Top row from left: Robert Sereci, Michael Smith and Tom Gaston. Bottom row from left: Brandon Johnson, Ted Gillary and Peter Holt
The 2019 honorees through the prestigious awards co-sponsored by Club + Resort Business, the McMahon Group and the National Club Association include Robert Sereci of Medinah Country Club, Michael Smith of The Country Club of Rochester (N.Y.), and Tom Gaston of The Pacific-Union Club. Brandon Johnson of Farmington Country Club has earned “Rising Star” recognition, Ted Gillary of the Detroit Athletic Club is being honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award, and Peter Holt of Hamilton G&CC is the first winner of the new John Furlong Award for Canadian managers. All of the winners will be recognized at the Awards Dinner held at the Gaylord Texan Resort on February 8.
Club + Resort Business, in conjunction with the McMahon Group, Inc., the St. Louis-based consulting firm and the National Club Association (NCA), have announced the 2019 recipients of the Excellence in Club Management (ECM) Awards, established in 1997 by the McMahon Group and co-sponsored since 2005 by C+RB. The NCA joined as a sponsor for the 2018 Awards.
The annual awards are selected through nominations submitted on behalf of qualified candidates by other parties. Award recipients are selected solely on the basis of their achievements at the club they currently manage; “lifetime achievements” are not considered.
A Selection Committee comprised of a peer group of club managers conducts the judging for the ECM Awards; the McMahon Group, Club + Resort Business and the NCA are not involved in the selection of the winners.
The Selection Committee for the 2019 Awards was chaired by David Chag, CCM, General Manager of The Country Club in Brookline, Mass. A full listing of judges, in addition to information on past winners and on how to nominate candidates for future years’ awards, can be found at the special website for the ECM Awards, www.clubmanageraward.com.
The 2019 Excellence in Club Management winners, along with those from previous years, will be recognized at an Awards Dinner to be held at the Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine, Texas on Saturdy, February 8, 2020, in conjunction with the 2020 World Conference of the Club Management Association of America. The Awards Dinner will be sponsored by Denehy Club Thinking Partners, ForeTees, Izon Digital Media Network, C. Mondavi & Family Wines, and Preferred Club.
A full report on the Awards Dinner will appear in the March issue of Club + Resort Business.
Presentations will also be held at each winner’s club throughout 2020, and in-depth articles detailing the achievements that led to the selection of each of the winners will appear in issues of Club + Resort Business throughout 2020.
The 2019 Excellence in Club Management winners are:
The James H. Brewer Award (Country/Golf Clubs with 600 or More Full-Privilege Members)
Robert Sereci, CCM, ECM, General Manager/Chief Operating Officer, Medinah (Ill.) Country Club
The Mead Grady Award (Country/Golf Clubs with Fewer than 600 Full-Privilege Members)
Michael Smith, CCM, CCE, ECM, General Manager and Chief Operating Officer, The Country Club of Rochester (N.Y.)
The Mel Rex Award (City, Athletic or Specialty (Non-Golf) Club)
Thomas E. Gaston, Jr., CCM, ECM, General Manager, The Pacific-Union Club, San Francisco, Calif.
The 2018 Rising Star Award
Brandon Johnson, ECM, Club Manager, Farmington Country Club, Charlottesville, Va.
The 2019 ECM honors also include a Lifetime Achievement Award for Ted Gillary, CCM, CCE, ECM, Executive Manager, Detroit (Mich.) Athletic Club
A new award, The John Furlong Award, has also been introduced for the 2019 ECM Awards, to recognize excellence in management of a club property in Canada. The first recipient of the Furlong Award is Peter Holt, ECM, Chief Operating Officer, Hamilton Golf & Country Club, Ancaster, Ontario, Canada
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