MEET THE NEW PRESIDENT
Robert Radler by Tom Hallman
W
hen the president of the Multnomah Athletic Club is selected each year, it’s a glorious moment. You’re a big deal at the annual meeting, getting handshakes all around, and it dawns on you that you’re now part of history, part of something bigger than any one leader. Your portrait soon will hang on the wall of photographs featuring past presidents. Then, like a hangover, reality sets in. “Within six hours of being named president I was getting emails,” said Robert Radler, this year’s president. “I was asked about the budget, money for arts, committee make-up, athletic team fees, social groups and how the floors were slippery in the men’s locker room.” Welcome to the big seat. Unlike some private clubs, where the president is little more than an honorary position, the MAC president, while an unpaid volunteer, is expected to lead an enterprise with a $38 million budget and a membership and staff that, combined, equals the size of a small Oregon town. Radler was told by outgoing President Janice Marquis that he’d “have a handful coming.” “She was right,” Radler said. “I get about 40 emails a day on MAC business.” On a recent Friday, after spending the early morning working out, Radler was in the Sports Pub, sitting in a booth with his laptop and answering mail and planning what he wanted to accomplish during his term.
Steering the club Time is precious. The term is but one year and there is no re-election. Board members cycle off and new ones join, meaning everyone must be brought up to speed and quickly work on a clear mission. Nationally, some private clubs have struggled because member leaders failed to realize the forces working against them: Changes in membership, not just in age but in how members view the club and what role it plays in their lives. Revenue and costs also are an issue. And there are demands for more space, as well as buildings and infrastructure that need to be maintained or replaced. Running the club as president is akin to speeding around the oval at the Indianapolis 500. A television viewer thinks it looks easy, not much harder than merging onto U.S. Highway 26 on the way to the coast. Of course, that’s not the case. Honestly, most MAC members would be hard-pressed to explain what one president did differently than any other president. But the president is that race car driver. A mistake sends the car careening into a wall at 190 mph. Members should rest assured a good man is at the presidential wheel. Radler understands the private club world. Growing up in Wisconsin, his parents were members of Milwaukee Athletic Club. Radler and his wife, Barbara, joined MAC 20 years ago, and his sons were active in the
24 | The Wınged M |
APRIL 2017
competitive swim program. Radler became friends with other swim-team parents when he chaired the Swim Committee, volunteered at meets and accompanied the team to its annual meet in Pendleton. The Radlers’ two sons, Mark and David, are now grown up and living outside of Portland, but their father continues to spend time at the club with other swimteam parents. Radler wants his own team to focus this year on a strategic plan, which he said fits his personality, one shaped by the give-and-take of a legal career. He went to college at Iowa State before earning a law degree at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He moved to Portland after graduating from law school. Most of his career involved workers’ compensation defense. He recently retired from a firm he co-founded, Radler, Bohy, Replogle & Conratt, LLP. While now retired at 59, Radler approaches his presidency as if he were preparing for court. “I want us to have a plan,” he said. “What do we want, and how do we accomplish it?” The very size of the club, along with the committee system, makes change incremental. Radler said it is easy for the president, the board and club management to “get dragged into the weeds” and then spend time on details – Should one committee get $3,000 less to spend this year? – that distract from more critical decisions. “With broad member input, it’s possible that nothing gets done,” Radler said. “You can get too many opinions. We need to identify what we want to accomplish, and then find ways to measure our progress.” Radler believes strongly in research and data analysis: “Where is the club going? We can’t just guess.” Radler said he wants club leadership to focus on four questions this year: What are the changing demographics of the metro area? Where are those people living? What does the club need to continue to attract young members? What will future needs be? He plans to examine those four questions as would a lawyer. “What are the relevant facts?” he asked. “Facts make the case clear. Then the case must be tried.” As if speaking to a jury, Radler has a message for all club members. Older members: “You are not forgotten. But your children and grandchildren will be coming here one day. What do they need and want?’ Family members: “Make use of this club. Try everything from taking classes, to exercising in the weight room, to joining group trips. Build roots.” Young, single members: “You are not forgotten. We will be working on plans to keep you here, and to show you the value of a membership.” WM