Name:  Stephen M. Downes

Club:  The Carnegie Abbey Club

Description:  For a summer club, this program has allowed members to feel connected with the club even if they are not at the club in person during the winter.  It has helped build member relations.

Implementation:  Members have been motivated to “stay ahead” of friends on the program; subsequently they have improved their fitness.  Families have even gotten involved.

Name:  William C. Harris

Club:  The Country Club of Virginia

Description:  Split A Pro – Our booming squash program needed another pro, butnot a full-time person.  In order to attract a quality pro, we coordinated with two other clubs to full a pro’s schedule and provide service to smaller programs.  In order to satisfy immigration requirements, the regional squash association has assumed the role of employer.  The pro is an independent contractor to all three clubs.  This allows additional flexibility in scheduling lessons and lessens the burden for our existing pro.

Name:  Scott Garvin, CCM

Club:  Western Racquet Club

Description:  WRC has partnered with Marquette University to provide our members with a high quality 3 day tennis exposition.  The club has been able to raise sponsorship dollars to help fund 2 Sportsmanship awards and 2 Milwaukee public school scholarship programs for tennis education.

Implementation:  By hosting a 3 day tennis tournament showcase on the new championship style courts, 1200 people have attended.  The members have welcomed the student athletes into their homes to give them a connection to Western Racquet Club.  The members have enjoyed the high level of competition and interest in tennis has grown in the community.

Name:  Wayne Hall, CCM

Club:  Farmington Country Club

Description:  Farmington’s Tennis staff organized a rally ball tournament for younger kids who don’t regularly play tennis.  Rally ball uses a larger, softer ball which is easier to hit.  Kids can keep the ball in play for a longer period of time. The game is also played on a slightly smaller court.  These modifications allow new players to learn the fundamentals of competitive tennis in an exciting and high-energy environment.

Implementation:  The inaugural tournament was a huge success with many members participating.  Parents cheered on their kids as the tournament progressed.  All participants received a special prize honoring their efforts.  Rally ball is an innovative way to build confidence in a young member and encourage them to continue playing tennis.

Name:  Terra Waldron

Club:  Desert Highlands Association

Description:  Our Dance like the Stars Ballroom Sampler classes provide an opportunity to sample the most popular social dances used at weddings and other special functions.  In the 4-week sessions, members are introduced to the Fox Trot, Swing, and Cha Cha and other social dances as time permits with hands on instruction from professional dance instructor Dale Kuhn.

Implementation:  Upon a member request, we contracted with Dale Kuhn, a professional dance instructor with over 20 years of experience, and developed the Dance like the Stars program with four 4-week sessions.  The event was advertised in the monthly flyers, newsletter, weekly emails and calendar of events with tremendous immediate success.

Name:  William C. Harris

Club:  The Country Club of Virginia

Description:  Croquet Party – Any small corporate, social, or private group can schedule a sponsored croquet party, with refreshments and facilitated by a staff professional.  This is an unique way to sponsor guests in a social setting and provides staff professionals with additional commissions.

Name:  Ted Bartlett

Club:  Hermitage Country Club

Description:  The Hermitage Sports Center is an all inclusive facility with our fitness center, tennis facilities and spa services.  We have foods and beverages available to our members that support a healthy lifestyle.  After a workout or tennis match, our members can enjoy a steam or sauna which are located in the men and ladies locker rooms.

Implementation:  After meeting as a service team, a unanimous decision was made to move forward and create our all inclusive facility.  The Hermitage Sports Center has exceeded our members expectations.

Name:  William C. Harris

Club:  The Country Club of Virginia

Description:  Fall Fitness File Cleanup – We could not determine who was active in our Fitness Center because the files had never been cleaned out.  We gave the members an opportunity to pull their old card, make corrections, and place in new, alphabetized files.  Active members are now able to easily find their cards and we have room for new participants.

Name:  Wayne Hall, CCM

Club:  Farmington Country Club

Description:  Farmington hosts a weekly Sunday paddle league that is social, convenient and a fun way for members to stay active during winter months.  There are both a mens and womens league which play paddle in a round robin style for an hour and a half every Sunday.  Four members pay on each court and rotate so each player plays one set with the other three players.  Prizes are awarded to the first and second highest scoring players at the season’s end. 

Implementation:  To maintain the league, an email is sent every Monday to participants asking if they will attend next Sundays paddle league match.  Members respond by Wednesday and court assignments are emailed back that evening.  The league has been well received by the members. During our recent sign-ups, both leagues were filled before the season started.  Members are thrilled with both the league and the emailed communications. 

Name:  Terra Waldron

Club:  Desert Highlands Association

Description:  THE ASU ladies tennis team is invited to Desert Highlands for an annual fundraiser.  The ASU ladies are partnered with DH members who pay $125 per player (tax deductible donation) for a friendly mixed doubles competition.  Members also host their partners for a fabulous courtside BBQ after the matches.

Implementation:  DH tennis director Eric Anderson implemented this program at Tucson Country Club in 1989 with the University of Arizona and organized it successfully for the 16 years of his tenure there.  When he came to DH in January 2005, he created the same program for DH members with ASU.

Name:  William C. Harris

Club:  The Country Club of Virginia

Description:  Student Interns – Many employees of our Personal Training staff attended a local college.  Part of the graduation requirement is approximately 600 hours of on-the-job training.  We invite qualified interns to pair up and shadow our senior trainers.  Although hosting an internship program is nothing new at CCV, allowing a Personal Training intern is.  Our staff is diverse in special populations and post-rehabilitation training.  The interns are exposed to a variety of high quality training and a variety of on-the-job experiences.  After completing the internship, the students have fulfilled their degree requirement and are ready to work.  CCV benefits by potentially hiring the highest quality interns, The University benefits by allowing their student to gain on the job training and complete a quality internship, and the students get practical training second to none.

Name:  William C. Harris

Club:  The Country Club of Virginia

Description:  Fitness Forum – The Fitness Forum is a professional meeting of fitness professionals from private clubs in central Virginia.  The Fitness Forum meets twice yearly, rotating through participating clubs.  The forum goals include: meet other professionals in private club settings, create friendships and networking opportunities, share experiences specific to private club fitness centers, visit other fitness centers and observe equipment and programs, and provide venue for questions and learning.

Name:  Mary Elizabeth Sullivan

Club:  Granite Club

Description:  In 1949 the Annual International Seniors Tennis Competition between Canada and the United States of America for the Gordon Trophy was initiated by three men: Harry S. Spencer of Montreal, W. Dickson Cunningham of New York, and G. Blair Gordon of Montreal, who donated the magnificent trophy bearing his name.  Played alternately in Canada and the U.S.A., the event was the first international senior tennis competition.  Originally, only four singles and four doubles matches were played.  It has now expanded to over 25 players on each team due to the honor and privilege players feel in representing their nation in a senior tennis competition. 

Implementation:  The tournament runs over three days and includes a banquet on Friday night.  Over the course of the event, a staff videographer recorded the payers during their matches, and while they were socializing at the Thursday night reception.  The video was edited and music added in a turnaround time of two hours after the matches had been completed for the day.

Name:  Tom Osborne

Club:  The Country Club of Virginia

Description:  Tennis “Shootout” – Events were held throughout the year.  A “shootout” event is a shortened format used to host an entire tournament in one day.  This format is popular for members with very busy schedules as they only need to commit to one day.  Each event includes favors, lunch, awards, and two guaranteed matches.  The “shootout” format was approved the VA Tennis Association so all results count towards ratings.  In 2006, we hosted a series of “shootout” events: two mixed doubles events, a 50s men’s event, and 35s women’s event.  All were extremely successful and the “shootout” format is catching on at other clubs.

Name:  William C. Harris

Club:  The Country Club of Virginia

Description:  Fly-Fishing – A local professional fly-fishing instructor and guide has developed a comprehensive program for our members.  Adults and children were introduced to the art of fly-fishing.  In addition to fly-casting techniques, members were offered classes in fly-tying, equipment consultation, and guides and destinations. 

Name:  Gregory Webb, CCM

Club:  The Kansas City Country Club

Description:  We offer a Sports Conditioning Boot Camp for teenagers as various times throughout the year.  The camp allows kids to utilize the fitness center and aerobic studio and work with our Director of Fitness in a small group environment.  The skills taught help the kids with middle and high school sports as well as Club sport like swimming, golf, and tennis.

Implementation:  We identified a time convenient for the kids and relatively quiet in the fitness center.  We advertised on the fitness center counter and the newsletter.  The flyers on the counter were grabbed so quickly that the first two sessions were sold out before the newsletter was in the mail.  It fills up every time and we get rave reviews for the kids and the parents.

Name:  Tommy Janney

Club:  The Country Club of Virginia

Description:  Personalized Swim Caps – Our goal was to have all of our swim team participants registered by the start of the season.  Everyone who pre-registered received a personalized swim cap.  We had the most successful registration ever with lots of compliments from the parents.