The 2020 recipients of the Excellence In Club Management Awards, established in 1997 by the McMahon Group and sponsored since 2005 by Club + Resort Business and since 2018 by the National Club Association, stood up to special tests in an especially challenging year.
The 2020 recipients of the Excellence In Club Management (ECM) Awards, established in 1997 by the McMahon Group and sponsored since 2005 by Club + Resort Business and since 2018 by the National Club Association (NCA), were announced through a special webcast on March 2nd.
The webcast, sponsored exclusively by ForeTees, was conducted in an “Academy Award” format that included remarks from the award winners after they were announced. The full webcast can be viewed at https://clubmanageraward.com/project/2020-excellence-in-club-management-awards-broadcast/
The annual ECM Awards are selected through nominations submitted on behalf of qualified candidates by other parties. With the exception of a special Lifetime Achievement Award, each year’s recipients are selected solely on the basis of their achievements at the club they currently manage.
A Selection Committee comprised of a peer group of club managers conducts the judging for the ECM Awards; the McMahon Group, C+RB and the National Club Association are not involved with the selection of the winners.
The Selection Committee for the 2020 Awards was chaired by David Chag, CCM, former General Manager/Chief Operating Officer 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 2021 awards, can be found at the special website for the ECM Awards, www.clubmanageraward.com
In addition to this year’s special webcast, which substituted for the usual ECM Awards Dinner, individual presentations at the winners’ respective clubs will be held when possible throughout 2020, and the 2020 winners will also be panelists at the NCA’s 17th Annual National Club Conference at the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, Fla., May 23-25.
In-depth profiles detailing the achievements that led to the selection of the winners will appear in issues of C+RB throughout the year.
The James H. Brewer Award (Country/Golf Clubs with 600 or More Full-Privilege Members)
Jack Slaughter, CCM, CCE, ECM
General Manager/Chief Operating Officer
Carolina Country Club, Raleigh, N.C.
The standard for excellence in club management is always higher in times of challenge, and for David Duke, the President of Carolina Country Club (CCC) in 2019-20, Jack Slaughter not only rose to the occasion to help the club meet the challenges of the pandemic, but far surpassed what he had already been long respected for since coming to the club in 2007.
“While Jack has always served [CCC] as a consummate professional, his unparalleled skills in club management have never shone more brightly than by what he exhibited in response to the challenges occasioned by COVID-19,” Duke wrote in nominating Slaughter for ECM honors. “What I soon discovered in my role as President was the immense pride, joy and relief in working through the pandemic with the support and unwavering skills [that Jack] exhibited. He was a leader in every sense of the word. He calmly navigated the unchartered COVID waters and was instrumental in seeing [CCC] continue its commitment to excellence and enhancement of members’ experiences.”
THE MEAD GRADY AWARD (Country/Golf Clubs with Fewer than 600 Full-Privilege Members)
Craig Cutler, CCM, ECM
General Manager/Chief Operating Officer
Country Club of Detroit, Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.
Craig Cutler is now a rare “double winner” of Excellence in Club Management honors, having earned “Rising Star” recognition in 2008 while Assistant Manager of the Detroit Athletic Club and working under Ted Gillary, who was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award through the 2019 ECM Awards. Cutler clearly learned his lessons from Gillary well and transferred them to help the Country Club of Detroit (CCD) make its own strides to greatness since becoming its GM/COO in 2013.
“Under [Craig’s] leadership, our club has chosen to lead and invest in our future despite economic freefalls in the Detroit and national economy,” wrote CCD President George J. Baer, III in nominating Cutler for ECM recognition. And when 2020 presented its own “unique challenges,” Baer added, “Craig’s steady hand [and] forward and innovative thinking helped us deliver high-level service to our members while maintaining a steady and positive cash flow. This is truly remarkable.”
THE MEL REX AWARD (City, Athletic or Specialty/Non-Golf Club)
Lawrence McFadden, CMC, ECM
General Manager/Chief Operating Officer
The Union Club of Cleveland, Cleveland, Ohio
Lawrence McFadden is the first Certified Master Chef to have earned Excellence in Club Management recognition. Being a CMC is distinctive in its own right, with fewer than 75 holding that status in the U.S. (The Union Club has even greater distinction by having two CMCs, including Executive Chef Arnaud Berthelier.)
McFadden’s career path and achievements in club management are equally impressive. Before becoming The Union Club’s GM/COO in 2015, he held chef and management positions for top properties and organizations throughout the U.S. and the world, including The Greenbrier resort, Intercontinental and Waldorf-Astoria hotels, Ritz-Carlton and MGM. At The Union Club, he directed change that led the club to surpass the 1,000-member mark for the first time in 10 years, and (not surprisingly) have annual double-digit growth in food-and-beverage revenues. “Lawrence had a vision of where he wanted to take the club from day one,” said Randall McShephard, who chaired the search committee that brought him to Cleveland. “[He’s] the epitome of a consummate professional.”
THE 2020 RISING STAR AWARD
Kris Glaubitz, CCM, ECM
Director of Food and Beverage
Congressional Country Club, Bethesda, Md.
Kris Glaubitz has only been at Congressional CC since 2019, but he and Congressional’s Chief Executive Officer, Jeffrey Kreafle, have had a mentorship relation since 2013. The familiarity and trust gained from that relationship proved especially valuable, Kreafle said, when he looked to marshal Congressional’s response to the challenges brought by the pandemic.
“Kris had the mindset to take ownership of how he and his team could best support the club and our team members,” Kreafle said in nominating Glaubitz for Rising Star recognition. “[The food-and-beverage team] moved quickly to adapt their operation to produce a safe environment by adhering to CDC guidelines, while also providing as much service to our members as possible.
“Since arriving at Congressional, Kris has embraced our culture and commitment to excellence,” Kreafle added. “His humble leadership style and strong desire to make a positive impact on the lives of our membership and team members has been noticed and well-received.”
THE JOHN FURLONG AWARD (Excellence in Management of a Club Property in Canada)
Bill Morari, ECM
General Manager/Chief Operating Officer
The National Club, Toronto, Ont.
The National Club is one of Toronto’s most distinguished institutions, founded in 1874 and now occupying a clubhouse bulit in 1907 that is a designated historic site. Within the club, Bill Morari has become an institution himself, as its GM/COO for 24 years and Assistant GM for 16 years before that.
A key to Morari’s longevity and effectiveness, wrote President Michael Dignam in nominating him for The John Furlong Award, has been how he has “[respected] the club’s rich heritage, but at the same time been a leader to make certain our club remains relevant in today’s ever-changing world.”
That ability proved especially valuable when directing The National Club’s response to the pandemic, Dignam added. “Bill and his team have been leaders in creating a new playbook for the way we do business,” he said. “We have truly created a ‘safe haven’ where our members feel comfortable coming to the club [as] their home-away-from-home sanctuary.”
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Martin Ryan
General Manager Emeritus
Wellesley Country Club, Wellesley, Mass.
Marty Ryan’s career includes many touchpoints with legendary names in golf. The golf course at Wellesley CC, where he was General Manager from 1992 until his recent retirement, includes design influences from Donald Ross and Geoffrey Cornish. Ryan’s first club-management position was at Montclair (N.J.) Golf Club, the home course of Robert Trent Jones and his son Rees Jones.
Yet if Ryan now plays golf in his retirement, it will be the first round he’s ever played in his life. That didn’t prevent him, however, from establishing his own legend in the club industry and at 111-year-old Wellesley CC, which hosted the 2016 Senior Women’s Amateur Championship, the 2010 Massachusetts Open, and many other USGA and state-level tournaments under his direction. Ryan also directed the buildup to Wellesley CC’s centennial that included opening a new 53,825-sq. ft. clubhouse. As part of the centennial observation, a time capsule was prepared that will not be opened until 2060—and when that time comes, more of Ryan’s influence and legacy is sure to be evident.
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