At the Awards Dinner held on February 8th at the Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine, the General Manager and Chief Operating Officer of The Country Club of Rochester (N.Y.) was recognized with The Mead Grady Award, in part for his work with the club’s $6.2 million dining, fitness and pool project. “The last few years have been outstanding for CCR,” said club President Jeffrey Mapstone in nominating Smith for ECM recognition. “Our membership numbers are growing, and the energy and excitement is palpable.”
In addition to presentations at their individual clubs that will be held throughout the coming year, the 2019 Excellence in Club Management winners, along with honorees from previous years and members, past and present, of the ECM selection committee, were recognized at an Awards Dinner that was held at the Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine, Texas on Saturday, February 8, in conjunction with the 2020 World Conference of the Club Management Association of America.
This year’s Awards Dinner was sponsored by Denehy Club Thinking Partners, ForeTees LLC, IZON Golf, Outdoor Lighting Perspectives, and Preferred Club.
A full report on the Awards Dinner will appear in the March issue of Club + Resort Business, and detailed profiles of all of the ECM award winners will be published in C+RB throughout 2020.
The Excellence in Club Management Awards were founded by the McMahon Group in 1997 and have been co-sponsored by Club + Resort Business since 2005 and the National Club Association since 2018.
Winner
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 125-year-old Country Club of Rochester (CCR) has roots that run deep, as one of the 50 original clubs in the U.S. Michael Smith also has strong ties to both the city and the club, having grown up and lived in Rochester most of his life, and having served as CCR’s Clubhouse Manager for two and half years before taking his first General Manager position, at Penfield (N.Y.) Country Club, in 2009.
Smith stayed at Penfield for six years before feeling the pull to return to Rochester and CCR as its GM/COO in 2015. At that time, wrote President Jeffrey Mapstone last year when nominating Smith for ECM recognition, the club was midway into a $6.2 million dining, fitness and pool project, and was also experiencing some staffing and service issues related to its management transition.
“[These were] certainly not ideal circumstances,” for Smith to come into, Mapstone wrote. “[But] Mike quickly assessed the situation, created a set of priorities, and got to work. He brought the project in on time and on budget.” Drawing inspiration from CCR’s unique logo, Mapstone added, Smith also enhanced service by developing an innovative “Thistle Promise” and credo for all employees to follow.
“Upon reflection, it amazes me what [Michael] has been able to accomplish,” Mapstone wrote. “The last few years have been outstanding for CCR. Our membership numbers are growing, and the energy and excitement is palpable.”
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