Recent industry hires and promotions include new General Managers at Delaire Country Club in Delray Beach, Fla.; The Golf Club at Moffett Field in Mountain View, Calif.; and Needham (Mass.) Golf Club; an Assistant General Manager at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa.; a new Director of Food & Beverage at Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.; and a new Executive Chef at Reynolds Lake Oconee in Greensboro, Ga.
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/.
Bear Trap Dunes Golf Club in Ocean View, Del. named Saul Schwartz as General Manager. Schwartz was most recently General Manager of The Reserve Club in Aiken, S.C.
Delaire Country Club in Delray Beach, Fla. named Robin Blankhorst, CCM, CAM as General Manager/COO. Blankhorst was most recently GM/COO at Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club in Boca Raton, Fla.
Bayside Resort Golf Club in Selbyville, Del. named Brian Rashley as General Manager. Rashley was most recently General Manager of Bear Trap Dunes Golf Club in Ocean View, Del. Prior to Bear Trap Dunes, he spent nine years at Seaview Golf Club in Absecon, N.J.
The Golf Club at Moffett Field in Mountain View, Calif. named Tucker Williams as General Manager. He most recently served as General Manager of Tilden Park Golf Course in Berkeley, Calif.
The Commonwealth National Golf Club & Manor House in Horsham, Pa. named Dave Craig as General Manager/COO. Craig was most recently GM/COO at Chester Valley Golf Club in Malvern, Pa.
Needham (Mass.) Golf Club in named Geoffrey A. Piva, CCM as General Manager. Piva was most recently General Manager at Lanam Club in Andover, Mass.
The King Kamehameha Golf Club in Maui, Hawaii named Wendell Inamasu as General Manager. Inamasu returns to the club he helped open in May of 2006, as he served as The King Kamehameha Club’s golf operations manager from September 2005 through December 2012. He most recently served in General Manager positions for Destination Residences Hawaii.
Mauna Lani Golf & Tennis on Hawai‘i Island named Dave Ulm as General Manager. Ulm most recently served as General Manager and Chief Operating Officer of Rio Verde (Ariz.) Country Club.
Stonebriar Country Club in Frisco, Texas named David Rems as General Manager. Rems was most recently General Manager at Las Colinas Country Club in Irving, Texas.
Weymouth Country Club in Medina, Ohio named Michael Levick as General Manager, John Krissinger as Executive Chef, Jennifer Gilmore as Sales Director and Catie Hutzel as Sales Manager. Levick was most recently Assistant General Manager at Signature of Solon (Ohio) Country Club, while Krissinger served as the club’s Executive Chef. Completing the “Signature Shuffle” is Gilmore, who worked at Signature of Solon CC for the past 15 months. Hutzel has worked as a server at Fox Meadow CC (a sister property) for more than a decade.
Mountain View Country Club in La Quinta, Calif. named Marco Sotomayor as General Manager, Jorge Martinez as Executive Chef and Jared Taylor as Director of Grounds. Sotomayor has has worked for JW Marriott, Renaissance Esmeralda Resort, Desert Horizons Country Club and a Motorsports Club in Thermal, Calif. Martinez is a former Wolfgang Puck Executive Chef and began his career in 1999 at Spago Beverly Hills. Taylor was most recently at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. named Amanda Day, CCM as Assistant General Manager. Day was most recently Assistant General Manager at Charlotte (N.C.) Country Club.
Quail Village Golf Club in Naples, Florida named Mike McBroom, PGA as Head Golf Professional and Membership Director. McBroom was most recently Head Golf Professional at Furnace Brook Golf Club in Quincy, Mass.
Banyan Cay Resort & Golf in West Palm Beach, Fla. named Alicia Lewis as Director of Golf Operations. Lewis has a background in both public and members-only facilities, including President Country Club, also in West Palm Beach.
Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa in Miramar Beach, Fla. key additions and promotions to the culinary team. Dan Tederous was named Executive Sous Chef. He was most recently Chef de Cuisine at Delmonico Steakhouse out of Las Vegas, Nev. and has held positions as Executive Sous Chef at Mauna Kea Resort in Waimea, Hawaii and Banquet Chef at Four Seasons Hualalai in Kona, Hawaii. Hilton Sandestin’s newest Banquet Chef, Lee Guidry will work under the supervision of the Banquet Culinary Team Lead, Robert Kent, who will oversee the property’s catering team. Thomas Mikesell was named Executive Chef of the resort’s New-York style steakhouse, Seagar’s. A graduate of Johnson and Wales Culinary School, he was most recently Executive Chef at Iron Hill Brewery. Fleetwood Covington has been promoted to Sous Chef at Seagar’s. Lastly, Steve Withall will oversee the renovation of Sandcastles Restaurant’s open-air concept kitchen as the new Culinary Team Lead.
The Golf Club at Fiddler’s Creek in Naples, Fla. named Sean Gradomski as Executive Director of Hospitality. Gradomski was most recently General Manager of Bayside Resort Golf Club in Selbyville, Del.
Reynolds Lake Oconee in Greensboro, Ga. promoted Zouhair Bellout to Executive Chef. Prior to his new position, Bellout served as Executive Sous Chef of Platinum Operations and oversaw the successful development and Summer 2021 launch of the new Richland Pointe restaurant.
Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. named Tonya Herrick as Director of Food & Beverage. Herrick was most recently Director of Food & Beverage at the Charlotte (N.C.) City Club.
The Club Foundation announced the 2022 recipients of the Sally Burns Rambo Scholarship, which funds the recipient’s choice of one of CMAA’s Business Management Institutes and associated travel expenses. The 2022 recipients are: Caitlin English, Assistant General Manager at Fairlawn Country Club in Akron, Ohio; Maddy Heeter, Assistant Manager of Food and Beverage at Cherokee Town and Country Club in Atlanta, Ga.; Taylor Larsen, Assistant Food & Beverage Manager at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C.; Erin McGurgan Glover, Clubhouse Manager at Chilton Club in Boston, Mass.; Carolyn Rehman, CCM, SHRM-CP, Director of Human Resources at Cosmos Club in Washington D.C.; and Lindsey Tafolla, Director of Communications and Marketing at Houston (Texas) Racquet Club.
Don Chelemedos, Managing Director of the Presidio Golf Course in San Francisco, Calif., was elected a Life Member of the PGA of America. Chelemedos’ previous experience includes serving as a consultant and analyst for the Presidio Trust and Touchstone Golf; General Manager and Head Golf Professional at Stanford University Golf Course; West Coast Regional Director of Operations for Evergreen Alliance Golf, Ltd.; and General Manager and Head Golf Professional at Mira Vista Golf Course in Denver, Col.
The American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA) announced that Jason Straka, ASGCA was elected President at the organization’s recent 75th Annual Meeting in Cleveland, Ohio. Straka is a principal with Fry/Straka Global Golf Course Design with Dana Fry, ASGCA. He will serve as ASGCA President through fall of 2022.
The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America named Randy Robinson Field Staff Representative for the Central Plains region. Robinson joins the GCSAA staff following six years as Executive Director of the Iowa Turfgrass Institute. From 2006 to 2015, he was the Golf Course Superintendent at Ballard Golf and Country Club in Huxley, Iowa. He is a 17-year member of GCSAA.
Supplier People
Peacock + Lewis, an architecture and interior design company servicing the private club and hospitality markets, named Patricia Sampson as Director of Client Initiatives. A licensed interior designer, Sampson has more than 25 years of experience with private club, luxury residences, and hospitality projects.
GSI Executive Search appointed Shawn Emerson as an Agronomy Associate/Consultant. Emerson has been in the golf course industry for 40 years—25 of those years were spent at Desert Mountain Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. as the Director of Agronomy.
In Memoriam
Thomas Pepka, Executive Chef at Illini Country Club in Springfield, Ill., passed away. Pepka graduated from ACF apprenticeship in 1981 and was named to his first executive chef position at 24. ACF certified, CEC, AAC, he was a member of the Chaine d Rotisseurs. Prior to Illini CC, Pepka was Executive Chef at Mountain Lake in Lake Wales, Fla. and at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club. While at Oakmont CC, Chef Pepka teamed with his General Manager at the time, Tom Wallace, to provide a case-study presentation for C+RB’s inaugural Chef to Chef Conference in 2009 at Las Vegas’ Red Rock Resort, detailing how a relationship that was originally adversarial between the management and culinary sides of the storied club evolved into a close working relationship that helped to double Oakmont’s food-and-beverage revenues over a five-year period—and also create the synergies needed to serve 50,000 meals in one week when Oakmont hosted the 2007 U.S. Open.
Longtime Hendersonville (N.C.) Country Club Head Golf Professional John “Cliff” Collins passed away at the age of 87. Collins, who was the Head Golf Professional at Hendersonville for 37 years before his retirement.
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