414: Rough Rides and Smooth Operations: James Reisig CCM, CCE, on Club Leadership

Transcript

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Hey everybody, welcome to the Private Club Radio Show, where we give you the scoop on all things private golf and country clubs from mastering leadership and management, food and beverage excellence, member engagement secrets, board governance and everything in between, all while keeping it fun and light.

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Whether you're a club veteran just getting your feet wet or somewhere in the middle, you are in the right place.

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I'm your host, denny Corby.

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Welcome to the show.

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And in this episode I am chatting with James Reisig, the GM COO at the Tocanique Club in Connecticut, and we talk about a lot of different topics.

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In this episode he shares a wild story.

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We're talking ATVs, broken ribs in a near-death experience.

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He literally puts his life on the line for clubs.

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No, we talk about an experience that happened last year with him out in the desert right before CMAA conference, which was an absolutely wild story.

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But what we talk about is James' knack for thinking outside the box, from when they partnered with a convent for intern housing to collaborating with neighboring clubs for shared amenities.

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And as a CMA, a national board candidate, james is very passionate about engagement, education and the evolution of helping our industry thrive for another hundred years plus.

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So this episode has a little bit of everything for everybody.

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Make sure you stick out to the end to hear the wild story of what happened with him in Vegas last year before CMAA conference.

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Absolutely wild, so happy and thrilled.

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He is here to be sharing the story with us live and in person.

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So before we get to the amazing episode, quick thank you to some of our show partners Kenneth's member vetting golf life, navigators and concert golf partners, as well as myself, the Denny Corby experience.

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If you or your club is looking for one of the most fun member event nights I mean I'm talking this.

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My show is pretty damn good.

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There's excitement, there's mystery.

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Also there's magic.

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It's a very engaging and crowd work focused show.

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If you want to learn more, head on over to dennycorbycom and reach out.

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Let's have a conversation While you're at it.

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Head on over to privateclubradiocom.

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Make sure you are signed up for our newsletter because I am giving early access to newsletter subscribers for the ultimate club entertainment guide that I will be releasing soon.

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Enough about that, let's get to the episode.

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Private Club Radio listeners.

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Let's welcome to the show.

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Mr James Reising, did I hear?

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Did you have a big accident or something?

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I did.

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Yeah, who'd you hear that from?

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Don't worry about it.

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All right, I did.

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No, I'll be honest, I totally forgot.

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Yeah, it's fine.

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We went to World Conference in Vegas.

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We got out there two days early so usually a group of me and about six of my club manager friends go out.

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We either play golf or sit by the pool, do something before you know, a day or two before the conference starts.

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This year we all flew out.

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I want to say it was like a friday maybe.

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We flew out.

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When we got there the winds were like 60 mile an hour winds it was like oh, I remember vegas ever had, yeah, crazy somile-an-hour winds.

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It was like some of the highest winds Vegas ever had.

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Yeah, crazy.

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So we were supposed to play golf and I was like, guys, this is going to be a fruitless effort.

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I'm not chasing my ball around the course.

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I'm not that good to begin with, so there's no way I'm letting the wind even further impact that.

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It just won't be fun.

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So we're like all right.

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Because I was the one that didn't want to golf, they put me in charge of finding an alternate activity.

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So I was like, look the desert's close, they have these tours.

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You can go ride ATVs and shoot guns.

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Let's try it.

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So we went out there.

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We got picked up by like this little tour van, went out there.

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There was six of us.

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We shot guns for like an hour.

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So much fun, everybody.

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An hour so much fun.

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Everybody had a blast, it was great.

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So then you ride the atvs.

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After it's like an hour guided tour.

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We had all rode atvs together before at my bachelor party and other times.

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Like we, this is kind of something we've always done.

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So we get on these little tiny atvs.

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We're all complaining that they're too small.

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We're bigger guys.

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I'm a big guy, like I need to.

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No, no, you have to go on the beginner one until we know I'm like, okay, fine.

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So we go an hour out into the desert in arizona.

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We must have went 10 miles an hour the entire time.

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Then all of my friends are ready to kill me.

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They were going so slow in a single file line like what the hell did you get us into?

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We should have just stayed shooting the guns.

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This sucks.

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So I'm like, calming them all down at the midpoint as we take a break, I'm like it'll be fine, like let's just get back, we'll go do something else in vegas, like it'll be fine.

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On our way back we're maybe 10 minutes from the main site that you know.

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We get off in the tour ends.

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We go down this little embankment.

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We're going maybe 15 miles an hour.

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At this point the guy in front of me goes down, puts like a rut in the.

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So I'm falling because we're at one after the other in single file line.

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A piece of red rock comes up, hits my tire, flips my ATV.

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So I think the ATV is going to fall on me.

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Put my arms up.

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The ATV luckily tipped back on its wheels.

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I didn't know that when I went down I hit a bunch of red rock broke eight of my ribs in 26 places, punctured a lung and severed an artery.

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So I was bleeding internally, couldn't breathe.

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All these broken ribs in multiple places it's now I'm on the ground in the desert.

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It's like 530, wearing a t-shirt, shaking uncontrollably.

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Fever right away.

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They tell me the only way out is either a life flight further to Arizona or you got to get back in this tour van and drive an hour back to Vegas.

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So one of the other club managers I'm good friends with Kevin McGurk from Silanoi helps me get my helmet off.

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They try to pick me up.

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I'm like you guys can't move me.

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I have a high threshold for pain, but I knew something serious was wrong.

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So Kevin just grabs me by the collar.

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He's like look, look, I'll do whatever you want.

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But if you get on that helicopter you're by yourself in Arizona, like six hours away from Vegas.

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We can't help you.

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Like we can't all stay there.

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You don't have your wallet, you don't have your phone, you have nothing.

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What are you gonna do?

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He's like if you need it, call it.

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He's like if not, I'll carry you.

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If I have to back to the van, we'll get you to a hospital in Vegas where we're all there and can help you.

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So I call my wife from the floor of the desert.

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She hangs up on me.

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She's like I'm driving now I'm talking to my friend, I'll call you back.

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And I'm like no, no, no, it's an emergency.

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But I can't talk because I can't breathe properly with my lung.

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So finally I make the decision all right, take me back to the van.

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We'll to Vegas.

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They come get me in another ATV, get in the van.

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They won't even bring me to the hospital in Vegas.

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They drop us off in the parking lot that they picked us up in.

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At this point I'm like convulsing.

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My body's in shock.

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I can't really breathe.

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I'm in so much pain I was sweat through my clothes.

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So two of my buddies get me into an Uber.

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The Uber takes me to a hospital.

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The hospitals in Vegas the emergency rooms are like standalone clinics so they're not attached to a full hospital.

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It's kind of like a almost looks like like a duane reed, but great facility, good care.

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So I go there.

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They tell me after like an hour your injuries are so bad we can't treat you.

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You need to go to a trauma center.

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So we're going to get an ambulance and transfer, but that could take a while.

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So we're going to load you up with morphine.

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Do our best to keep you sedated, and then we'll get you to the hospital.

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Okay.

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So now this happened at like 5 o'clock, at 1 am, they transferred me to the hospital.

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I don't know what's going on.

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I'm loopy.

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I have one other guy with me Take me to the hospital.

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They brought me to the wrong hospital.

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They didn and bring me to a trauma center.

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They brought me to this for profit hospital.

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That's like one of the worst in the country.

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I get into the hospital.

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There's literally like homeless people fighting who's spitting and who.

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There's people all in the hallways, no rooms to be had to get me into a room.

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I didn't see a doctor for three and a half days, like did not see a doctor.

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So finally I was.

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I'm gonna check myself out.

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Like this isn't right, I should have took a helicopter to arizona I should.

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Yeah, that was my first mistake.

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I should have helicoptered.

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I don't know why I listen to these club managers, but um ended up like being the worst hospital stay ever.

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They didn't know that I was bleeding internally until it got so bad that I could have died from it.

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They tried to put a chest tube in.

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After I'd been there for five days, my parents had to fly to Vegas and drive me back cross-country to get to a hospital here because I couldn't fly, I couldn't do anything and I was in such bad shape.

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So my mom's an RN, so she's like all right, we got to get you to a hospital, we'll start driving back.

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They came and got me.

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They gave my parents narcan because they said I wouldn't make the drive back, like I probably would have to be resuscitated on the drive some point.

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So the narcan would at least keep me alive until they could get me to hospital.

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Craziness.

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So my poor wife is six months pregnant at this point, five months pregnant at this point, having a meltdown.

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I have a one-year-old at home.

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It was just chaotic.

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Meanwhile I'm trying to be like I'm okay, like I'm okay.

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I can't breathe, I'm pale, I fever.

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Everything you could think of never made a day of the conference, never made anything, and I'm on all these committees, was trying to get on the national board like it was just a giant cluster finally got back here.

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They can't do anything for your ribs other than tape them, which just makes you kind of comfortable.

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My ribs were broken so badly in so many places They'll never heal properly.

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My lung collapsed like three more times over the last six months, but otherwise I'm in good shape.

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I lost like 70 pounds in three months.

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So doctor now would be so proud.

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Exactly so, just crazy experience.

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For me.

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It's been an interesting year, um, thankfully I survived.

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I'm doing okay for the most part, but wow, crazy, crazy oh, I did.

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I did not know that extent.

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I just heard you have.

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It's just like something like oh, it was like a tumble, probably just assuming like I would I would.

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Oh my god and, but now everything is good.

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What's that now?

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everything is good yeah, for the most part, like I said, my ribs will never completely here.

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So if, like you know, if I had my shirt off, you can see these weird marks like where my ribs are and like you can see some of the breaks in them, which is kind of crazy, um, but they don't hurt or anything.

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Now, like it's not limiting my lifestyle at all by any means.

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Um, definitely not getting on an atv anymore.

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My wife told me she would divorce me if I did so I won't be doing that anymore.

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Um, but yeah, for the most part, I'm okay.

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Back to mostly full health wow that that's so good to hear.

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Wow, the thing whoa all me and my wife watch is like reruns of Parks and Rec the Office Kim's Convenience.

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We have our like funny shows but then it's like 9-1-1 and like all these things, or it's like LA FD or whatever, like yeah, and then like the first episode, like all of these.

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So, like when you're telling me this, I was like wait, this is oh my like, oh my god if I actually wanted to, I could make like a real life story, like whatever those things are, like rescue 911 or one of those uh back in the day of like stuff that's happening.

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I mean I would never wish on my worst enemy to go to that hospital in vegas and for like the high, like for the quality of people who come in, like great, do have your rip, but you have high net worth people who come into games that you would think, huh, that's bonkers.

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Not so much your title should be like dying to get on the board or something like that.

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I have to have a catchy slogan here like ruling to twist life or death for CMA, or something like that.

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For sure, so so.

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So when people ask how you're feeling, you don't say in a rut.

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No, no, that's a good one, though I got to start using that now.

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Too soon, sorry using that now too soon, sorry, uh, but no, you're, you're, uh, I I enjoyed when we first talked um.

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To get to the episode now um, just just, I don't know.

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I saw we had a, had a really good talk and I think the overarching almost theme was collaboration over competition, right, and I liked and I shouldn't say I don't like talking about like COVID stuff on here, but because I feel I want to, you know, not get past it.

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But like you and you and your club managers did a lot, you did some really cool stuff to get creative, to work together.

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Can you talk a little bit to that?

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part of the hospitality, that we're not competing like a Marriott and Hilton would, while we share a lot of the same members and, yes, we're competing for those discretionary dollars of the high net worth individuals that are our members.

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Benny, oftentimes we are the best at collaborating, so when we have an issue we typically go to other fellow club managers that may have had that same experience.

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So COVID was really a time where we got to lean on our networks and I've always believed in that kind of cheesy phrase that your network is your net worth For us.

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It really did pay dividends to us and that the first kind of calls I made with the other club managers in town and said, hey, look, guys, I know whatever I publicize, whatever rule or policy I create to try to protect the health and safety of our staff and our members, they're going to go back and question it if yours is different.

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So we kind of created that the collaborative effort between our club president and myself and the GMs and club presidents of the other clubs in town and said what do we do if we make like a council here?

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How about that idea?

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And let's come out with a singular voice?

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We know we share members and we know, while our clubs are distinctly different in some aspects, we share the same commonalities that we want to keep everybody healthy, we want to keep everybody safe and none of us have ever been through a global pandemic.

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So more minds together are going to be a better outcome than you know.

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Singularly, trying to manage this and navigate it on our own, that has now spiraled and snowballed in that I know that our presidents and past presidents are going out to dinner now, have relationships and continually call on the past presidents and existing presidents of other clubs to say, hey, look, we're talking about this with our dues or we're thinking about this for capital projects, or have you ever had this kind of issue governance-wise that we're dealing with?

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And that, to me, is not a threat for the GM.

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We obviously want to be that professional voice of reason in the room and thought partners that's just helping to expand and say, look, we're not the only ones with this problem, we're not going to be the only ones to have to deal with it, so why don't we use the resources available to us?

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And one other unique thing that we have in this area specifically in Fairfield County and we have something called the Greenwich Gang, which was started by another club manager named Neil McKenzie, sounds much more scandalous than it actually is, but it's basically a monthly lunch club and the GMs of Fairfield County and some Westchester County clubs get together for lunch once a month and we rotate clubs and we talk about the different issues facing us or what's going on in the industry or things that we see coming down the pike, whether it be dues increases, whether it be a depleted labor market, whether it be capital projects and amenities that members are seeing or changes in membership.

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It really helps you bounce ideas off of people in a room that's supportive.

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You don't have to worry about going in a boardroom and proposing something that may not be tried and tested or maybe so far out that you're going to get pushed back on.

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You kind of have that sounding board ahead of time.

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So for us it's really interesting to be able to go and sit in that room and say you know, here's a problem I'm having, give me your feedback, positively or negatively, and then I can go chart my course based on my club's individual needs, but knowing that there's a background and a solid group of information and support behind me to justify whatever decisions we do end up at.

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I like that.

00:15:54.100 --> 00:16:08.017
I think that that was where I really enjoyed the conversation, that when we were talking about it wasn't just like the club managers, it went like a level or two deeper than that and just fostered those relationships and can, and the fact that it's still going now is really cool.

00:16:08.017 --> 00:16:10.152
Um and and for how much?

00:16:10.152 --> 00:16:14.625
You know, you know, we, we, I bash, cope, you know, whatever that crazy times it's.

00:16:14.625 --> 00:16:18.187
It really did bring a lot of people together and kept people together.

00:16:18.187 --> 00:16:20.268
It did yeah.

00:16:20.447 --> 00:16:20.969
Our industry.

00:16:20.969 --> 00:16:22.909
I think it was a boon in so many different ways.

00:16:22.909 --> 00:16:26.772
Obviously, it was a challenge for everybody and, just like you do, I want to move past it.

00:16:26.772 --> 00:16:30.254
I think everybody has a desire to, but it has made positive impacts.

00:16:30.254 --> 00:16:31.653
There are lasting impacts too.

00:16:31.653 --> 00:16:40.298
There was changes that were made there and things that we were forced into doing that now really helped shape the future of our industry and our profession.

00:16:40.298 --> 00:16:42.419
So there are some good things that came out of it.

00:16:42.419 --> 00:16:46.841
Now let's use those going forward and not dwell on the past that was negative.

00:16:47.302 --> 00:16:53.176
When we look at COVID, yeah, what was with the paddleball courts?

00:16:53.176 --> 00:16:56.404
Or it was leasing the paddleball courts.

00:16:56.504 --> 00:16:59.552
So our paddle courts are located off premise.

00:16:59.552 --> 00:17:03.114
So, which is unusual for a lot of clubs, you know you have your footprint.

00:17:03.114 --> 00:17:05.586
You may have multiple clubhouses or different locations.

00:17:05.586 --> 00:17:12.092
We have our singular club location here but we are so confined because we're in a homeowner's association there's nowhere for us to expand.

00:17:12.092 --> 00:17:19.712
To make sure we had amenities in our quote unquote off season, which is, you know, the winter season, we ended up leasing space at another club in town.

00:17:19.712 --> 00:17:23.858
We got a long-term, 35-year lease where we put our paddle courts.

00:17:23.858 --> 00:17:29.643
So we own the courts, we lease the space from them.

00:17:29.578 --> 00:17:43.032
But we have an agreement with that club that they can have some access to our courts, which gives them another amenity that they didn't have without having the expense of having to manage that amenity or purchase the courts, and it also gives us an opportunity to offer that amenity with an additional opportunity to go into their dining facilities.

00:17:43.073 --> 00:17:49.037
So now we're supporting their club through our membership's usage of food and beverage operations and purchasing there.

00:17:49.037 --> 00:17:56.752
But we're also giving our members an opportunity to dine when our club is closed and sign reciprocal privileges back to our club.

00:17:56.752 --> 00:17:59.438
So that's kind of a win-win for both sides.

00:17:59.438 --> 00:18:10.979
Everybody gets a little extra in the amenity side of things, a little extra in the revenue side of things, and it kind of makes a harmonious relationship work where something traditionally would be a little bit of a drag to have to drive across town necessarily to play paddle.

00:18:10.979 --> 00:18:14.048
It's now I can go play paddle and have a drink at their bar.

00:18:14.048 --> 00:18:16.490
You know, I've never been able to play paddle, I'm a squash player.

00:18:16.490 --> 00:18:21.097
But now I can try the paddle courts because you know, tokanee sports are on our premise and we have access to them.

00:18:21.097 --> 00:18:22.961
So win, win for both clubs.

00:18:24.066 --> 00:18:28.057
And your, your, your club isn't, isn't huge, it's a, it's a smaller club, right?

00:18:28.684 --> 00:18:31.269
We're a smaller club 340 member families.

00:18:31.269 --> 00:18:40.696
We are on Long Island Sound, a small beach club, typically operates seasonally, so figure we open right around Easter time, we close right around Halloween.

00:18:40.696 --> 00:18:44.394
So we're short season, definitely a seasonal beach club.

00:18:44.996 --> 00:19:02.748
Yeah, what I don't know if advice is the right word, but maybe other smaller clubs in similar positions, Because it sounds like you're incredibly creative in the solutions that you guys have provided for you, your clubs, your communities, what?

00:19:02.748 --> 00:19:03.911
Yeah, I guess what.

00:19:03.911 --> 00:19:10.751
What advice or words would you have for other clubs in like a similar capacity or resource challenged?

00:19:10.751 --> 00:19:11.794
Sure?

00:19:12.655 --> 00:19:14.439
I think, obviously, thinking outside the box.

00:19:14.439 --> 00:19:25.628
I think we've always kind of dealt with, in hospitality, you know, those odd requests, whether it be for members, whether it be from a facilities or amenities standpoint I usually try to focus on.

00:19:25.628 --> 00:19:26.471
The answer is yes.

00:19:26.471 --> 00:19:27.595
Now, how do we get to that?

00:19:27.595 --> 00:19:32.757
For us, though, I think, thinking outside the box and, like we said, covid really helped drive some of that.

00:19:32.757 --> 00:19:33.707
We were forced to do it.

00:19:33.707 --> 00:19:37.797
We're now, as I think it's becoming a second nature of there's other ways to do things.

00:19:37.797 --> 00:19:44.368
It's not always how we've done it that works for us.

00:19:44.368 --> 00:19:46.459
Yes, we have traditions and we're tradition rich in this industry and we have to kind of stay with those.

00:19:46.459 --> 00:19:48.105
At times, we also have a chance to chart a new course and explore new things.

00:19:48.105 --> 00:19:50.516
Don't be afraid to fail by exploring a new option.

00:19:50.516 --> 00:19:59.795
Oftentimes you may find a third option that actually is the right one, but you would have never gotten to that if you didn't take the first step of thinking outside the box, taking that risk and going for it.

00:20:00.796 --> 00:20:01.656
Those what if?

00:20:01.656 --> 00:20:06.648
Conversations and just having fun and rolling with it and just continuing and yeah.

00:20:07.451 --> 00:20:07.872
Absolutely.

00:20:07.872 --> 00:20:08.212
I mean.

00:20:08.212 --> 00:20:16.637
One challenge that we faced, denny, which I think was probably my hardest and most outside the box thoughts wise, was we want an internship program.

00:20:16.637 --> 00:20:24.118
We had a lot of difficulty when the labor market, especially post-COVID, really dwindled from a labor pool to a labor puddle for us.

00:20:24.118 --> 00:20:26.789
So how do we get interns in, right?

00:20:26.789 --> 00:20:28.473
How do we get more staff?

00:20:28.473 --> 00:20:29.958
How do we supplement people here?

00:20:30.585 --> 00:20:33.451
And then I said you know, we have a small employee housing.

00:20:33.451 --> 00:20:35.657
It's mostly for our maintenance staff and year round staff.

00:20:35.657 --> 00:20:37.368
I don't have anywhere to put interns.

00:20:37.368 --> 00:20:40.116
So I looked at do we rent an apartment?

00:20:40.116 --> 00:20:42.935
Do we buy a house off-premise In Darien?

00:20:42.935 --> 00:20:47.190
It's quite expensive for real estate, especially around the club, so it's not something the club could afford.

00:20:47.190 --> 00:20:51.851
Then we went to kind of the next level when else could we house them with our members?

00:20:51.851 --> 00:20:54.846
And that worked for some of our tennis pros and things of that nature.

00:20:55.448 --> 00:21:02.039
Ultimately, what we settled on was there was a bed and breakfast which was formerly a convent in our association.

00:21:02.039 --> 00:21:15.739
They did religious retreats and mostly through the school year we went to them and approached them and said look, you know, financially I'm sure you could benefit from a relationship with us and we could benefit by using your rooms in the off season.

00:21:15.739 --> 00:21:19.115
Can we rent this convent out for the summer to put our interns here?

00:21:19.115 --> 00:21:22.064
Rooms in the off season can we rent this convent out for the summer to put our interns here?

00:21:22.064 --> 00:21:27.377
We'll take responsibility, making sure that the interns are good, upstanding citizens and not doing any damage or respectful of your property.

00:21:27.377 --> 00:21:34.945
And all that Since 2019, we've been renting that convent out more and more each year, to the point we're buying out the convent for five months Renting it.

00:21:35.105 --> 00:21:40.238
We're bringing in 10 to 12 interns a year and it's been such a boon for us that we have these great students.

00:21:40.238 --> 00:21:52.011
Now we have a pipeline to potential new managers and full-time employees, and the convent and the sisters there are getting revenue streams to be able to upgrade the convent and to do their charitable work through the club.

00:21:52.011 --> 00:21:54.394
So it's a partnership that works well for both of us.

00:21:54.394 --> 00:22:02.541
But something if you had told me you're going to be housing interns in an intern program at a convent, I would have never believed you and called you crazy, but it works.

00:22:02.541 --> 00:22:15.871
It's a tough sell to the interns at times when I'm recruiting them, saying you're going to be staying in this wonderful convent and the sisters are great and they'll make breakfast for you, but it really has worked and everybody that stayed there ends up speaking highly of the experience there.

00:22:15.871 --> 00:22:22.579
While not necessarily what they anticipated, it works out for us and it's been a great benefit to the club and to the convent.

00:22:27.046 --> 00:22:28.010
That is good, that is, that is cool.

00:22:28.010 --> 00:22:30.505
Limitations force creativity and that is a that's so good, that's so good.

00:22:30.505 --> 00:22:33.432
Uh, you are up for CMAA national board.

00:22:33.432 --> 00:22:35.875
What, uh, what excites you about that?

00:22:35.875 --> 00:22:39.068
Um, and and what are you trying to bring to the table?

00:22:40.109 --> 00:22:42.090
I am running for CMA National Board.

00:22:42.090 --> 00:22:44.893
I was fortunate enough to be included in the slate for 2025.

00:22:44.893 --> 00:22:47.253
There's so much that excites me about CMA.

00:22:47.253 --> 00:22:48.993
I am a CMA lifer.

00:22:48.993 --> 00:22:57.739
I've been very active in the association, both at the chapter and the national level, serving in committees, serving on the national board.

00:22:57.739 --> 00:23:00.740
Now is just an opportunity to further, I think, enhance my contributions and give back to the next generation.

00:23:00.740 --> 00:23:03.080
I think, enhance my contributions and give back to the next generation.

00:23:03.080 --> 00:23:12.826
My platform has basically been on these three E's engagement making sure we're helping bridge the classroom to the club for students and get more people involved in our industry.

00:23:12.826 --> 00:23:18.388
Enrichment, making sure that we continue this wonderful education, the professional development of our existing members.

00:23:18.388 --> 00:23:35.298
I think there's always room to grow and leaders are readers and we consistently want to get more information and knowledge through certifications, and CMA is the preeminent source of doing that and I want to help contribute to that, as the CCM for me and the CCE for me have done a lot of wonderful things for my career and I want to see the next generation have those same opportunities from that.

00:23:36.059 --> 00:23:39.032
And obviously, as we've talked about a little bit here, is the evolution of things.

00:23:39.032 --> 00:23:42.278
I think our industry is at a crucial turning point here.

00:23:42.278 --> 00:23:44.300
We're turning 100 years old.

00:23:44.300 --> 00:23:50.419
The next couple of years here, cma is a milestone birthday coming up and we've done so many wonderful things in our first 100 years.

00:23:50.419 --> 00:23:52.369
I can't wait to see what we do in the next 100.

00:23:52.611 --> 00:23:56.320
We're getting more and more diversity and inclusion in our industry.

00:23:56.320 --> 00:23:58.136
It's a career path truly for anyone.

00:23:58.136 --> 00:24:06.492
I think a lot of people had previously looked at it as kind of its executive level management, had previously looked at it as kind of its executive level management.

00:24:06.492 --> 00:24:15.505
We're now multi-level management, multi-different career paths, from finance to marketing, to food and beverage, to rooms, to general management you name it project management.

00:24:15.505 --> 00:24:22.063
There's a career path for everyone here, and I think it's also opened up my eyes to see the change in what our membership has been.

00:24:22.450 --> 00:24:24.113
We've had a lot more women become involved.

00:24:24.113 --> 00:24:28.079
There's now 30% of our CMA members are females, which is fantastic.

00:24:28.079 --> 00:24:31.796
We have DEI initiatives that are really helping change things.

00:24:31.796 --> 00:24:36.976
The diversity on both the mid-management level and the executive management level is really great and eye-opening.

00:24:36.976 --> 00:25:02.471
I think we're bringing a lot more new thoughts, new conversations that are going to drive our industry forward and show that it's a profession that is a noble one and one that people want to be involved in, and CMA is at the forefront of leading that, and so my being able to contribute to that and help provide a voice for all club managers, regardless of your background, regardless of how you got involved in the industry, is really an honor that I don't take lightly, and I look forward to kind of serving the association in that role.

00:25:03.573 --> 00:25:14.865
And you come with a unique perspective from, because you came from hotels in the in the city and then working in both city clubs and also in suburban clubs.

00:25:14.865 --> 00:25:17.851
You're also like you're a member of both chapters, right the?

00:25:17.851 --> 00:25:20.579
Isn't it like New York City and Connecticut?

00:25:21.393 --> 00:25:22.702
So I was in restaurants.

00:25:23.050 --> 00:25:23.250
Yeah.

00:25:23.873 --> 00:25:25.156
I was in restaurants previously.

00:25:25.156 --> 00:25:30.219
I got into clubs my first job out of college Unfortunately it was a recession in 2008.

00:25:30.219 --> 00:25:32.010
That only lasted about 10 months.

00:25:32.010 --> 00:25:36.791
Last in first out as we all know unfortunately happens at times Went into restaurants.

00:25:37.334 --> 00:25:39.623
The quality of life for me wasn't the same in restaurants.

00:25:39.623 --> 00:25:42.653
I always missed that club experience that I did have.

00:25:42.653 --> 00:25:53.252
So thankfully I got back into clubs in the city, at the Union Club, which was the oldest club in the country, very formal, kind of buttoned up club business oriented for sure, all male membership.

00:25:53.252 --> 00:25:54.196
I loved it.

00:25:54.196 --> 00:25:54.959
I thrived there.

00:25:54.959 --> 00:26:00.623
It was something that really interested me and further got my involvement peaked in clubs as a career path.

00:26:00.623 --> 00:26:02.612
I had the work life balance I was looking for.

00:26:02.612 --> 00:26:03.712
The compensation was great.

00:26:03.712 --> 00:26:11.682
The relationships were something that I thrived on building because you had that repetitiveness you were seeing members every day, as opposed to the transiency in a restaurant.

00:26:11.682 --> 00:26:16.185
And so for me, that's where I got my first involvement in CMA and I was part of the city chapter.

00:26:16.185 --> 00:26:29.970
I joined the chapter, served as their community service chair, then their education committee chair and then served on the board.

00:26:29.843 --> 00:26:32.286
When I came to Connecticut, I transferred my membership to the Connecticut chapter, served on the board for a little while here, stayed involved in Connecticut.

00:26:32.159 --> 00:26:38.912
Through the pandemic the chapter management director for New York City ended up stepping down, had some concerns about his health, wanted to spend more time with his family.

00:26:38.912 --> 00:26:43.872
They asked would I serve in that capacity to help bridge the gap to their next one?

00:26:43.872 --> 00:26:50.804
So I volunteered to do so, went back to the city, kind of maintained dual membership in both chapters and have since stayed that way.

00:26:50.804 --> 00:27:04.786
I'm a member of both chapters, no longer the managing director of the city anymore, but I'm back on the city board as the secretary treasurer and try to attend as much as I possibly can in Connecticut as well, because it's a fantastic chapter, former chapter of the year just a couple of years ago.

00:27:04.786 --> 00:27:11.285
So I'm one of those unique individuals that does have multiple chapter membership there and try to stay involved in as many as I possibly can.

00:27:11.285 --> 00:27:19.574
I certainly know Randy Reuter who is probably a member of almost every chapter in the industry, but trying to at least stay active as much as possible in our geographical area here.

00:27:21.297 --> 00:27:23.840
And the big question why should people vote for you?

00:27:43.430 --> 00:27:47.431
no-transcript chapter.

00:27:47.431 --> 00:27:56.142
So I understand the city club niche, which sometimes is underrepresented in our association just because it is a smaller portion compared to the country clubs and golf clubs.

00:27:56.142 --> 00:28:00.034
But I also have the opportunity to have served on multiple national committees.

00:28:00.034 --> 00:28:02.518
Volunteerism is something that's near and dear to me.

00:28:02.518 --> 00:28:04.140
Service is near and dear to me.

00:28:04.160 --> 00:28:06.201
I do think I have a service-oriented heart.

00:28:06.563 --> 00:28:14.741
I want to make sure that the next generation finds our association better than the way I left it, and so I want to give back as much as possible.

00:28:14.762 --> 00:28:24.503
I think that that shines through with all the things that I have done, and while I'm a little uncomfortable talking about myself and trying to campaign here, I do want people to know that I plan to represent them.

00:28:24.703 --> 00:28:38.259
I stand on those three E's and they mean a lot to me is I feel like the Association does a lot of wonderful things already, but there's also a lot more we can do in the future, and I want to help be the ignition to doing so, and so I will take your feedback.

00:28:38.259 --> 00:28:52.707
I will be a man of the people and go get all of that information I can and be the conduit to the larger association and the conduit between the chapters and national, to make sure we continue to forge forward and be the best association, the preeminent source for the development of club managers.

00:28:52.707 --> 00:28:56.617
I would certainly appreciate everyone's vote, while I would welcome the support.

00:28:56.617 --> 00:28:59.332
There are three three-year terms and one one-year term.

00:28:59.332 --> 00:29:04.763
The three-year terms are obviously very coveted and sought after, even though all the terms are equally important.

00:29:04.763 --> 00:29:08.980
If you consider voting for a three-year term, I'd be more than appreciative of your vote.

00:29:09.029 --> 00:29:12.279
So when is the voting and how do people vote for this?

00:29:12.589 --> 00:29:15.159
Sure, so voting is already open for CMA.

00:29:15.159 --> 00:29:19.580
You would have got an email through the chapter Outlook that gets sent to all members.

00:29:19.580 --> 00:29:22.310
You can vote whether you're going to attend conference or not.

00:29:22.310 --> 00:29:24.613
If you're at conference, there is in-person voting.

00:29:24.613 --> 00:29:32.438
That takes place it's usually by the expo floor and if you're not going to conference, you can vote remotely using your computer.

00:29:32.438 --> 00:29:35.799
You would simply follow the prompts that CMA provides.

00:29:35.799 --> 00:29:40.343
It will give you a voter ID number and then you can cast your vote with the directions they give you there.

00:29:40.343 --> 00:29:48.307
That voting, I believe, closes in early February before the conference, and then in-person at the conference voting will open as the conference begins.

00:29:58.069 --> 00:29:58.614
Gotcha Cool Easy peasy.

00:29:58.614 --> 00:30:00.846
As we start wrapping it up, are there any trends or ideas in the club space that you think people should?

00:30:00.866 --> 00:30:01.289
be talking about more.

00:30:01.289 --> 00:30:06.414
So I think, obviously, technology is something that is going to be at the forefront of what we do going forward.

00:30:06.414 --> 00:30:10.874
We've started to see the impact of AI and all of these computerized tools.

00:30:10.874 --> 00:30:13.806
However, we're still in the hospitality industry, right.

00:30:13.806 --> 00:30:14.990
So how do we balance that?

00:30:14.990 --> 00:30:18.500
How do we incorporate that without losing the personal touch of things?

00:30:18.579 --> 00:30:29.882
And Jeff Morgan, the CEO of CMA, recently posted an article to our membership saying you know, here's 25 different things that are kind of going away in our society and there's 25 new trends that are replacing them.

00:30:30.369 --> 00:30:41.419
One thing that will never be replaced, I think, in our association is that human connection and building that network, both with each other as club managers, but also our members and our fellow colleagues, and for me, I think that's something that.

00:30:41.419 --> 00:30:48.592
How do we balance all this new technology, these wonderful new amenities that can be done and these things you can build, but still have that personal touch?

00:30:48.592 --> 00:31:14.496
It's not the buildings that members are coming to, it's not the events that they're necessarily participating in, it's the relationships that are being built there, the special place that you're holding in their heart because it's a memorable occasion you've celebrated with them or you've seen their family grow, or you've built that relationship where they feel like you're part of their family and they're part of yours, and so I think that's the biggest focus going forward is how do we kind of manage that balancing act between both but keep that personal touch as part of our industry.

00:31:14.496 --> 00:31:18.070
That's the hallmark of what we do 100%, 100%.

00:31:18.090 --> 00:31:19.632
They're all tools and you can learn to use the tools well or not.

00:31:19.632 --> 00:31:24.476
They're all tools and you can learn to use the tools well or not.

00:31:24.476 --> 00:31:31.181
Thank you so much for coming on, james, really appreciate it, and good luck to you and I will see you at conference.

00:31:32.182 --> 00:31:32.843
I look forward to it.

00:31:32.843 --> 00:31:35.224
Danny, Thank you for your time and thank you for having me as a guest.

00:31:35.224 --> 00:31:39.228
It's been wonderful speaking with you and I encourage you all to attend CMA's World Conference.

00:31:39.228 --> 00:31:42.532
I hope to see you all there and please consider voting for me for national board.

00:31:42.532 --> 00:31:45.836