Jim Repeta has joined the 128-year-old club in Springfield, Ill., making him the fourth to fill that position in the three years since David Radwine retired after 23 years. Repeta plans to focus on the food and beverage side of the facility, while embracing the club’s traditions and adding new ones.

Jim Repeta’s three-decade career in private club hospitality links him to some of the nation’s notable greens and golf royalty, but his first love of culinary excellence led him to the Sangamo Club in Springfield, Ill., as the new General Manager of the 128-year-old club, the Springfield-based State Journal-Register reported.

“The opportunity to come where food and beverage is the focus was of interest to me big time,” said Repeta, who is the fourth to fill that position in the three years since David Radwine retired after 23 years at the club’s helm. “That, and the fact the club has had a long-tenured manager.”

Repeta’s culinary feats include being named the Texas “Chef of the Year” in 1989 by the Texas Chef Association and being a part of the American team at the IKA/Hoga Culinary Olympics in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1988 and 1992. He apprenticed under Certified Master Chef Roger Hough, who was among the first to receive that designation given by the American Culinary Federation, the Journal-Register reported.

The Nebraska native oversaw the kitchens at Austin Country Club while golf instructor Harvey Penick was still offering tips on the greens. Penick’s little red book of hints and witticisms is among the best-selling sports books in history, the Journal-Register reported.

Repeta was promoted from head chef to front of house during his tenure at River Crest Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, and led Westmoreland Country Club in Wilmette, Ill., the Journal-Register reported.

Repeta is looking to embrace the Sangamo Club’s traditions, while looking to add some new ones. “We’re trying to develop a vision for what the next 125 years will look like,” he said.

Springfield is a return to the Midwest for Repeta and his wife, Andrea “Andy” Repeta, who grew up in Indiana. Andrea Repeta is a regional director for Clemens Food Group. Their daughter Ellen remains in Texas to pursue a master’s degree at Texas Christian University, the Journal-Register reported.