Kristen LaCount’s 16-year career path at The Country Club has led to her status as more of an Acting General Manager than an Assistant—and as a “Rising Star” who’s clearly found her place in the club-management galaxy.
As you might expect for the property that lays claim to being America’s first country club—and has the name to back it up—The Country Club (TCC) in Brookline, Mass. has displayed a remarkable record of stability throughout its 137-year history.
TCC’s current membership of over 1,300 mirrors the same count that the club had achieved by the ‘90s—the 1890s, that is. As one of the five founding members of the United States Golf Association, its storied history of hosting major tournaments includes big events in virtually every decade of its existence—from being the site of the “Greatest Game Ever Played” in the playoff that determined the 1913 U.S. Open, with former TCC caddie Francis Ouimet shocking the world by beating Harry Vardon and Ted Ray, to preparing for its next big-stage appearance, with the 2022 U.S. Open.
Stability has also been a hallmark of TCC’s governance and management structures. Where many clubs change their member leadership every year, or two or three at best, the President of TCC’s Board & Governors serves six-year terms. And some have stayed on to serve even longer. In fact, TCC’s General Manager, David Chag, CCM—himself a paragon of club-management permanence, in an era marked by fast-moving revolving doors for many of his fellow GMs—has served under only five Presidents in his 32 years at the club’s helm.
And then there’s the “LaCount Connection,” which may stand as the most impressive example of TCC stability of all. It started with Steven LaCount, who began to work in the TCC kitchen at the age of 14, and eventually became the youngest Executive Chef in the club’s history, in 1983.
LaCount would remain at TCC until 2005, when he and his wife Michelle opened a restaurant, the now-highly acclaimed Chiara Bistro in the Boston suburb of Westwood. But before he left, the baton was passed to his daughter Kristen to continue the LaCount legacy at the club.
And while Kristen first thought she might just be running a quick relay leg after starting at TCC, what she originally envisioned as a step toward pursuing her own culinary career evolved into a 16-year run marked by steady advancement through the club’s management ranks. Her ascent and contributions along the way, in helping TCC to maintain and expand its relevance and prominence (see box at left), also led to her recognition as a “Rising Star” through the 2018 Excellence in Club Management Awards (see box, pg. 51).
Breaking New Ground
At the same time that Kristen LaCount assimilated seamlessly into TCC’s traditions and culture, she also blazed some important new trails for the club, and for the club-management profession.
“Kristen grew, adapted and in fact thrived as a professional manager in a predominantly male-influenced environment,” David Chag notes about her progression through various positions (Assistant Manager, Director of Communications, Clubhouse Manager and Assistant General Manager). “There were mostly males in the governance structure as well as management/department head positions, and she would be challenged at many levels over the years. All who worked with her also tested her, and she earned their support and loyalty.”
After breaking ground in becoming the club’s first Assistant General Manager in 131 years in 2013, Chag adds, LaCount’s performance and potential pointed to the need to pursue another unprecedented step. “As the Assistant General Manager, we have focused her professional development on having ‘AGM’ now stand for Acting General Manager,” he says. “The highest training program I have ever developed is for Kristen to be immersed in my position. She is active at all levels of leadership and governance, attends all meetings, and I now rely on her opinion and perspective in any open forum and expect her to be contributing at the table.”
The irony for LaCount has been that while she has been establishing many new frontiers at TCC, and then moving beyond them, she’s often encountered questions about why her resume isn’t dotted, like so many of her club-management colleagues, with a rapid succession of different properties and locations.
“It’s not too often you hear of someone who literally grew up as an employee of the club and then finds their way into a senior-management position,” LaCount admits. “My story is unique, and people often inquire as to why I’ve stayed [at TCC] so long. The answer is simple—I know I have a good thing.”
And while that good thing has involved full immersion in such a tradition-rich place {LaCount even lives on the TCC property, with her two young children and husband, Dan Kerrigan), it has hardly led to stagnation or the lack of opportunity to forge new frontiers.
For example, in directing the well-received development of The Library, the new informal pub venue created from the actual, longstanding library room in the TCC clubhouse, LaCount introduced a variety of new concepts, both for the front and back of the house, by drawing on the insight she’s gained about restaurant operations beyond the club’s own dining program (in addition to her parents’ success with Chiara, Kerrigan owns and operates two successful Boston-area establishments, Steel & Rye and Prairie Fire).
“Thirteen new restaurants have opened within a one-mile radius [of TCC] within the past 18 months,” LaCount notes. “We can’t be successful here if we’re not always thinking of what we need to do to continue to distinguish ourselves in all aspects of our own F&B program, from menus to equipment to service and labor efficiency.
“Even with all that [The Country Club] has accomplished and stood for over the years, there’s never any shortage of new things that need to be thought about and tried, in all parts of the club,” she adds. “It’s certainly not a place that ever stands still.”
Ideas + Achievements Implemented at The Country Club
> Created “The Stables” as new 22,000-sq. ft. fitness center and indoor golf simulator building that matched existing campus architecture.
> To revive on-site lodging amenity, member bedrooms were renovated, leading to 25% increase in sales.
> Converted existing clubhouse library into The Library, an informal pub with seating for 50.
> New Summer Guest Program in July and August, for young membership prospects ages 25 to 40, was organized in conjunction with club’s Admissions Committee.
> Opened “Shot Rock Cafe” in curling building and implemented conversion of curling facility into central location for summer youth programs and camps, to promote its year-round use.
> Yearly Human Resources Calendar developed for full schedule of employee training, events and activities. Summer outings organized for Managers-in-Training and Interns that include biking, hiking and kayaking outings.
A Celebration of Excellence
The Excellence in Club Management (ECM) Awards were established by the McMahon Group, Inc., the St. Louis-based consulting firm, in 1997 and have been co-sponsored by Club + Resort Business since 2006. The National Club Association became an additional sponsor in 2018.
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. A Selection Committee comprised of a peer group of leading club managers conducts the judging for the ECM Awards.
Awards in four categories are given each year:
• The James H. Brewer Award, for a manager of a Country/Golf Club with 600 or more full-privilege members
• The Mead Grady Award, for a manager of a Country/Golf Club with fewer than 600 full-privilege members
• The Mel Rex Award, for a manager of a City, Athletic or Specialty (Non-Golf) Club
• The “Rising Star” Award, for an assistant club manager
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 www.clubmanageraward.com
In addition to in-depth articles in C+RB detailing the achievements of each ECM winner, individual ceremonies are held at their clubs. All winners were also honored at the 2018 Awards Dinner, held February 25 at the Nashville (Tenn.) City Club and sponsored by Denehy Club Thinking Partners, ForeTees LLC, C. Mondavi & Family, Preferred Club, and Yamaha Golf Car.
C+RB
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