out-of-the-trenches and on-thecouch know there’s food to be had! Our post operational hunger can be fed with a really big multi-day End the Hunger meal at world conference. This tribal gathering is a delicious banquet of people and ideas. Hours and hours, days and days of non-stop consumption. Conference is our magic elixir. It nourishes the brain, delivers the buzz and feeds the hunger.

We retirees attend world conference because it’s a HOWL from day one registration to the end-of-conference hallway goodbye. This tribal gathering delivers a big slice of club management pie. It satisfies The Hunger.

Here’s why!

Food for the Famished: When you’re retired and hungry for clubdom, when you’re on the operational sidelines, you need a banquet-sized meal of stimulation. Five courses.

Tasty. Balanced. Filling.

World Conference delivers. Here’s the menu.

First Course – Curiosity: This makes life endlessly interesting. The simple joy of asking what, when, where and 112

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why, and being around others who share the joy of asking, makes a retiree’s life better.

Conference stimulates curiosity and satisfies the hunger to know – about people, the business and the future. Curiosity provokes great questions that lead to great conversations that make the retiree more interesting, more likeable and more stimulating to their spouse, their children, their grandchildren and their club management friends.

Conference energizes our curiosity. What are the BIG stories that have developed in the last 12 months? What are the big controversies that are stirring up the club community? Who are the up and coming superstars and what gifts do they have and what issues have they’ve mastered?

Who are the opinion leaders in clubdom and what are the opinions they’re trumpeting? What’s happening politically?

Who’s tussling with who on the board and in the national office and what outcomes are they looking for with all their tussling?

What’s the next new thing that’ll make successes of some and failures of others? Why did national choose these speakers to speak about these subjects? Who’s lost their job, got a job or thinking about exiting clubdom? And why are some retirees here and others are not?

Retirees have the luxury of serendipitous curiosity, wide-ranging and unrestricted. We read the catalog, yap in the hallway, ask others what they’re attending, sniff out what’s interesting, then decide. Delicious!

Retirees hunger for a big helping of curiosity and conference delivers.

Second Course – network: This is about PEOPLE and we retirees love to be around others who love what we love, who know where we’ve been and who’ve done what we’ve done. We hunger for a network of people who’ve been in the trenches, like us. Who’ve experienced the slings and arrows of victory and defeat, like us. We seek the comfort and counsel of others who know whereof we speak.

We retirees are famished for the people opportunity – the impromptu encounter, the accidental big bump moment during coffee in the morning, during breaks in the hallways and during seminars.

Conference is a chance to re-connect with the old network and to grow the new-and-expanded network.

Meeting other retirees. Talking to up-and-coming AGMs. Listening to fast-tracking GMs. Counseling students.

Conversing with unknowns during seminars. Talking to strangers who are wondering what an old, geeky retiree like me is doing spending the big bucks attending world conference. Collecting names, email addresses and telephone numbers. Arranging for a post-conference networking opportunity. Making network happen.

And the side benefit of all that hugging and kissing, helloing and yapping with the network tells us retirees that “we ain’t dead, ain’t forgotten, ain’t a nobody” just yet.

Retirees hunger for network and conference delivers.

Third Course – Education: We retirees hunger for “knowing more” about clubdom and we know that our “hunger to know” doesn’t diminish with age.

We’re famished for classes and teachers, seminars and workshops, power points and books, questions and answers, principles and practices.

Education at conference, formalized and structured, impromptu and organic, magnifies our interest in and enthusiasm for the business. The more we know the more we like and the more we want to now.

Retirees hunger for education and conference delivers.

Conference is a reflective opportunity, a time for “diving deep” into personal questions, concerns and confusions. Retirees hunger for reflective opportunities and conference delivers.

Fifth Course – The BUZZ: We Old, Geeky, Retired GMs need The BUZZ more than ever, ‘cause we’re not getting energized every day, in the trenches, fighting the battles that need to be fought to keep operations working smoothly.

World conference is filled with people who have the buzz for the business.

Creative people. Philosophical people. Tactical people. Energized professionals emitting an infectious, high energy BUZZ. Retirees witness and absorb the buzz whenever they visit the idea fair, listen to keynote speakers, do caffeine and conversation, debrief in the bar or engage in a student round table. Can’t avoid it, the BUZZ is everywhere, omnipresent, in everything and everyone.

Retirees hunger for the BUZZ and conference delivers.

Get fed: World conference is a sumptuous, never-ending five course meal delivering big helpings of curiosity, network, education, reflection and the BUZZ. World conference is a bargain and we know it. We who love clubdom, feel the hunger.

If you’re retired and hungry, sign up and go. If you’re working and hungry, sign up and go. Prepare for dinner. Consume what’s delivered. Digest it properly. And enjoy the journey… B R

Fourth Course – Reflection: Retirees arrive at conference with questions – personal professional questions and personal, personal questions. Professional questions: What should I have done differently?

What tools would I use to handle this crisis, now? How do I keep my brain alive now that brains ain’t needed for operations?

Personal questions – How do I make the most of my life between now and the end? How do I energize the relationship with my spouse now that we’ve got so much time together?

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the work needed to make fundamental changes. Once agreed to by the club’s top two officers, then the rest of the board must be brought into the discussion and must pledge their support as well.

“Financial oversight,” Mona added, “is (or should be) specified in the definition of leadership roles, establishment of key performance indicators and establishment of accountability between the board and the GM/COO. By developing, reviewing and formally approving each of these documents on an annual basis, the board ensures that it is fulfilling both its fiduciary responsibility and duty of financial oversight.” from Cover Story | 24

value of your club’s lifestyle experience to the members you are trying to attract. If you have created loyal members who passively market your club, your value and brand will be more sought after.

7. WHAT IS A THIRD-PARTY CONSULTANT’S ROLE?

SG: Marketing private clubs is a sophisticated and complex process. Just having a club admit to that reality can be a significant hurdle. Too many private club leaders have taken the approach of “we can do this ourselves” when it comes to the important process of marketing their club.

Private club leaders often feel as though asking for assistance, in marketing their club, is a show of weakness and/or desperation. Marketing a private club is not brain surgery but it is much more intricate and complicated than a part time membership committee can accomplish at its rushed monthly meeting. It is becoming less uncommon for a third-party consultant to be considered for membership growth assistance. A marketing consultant/agency provides many skills and services that are not commonly provided by your current management team.

Third party consultants provide information and best practice advice not known by your management team or from Membership Musings | 90

positive attributes of your club – humanitarian, generous, community-oriented, for instance. Recall Johnny, the young man with Down syndrome, who made an unforgettable impression each day in the grocery store where he works as a bagger. I’ve often heard it said that building an emotional connection can be magical and create a halo effect for the brand. I agree.

In its recent Customer Loyalty Index report, Brand Keys found that the number one “driver” of a consumer’s path-topurchase emotional engagement and long-term brand loyalty 114

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Tom Wallace, partner in Kopplin Kuebler & Wallace, is succinct with his recommendations: • Great board orientation • Great committee orientation • Great employee orientation • Clear responsibilities/accountabilities matrix for committee/board/paid leadership • Great committee charters • Annual board retreats • Consistent member education • Consistent member feedback sought.

Wallace suggests the initiative must be “a partnership between the general manager and the president and board” implementing the orientations, defining responsibilities, arrange

club leadership. Club consultants are “specialists” that know the private club industry inside and out and know exactly what ‘s required to take a club from the concept of marketing their club to the reality of marketing their club.

Third party consultants help take the emotions out of important decisions that club leaders are reluctant to make, without the advice and direction of experts. When you talk about marketing you are discussing income you hope to have. When a third-party consultant executes on your behalf you make deposits with the income you budgeted to have.

RC: Ultimately, consultant firms specializing in membership solutions like Steve’s and ours are subject to the willingness of a board to accept or reject the solutions we may offer. That said, there’s a responsibility for all of us to offer solutions that address the core issues affecting the club’s long-term membership success.

Maalox was long a powerfully effective mask for the stomach pain of ulcers, but it never cured anyone.

Boards need to be more strategic and informed in their thinking and listen to their general managers and highly skilled staff, most of whom know full well that the solution for nearly every membership issue is in the relevance of what you offer, the lifestyle that you create and the member loyalty that results. B R in the category is how the brand makes them feel good and look good. It’s becoming crystal clear that emotional marketing helps develop the relationship between members and clubs that results in “brand fans.”

True club fans are not only loyal, they advocate for your club and are almost cult-like in their engagement. The way members think about your club does not make them act.

The way they feel about it does. Especially the way your club makes them feel about themselves. As Dale Carnegie famously said, “When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures of emotion.” Your Bottom Line will thank you! B R

annual board retreats and providing consistent member education while seeking feedback.

To meet the requirements of financial oversight and fiduciary responsibilities, Wallace says it is necessary to: • Audit annually • Have a strong finance and audit committee • Have real time reporting/dashboards • Benchmarking to the industry, and • Annual strategic retreats to focus on these topics outside of a monthly board meeting agenda.

Board leaders need to be proactive in identifying the issues and fixing, including the use of outside help if necessary, and that includes developing a process to overcome poor leadership of either the board or a board committee.

If a board’s leadership is not leading or is preventing a board from being effective, the quality of the club’s chairs must be questioned. This again leads to ensuring that clear roles and responsibilities are defined and that everyone agrees with their roles and responsibilities.

“No matter the role you are in, the person who should take the initiative to change how the board operates is . . .

YOU,” says Kent Stroman, CFRE, President of Stroman & Associates and author of The Intentional Board.

“Whether you are the general manager, a board officer, a board member, a potential board member, a past board member, or a concerned club member – the action is yours to take. If you wait for someone else to do what you think needs to be done, you will forever be frustrated.” ere Stroman says, “All this requires is for you to declare you are moving forward on one of the action plans outlined below…3, 2, 1...GO! • Equip the volunteers (board members) to effectively do what they agreed to do.

• Employ a robust onboarding process whenever new members join the board. (Sadly, this is not the norm.)

• Provide ongoing board training via reading, webinars, coaching, consulting, conferences, etc.

• At least every 12 months, hold a day-long board summit (i.e. ➤

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board retreat) to bring focus to emerging priorities and current problems.

• Implement an annual, peer-to-peer, board member evaluation system.

• Refine the process of recruiting new board members to assure the right people are coming into the room.

• Develop a comprehensive Board Policy Manual (BPM) delineating the respective roles of the GM, the board, the board officers and board members.

• In a nutshell, implement the guidance offered in my governance book, The Intentional Board.  Gordon Welch, president of the Association of Private Club Directors and Boardroom Institute, suggests there is a wide variety of solutions for a dysfunctional board, including: 1. A GM or board should use BoardRoom Institute to educate and inform the board members about what their roles and responsibilities are. This can also be a great tool for committees.

2. A club could bring in a governance expert such as BoardRoom Institute to try to work with the board and clear up the misunderstandings or lack of knowledge.

3. There should be board retreats to build camaraderie.

4. Require future board candidates to fill out an application (as found on BoardRoom Institute’s platform) and function with a board that is competency based.

In Welch’s opinion, “the executive committee should initiate the change. It may take some effort from the GM/COO to give them a push but that’s where it should happen.

“However, if the executive committee is part of the problem, the initiative can come from any board member that wants to improve the quality of its actions and the meetings. It may need to be recommended by the GM/COO in this case,” Welch added.

And for financial oversight and fiduciary responsibilities, Stroman added these requirements: • Educate board members so they understand what fiduciary responsibility is. Give them a clear picture of financial oversight and why it is a key part of the equation 116

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• • •

Elevate the onboarding process for new board members, equipping them to serve the club well in their new role Incorporate something into every board meeting to better equip members to excel in their governance role Use the annual board retreat to bring specific emphasis to matters that are especially relevant.

PUBLISHER’S FINAL THOUGHTS Often members of dysfunctional boards are unwilling to face the facts that they might be part of a dysfunctional operation but it’s imperative that boards run an effective and rigorous evaluation to ascertain where the issues lie hidden and just what needs to be done to create meaningful change.

The fact is, your club’s future is a situation of happenstance. Implementing a strategic plan that includes a clear vision of what your members want your club to be in the future is an absolute necessity.

And often it means a third party is required to give the board members an objective look at what really is happening. Defining clear roles and responsibilities for board members and developing a strong committee leadership succession plan is vital.

This is where BoardRoom Institute comes in, and as Gordon Welch, president of BoardRoom Institute states in this issue’s article on the ‘Why’ of BoardRoom Institute, “We want to arm your board members with the knowledge they need to govern the club, the tools management needs to communicate the goals and direction and improve communication within the club.”

BoardRoom Institute’s online board orientation and training will help decrease the dysfunction and disruption boards often encounter.

Board orientations assure that board members are all on the same page and can help transform board and committee members from novice volunteers to knowledgeable contributors.

Board orientations and retreats are an imperative every year and all board and committee members need to participate. Not only does this become an orientation for board members and future board members, it also allows a longer view of the future, based on the club’s strategic plan.

Orientations begin to provide you board members and facts and information they need to make sound decisions. Without fact and information, emotional decisions are usually the result, leading to more chaos.

The board needs information about the current state of the private club industry including: • Emerging issues • Future trends and club statistics • Membership recruitment and retention ideas • Initiation fees • Rethinking golf course maintenance • How to stop micromanagement • Changing demographics, and • Collaborative governance including the role of the board of directors.

It’s as we’ve always said at BoardRoom magazine, “ Replace emotion with facts.”

In this way clubs can be prepared and ready for the transitions that come each year, as presidents finish their terms and new committee and board members are welcomed aboard and this becomes a foundation for more effective teamwork in the years ahead.

At least, that’s the way I see it. B R John G. Fornaro, publisher For more information about BoardRoom Institute contact Gordon Welch, president of the Association of Private Club Directors and BoardRoom Institute at: Gordon@apcd.com

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contact: noel@cctechplan.com JULY / AUGUST 2020 | BOARDROOM

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CHRIS BOETTCHER

CLUB SERVICE

Chris Boettcher has been a regular contributor to BoardRoom for many years.

This is his final story and we wish him well in his new adventure.

He can be reached at: chris@boettcher.com or on Instagram @ChristopherBoettcher

Are There Any Good Board Members Here?

As a Maître d’, I used to quip a silly question to familiar patrons, like club members.

I’d say as I walked up to a table where they had just been served dinner and ask, “Is anything good here?” – wink-wink.

Stupid, I know. But the little old ladies giggled and the guys at the table chuckled. So, as I walked into a board room at one of the five clubs at which I was the new general manager, I recall thinking about saying something similar: “Are there any good board members here?”

However, there was a difference. It wasn’t a joke, so I kept it to myself. It is was a rough start at that club but, with meticulous board trainings, third party consultants helping and eventually a successful outcome, the club got a lot done. It just wasn’t an easy process!

Board members are the fiduciaries who steer the organization toward a sustainable future by adopting sound, ethical, and legal governance and financial management policies, by making sure the non-profit has adequate resources to advance its mission.* That definition says it all (Thanks *Google!), but many board members get in the weeds pretty quickly. I had one board member who loved to focus on food costs every month. I kept trying to be patient and explain how it works. But he was like a rabid dog. Lucky for me, I left as he was coming. He needed more training. Sorry successor.

Many board members know their role: • Steer the organization. That’s the key part of the definition that gets misconstrued on private club boards. The level of pressure on the “steering” wheel, speaking metaphorically, can either guide the club safely home every year, or get in a head-on collision and send the club into the shop for retrofit.

After working with a lot of board members (about 100 is my best estimate), here are some key ways to keep the wheels on the road.

• Show up on time and with your devices off: I remember one club where I was for an interview, a board member kept taking calls during the interview. Several calls. And most of the time he didn’t even get up from the table. Another time the president kept texting his family during a meeting. Either be all-in or don’t volunteer and stay home.

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• Don’t drink too much. Stay engaged: My favorites were breakfast meetings. No one drank at breakfast. Whether it’s a glass of wine at a lunch committee or board meeting, or a beer at your dinner meeting, keep your wits. You represent the club leadership.

• Be a contributor but keep an eye on your forehead clock: - If you put a clock on everyone’s forehead, will your clock show the longest speaking time during the meeting? Your turn to talk is important but be selective and on topic.

Try not to be self-centered by championing complaints, personal topics on be off the agenda.

• Be compassionate and mindful: There are members and staff counting on you for their home-away-from-home and for their families’ livelihoods. In the words of one of my best friends on my wedding video: “Don’t eff up.”

• Stay supportive and seek first to understand: Taken from one of my favorite authors, Stephen Covey, seek first to understand and then be understood. So, make sure you are educated in the discussion area, have discussed it with staff and especially the general manager. Make your point. Stay on agenda, have goals and keep the flow succinct.

• Communicate fairly: It’s that easy. Speak with your committee members, constituents and especially your manager so you keep on the same page. Talk to your fellow members and spread good vibes or informative stories. It’s key to be communicative to everyone and not just your little clique.

Most of all, remember you are there to help steer and not crash. Keep it on the road and Have Fun!

Speaking of having fun, this is my last BoardRoom article. It’s been a blast but I’m stepping out of the private club niche to become an innkeeper with my beautiful wife.

I thank John Fornaro and BoardRoom magazine for allowing me to share my back page articles over the past 20-plus years. I also thank editor Dave White and associate editor Heather Arias for their consistent support and excellent coaching. I remember Dave saying once, “I never knew a more prolific writer,” which made me want to keep writing more and more!

Please contact me and I’ll share more details of our venture. Consider us for a board retreat, executive staff goal-setting weekend or just a respite with your family or friends. We’d love to see you. Thanks for reading. I hope it helped some, provoked others and caused you all to Lead ON! BR

CHRIS BOETTCHER (LEFT) AND BOARDROOM MAGAZINE EDITOR DAVE WHITE AT THE BICYCLE CHATAUQUA AT CMAA WORLD CONFERENCE SEVERAL YEARS AGO.

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The value of peripheral vision.

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(954) 614-1505 | XHIBTZ1@XHIBTZ.COM | WWW.XHIBTZ.COM BOARDROOM MAGAZINE ADVERTISING INDEX ACCP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Addison Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Ambassador Uniform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Angela Grande Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44-45 APCD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82-83 Bambrella . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Boothe Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Bozeman Club & Corporate Interiors . . . . . . . . . . . 46-47 C2 Limited Design Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48-49 Castor Design Associates, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50-51 Clubdesign Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52-53 Clublife Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70-71 Clubtec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Chambers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Clubwise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Corby Hall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Country Club Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Creative Golf Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 CSCA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43-44 CRS Data Breach Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 DEI Foodservice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Denehy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Distinguished Clubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73, 108-109, 111 ELM | Ervin Lovett Miller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54-55 Emersa Waterbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Ethos Club & Leisure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Eustis Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 FOOD-TRAK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Forbes Travel Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Gasser Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 GCSAA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Golf Analyst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Golf Business Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Golf Maintenance Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 GSI Executive Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Harris Interiors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56-57 High End Uniforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Hilda Allen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Jonas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Kopplin Kuebler & Wallace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 & 25 Lichten Architects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Marsh & Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58-59

Mcmahon Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60-61 MembersFirst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Nanawall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Newsstation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Northstar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 Peacock + Lewis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 PGA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Proform Matting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Rcs Hospitality Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Rogers Mccagg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Rsm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Strategic Club Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Studio Jbd And Jefferson Group Architecture . . . . . 68 Technogym . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Troon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Uspta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Webtec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Wegman Design Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62-63 Xhibtz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

BOARDROOM MAGAZINE COUNTRY CLUB INDEX Nick Bailey, GM, Lake Merced Golf Club, Daly City, CA Nancy Berkley, green committee and marketing committee, Frenchman’s Creek Beach & Country Club, Palm Beach Gardens, FL Sakil Bokil, GM, Hollywood Golf Course in Deal, NJ Kyle Draper, GM, The Country Club at DC Ranch, Scottsdale, AZ Bob Egan, dining room manager, Hollywood Golf Course in Deal, NJ Boris Fetbroyt, USPTA, PTR, CTPS, is director of tennis, The Country Club of Fairfax, VA Zach Gulley, golf fitness pro, Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club, Gold Canyon, AZ Ryan Kenny, GM, Dedham Country and Polo Club, Dedham, MA Dr. Bonnie Knutson, the Country Club of Lansing and the Michigan Athletic Club Nancy Levenburg, member, Spring Lake Country Club, Spring Lake, MI Howard Liebman, President, Boca West Country Club, Boca Raton, FL

Matt Linderman, GM, Boca West Country Club, Boa Raton, FL Ben Lorenzen, creative director, Champions Run, Omaha, NE Jeffrey C. Mapstone, The Country Club of Rochester, NY Michael McCarthy, CEO, Addison Reserve Country Club, Delray Beach, FL John Morris, Dedham Country and Polo Club, Dedham, MA Bryan Perez, staff member, Hollywood Golf Course in Deal, NJ Jeff Pero, Lake Merced Golf Club, Daly City, CA Amy Picard, human resources, Fiddler’s Elbow, Bedminster, NJ Marianne Schofield, the director of first impressions at Ford Plantation, Richmond Hill, GA Michael Smith, general manager and COO, The Country Club of Rochester, NY Jason Sprankle, golf course and club grounds dir., Woodfield Country Club, Boca Raton, FL

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C E L E B R A T I N G 24 Y E A R S O F E D U C A T I N G T H E P R I V A T E C L U B I N D U S T R Y ISSUE 290

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VOLUME XXIV JULY/AUGUST

Vo l um e X X IV, Jul y/ A ug us t 2 0 2 0

10 | PUBLISHER’S PERSPECTIVE

SOLUTIONS FOR A DYSFUNCTIONAL BOARD

32 | EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

RUNNING YOUR CLUB FOR THE TOP 25 PERCENT OF YOUR MEMBERS

WHO’S ACCOUNTABLE? THAT’S THE QUESTION!

Angela Grande Bozeman Club & Corporate Design Interiors

C2 Limited Design Associates

Castor Design Associates

Chambers

ClubDesign Associates

ELM | Ervin Harris Interiors Lovett Miller

40 | SPECIAL TO BOARDROOM CSCA JOINS GROUPS OPPOSED TO CALIFORNIA’S TAX INITIATIVE

104-107 | INNOVATIVE IDEAS

ADDISON RESERVE COUNTRY CLUB, FIDDLER’S ELBOW, FORD PLANTATION, HOLLYWOOD GOLF COURSE

Lichten Architects

Marsh & Associates

McMahon Group

Peacock + Lewis

Rogers McCagg Architects & Interior Designers

BOARDROOM MAGAZINE DESIGN FEATURE - PAGES 44-68 PICTURED LEFT - RIGHT: STEVE GRAVES, PRESIDENT OF CREATIVE GOLF MARKETING RICK COYNE, PRESIDENT OF CLUBINSIGHTS

Studio JBD & JGA

Wegman Design Group