Glen Oaks Hosts MGA Presidents Council Fall Conference
OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. (October 18, 2021) -- The Metropolitan Golf Association hosted its annual Presidents Council Fall Conference on Monday at Glen Oaks Club, welcoming 150 leaders from MGA member clubs to hear from industry leaders on timely topics. The conference, which returned to an in-person gathering following its online presentations in 2020, is part of MGA Foundation-sponsored educational programming that takes place throughout the year. A number of MGA partners and sponsors were also on hand to share their expertise and offerings to clubs in their respective areas.
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Glen Oaks Club President Jordan Ziegler provided the official welcome for the day before the morning's educational presentations began. National Club Association Vice President of Government Relations Joe Trauger then opened the day's programming by quickly touching on legislative issues facing the private club industry before introducing special guest Congressman Thomas Suozzi, who represents New York's 3rd District. Among his discussion points, Suozzi shared the importance of decisions makers working together and encouraged the club leaders to be active in the political process.
Tyler Bloom of Tyler Bloom Consulting discussed strategies for clubs to thrive in the current labor market. Bloom encouraged attendees to seek new possibilities to increase their talent pools and shared the successes in training and apprenticeship programs that recruit, train and retain quality workers.
Next in the program, Keith Pabian of Pabian Law discussed the challenges of seasonal staffing and provided insight to J-1 and H-2B visa strategies looking to 2022 and beyond. Pabian also discussed ways in which clubs can improve compensation packages in order to retain workers and also introduced Seasonal Connect, where seasonal workers--both Americans and those from outside the U.S.--and clubs can better connect for work opportunities.
After a break and an MGA update from President Andy Stock, Union League of Philadelphia CEO Jeff McFadden shared how prioritizing employees should stand as a keystone for a club. McFadden provided useful examples of how valuing employees has driven Union League of Philadelphia's success, from quarterly evaluations and bonuses to structuring club policies to drive employee satisfaction.
Ray Cronin and Ken Bulter, respectively the Founder and Chief Innovator and Executive Director of Club Benchmarking, concluded the morning's discussions, sharing information on the enduring business model lessons of COVID. The duo discussed how member experiences and funding to support those activities became apparent through the pandemic and how these discoveries can help with the long-term heath of clubs.
Following lunch, attendees enjoyed play at Glen Oaks Club, the host of the Met Open in 2016, the Northern Trust in 2017 and the Ladies European Tour's Aramco Team Series just last week. Despite the day's onset of fall temperatures and wind, attendees were positive about testing their game on the challenging layout and enjoyed the outstanding conditioning provided by superintendent Craig Currier and his team.
The evening closed with an outstanding variety of food and drink from the Glen Oaks team, a special Dewar's tasting opportunity and another chance to connect with the MGA's partners and sponsors for the day.
For more information about the Presidents Council Fall Conference, please contact the MGA member services department.