Let's Talk Club Management

It’s that time again! The 2024 World Conference and Club Business Expo is just around the corner and in this episode, we preview education, voting, Open Space, and dive into the networking and other events. Kyle and Melissa will take you through the important things you need to know for the week, and they pick up some guest hosts along the way. Access Conference FAQs: https://www.cmaa.org/learn/me...

For more than 20 years, World Conference attendees have had the opportunity to participate in a pre-Conference workshop unlike any other. The Bicycle Chautauqua experience encompasses physical health, mental health, and emotional health in a way that’s fun, interesting, and communal. Our guests today—Rachel Ridgeway, HR Director at Rehoboth Beach Club in Rehoboth, DE; and Roy Quini, CMAA’s manager...

It’s been a great year for CMAA and so many of our members. We love to hear about our members’ success, growth, and one of the CMAA members who has had a great year is Julia Rush. Julia is the Director of Catering for Cosmos Club in Washington, DC. She’s adopted a new philosophy this year and it has brought her great experiences. We loved getting to hear about her successes this year and review so...

On this episode of the podcast, we break down a few regulatory updates. Our resident political expert (Melissa) answers questions from our resident political nerd (Kyle) about H-2B visas, the latest from Dept. of Labor regarding overtime rules, and more. It’s riveting content, to be sure – and will hopefully answer some lingering questions you might have about how these updates will impact your cl...

On this episode, we are thrilled to be talking to the 2023 Club Executive of the Year, Boris Gradina, MCM, CCE. In November, Club Management magazine named Boris Gradina the 2023 Club Executive of the Year. A 17-year member of CMAA, Boris currently serves as the General Manager/Chief Executive Officer of Maryland Golf and Country Clubs (MGCC) in Bel Air, MD. He’s no stranger to this podcast. Back...

We are thrilled to welcome back to our podcast, our favorite cyber security experts at Pulsar Security, a CMAA Education Partner. Pulsar Security is a cybersecurity company whose mission extends to protect clubs and their members against malicious attacks. The company is a Veteran, privately owned business built on vision and trust, whose leadership has extensive military experience enabling it to...

In August, the National Club Association (NCA) and Club Management Association of America (CMAA) released Private Club Governance: A Handbook of Principles and Best Practices. Written by a joint committee of experts from both associations in a partnership structured to benefit the entire private club community, the new publication is a definitive guide to governance of private clubs, designed to b...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the buzzword of 2023. With the explosion of platforms like ChatGPT. But what does that mean for clubs? How can clubs harness the incredible power of these types of tools? Who’s already using AI? What more can we be doing? We are going to work to dispel some of the mystery around AI in the first of a series of podcasts on this topic. In this episode, we’re joined by...

Please join us in welcoming our newest CMAA team members, Michelle Carrington, Sumayah Arcusa, and Brenden Beckett! Michelle joins us as the Director of Educational Resources and Virtual Learning, Sumayah is our new Manager of Student Development, and Brenden steps into a newly created role: Digital Marketing Coordinator. These three came on board over the summer and joined us to chat their backgr...

In this follow-up to our 100th episode, we’re joined by Jamie Roberts, Member Experience Manager at Renaissance Club in Haverhill, MA. Jamie talks to us about some of the unique programming she and the team at Renaissance have come up with and the ways those programs support the club’s family-friendly atmosphere. As always, please remember, you can find us on iTunes and Spotify! Please be sure to...

Let’s Talk Club Management hits 100 episodes! We are thrilled to be presenting our century podcast to our listeners. To celebrate this milestone, we took the podcast on the road and visited podcast superfan Jeff Isbell, CCM, CCE, at Renaissance Golf Club in Haverhill, MA. Jeff joined us as the “third mic” and our conversation ran the gamut – we chatted about Renaissance, the club management career...

Please join us in welcoming our newest CMAA team members, Dawn Coleman and Ishan Tuli! Dawn joined our team back in April as the Senior Director of Learning and Career Development. Ishan came on board around the same time as a new Staff Accountant. Both of our new team members chatted with us about their backgrounds and interests and what they are most looking forward to doing with CMAA. If you wa...

We are thrilled to welcome back to our podcast our favorite cyber security experts at Pulsar Security, a CMAA Education Partner, for answers to our questions about supply chain vulnerabilities. Pulsar Security is a cybersecurity company whose mission extends to protect clubs and their members against malicious attacks. We define what a supply chain attack is and what it can look like and Patrick a...

What is on the minds of club leaders across North America? A Club Leader's Perspective explores the pressing trends and issues impacting the club industry in 2023. GGA Partners has released its emerging trends and challenges research in collaboration with CMAA. On this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Eric Brey and Ben Hopkinson of GGA Partners as we dive a bit deeper into the findings of the latest r...

On this episode, we’re joined by Ashley Zechello, a student member at Johnson and Wales University – Providence. She’s a member of the student chapter e-board and has been an active member of CMAA since 2020. Her research, The Culture of Health and Wellness within the Private Club Industry, seeks to explore how employee well-being programming can be used as a benefit to attract and retain employee...

As many of our listeners enter into their busy season, we wanted to explore some wellness hacks for staying healthy (physically and mentally) when things get stressful. We’re excited to welcome Lauren Leon, CEP, Director of Fitness at Washington Golf and Country Club (WGCC). We chatted with Lauren about what are some of the best practices or programs that she’s translated to the club environment a...

On this episode, we are talking about the interview process, how to answer, and what to ask with the experts at KOPPLIN KUEBLER & WALLACE. KK&W is a leading club industry recruiting and consulting firm and a long-time CMAA Education Partner. We are thrilled to welcome back to the podcast, KK&W Principals Kurt Kuebler, CCM, and Tom Wallace, CCM, CCE, ECM. Well-informed, inquisitive job candidates m...

CMAA’s certification program is the most respected in the hospitality industry and the Certified Club Manager (CCM) designation is considered the hallmark of professionalism in club management. It is a valuable and widely-respected mark of a manager’s commitment to professional development and the club industry. We’re joined on this episode by Brian Watkins and Sonya Rome, two of CMAA’s certificat...

In this episode, we’re checking in with Amelia Santarosa and Matthew Cummings, two of our student members from Niagara University. Amelia and Matthew were the overall winners of this year’s Student Shark Tank competition, presenting their idea—a BEO software solution—at the 2023 World Conference and Club Business Expo. Amelia and Matthew talk us through how they came up with this idea, how they en...

In this episode of the podcast, we’re excited to sit down and get to know Michael Seabrook, CCM, CCE. Mr. Seabrook is CMAA’s 2023 Chairman and has so many tidbits to share with our listeners. Learn more about his path to becoming a club management professional and industry leader as well as some of the more humbling moments he encountered along the way. Don’t forget to register for upcoming events...

After a brief post-World Conference hiatus, we're back! On this episode of the podcast, we're sharing CMAA CEO Jeff Morgan's State of the Association speech from the 2023 World Conference and Club Business Expo. This speech offers a snapshot of where CMAA is now, how the last year has gone, and what we're looking to in the future. Jeff mentions the 2022 Annual Report, which you can access here: ht...

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…. World Conference and Club Business Expo. In January, we previewed Education and now we are diving into the networking and other events. Kyle and Melissa will take you through the important things you need to know for the week, and they pick up some guest hosts along the way. For more information about World Conference visit cmaa.org/conference. To downloa...

Continuing our tradition of talking wellness at the beginning of the year, we’re joined in this episode by our colleague Katherine Lord and Lynn Hearn, CPT, PRINCIPAL PARTNER with Club Wellness Evolutions and Founding President of the Club Spa and Fitness Association (CSFA). We cover a lot of ground, including the launch of CMAA’s special interest communities, the transition of CSFA to the Club We...

Happy 2023! CMAA’s World Conference and Club Business Expo is just around the corner and in this episode we’re previewing some of the sessions that you’ll have the opportunity to attend in you’re joining us in Orlando, FL. We chat with Conference Speaker Sarah Noll Wilson is an Executive Coach, an in-demand Keynote Speaker, Researcher, Contributor to Harvard Business Review, and the Bestselling Au...

It’s our last episode of the year and we thought it would be fun to spend some time reflecting on what made 2022 a great one. We are joined by CMAA’s President and CEO Jeff Morgan, FASAE, CAE; CMAA’s Chairman Mitchell Platt, MCM, CCE; CMAA’s Sr. Director of Member and Chapter Relations, Erica Benjamin, and one of CMAA’s newest Certified Club Managers, Lori LeBard, CCM. Each of our guests shares so...