IT WAS A TRUE PLEASURE to meet so many of you at the 2022 National Club Conference in Charleston! Meeting so many of you at the Conference made for a fabulous formal introduction to the National Club Association (NCA).
Since joining the NCA staff in late January, I’ve consistently heard two things: “You have big shoes to fill,” and “You’re going to love it here.” Both statements are absolutely true. It’s an honor for me to follow the path forged by former NCA Vice President of Communications Cindy Vizza, and I’m already enjoying working with members, volunteers and staff on association communications. Thank you for the warm welcome so far.
Leadership
During NCA’s Annual Meeting held in conjunction with the Conference, two individuals were elected to NCA’s Board of Directors: Matt Cary, National Democratic Club; and John Magill, National Republican Club of Capitol Hill. Having leaders from these two Washington, D.C., clubs as members of the board is a fantastic representation of NCA’s bipartisan advocacy on behalf of private clubs on Capitol Hill, and we’re happy to work with them in this capacity.
The board also elected new officers for the next year:
- Chair Nick Sidorakis, CCM, Southern Hills Country Club.
- Vice Chair Malcolm MacColl, The Windsor Club.
- Treasurer Luke O’Boyle, CCM, CCE, Chevy Chase Club.
- Secretary Rob Smith, the Country Club of Oxford.
- Immediate Past Chair Michael Bruni, Olympia Fields Country Club.
The board also named Joe Trauger, NCA’s Vice President of Government Relations, as Interim President & CEO following the departure of Henry Wallmeyer from staff. In addition to his responsibilities representing NCA members in Washington, D.C., Joe is a regular contrib- utor to Club Director (you’ll see his name on several articles in this issue) who regularly shares his expertise across our platforms.
We’re looking forward to working with all of these leaders in their new capacities—and happy to profile Nick Sidorakis on p. 10, right on the heels of his club’s hosting the PGA Cham- pionship. You won’t want to miss it.
Continuing the Conversation
Feedback for this year’s National Club Conference speakers was hugely positive, and we are glad to feature articles from several of them in this issue. Whether you attended all the sessions or kept up with our social media feeds from home, you’ll undoubtedly find plenty of takeaways. Features from mental health experts Angela Feeser and Carolyn Ramp, professor and Great Resignation re- searcher Victoria Grady, “Fun is Good” evangelist Mike Veeck, and retired Waffle House President
and COO Bert Thornton are references worth sharing. I hope you’ll do just that, either in this paper magazine or online at nationalclubconference.org where you can see their and all the presentations.
I look forward to working with you for a long time. Please reach out to me at [email protected] anytime.