Meet The Speakers

 Keynote

Jack Nicklaus

Legendary Golf Champion and Course Designer

Widely regarded as golf’s greatest champion, Nicklaus has won 120 professional tournaments, including a record 18 majors, and is one of only six players to achieve the career Grand Slam. Beyond the course, he has shaped the game as one of its most influential designers with nearly 325 golf courses worldwide, and with his wife Barbara has raised more than $225 million for children’s health through the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation.

 

 

Jeff Bennett

President
Bald Peak Colony Club, NCA Board Member
 
Jeff Bennett is managing partner of Muddy Water Holdings, which owns and operates a portfolio of digital media and commerce companies. He founded and led growth companies Swap, NameMedia and Locos and is an E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year award recipient. He is president of Bald Peak Colony Club, was named Private Club President of the Year in 2023 and has served on a wide variety of committees there and at Brae Burn County Club.
 
 

Tom Bennison

Chief Development Officer
Invited, NCA Board Member
 

Tom Bennison is chief development officer at Invited and led more than 100 acquisitions, leases, joint ventures and management contracts for ClubCorp USA, Inc., and prior to that, Club Development Interests. He has completed deals with organizations such as The Nicklaus Companies, The Hyatt Corporation, ClubLink Corporation, Pulte Homes, Sequoia Golf, Stratford Golf, Traditional Golf, the PGA TOUR and the Hugh Bacroft Trust.

Harry Hill

Past President
Union League of Philadelphia & Merion Golf Club
 

Harry Edward Hill III is past president of the Union League of Philadelphia and owns and operates several small manufacturing companies and is a director of The Philadelphia Contribuionship, a property insurance and security company established by Ben Franklin in 1752. He is a past Board member and president of the Merion Golf Club and has served on the Boards of multiple nonprofit organizations.

Joel Livingood

CEO
Interlachen Country Club, NCA Vice Chair
 

Joel Livingood is general manager and CEO of Interlachen Country Club, where he drove a multi-million-dollar improvement in performance and has overseen nearly $70 million in transformational capital projects. He is vice chair of the National Club Association's Board of Directors and a Certified Club Manager through the Club Management Association of America. In 2025, he was recognized with the Mead Grady Excellence in Club Management® Award.

Bruce Lubin

President
Addison Reserve Country Club
 

Bruce Lubin is president of Addison Reserve Country Club and former vice chair of CIBC Bank USA and executive managing director and president of CIBC Illinois Commercial Banking. He serves on the boards of several nonprofit organization and is chairman of the Board of The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce.

Michael McCarthy

CEO
Addison Reserve Country Club, NCA Chair
 

Michael McCarthy is CEO of Addison Reserve Country Club, ranked as the #4 club by Platinum Clubs of America and #23 by Platinum Clubs of the World. The club has also earned the prestigious distinction of being a Distinguished Elite Club by Board Room Magazine and Forbes Travel. He is chairman of the Seminole Regional Charity Golf Tournament, one of 24 CMAA Fellows, is an Excellence in Club Management® Awardee, serves on multiple nonprofit boards, and is currently chair of the National Club Association.

Jeff McFadden

CEO
Union League of Philadelphia
NCA Membership Committee Chair & Executive Committee
 

Jeff McFadden, CCM, CCE, ECM, is CEO of The Union League of Philadelphia, peer ranked as the No. 1 Platinum City Club in America. He has received many industry honors and is actively involved in leadership with the National Club Association, Club Management Association of America, Platinum Clubs of America, the Philadelphia Police Foundation, LaSalle College High School, Wing’s Field, Cornell University’s Society of Hotelmen, Angel Flight East, Avenue of the Arts, Inc., the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association, The First Tee of Greater Philadelphia and the PGA Reach Foundation.

David Oxford

Immediate Past Chair
Interlachen Country Club
 
 
David Oxford is immediate past chair of Interlachen Country Club, where he served three years as president. He s a senior executive at GameMill Publishing, an Edina-based software company with corporate partnerships that include the PGA Tour, Paramount Global, Mattel, and more. He has served on the Board of Trustees at The Blake School and is currently a board member of Spring Hill Golf Club.

Joe Trauger

President & CEO
National Club Association
 
Joe Trauger is President and CEO of the National Club Association (NCA). He joined NCA in 2019 after founding and leading Northfield Strategies, an advocacy consulting firm. Trauger previously served as senior vice president of policy and government relations at the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute and as vice president of government relations at the National Association of Manufacturers.
 
Before his association leadership roles, Trauger held senior staff positions on Capitol Hill, including for then–House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), then–House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas), Senator Rod Grams (R-Minn.), and Representative Sam Johnson (R-Texas).
 
At NCA, Trauger has strengthened the association’s advocacy and government relations efforts and expanded programs such as ClubPAC, and NCA Club Leaders. A longtime club member himself, he served on the board and is a past president of Mount Vernon Country Club in Alexandria, Va.