Recent industry hires and promotions include new General Managers at Indian Wells (Calif.) Country Club and Amarillo (Texas) Country Club; a Director of Golf at Naples Lakes Country Club in Naples, Fla.; Head Golf Professional at Pearl Country Club in Aiea, Hawaii; and Executive Chef at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y.
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Here are some of the recent new hires and promotions announced by club and resort properties and other companies in the club industry. Announcements and photos for this regular People on the Move report can be submitted at https://clubandresortbusiness.com/submit-industry-news/.
Indian Wells (Calif.) Country Club named Dennis Coker as General Manager. Coker was most recently Club Manager at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
Amarillo (Texas) Country Club named Damien Gallardo as General Manager/COO. Gallardo was most recently General Manager at Wing & Barrel Ranch in Sonoma, Calif.
The Club at Pasadera in Monterey, Calif. named Will Pickering as General Manager. Pickering most recently served as General Manager of VillaSport Athletic Club and Spa in San Jose, Calif.
Wildewood Club in Columbia, S.C. named Brad Bourret as General Manager. Bourret was most recently General Manager at Cabarrus Country Club in Concord, N.C.
Streamsong Resort in Lakeland, Fla. named Michael Scully as Director of Golf. Scully was most recently General Manager at VICI Properties, in Las Vegas, Nev. Prior to his role in Nevada, he served as General Manager at Reynolds Plantation and Director of Golf Operations at Desert Mountain Club and Medinah Country Club.
Naples Lakes Country Club in Naples, Fla. promoted Jacob (Jake) A. Myers, PGA to Director of Golf and named Evan Holewinski, PGA as Head Golf Professional. Formerly Head Professional at Bonita National Golf & Country Club, Myers has been Head Professional at Naples Lake since 2017. Holewinski served as Head Professional at Countryside in Naples, Fla. and at Hideaway Beach Club in Marco Island, Fla. before accepting his current position at Naples Lakes.
BOYNE Golf promoted two of its longest tenured golf professionals. Josh Richter is now BOYNE Golf’s Senior Vice President of Golf Operations and Casey Powers assumes the role of Director of Golf. Richter, who officially steps up to his new role on April 16, has been Director of Golf for the Michigan operations and Director of Snowsports Equipment Rental for Boyne Resorts. Powers currently serves as Head Golf Pro and Director of Retail for Boyne Mountain in Boyne Falls, Mich.
Austin (Texas) Country Club named Aaron Chilek as Head Golf Professional. Chilek was most recently Director of Golf at The Hills of Lakeway Country Club in Austin, Texas.
Traditions Club at Texas A&M in Bryan, Texas named Bryan Minnick, PGA as Head Golf Professional. Minnick was previously Head Golf Professional at Shadow Hawk Golf Club based in Richmond, Texas.
Pearl Country Club in Aiea, Hawaii on the island of Oahu, named Cyd Okino as Head Golf Professional. Okino served as a PGA Apprentice Assistant Golf Professional at Pearl Country Club since November 2020, before moving into the Head Golf Professional position in late December 2021.
Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott, Colo. named Bryant Boshard, PGA as Head Golf Professional. Boshard was previously Head Golf Professional at The Ridge Golf Club in West Valley City, Utah.
The Club at Las Campanas in Santa Fe, N.M. named Joe Marshall, PGA as Head Golf Professional. Marshall was most recently Assistant Golf Professional at The Alotian Club in Roland, Ark.
Westhaven Golf Club in Franklin, Tenn. named Karol Gajda as Director of Food and Beverage. Gajda most recently served as the Director of Food and Beverage at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas, Nev.
Willoughby Golf Club in Stuart, Fla. named Joel Laverdure as Director of Food & Beverage. Laverdure was most recently Assistant Food & Beverage Director at Frenchman’s Creek Beach & Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y. named Chrissie Bennett as Executive Chef. Chrissie began her formal culinary career at Winged Foot Golf Club in 2012. Bennett started as Garde-Manger in the summer of 2012 and progressed through the ranks. This past fall, she took over the culinary operation as the Interim Executive Chef. Bennett is the first female to hold the Executive Chef position at Winged Foot Golf Club. She is succeeding Rhy Waddington (who spoke at the 2020 Chef to Chef Conference in Charlotte, N.C. (https://clubandresortbusiness.com/club-chefs-gather-in-charlotte-for-chef-to-chef-conference/) and has been named Executive Chef at Palmetto Bluff in Bluffton, S.C.
The Western Golf Association (WGA) named Lindsay Dresser as Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Dresser will primarily focus on building a more diverse and inclusive culture across the organization, including caddie, Scholar, Director, staff, and partner communities.
The Club Foundation announced the 2022 recipients of the James B. Singerling Scholarship. This scholarship makes it possible for recipients to attend the annual CMAA World Conference and Club Business Expo for the first time as a club management professional. The 2022 recipients are: Jacqulynn E. Barnes, Yacht Club of Stone Harbor (N.J.); Chase Chenoweth, San Jose Country Club in Jacksonville, Fla.; Brendan P. Clark, Interlachen Country Club in Orlando, Fla.; and Jennifer Dominguez and Jonathan David Griffith, Ansley Golf Club in Atlanta, Ga.
James Leitz, Golf Director at Tchefuncta Country Club in Covington, La. was inducted into the Gulf States PGA Hall of Fame. Section members who have “made a significant and enduring contribution to the Gulf States Section, the PGA of America and the game of golf” must receive two-thirds of votes of section committee members to be inducted. He’s worked with rock legend Alice Cooper, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Saints coach Sean Payton and even Tiger Woods. Leitz has held more than 100 teaching seminars in 12 different countries, as well.
Travis Cook, Founders Course Superintendent at Greystone Golf and Country Club in Birmingham, Ala., is the winner of the inaugural Emerging Leader Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA). The Emerging Leader Award, which is sponsored by John Deere, recognizes an individual who serves the industry as a superintendent with less than five years’ experience, student, associate member, or assistant, who displays continuous growth in service and leadership.
Mizner Country Club in Delray Beach, Fla. named Maintenance Technician Jeremy Galske as Employee of the Year 2021 and Controller Sarah Spector as Manager of the Year 2021.
NextLinks named Dave Shultz as Chief Executive Officer. Shultz will also remain Chairman of the Board for the company. Shultz appeared on the Club + Resort Talks podcast in September 2019.
Troon named Joe Langford as Vice President Operations. Langford was most recently General Manager / COO at Troon in Johns Creek, Ga.
In Memoriam
Richard J. (Dick) Ferris, the longtime Co-Chairman of Pebble Beach Company, passed away at the age of 85 after a three-year battle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Ferris joined Western International Hotels, later renamed Westin Hotels, in 1962 as a staff planner. Four years later, he was general manager of the Continental Plaza Hotel in Chicago and would go on to other leadership posts within Westin’s worldwide hotels. Subsequent to United Airlines’ acquisition of Western International Hotels, Ferris became President of United’s Food Services Division in 1971, and Group Vice President – Marketing in 1974. In 1975, he was appointed President of United Airlines. He would go on to become CEO of United in 1976 at the age of 39 and Chairman of the Board in 1978. Ferris was named CEO of Allegis Corporation in 1979 and Chairman and President in 1982.
In 1991, Ferris partnered with Peter Ueberroth to purchase a stake in Guest Quarters Suites Hotels from General Electric Investments Corp. Ferris and Ueberroth served as Co-Chairman and under their leadership, the Company acquired Doubletree Hotels in 1993, took the company public in 1994, and merged with Promus Hotel Corporation in 1997.
Ferris served as an Independent Director and Chairman of the PGA TOUR Champions Policy Board from 1985 to 1992. He then joined the PGA TOUR’s Policy Board in 1992 and became its Chairman in 1993, a position he held until he stepped down from the Policy Board in 2007.
His career in the travel industry and his passion for golf positioned him perfectly for what would come next – acquiring the Pebble Beach Company and returning Pebble Beach Resorts to American ownership. In 1999, Ferris with his business partner Peter Ueberroth and their good friends Arnold Palmer, Clint Eastwood and Bill Perocchi, brought together a group of business leaders and athletes who had a passion for Pebble Beach. Together they acquired Pebble Beach from Sumitomo Bank and Taiheiyo Club with a goal to preserve, protect and enhance the property for generations to come. Ferris would go on to serve as Co-Chairman of the Board for over 20 years and continued to serve as a Director until his passing. During his tenure, the owners invested over $600M into the property to help fulfill that initial vision. Ferris was at the center of many of those capital improvement projects, working diligently with the management team to ensure no detail was missed.
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