GENERAL MANAGER PROFILE: GULL LAKE COUNTRY CLUB RICHLAND, MI

THE GENERAL MANAGER OPPORTUNITY AT GULL LAKE COUNTRY CLUB An outstanding opportunity has opened at Gull Lake Country Club in Richland, Michigan for an inspirational leader committed to engaging loyal members with a focused hospitality team. What makes this job so attractive are the beautiful surroundings, friendly members, and new facilities.

The ideal candidate should have experience in how to execute a vision by leading staff to provide attractive member services. Creativity is welcomed and opportunity abounds when activating the full array of beautiful club assets that only a lake community can provide. This 110-year-old club has a refreshing vibrancy that is known for fun, family, and community. The recent growth in membership of young professionals ensures that multi-generations will embrace new and creative social activities for years to come. A strategic leader is ideal and one who will look to the future capital needs of the club and guide operations to achieve that vision.

This is a job for an enterprising self-starter who welcomes partnering with the board. The ideal candidate must possess a desire to lead a hospitality team, to elevate excellence in food and beverage services, to be highly involved in golf, racquet sports and optimizing Gull Lake’s unique waterfront. This is about being an inspirational leader committed to enhancing the culture that is welcoming, and hospitality driven.

The rewards of working at Gull Lake are immediate.

Click here to view a brief video about this opportunity.

ABOUT GULL LAKE COUNTRY CLUB AND COMMUNITY

Gull Lake Country Club is a private club situated on the lakefront of spectacular Gull Lake, minutes from Richland, MI. Tucked away from the hustle of the city, this is a place for members, their families and guests to relax and enjoy a bit of serenity. Members are successful professionals who come from Chicago area and locally in Richland, Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo.

The Gull Lake clubhouse has a commanding view of Gull Lake on one side and the naturally rolling views of the golf course on the other. The club property encompasses over 100 beautiful acres with 739 linear feet of lake frontage. Five dining venues in and outside the clubhouse offer members a wide variety of dining options.

Gull Lake is a family-oriented club that offers a beautiful 18-hole golf course, driving range, & short game facility and award-winning retail shop. The Golf Clubhouse and Greenside Grill is a newly constructed building overlooking the picturesque rolling hills and timeless beauty of the golf course. It includes a TrackMan golf simulator, fitness center, and locker rooms.

The new racquet facility features 5 pristine Pickleball courts, along with 4 separate hard court tennis courts, and two platform tennis courts plus a beautiful Pavilion and Racquet Pro Shop.

The club offers an excellent sailing education program for both youth and adults, and they maintain a fleet of Optimus Dinghy’s, Butterfly’s, and 420’s. The club hosts the Western Michigan University Sailing club and their events, including three NCAA National Sailing Championships.

Summer activities center around the children with summer camps, Kid’s Night Out as well as swimming and beachfront activities.

During the winter months, members enjoy professionally manicured cross country trails and an ice rink.

GULL LAKE COUNTRY CLUB BY THE NUMBERS:

• Approximately 412 memberships in all categories • Initiation fee - $3,293 • Annual dues are currently $7,092 • Approximately 12,515 rounds of golf • Gross Revenues of approximately $3.5 M • Annual Dues Revenue of approximately $1.7 M • F&B Volume – approximately $881K • Employees: Full-time Annual – 42, In-Season - 100 • Average age of membership – 58 • There are a total of 12 Board Members, each serving three-year terms • There are a number of standing committees including: waterfront, golf/grounds, women’s golf, strategic planning, membership, social, house, yacht club, racquet sports, executive committee and finance. • The Club uses Jonas for its accounting and POS

GULL LAKE COUNTRY CLUB WEB SITE: www.gulllakecc.com

GULL LAKE COUNTRY CLUB GENERAL MANAGER POSITION OVERVIEW

The General Manager (GM) will have responsibility for all day-to-day operations of Gull Lake Country Club (GLCC). He/she will direct and administer all aspects of the operations to include amenities, staff, and all programs and activities to ensure outstanding service and member and guest satisfaction. While all typical competencies are important, our need is for a GM who enjoys being actively engaged, is proactive in new trends and innovations, who wants to be part of a relationship based, smaller club environment in a great community, and who has a passion for the industry. Additionally, he/she must be an individual who can recognize what is working well at present, and what needs enhancement. We are seeking an individual who can effectively “manage” the transition to this new model of governance and leadership, and who is eminently adaptable to successfully work through it.

KEY ATTRIBUTES AND INITIAL AREAS OF FOCUS ARE EXPECTED TO BE:

• Outgoing service-oriented personality with strong leadership skills and effective mentoring ability; someone who clearly leads by example and compels others to do so as well. • Able to build an exceptional food and beverage experience by systematically orienting and training the team to consistently achieve high standards of service. • Being an innovative and excellent communicator who can effectively engage with staff, board, members, and the community at large. • Experience in designing and implementing sustainable training programs. • Ability to embrace change, both culturally and environmentally. One who can transition from managing/operating to anticipating a high bar of expectation and meeting it. • Able to think and execute strategic plans that create new revenue sources and enhance the club experience. • Someone who is calming and can immediately establish credibility with the staff and can lead in all areas. • Someone who is very professional but is also a doer – someone who is willing to roll up their sleeves and be “hands on.” • Ability to set goals and execute them successfully, as well as being able to initiate change, bring the department heads together and increase the service level at the club. Process driven leadership: setting standards of performance and execution and ensuring that they are consistently maintained is critical. The Club needs clarity and consistency applied to staff for ultimate accountability. • Financial and business acumen is a must and the ability to set and work within a budget is of critical importance, as is having effective financial management skills through oversight of annual operating and capital budgets. • Sincere and consistent member and staff engagement as the “face of the club.” Being highly visible, interactive, and engaging, and knowing how to balance administrative functions with key engagement opportunities is very important. • Strong staff leadership, volunteer “partnering” with the Board and Club Committees, and strategic planning experience will be key attributes to one’s success. • Ensure a strong team through good hiring, training, and communication practices, and developing a culture of teamwork. Creating a club wide team orientation, talent recruitment and retention program will be important. • Complete understanding of the Club's marketplace, location and culture and strives to position GLCC within the community as a desirable and admired Club, as well as an “employer of choice” in a very competitive, seasonal work environment.

SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES

• A Team Builder. A person who embodies the persona of ultimate coach and motivator, bringing out the best in others by setting clear goals and expectations, providing consistent feedback and support, and treating others with respect and professionalism. • A confident, diplomatic, respectful, and competent professional who is a doer and take-charge person and who recognizes the importance of accountability. A creative problem solver who commands respect through professional interactions and integrity. • Passion for the role, with a positive, thoughtful demeanor conducive to a fun, personalized member, and staff centric environment. • A strong “bottom up” leader who recognizes and has verifiable demonstrations of his/her development of the team. Encouraging of personal growth to both personally, and professionally benefit GLCC. • A person who can say “no” when appropriate, without alienating members or staff when doing so. • Possessive of strong organizational skills and an obsession with details necessary to achieve high levels of quality, satisfaction, and outstanding member experiences and high levels of staff satisfaction and member engagement. • A charismatic individual with a sense of humor and style that is commensurate with the culture and expectations of a friendly, fun, and supportive membership and team of associates. • Someone who instinctively enjoys leading and working in a “friendly, not fancy” club environment; GLCC is the antithesis of a traditional, stodgy, or stuffy club and is not looking to change that comfortable, camaraderie- based style it is known for.

CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum of 7 - 10 years of progressive leadership/top level general management experience or leading resort/hospitality operations outside of the club industry in a similar dynamic, relevant operation. • The Club will consider well-mentored AGMs, but only from similarly scaled club operations.

EDUCATIONAL AND CERTIFICATION QUALIFICATIONS

• A BS or BA degree (or equivalent) from an accredited college or university, preferably in business or hospitality management.

SALARY AND BENEFITS

Salary is open and commensurate with qualifications and experience. The Club, along with the typical senior staff benefits, offers an excellent benefit package.

INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO APPLY Please upload your resume and cover letter, in that order, using the link below. You should have your documents fully prepared to be attached when prompted for them during the online application process.

Prepare a thoughtful cover letter addressed to Gull Lake Country Club, President Mark Weishaar and clearly articulate your alignment with this role and why you want to be considered for this position at this stage of your career and why GLCC and the Richmond, MI area will be beneficial to you, your family, your career, and the Club if selected.

You must apply for this role as soon as possible but no later than Monday, July 19, 2021. Candidate selections will occur at the end July with first Interviews expected in early August 2021 and second interviews a short time later. Ideally, the new candidate should assume his/her role in Fall 2021.

IMPORTANT: Save your resume and letter in the following manner: Last Name, First Name -- Resume Last Name, First Name -- Cover Letter – Gull Lake Country Club (These documents should be in Word or PDF format)

Note: Once you complete the application process for this search, you are not able to go back in and add additional documents. If you have any questions, please email Patty Sprankle: [email protected]

Click here to upload your resume and cover letter.

LEAD SEARCH EXECUTIVES: J.G. “Ted” Gillary, CCM, CCE, Search and Consulting Executive [email protected] 313-220-6140

Kurt D. Kuebler, CCM Partner [email protected] 561-747-5213