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Building Bridges
Tomorrow Starts Today for Assistant Managers
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| The private club industry as a whole is changing. In the past 20 years, the vast number of newly built golf courses has watered down the "membership pool" from which private clubs recruit. |
| But that's not the only problem. In addition to a multitude of other challenges, clubs are in competition with area restaurants and other external activities for the time and attention of their members. It's no secret clubs must stay ahead of the leaning curve in order to succeed. |
| The general manager as COO concept has evolved significantly in the club industry over the last few years, calling on general managers to operate the club more like a business and become the COO of their operation. General managers, however, are not the only professionals in a club operation. There is an ever-growing need for assistant managers and food and beverage managers to become more educated and skilled. And that's exactly what the 2005 Assistant Managers Conference aims to do. |
| "Building Bridges for Tomorrow" focuses on assistant managers, the objective of which it to is to provide the same quality educational sessions for attendees that general managers receive when they attend the Club Managers Association of America's (CMAA) national conference. |
| "It is the responsibility of club boards and general managers to realize that there is a need to train and educate all club employees regardless of where they fall on the organizational chart," related Daniel Brennan, general manager/COO of the Edgeworth Club. As event organizer, and a general manager himself, Brennan realizes the importance of education. He also understands that it can be tricky to find the time for it. |
| "It is difficult for both the general manager and the assistant manager to attend the national conference at the same time. Someone has to run the club," Brennan explained. "This conference will provide a minimum of 21 credits for education. This is important to the assistants who are working toward obtaining their certification." |
| In fact, the slogan, "Building Bridges for Tomorrow," illustrates the commitment of the conference organizers to advancing the careers of assistant managers. By providing them with top-level educational programs designed to motivate, educate and prepare them for the dynamic club industry, they will one day move into top club management positions themselves. |
| Approximately 225 people are expected to attend the conference, which will be held Friday, September 23, through Monday, September 26, 2005 in Pittsburgh, Penn. To kick off the event, a pre-conference golf outing will be held at The Club at Nevillewood, home of the Mario Lemieux Celebrity Golf Tournament. |
| Assistant managers, clubhouse managers, food and beverage directors and dining room managers from across the country are expected at the conference. A limited number of general managers will also be present. A few controllers have registered and the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America is interested in sending their members as well. |
| Regardless of their positions, all participants will take home new ideas and the knowledge to expand their professional lives and achieve their professional goals. Sessions focus on how to become better leaders, improve personal and professional image, and how to service members properly. Sessions help to broaden management skills, while giving something back to the membership at their clubs. |
| Those attending will also have the opportunity to learn the many facets of the club business, including how the industry has changed over the years, what clubs are doing to keep up with the economics, the change in "family" values and how to more effectively market the club to its membership. |
| The prestigious Sheraton Station Square, located in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh, will serve as the headquarters for the conference. Educational sessions will be held at various sites in and around the city of Pittsburgh and attendees will experience five of the top clubs in the area. A closing night meeting will be held at The Duquesne Club. With its stunning history and Romanesque style architecture, the location is ideal for such an event. |
| Keynote speaker Kevin Zraly will present an educational wine dinner at The Duquesne Club and Tom Fazio, golf course architect, will be the keynote speaker at the Oakmont Country Club. |
| "We have an outstanding roster of speakers and there is an abundance of quality education," Brennan noted. "Fazio and Zraly are obviously our key speakers and we are bringing in Phillip VanHooser, Molly Cox, Jeff Tobe, Jonna Martin and Jill McCrory, all of whom have spoken on the national level for the CMAA. One of the leaders in club design, Astorino Company, will attend and John Fornaro, publisher of The BoardRoom magazine, will be speaking on internal marketing of the club." |
| The Pittsburgh Chapter of the CMAA is responsible for the 2005 Assistant Managers Conference. The national office does not take on any responsibility for the event. All publications, advertising, registration, and event planning is done on the local level. The host chapter is financially responsible for the conference, and if revenues do not meet expenses, the chapter must make up the loss. Thus, the chapter is seeking support from both local and national sponsors in order to make the conference affordable to all assistant managers. |
| The Club Foundation, SYSCO Foods, Jonas Computing, clubsystems group, Steelite China, Club Car, US Foods, Astorino's Architecture and Design Company, Emagine, PAPC and The Boardroom magazine have all generously pledged their support as sponsors. The chapter is also hoping to receive support from EZ Go, and will be bringing HJ Heinz and Del Monte Foods aboard for support locally. Sponsorships on the national level, however, have been difficult to obtain. |
| Despite this being the 15th year in which this event has been held, many companies and clubs have yet to grasp just how important education is for assistant managers. |
| "As the chairman, it is my goal to open the eyes of all of our general managers in the club industry. I want them to realize that we have the opportunity to educate our assistants in a high quality professional setting at a reasonable cost and at the same time afford them the opportunity to network and socialize with other managers from all over the country. |
| "I feel very fortunate to be involved with the conference and to have the opportunity to help further advance the assistant managers in the club profession. In the end, we want the national office of the CMAA to become more involved in the overall organization of the conference and provide more support for future conferences," Brennan concluded. |
| A full conference agenda is available at www.buildingbridges2005.com. Or, for more information, please contact the conference chairman, Daniel J. Brennan, CCM. He can be reached at (412) 741-8500 or dbrennan@edgeworthclub.com. |