Page 13 - GBC ENG Winter 2025

Mark Seabrook and Jeff with the original NGCOA Canada national board address
160 NGCOA Canada members during the 1999 AGM, Carmel, CA.
With our centralized governance
model, all provinces are on the
NGCOA Canada board, over-
seeing these dynamics together. In
addition, we have consistent
branding, policies and shared
infrastructure systems. We also
blend some of our provincial and
national job descriptions to further
connect the staff and capitalize on
applying their individual skillsets
wherever in the country they may
be effective. Everyone benefits
from this unique combination of
national consistency and provincial
autonomy.
GBC: NGCOA Canada has grown
tremendously under your leader-
ship. What do you see as the key
drivers of that success?
JC: Our success comes from a laser
focus on the value proposition that
we deliver to our member golf
courses, and similarly to our
supplier partners. I also think we
have been more entrepreneurial
than most associations, creating
innovative benefits and events
while driving a proactive sales and
marketing strategy. We actively
pursue opportunities, rather than
waiting for them to come to us, and
that approach is only possible
because of the skill and
professionalism of our staff.
Building such a strong team has
been absolutely critical to our
success.
From a governance perspective,
one of the smartest decisions I
made was that implementation of
our business model as a fully
integrated, single association. By
combining both provincial and
national operations into one,
everyone benefits from a more
cost-efficient structure that avoids
unnecessary duplication and
internal competition.
GBC: This year marks the 25th
anniversary of the Golf Business
Canada Conference & Trade Show.
How do you reflect back on that
particular initiative?
JC: It’s another great success story.
From modest beginnings, the
Conference has become the largest
golf industry show in Canada,
providing tremendous value to
delegates, exhibitors and sponsors
while showcasing the NGCOA
Canada brand.
Before our own conference, I
would take a group of NGCOA
Canada members down to the
NGCOA USA Conference every
year, and I would host a Canada
Night Reception, which gained so
much momentum that even the
Americans raved about it. My
favourite Canada night was when
we invited Clint Eastwood to be
our special guest. He had recently
launched the Tehama Golf Apparel
line and was also building Tehama
Golf Club. Long story short, he
showed up to party with all of our
Canadian delegates!
Over time, our NGCOA
Canada membership was growing
quickly and we were getting
requests for more Canadian content
than that American event could
deliver. So, we launched our own
Conference in Toronto, 2001. Much
to our pleasant surprise, it sold out
and we got a standing ovation
during the closing ceremony. Since
then, it kept growing and
improving every year. It’s hard to
believe that it is now the 25th
Anniversary! We are all very proud
of that event.
GBC: What moments stand out as
the highlights of your 34-year
career?
JC: There are so many! I love
envisioning something new and
bringing it to life. Golfmax was the
first initiative that I launched, now
handling over $100 million in
annual transactions, plus another
$1.6 billion in annual credit card
processing volume.
Launching this Golf Business
Canada Magazine and winning the
CSAE’s Top Association Magazine
in Canada Award were also
highlights, as was creating Take A
Kid To The Course, which grew
into Canada’s largest junior
program in the country with over
700 participating golf courses. I
already raved about our annual
conference, which is obviously a
highlight.
On the advocacy side, our
Ontario Property Tax win in 2010,
which retroactively refunded $65
million in overpaid taxes to 492
golf courses and further lowered
the current value assessments for
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