Association Chief Executive Tom Brooke has a final look back at the success of Conference and wishes members a Happy Christmas…
Once again, a huge thank you to every one of you who attended and supported our 2021 Conference at Wyboston Lakes, it was great to see you there and finally meet so many of you in person for the first time.
Based on the hugely positive feedback we’ve received during and after the event, I’m pleased to say that we delivered a highly successful and enjoyable experience for everyone.
From the opening night’s social event and Q&A with Catriona Matthew and John Paramor, to our opening keynote speaker Danielle Brown MBE, one of the many presentations and workshops on key conference topics Wellbeing, Sustainability and Technology, through to our closing keynote speaker, Chris Cook, there was something for everyone and plenty to take away.
Whilst the event was certainly a success, there are always improvements to be made and we’ll be looking carefully at all the responses we’ve received via the delegate survey, before making any decisions on future events, formats and frequency. If you have any feedback for us on this subject, please get in touch!
For me, one of the highlights of the event was our member awards presentation. For the past couple of months, it was such a rewarding and enjoyable experience for me to have been able to visit so many of the hugely talented and inspiring Club Managers and Teams who had been nominated for one of our awards.
What struck me as particularly relevant in every single circumstance was the success that these individuals and teams have brought to their clubs, not just over the past 2 years, but for several years prior to the pandemic and in many ways at that time, bucking the trends within the industry by growing membership and delivering year on year developments at their clubs.
Congratulations once again to our newly crowned Manager of the Year for 2021, James Maclean from Bognor Regis Golf Club, our Team of the Year at Seacroft Golf Club, and our Newcomer of the Year from Lincoln Golf Club, Louis Booth.
One final word on all three of our finalists for the Newcomer category, as well as Louis, we also had Sam Foster from Whitby GC and Gary Beves from Golf at Goodwood, all exceptionally talented individuals and if they are the example for us, the future of club management is looking extremely bright!
During the Conference, it was also very exciting for us to announce the progress we’ve been making on the new, industry leading, GCMA Mentor programme.
We have now introduced our first team of GCMA Mentors, who will be working closely with us to support and develop the next generation of industry professionals and I feel extremely proud and fortunate to be working with them.
In the New Year, we’ll be bringing you further details of how to learn from the very best and become a GCMA Mentee, so if you’re an up and coming Club Manager, watch this space!
With Christmas now very much upon us, on behalf of the whole team at GCMA HQ and our Board of Directors, I would like to wish you and your families all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year.
Let’s reflect on a huge amount of success and achievement throughout the past 12 months, but also very much look forward to a prosperous and more settled year in 2022.
Merry Christmas!
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