The 2014 honorees through the prestigious awards co-sponsored by Club & Resort Business and the McMahon Group include Christine Pooler of Merion GC; Mark Bado of Kansas City CC, and Gerald Marvel of The Club at UK’s Spindletop Hall. They will be recognized, along with “Rising Star Award” winner Nick Markel of The Country Club (Pepper Pike, Ohio), at an Awards Dinner held at the San Antonio Country Club on Tuesday, March 10.

Club & Resort Business and the McMahon Group, Inc., the St. Louis-based consulting firm, have announced the 2014 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 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 and Club & Resort Business are not involved in the selection of the winners.

The Selection Committee for the 2014 Awards was chaired by Kevin Vitale, CCM, General Manager/COO of Baltusrol Golf Club, Springfield, N.J. 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 2014 Excellence in Club Management winners, along with those from previous years, will be recognized at an Awards Dinner to be held at San Antonio Country Club on Tuesday, March 10, in conjunction with the 2015 World Conference of the Club Managers Association of America. The Awards Dinner will be sponsored by ClubCorp, Denehy Club Thinking Partners, Preferred Club, Toro and Yamaha Golf Car.

Presentations will also be held at each winner’s club throughout 2015, and in-depth articles detailing the achievements that led to the selection of each of the 2014 winners will appear in issues of Club & Resort Business throughout 2015.

The 2014 Excellence in Club Management winners are:

The James H. Brewer Award
(Country/Golf Clubs with 600 or More Full-Privilege Members)
Christine Pooler, CCM, General Manager, Merion Golf Club, Ardmore, Pa.

The Mead Grady Award
(Country/Golf Clubs with Fewer than 600 Full-Privilege Members)
Mark Bado, MCM, CCE, General Manager/COO, The Kansas City Country Club, Mission Hills, Kan.

The Mel Rex Award
(City, Athletic or Specialty (Non-Golf) Club)
Gerald Marvel, CCM, COO/General Manager, The Club at UK’s Spindletop Hall, Lexington, Ky.

The 2014 Rising Star Award
Nick Markel, CCM, Assistant General Manager, The Country Club, Pepper Pike, Ohio

Details on the 2014 award winners’ backgrounds and achievements will be included in the February 2015 issue of Club & Resort Business.