INTRODUCING MYSELF AS THE National Club Association PRESIDENT & CEO

BY JOE TRAUGER

a narrow Democratic majority in the Senate and a Democratic administration, opportunities to advance legislation are somewhat diminished for the next two years, but perhaps more importantly, the potential for legislative threats also declines significantly. Where we need to concentrate our efforts is with the administration, which can present some difficult issues for private clubs through the regulatory framework.

This project is something I believe will provide even more value to NCA membership beyond the resources we already make available through our publications, Club Director, Club Governance, Club Business and Club Trends.

Having recently been named president & CEO of the National Club Association, I wanted to introduce myself—I am honored to have been tapped by the NCA Board of Directors for this role. I will continue to lead much of the government relations work for the foreseeable future, but we do have some changes coming for the organization that I am particularly excited to share.

As readers may know, I come to this position not just as the former vice president of government relations for NCA, but also with the perspective of a longtime board member of a private club, Mount Vernon Country Club in Alexandria, Va. In that capacity, I have served as president, vice president, secretary, long range planning committee and membership committee chair. NCA is the only association that represents the club as a whole in Washington, D.C. and is the association for club boards and volunteer leadership. We will continue to provide advocacy for private clubs in our nation’s capital by presenting a policy agenda that was driven by our members and approved by the board. The five areas NCA members identified as key to the performance and overall health of the private club community are taxes, health care costs, labor policy, environmental policy and immigration. With a new Republican majority in the House,

To that end, NCA has been leading efforts to respond to several proposed regulations coming out of the Department of Labor and its various agencies. NCA met with Wage and Hour Division officials to discuss the potential effects of increasing the overtime threshold, and weighed in with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) when they asked for information on the development of a potential heat exposure standard. There are ongoing regulatory efforts emanating from the Department of Labor on worker classification as an employee or independent contractor as well as changing the joint employer definition that could affect private clubs. Not only does NCA engage with policymakers on these issues, but we also work with allied organizations through coalitions to broaden our reach and strengthen our positions on these issues.

Advocacy is not the only area in which NCA provides leadership for the private club community. We are also a leading source of objective and authoritative information on club governance. NCA’s membership is comprised of all types of clubs; golf, country, city, athletic and yacht clubs look to NCA for the latest in governance practices that will help clubs maximize the effectiveness of their leadership, boards and committees. I am particularly excited to share that NCA’s Governance Committee is well on its way to delivering a comprehensive guide on governance best practices that will serve the private club community as a one-stop reference from leading experts on effective governance. We expect this reference guide to be available to all NCA members by the second quarter of 2023.

NCA is also in the process of enhancing the education component of our National Club Conference held each year to emphasize programming aimed at club presidents and board members. For the last several years, NCA has held a conference within our conference called the Club Governance Symposium. In 2023, we will focus the first day of the National Club Conference on topics and issues surrounding club governance, with industry experts helping lead discussions on the areas I know from personal experience club presidents and board members wrestle with every day. The 2023 National Club Conference will be held at the Union League Club of Chicago May 7 – 9. The Club Governance Symposium will feature speakers and discussions volunteer club leaders will find informative and useful. Having served as president of my club during the pandemic, I know how sharing thoughts and experiences can bring perspective to the issues and problems club leaders face. Sometimes, it's just nice to talk with someone who is wrestling with the same issues. That’s what we want to encourage with the Club Governance Symposium. Once the education sessions have concluded, we'll host our golf outing at one of the top clubs in the Chicago area, which is the perfect opportunity for club leaders and professionals to continue their conversations while experiencing the joys and frustrations of a game that inspired many of us to join clubs.

As I get further into my new role with NCA and we look toward building and expanding the resources we bring to the private club community, I encourage you to reach out and share your thoughts with me. I welcome the opportunity to speak with club professionals and volunteer leadership about the challenges and opportunities they see in our future. You can reach me directly at trauger@nationalclub.org.

As ASGCA Director of Outreach, I am pleased to help our two organizations closer together in 2022-2023. In 2022, I attended your summer meeting in Idaho, your Board Meeting in Arlington, TX, and your regional winter meeting in North Palm Beach in December, renewing many acquaintances.

At the GCBAA Winter Meeting at the Breakers in Florida, I assisted Jan Bel Jan, John Sanford, and Kipp Schulties make a presentation on the art and history of drawing green designs, and led a discussion on how contractors and architects can better work together. This was a dry run of our education session scheduled at the GCSAA show next month.

At the upcoming GCSAA show, I have been working with Justin Apel and the GCSAA and USGA, to create the main exhibit on the floor called “Building the Tee.” Justin has done a wonderful job pulling this together.

At the Board Meeting in Arlington, TX in October, your board requested that we have a panel discussion with GCBAA members at the ASGCA Winter Meeting Education Session on how contractors and architects can better work together. As mentioned, we tried a dry run in North Palm Beach, and it should be enlightening. We hope to see you there.

Longer term, we believe that updating the joint GCBAA/ASGCA General Conditions and other documents is a priority and have many other potential collaborations in mind.

Cheers.

Jeff Brauer, ASGCA Director of Outreach