The Chief Operating Officer/General Manager from The Army and Navy Club on Farragut Square in Washington, D.C., will be recognized as the The Mel Rex Award winner at the Annual Awards Dinner at the Nashville City Club on February 25, through the Excellence in Club Management Awards sponsored by the McMahon Group, Club & Resort Business and the National Club Association.
McMahon Group, Inc., the St. Louis-based consulting firm, and Club & Resort Business have announced the 2018 recipients of the Excellence in Club Management (ECM) Awards, established in 1997 by the McMahon Group and co-sponsored since 2005 by C&RB. For the 2018 awards, the National Club Association has also become an ECM sponsor.
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, C&RB and the National Club Association are not involved in the selection of the winners.
The Selection Committee for the 2018 Awards was chaired by Jeffrey Kreafle, CCM, General Manager/COO of Congressional Country Club, Bethesda, Md.. 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.
All of the winners will be honored at the Excellence in Club Management Awards Dinner at the Nashville (Tenn.) City Club on February 25, in conjunction with the 2018 World Conference of the Club Management Association of America. This year’s Awards Dinner will be sponsored by Denehy Club Thinking Partners, ForeTees LLC, C. Mondavi & Family, Preferred Club and Yamaha Golf Car.
Individual award ceremonies will also be held at the winners’ respective clubs throughout 2019, and in-depth articles detailing the achievements that led to the selection of the winners will appear in issues of C&RB throughout the year.
Here is a summary of the nomination that earned ECM recognition for John L. Warnack.
City, Athletic or Specialty (Non-Golf) Club
(The Mel Rex Award)
John L. Warnack, CCM, CFBE, ECM
Chief Operating Officer/General Manager
The Army and Navy Club on Farragut Square
Washington, D.C.
The Army and Navy Club’s rich history extends to its founding in 1885. So it was high praise indeed when Major General David Wright, USA (Ret.), the club’s President, wrote that John Warnack “brought a new level of professionalism and pride” to the club after arriving to be its new COO/GM in 2016.
While the club was reeling from a series of sudden management and leadership departures, Wright wrote in nominating Warnack for Excellence in Club Management recognition, Warnack jumped right in to “better the club in all aspects and earn the gratitude and respect of the membership and staff alike.”
“While his focus is on innovation and improvements, [Warnack] has always been respectful and supportive of our club’s long-standing customs and traditions,” Wright added. “He has guided [The Army and Navy Club] through austere budget reviews, creatively managing and transforming limited renovation funds into major facility enhancements that have dramatically increased our financial performance and long-term club sustainability. His swift, decisive and creative solutions to issues large and small have been key to moving the club in a positive direction.”
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