Country Club of , Farms,

General Manager/Chief Operating Officer (GM/COO) Search Profile

MISSION STATEMENT

The Country Club of Detroit is a traditional family-oriented club dedicated to providing its members an outstanding golf experience, superior dining, quality service and facilities with year-round recreation and social activities.

VISION

To be recognized as the premier family private country club in Michigan and a Platinum country club nationally.

The Country Club of Detroit – A Brief History and Information Founded in 1897, the Country Club of Detroit (CCD) has long played a valuable role in the lives of its members and in the greater Grosse Pointes society. The physical clubhouse has been through several iterations with the existing main building being constructed in 1925. In 1912, the Club purchased the Weir Farm. British golf architect Harry Colt was hired to design a golf course on the former Weir Farm, which the Club called the upper property.

During the rebuilding of the Clubhouse after a major fire, the members purchased the Hall estate. The firm of Colt & Alison redesigned the course, while summer play continued on the current course. The golf course welcomed its first round on September 3, 1927.

In 1952, Robert Trent Jones, Sr. was hired to redesign the course to bring it up to championship standards. As a tribute to his work, the 1954 U.S. Amateur Championship was held at the Club and won by a young , launching his illustrious career.

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In 1964, the Board approved construction of a nine hole short course, to be designed by Mr. Robert Trent Jones, Sr., which opened in 1966.

On June 24, 2011 the Club celebrated the re-opening of its redesigned Championship Golf Course. The course was returned to the Colt and Alison design with an updated interpretation by one of today’s leading golf architects, Tom Doak, and his firm, Renaissance Golf Design. ~~~~~ Like many clubs over the past few years, CCD has seen an overall decline in membership, however new member activity is trending very positively, as well as to a younger age demographic and family orientation. The newly renovated golf course has been very well received and the Club continues to enjoy an especially strong reputation in the local area.

The Club suffered a fire in the golf maintenance center on the first day of reseeding the course 1- ½ years ago, which resulted in a complete loss of that structure and all of the equipment contained therein. The complex has been completely rebuilt (fully covered by insurance), and the new facility and equipment are well conceived and able to support a meticulously maintained course. Included in the rebuild was the reconstruction of a six bedroom, common kitchen intern housing unit.

The 60,000 sq.ft. clubhouse is beautifully appointed and representative of classic design and construction of its era. Numerous dining areas and private meeting space is scattered throughout the well maintained grand rooms and intimate spaces, including a beautiful wine room. There are six private sleeping rooms along with one larger apartment for member and guest use.

Culinary operations are led by Certified Master Chef and Culinary Olympian, Brian Beland, and the Club enjoys a particularly good reputation for its food.

The family focus of CCD is seen in exceptionally strong participation in its junior programs with tremendous participation in both swim team and junior golf activities in the summer months. Tennis also enjoys strong support with ten Har Tru courts, and the Club has an active fall/winter season group using the four paddle tennis courts. Additionally, the Club has a unique bowling alley amenity that includes four active lanes, multiple male/female/coed and junior competitions and year round activity.

Known for the overall quality of landscaping, CCD provides its members an exquisite physical plant, supported by both a number of long tenured, energized key department managers along with several with the Club for a relatively short time. Club Facts

Gross Dollar Volume: $7.5M Dues Revenue: $4.36M with a monthly capital charge ranging from $30 - $105, depending upon membership category. Dues for Active Golf are $695 per month. Food & Beverage Revenue: Food - $1.57M, Beverage - $706,000  The Club has approximately 840 members in all categories, with approximately 350 in the Active Golf category.

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 The Initiation Fee for Active Golf is $32,000, with lesser amounts for various other categories  The Club is a 501(c) (7) organization with approximately 100 FTE employees in season  Approximately 16,000 rounds of golf are played annually (on 27 holes, 9 of which are the short course).

GM/COO Position Overview The GM/COO has full responsibility for all aspects of operations, reporting to a 9 person Board of Directors, each serving up to two, three-year terms. He/she will lead and represent the management team that includes a Clubhouse Manager, Executive Chef, Golf Course Superintendent, Golf Professional, Controller, Membership Manager, Chief Engineer, Pool Director, Day Camp Director and Tennis and Paddle Professionals. The General Manager will also indirectly supervise all employees of the Club, ensuring that appropriate standards of operation are clearly set and followed.

He/she will be highly interactive with both members and staff, and is expected to be the ‘face’ of the Club, acting as a true “Partner” with the Board and in an active committee environment. This is a true COO model organization.

The successful candidate will have proven management experience in a private club setting, preferably in a community with similar long-standing roots as do the Grosse Pointes, and with a proven record of strong operational and team mentorship skills, a strong grasp and understanding of club financials. The Board and membership expect a strong and confident, as well as consummately professional leader, who represents them and the Club’s overall interests in the local community. It will be important to be active in the local community, and there is a strong desire for the GM/COO to live in one of the Grosse Pointes.

Successful candidates will be creative, hardworking, understanding of the need to ‘walk the talk’ and willing to bring new ideas and solutions in the fine-tuning of the evolving new club ‘business model’ for success. A strong understanding the ideal ‘member experience’ at CCD is critical, and candidates will need to understand and strive for excellent service and exceptional standards of quality to maintain and improve upon the current level of service that has been established. Holding the team accountable, after first clarifying expectations, is a necessary key to success at CCD. Leading with integrity and building the trust and confidence of each constituency--- Members, Staff, the Board, Committees---is of critical importance. And, “managing by results”, setting clear goals and objectives for all key management team members, and holding the team accountable for those results is critical. Obsession with and an eye for detail in the service, “member-ready” staging of the clubhouse and operation, building maintenance and housekeeping areas are critical, as is the need to be a particularly good and intuitive listener. Of further importance is a keen ability to review and evolve the organizational structure of the operation to meet changing member expectations and improving the overall deliverables to an exceptional ‘member experience’.

Excellent candidates will be those who display maturity, are confident and who recognize that they need to offer a reasonable, well-articulated perspective as the COO, and who are exceptional at the “blocking and tackling” aspects of operations. Additionally, working closely with the Board, the GM/COO will be act as a key arbiter of transparency in communications.

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Working with the Board to ensure that the well-conceived “Vision” and plan for the future is evolved and executed, and being able to articulate the benefits of the “Vision” to members and prospective members, will be a critical skill set.

Some Initial Primary Objectives  Be highly visible and interactive, getting to know each key constituency---members, staff, board, committees and external ‘partners’ to the overall success of CCD.  Further develop, mentor and evaluate the team, setting and/or clarifying goals and objectives while ensuring that necessary ‘metrics’ are in place. As noted previously, setting accountabilities and consistently evaluating them is critical.  Work with the Board and Committees to fully understand the Goal Plan for CCD’s future.  Develop a senior manager incentive program that rewards mutually beneficial (the Club and the individual manager) in ‘win-win’ results.  Evaluate service delivery in all areas, but especially in dining service, implementing clearly defined improvement plans where necessary. “Help people be great at what they do!”  “Lead by Example”

Candidate Qualifications & Experience

 Candidates must possess a minimum of 7 - 10 years of progressively more responsible club management positions, preferably in the top executive position.  Preferably, the successful candidate will have had experience leading a club in a similar type community as the Grosse Pointes. Being able to demonstrate one’s recognition of this unique feature will be necessary and important.  The successful candidate will be a proven businessperson with exceptional financial and budgeting skills that have yielded verifiable results. A demonstrated record of success in this area is critical. In particular, the candidate must enjoy and embrace the challenge of strong fiscal management, especially during these economic times, while at the same time delivering the quality and range of services and innovative activities to enable CCD to continue to attract and retain members.  The prospective GM/COO must be a mature, charismatic, passionate, energized professional and have outstanding membership relations and communication skills, both written and verbal.  He/She must have a proven record of strong operational management skills and will have a logical career path ensuring the highest standards of operation and attention to detail. The ideal candidate will have strong food and beverage experience, strategic planning experience and will have worked in an operation of a commensurate level of quality as CCD.  The club is looking for a “visionary, take-charge type” person who is also especially diplomatic and highly approachable.  The new GM/COO will need to enjoy inspiring department managers and employees and must demonstrate proven leadership skills in team building, employee motivation and service training. The ability to work well with the Board and Committees is essential, as is a strong ability to work with the Board to further establish and memorialize clear roles, responsibilities and overall metrics for sustainable success.

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 He/She should have good skills utilizing current technology in the club industry, and be knowledgeable as to coming trends in this area, as well as the best use of such resources in communicating with members, prospective and staff. Staying “engaged and connected” with members is of critical importance, and directing the use and design of the Club’s website and related digital technologies is critically important.  Previous and verifiable strategic business planning skills, and the ability to vision and articulate goals and objectives to each constituency, are considered very valuable.  He/She must be a person who understands and effectively functions in a non-profit, volunteer Board and Committee environment. Someone who is a strong consensus builder and facilitator, and who embodies the behavior and skills one needs to be successful in this type of governance model.  He/She must be capable of a high degree of initiative, innovation and resourcefulness in directing the activities of a very busy family oriented country club; able to present a consummately professional image to the staff, membership, and the general public at all times.  A strong commitment to and proven record of consistent focus on personal professional development. Continuing education, as reflects in one’s resume of accomplishments, is important.  He/She should have a record of community involvement and a verifiable history of working closely with local governmental constituencies in a highly cooperative, supportive manner.

A college degree and the CCM are preferred. Interviews are expected to occur in late November and the successful candidate is expected to be in place early in 2013.

Please visit the website at: www.ccofd.com

Salary: Open and commensurate with qualifications and experience. The Club, along with the typical CMAA benefits, offers competitive bonus and benefits package.

Email or fax a letter of interest and resume (IMPORTANT: Please send your information in Word or PDF format, saved as: Smith, John Resume.doc or Smith, John Cover Letter.pdf) to:

KOPPLIN & KUEBLER Attn: Nan Fisher Email: [email protected] Fax: 480-443-9642

Kurt D. Kuebler is the Lead Partner on this search. He may be reached at [email protected] or 561-747-5213.

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