News Room
Randy Ruder, CCM, CCE, CMAA Fellow, Named 2025 Club Executive of the Year
Alexandria, VA—Club Management magazine has named Randy Ruder, Certified Club Manager (CCM), Certified Chief Executive (CCE), CMAA Fellow, the 2025 Club Executive of the Year. He currently serves as the General Manager of Beach Point Club in Mamaroneck, NY.
His nomination highlighted his remarkable approach to mentorship, defined by genuine care, personal investment, and a commitment to others’ success. Through his guidance and encouragement, Ruder has profoundly shaped careers and enriched lives across the profession.
Ruder joins a distinguished group of professionals who have earned this prestigious distinction. Each year, Club Management magazine honors one club management professional whose performance over the past year exemplifies the highest standards of leadership and professionalism with the Club Executive of the Year Award. Since its creation in 1985, this annual honor has recognized head-of-club professionals who elevate their facilities, communities, and CMAA Chapters through professionalism, mentorship, and positive culture. Nominations are accepted in the fall, and selections are made by a diverse committee of peers.
Mentee Qian Yang, CCM, the Club’s Assistant General Manager, explains Ruder’s impact as his mentor, “Randy truly embodies the very best of mentorship. He genuinely cares about people, investing in their growth and creating opportunities that often change the course of their lives. The countless success stories of those he has guided stand as living proof of his remarkable impact.”
Club Vice President Brad Eric Scheler highlighted how Ruder has created a supportive culture for the club’s employee team including the creation of a college internship program, an international internship program, and the 1925 Foundation, providing college scholarships for employees and their children. Scheler explains, “Randy is a star and is first-rate in all that he does. Engaging and possessed of contagious charm, there aren’t enough positive adjectives to describe Randy; warm, sensitive, intelligent, broad-minded, responsible, considerate…truly an outstanding person.”
Ruder is active with the Metropolitan Chapter of CMAA, where he has held every position on the Metropolitan Chapter Board, including President, and for the last 20 years has served on its Foundation Board, where he is currently Vice Chairman.
Ruder’s journey into hospitality has humble beginnings growing up on his family dairy farm in rural Wisconsin. An early experience of washing dishes in a restaurant on Mother’s Day sparked his passion, and he decided to pursue a degree in hospitality management. He earned his BS in Hospitality Administration and Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Stout and his Master of Business Administration from La Salle University. Throughout college, he gained extensive experience working in a variety of restaurants and completing internships at a few clubs in New York.
After learning about Eric Casper, the highly respected longtime General Manager of Beach Point Club, Ruder passionately pursued an internship opportunity. His efforts were successful; he began as a summer intern in 1993 and worked his way into senior management.
Ruder will be featured in the January/February 2026 issue of Club Management magazine, profiled in a forthcoming edition of the Let’s Talk Club Management podcast, and honored in person at the 2026 CMAA World Conference & Club Business Expo in Anaheim, CA.
About CMAA
Founded in 1927, the Club Management Association of America (CMAA) is the largest professional association for managers of membership clubs with 8,100 members throughout the US and internationally. Our members contribute to the success of more than 2,600 country, golf, athletic, city, faculty, military, town, and yacht clubs. The objectives of the Association are to promote relationships between club management professionals and other similar professions; to encourage the education and advancement of members; and to provide the resources needed for efficient and successful club operations. Under the covenants of professionalism, education, leadership, and community, CMAA continues to extend its reach as the leader in the club management practice. CMAA is headquartered in Alexandria, VA, with 38 professional chapters and 40 current and prospective student chapters. Learn more at cmaa.org.
About Club Management Magazine
Club Management is the official magazine of CMAA and embraces the objectives of the Association—to provide state-of-the-art educational programs; to represent its members to allied associations, club members, and the broader public; and provide information and resources that increase member performance and career potential. Published bimonthly, Club Management features timely, educational, and informative content. Learn more.