Lakewood Country Club is making employees feel connected and appealing to all generations of membership by offering a view of country club life through Lakewood CC’s unofficial, furry mascot, Ami.
Ami’s Big Day at Lakewood Country Club, inspired by the golf superintendent’s dog, offers a glimpse of all the amenities and the culture that Lakewood Country Club has to offer its membership.
The idea originally stemmed from Alfredo Hildebrandt, GM of Lakewood CC, creating a children’s book for his own children around Christmas time and talking about it with his team members.
“We heard that idea and thought, why don’t we write a kids’ book about Lakewood Country Club?” says Kyra Bradley, Clubhouse Manager of Lakewood CC. “The idea was floating around, and Erica from our golf shop suggested we use Ami’s point of view to make it approachable and engaging for our young members.”
A day in the life of Ami
Bradley says Ami is the unofficial mascot of Lakewood Country Club, with members getting excited to see him when they’re sitting on the patio for dinner and Ami is checking on the course.
The story will be told through the eyes of Ami, and although the plot isn’t fully fleshed out, Bradley says Ami will take readers through different segments of the club.
“It’s almost like a day in his life and where he might venture off to,” she says. “He might start on the golf course to check up on our golfers and swing by the kitchen to see what chef is making. Maybe that leads him out to the pool to see the kiddos swimming. He will probably hit all the hot spots of the club.”
With Ami hitting all these different segments of the club, Bradley says she has been encouraging different departments to come up with a clip of a storyline to make this a team project.
The focus on this being a team effort is one of the driving forces behind the ‘why’ of the project.
Building culture through collaboration
“This year, we’re really bringing emphasis to our core values,” says Bradley. “Part of it is our pride, so that people respect innovation, dedication, and engagement. It’s important that it’s felt throughout the staff, and also the whole membership.”
Bradley says the perk of being a part of Lakewood Country Club is that it’s a family-friendly club where members care about the staff and vice versa.
Through this project, Bradley believes it will be a good way to reinforce the culture Lakewood Country Club is trying to develop.
“I think it’ll bring our membership together on a new level, and it’ll be more fun for us to connect with the kids through the book,” she says. “Kids come in for dinner and they get their coloring pages, and sometimes they have their iPad, but it would be cool to pull out this book and give it to them to read before their food comes out.”
Another perk of this project is that all proceeds will be going to a nonprofit that will benefit the community. Although the exact nonprofit isn’t decided on yet, Bradley highlights that this is another part of the culture Lakewood is building—one dedicated to everyone’s growth and development.
A direct impact of this on employee growth and development is shown through the upcoming book’s illustrator being a team member at Lakewood Country Club. Maddie Salata, a server at Lakewood Country Club, is also a freelance illustrator, making her the perfect fit for this project.
Bradley recognizes that many servers are college students or beginners stepping into the club world. Giving Salata an opportunity like this gives her a stepping stone to continue to grow.
“It’s a great opportunity to get work and be able to publish another book that has my name on it, I love that,” says Salata. “Hopefully, in the future, it will open more networking opportunities and open more doors for work in the future.”
Overall, Bradley says this project has brought a lot of excitement to the team at Lakewood Country Club and has encouraged the team to think creatively.
Keeping the momentum going
Bradley says with Lakewood’s new golf course renovation, the timing of rolling out this project helps keep the momentum going and continue to generate buzz for the club.
“We recognize that not all of our members are here for golf, and there’s a lot of members who bring their families in because they want to be part of the family-friendly activities,” says Bradley.
Although writing the story is a collaborative project, Kyra Bradley, Clubhouse Manager of Lakewood CC, is making sure the story has a cohesive voice.
“We thought this was another way to bring everyone together and keep building the excitement around Lakewood Country Club.”
Bradley hopes that members see this project as another fun way that they’re included in the club and feel valued within the community.
She also mentions that the book can be used as a how-to for kids.
“Kids can read the book and see Ami is a silly dog, but this is how you act in a club, and it helps them in that growing-up part—even if we aren’t teaching a huge lesson, but we are still allowing them to learn something,” she says.
“We want members to build excitement here and to know that they have a voice here and are a big part of the Lakewood Country Club culture.”
The book, exclusive to Lakewood Country Club members, has a completion date for the end of 2026.
