September / October 2021 DAC Newsletter

from September/October Newsletter 2021 | Dallas Athletic Club

A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENTWARREN SIBLEY

As you are reading this our summer season has come to completion. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, as members, we are continuing to utilize our facilities like never before. Membership attendance at the pool remains enthusiastically high. The chef’s FUOCO has been a success. Our events and activities are wellattended and enjoyed. Despite early summer rain and relatively unseasonable summer weather, we’re meeting budget and continuing to work towards improving our services, upgrading our facilities, and improving the member experience.

Summer is our busiest time at the Club, but in terms of behind-the-scenes administration, budgeting, planning, and events, September and the final quarter of the year are incredibly active. At our yearly Board retreat in April, the Board charged Brent, our GM, with the task of continuing the improvement of our members experience. Brent and management came with ideas and ways to implement improvement in all areas of the Club.

One of the biggest drivers of a positive member experience is the ratio of employee to member. In years past when our focus was more on the bottom line and meeting our budget, employee to member ratio wasn’t a concern. As our Club has grown and our membership ranks are full, membership expectations have risen. We have asked our GM to find ways to make improvements while maintaining a fiscally responsible approach. Our unique financial structure requires us to generate revenue in certain areas; like food and beverage, banquets, Monday tournaments, etc., which help us maintain our current service level. In order to keep up with cost-of-living we ask for incremental increases to our dues. When we task our GM with improving our service level and exceeding our expectations, that will require more resources, in the form of a greater dues increase.

While our staff is wonderful, hardworking, and longtenured, there are always ways to improve. Many have noticed the improvement in both the golf and tennis departments. New hires have heightened the member experience. We are working hard to have the same experience in our house staff. There have been some recent tweaks that will soon reap big rewards.

Those of us who are charged with staffing in their jobs and companies can speak to the tight labor market. Finding and retaining staff is very difficult right now. We are having to adjust our labor costs at the end of our fiscal year and retain those changes – and increase them in many areas – in the upcoming budget. Rising labor costs, inflated prices, and our stated desire to increase the member’s experience all have a cost associated with them. Our membership is full, and the waiting list continues to grow. The Board has asked Brent to continue to strive to place a primacy on improving service.

In addition to staffing improvements, we are seeking to elevate all areas of the club. The new and improved facilities will open at the beginning of October. The Club will boast an incredible dining room with a stateof-the-art show kitchen, new family dining area, an indoor/outdoor bar, extended patios, glass-walled wine room, and improved server stations. DAC will then have four full-service bars, numerous patio options and choices for dining, and a modern look to our facilities.

While discussing all these exciting improvements that are coming, it is a great time for a few reminders. Whether we are on the golf course, playing tennis, enjoying food or drinks in our new facilities, we should do all we can to heighten the experience for those around us and be respectful of our employees. There are a growing number of athletic members on the list for a resident golf membership. The difference between a golf member and an athletic member is that a golf member’s membership extends to the use of the golf course, the driving range, the practice facility between 3 and 4 Gold, and the putting greens. The athletic members may enjoy the use of the golf and golf facilities (which include the driving range, putting green, practice facilities, etc., once a month, as a guest), if playing with a current golf member and the guest fee is charged to that golf member’s account.

Looking forward, many strategic challenges lay ahead and we are excited about the future of DAC. The Board has approved us to engage our golf course architect, Chet Williams, in developing a master plan for our Golf courses. While talk of a master plan always generates a lot of buzz, nothing has been decided. Chet will be tasked with coming up with ideas and options and he

will work with us to come up with a plan that is best for our Club. This coming winter many improvements are scheduled for the pool. We will refurbish the wet deck, make improvements and enlarge the pool deck, and look for ways to maximize our space. The tennis area will also be a point of emphasis. Working with the tennis department and our Head Professional, Natalia, we will take every effort to provide the best tennis facility we can. The popularity of our tennis program continues to grow and we want to provide the best tennis experience we can.

The popularity of our tennis program has caused us to revisit our membership structure, particularly as it relates to tennis usage. Our plan is to create a new membership category specifically for tennis. It would be an elevated membership, above athletic. There would be an increased initiation fee for the Tennis Membership. All current athletic members would be given the option to “opt in” to a tennis membership, at no additional initiation charge. The tennis membership would have a higher monthly dues structure than the athletic member. More information on this membership change will be provided soon.

Lastly, we have some of our showcase events coming up. We have our Labor Day celebration on September 6th (the Club will be closed on Tuesday the 7th), the Tradition (our annual member-guest) will be October 21-23rd, our Fall Festival will be October 31st, and we will be renewing our Music on the Lawn series, and a bit further out we will be doing Thanksgiving dinner at the Club including to-go options. Please pay close attention to our weekly emails, the Club Feed on the App, and our social media channels for up to the minute details. Those who pay attention to those social media blasts might have noticed the Chef doing a couple of “popup” fresh seafood stations. They featured an array of options and sold out very quickly.

The Board of Directors is working hard to be the best Club in Dallas. We will continue to do all we can to make DAC a Premier Country Club experience.

Warren Sibley

President

From the Desk of Cari Wheatley

For some, fall is arguably the best season to ever exist. It’s time to break out the sweaters and pull out your favorite College Game Day recipe! When fall begins bursting with color, the Club starts to overflow with exciting events and activities for all ages that are worth a “Save the Date” on your calendar.

HAMPTONS STYLE WHITE PARTY AT THE POOL: Shut down the pool season in your brightest white for an Adults Only pool party on September 3rd. To allow a night of relaxation and uninhibited revelry and celebration, our youngest DAC members will be invited to a Glow Party hosted by ClubKids!

COUPLES GOLF: Make it a date! Couples will play 18 holes as a team on September 12 and on October 1st and 2nd is the Thorns and Roses 18-Hole Couples Tournament. If your spouse does not have a GHIN handicap at DAC, make sure you register them under the Guest tab on Golf Genius.

FALL FESTIVAL: A fun time is had by all when dressing up in costumes, picking the perfect pumpkin, hayrides and of course, CANDY! Before you trick or treat around your neighborhood, join your DAC family for an exciting afternoon at the Club.

We look forward to the hustle and bustle of an active Club and seeing you all..

Cheers,

Cari Wheatley

Membership Director cwheatley@dacstaff.org

THE HOLIDAY SEASON IS UPON US...

Make it a December to Remember!

Dallas Athletic Club offers multiple spaces in the Clubhouse to host your Holiday Party! Whether it is a company party, a family reunion, or a small gathering of friends, your Club has a space for you.

Chef Michael Lamping has created delicious and festive menus for any holiday occasion! DAC is serving all types of cuisine from your traditional holiday dinner to carving stations to dessert displays.

Spaces are filling up quickly! Contact Madison Vaughan, Director of Catering to book your holiday event at mvaughan@dacstaff.org.

Welcome Clubhouse Manager, Joanna Brewer!

Joanna joins us from the Carolina Country Club in Raleigh, NC. Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Joanna graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in Hospitality Management and a minor in Business in 2019.

Over the last few years, Joanna has worked at Myers Park Country Club in Charlotte, NC and the Carolina Country Club in Raleigh, NC where

she developed a passion for Private Club Management. Joanna is passionate about building genuine relationships with members and is excited to get to know everyone at DAC!

We are very excited to have Joanna at DAC and believe she will make a great impact on the Club. When you see Joanna around the Club, be sure to give her a big DAC welcome!

Welcome Sous Chef, Kameron Burrack!

Our new Sous Chef Kameron comes to DAC from Blackberry Farm as a Round Chef in Walland, TN. His passion for food began at a young age. Kameron has fond memories of tending the garden with his mother, canning vegetables, and picking freshly grown fruits in their small grove of fruit trees in Memphis, TN.

Kameron attended the New England Culinary Institute, and following graduation he began working at The Little Nell in Aspen, Co. His next culinary endeavor led him to the Old Warson Country Club in St. Louis, MO and then to the St. Clair Country Club in Belleville, IL. Kameron grew his skills while working under Chef Kevin Nashan at the Sidney Street Café in St Louis, MO. A new culinary opportunity presented itself to Kameron and he took a job in North Dakota where he was the Chef de Cuisine at the Four Bears Casino in Newtown, ND.

He desired to grow his culinary career, and with that desire he landed a new position as the Executive Sous Chef under Chef Michael Lamping at the Lake Quivira Country Club in Quivira, KS. While working at LQCC, Kameron was selected as a finalist through a program called “Ment’or” and competed in Miami, FL where he was awarded 2 nd Place. Following the competition, Kameron moved to Birmingham, AL where he worked at Mountain Brook Club as a Sous Chef and Vestavia Country Club as Chef de Cuisine.

We are very excited to welcome Kameron to our Culinary team and believe he is going to be a wonderful asset to the Club.

2021 DAC Scholarship Recipients

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 2021 Employee Scholarships. Scholarships are given annually from the Communities Foundation of Texas who administers our Scholarship Fund.

Congratulations to the recipients of this year’s Scholarship:

**Nicholas Klein University of Arkansas**

In 2016, the Board of Directors established the Employee Scholarship Fund to further the education of our employees and dependent children of our employees. It is awarded to deserving students to forward their education and change not only their lives but also the lives of their families both now and in the future. Each year, we arrange for a voluntary contribution to the fund by each member. We want to thank all of our members this year who participated and helped to make these scholarships possible.

If you would like to donate to the Scholarship Fund, please follow this link and it will allow you to make a tax deductible contribution to the Scholarship Fund, https://www.dallasathleticclub.org/group/pages/dac-scholarship-fund.

The employees and management staff continue to be thankful for your support of the Scholarship fund.

A Message from Natalia Prinz

We are looking forward to a very exciting fall season on the courts. TCD, USTA and Metro leagues will be in full swing. We are offering new intraleague for both men and women, and we have adjusted junior development program hours to make sure it’s more convenient for busy families to bring their kids to after school tennis. We are looking forward to the Singles Club Championships in September and our biggest event of the year, the Pro-Am in October.

We will continue to work towards making our members experience at DAC tennis as memorable and enjoyable as possible. We want to make sure we show our members our passion and love for the game, our commitment to excellence on and off the court, and our warm and welcoming hospitality in the tennis shop.

See you on the courts,

Natalia Prinz

Director of Tennis

Welcome Ishanka Mohottige Austin, Our New Tennis Professional!

Ishanka was born in Santa Barbara, CA and raised on the tennis court. Ishanka picked up her first tennis racket at the age of three and fell in love with the game, by the time she was six she knew this was her sport.

Through her formative years, Ishanka’s training included DAC, T Bar M and Acadamia Sanchez-Casal Florida. She went on to compete nationally and internationally on the ITF circuit.

Ishanka’s coaching career started at the Lakewood Country Club in Dallas Texas, and traveled with her to The Four Seasons Resort Biltmore Santa Barbara along with the Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club.

Ishanka loves staying active and playing all kinds of sports. On her days off she enjoys spending time with her husband, Jason, and their dog, Cooper.

Ishanka is so excited to be back in Dallas and to join the DAC team!

HE’S 83... SHOT 65!!

Mr. Paul Murphy shot 18 strokes below his age on August 6, 2021!

A big DAC congratulations goes out to Mr. Paul Murphy who shot a 65 at DAC on the Blue Course on Friday, August 6, 2021. Mr. Murphy is 83 years old. This is an extremely rare feat to shoot 18 strokes below your age!

Mr. Murphy has been playing for 70 years and has been a member at DAC for 30 years. When asked if he had a preference on courses here at DAC he responded “on the Blue Course some holes make you feel in the hill country while the Gold Course is very flat, but both are great courses!”

A fun fact about Mr. Murphy is that just seven years ago, he broke the course record at DAC when he shot a 62 on the Blue Course (14 shots under his age)! Mr. Jack Nicklaus wrote Mr. Murphy congratulating him on this accomplishment and they were able to meet in 2019 when Mr. Nicklaus came out to DAC for the Centennial.

Mr. Murphy missed the world record only by two strokes, a challenge we are sure he will gladly accept. Many try to shoot their age as they get older, and it is a rare feat to shoot 18 strokes below your age.

When you see Mr. Murphy around the Club and Courses, be sure to give him a fist bump!

Congratulations, Mr. Murphy!

Have you joined the DAC FitClub Yet?

Are you a frequent group fitness class attendee? When you're a member of the FitClub, you have unlimited access to any of our Group Exercise Classes. The Fit- Club automatically charges your member account $40 each month. If you are not enrolled as a FitClub member, group classes are $6 each. Interested? Join the DAC FitClub by contacting Jeff Hoke by email, fitness@dacstaff.org or stop by the Fitness Center!