Page 8 - GBC Eng.summer2020

Message From The CEO, NGCOA Canada • Jeff Calderwood
The First Tee
Crisis Management, COVID-19, & NGCOA Canada
Icall it our forever promise ... “To serve the long-term best interests of golf course operators throughout Canada.”
The NGCOA Canada was founded upon that fundamental principle. It has consistently been the vision that drives your Board’s development of our strategic plan and our staff team’s delivery of member benefits. It differentiates our association from all others. Market conditions and your specific needs may shift over time. But, that forever promise is always there to ensure our focus on your needs, no matter what the circumstances may be.
Enter COVID-19. This exceptional disruption has certainly put our forever promise to the ultimate test. But, I’m proud of how the NGCOA Canada has stepped up, quickly shifting gears to develop the necessary support services and leadership to support you through this crisis.
Our COVID-19 bulletins were immediate, frequent, educational, interpreted specifically for golf, and customized for every province. Our online Resource Centre archives all relevant information for your reference.
Our private Facebook group provides ongoing peer-to-peer exchange of best practices. Each day, our NGCOA Canada staff team fielded over 100 incoming golf course requests for consultation. And, we executed a deep outreach program, personally calling every NGCOA Canada member to offer additional support however we could.
In terms of COVID-19 government advocacy, the NGCOA Canada acted quickly to develop comprehensive safety protocols specifically for golf operations, and to persuasively communicate these to the appropriate authorities both provincially and federally. At all times, we led with health and safety. However, we also consistently positioned golf as one of the safest activities to comply with physical distancing and general sanitary conditions. In effect, it is a 10-20 km controlled walk through 150 acres of nature with no more than three others who have no trouble maintaining the two metres social distancing at all times. That safe experience then provides the much-needed exercise, mental stimulation, fresh air, sunshine, and actual human interaction that health officials have been recommending. Our messaging has resonated very well with
all public health officials and politicians, allowing golf to be one of the earliest industries to re-open once the health curve risks had been minimized, or to stay open.
That NGCOA Canada support continues with this edition of Golf Business Canada. Using COVID-19 as the real-time case study, our feature story is all about Crisis Management. Authored by Henry DeLozier, a partner with GGA Partners, this article provides a great blueprint for managing through any crisis, as well as some insightful COVID-19 recommended best practices for golf. From financial management to HR training, to communication strategies to risk management and future proofing your golf operation for the next crisis, I think you will find DeLozier’s consultation to be highly valuable.
On behalf of the NGCOA Canada and Golf Business Canada, I wish you all the best for a healthy and successful balance of the 2020 golf season. We will be there throughout, delivering on our forever promise to serve your best interests, no matter what.
Jeff Calderwood, CEO NGCOA Canada jcalderwood@ngcoa.ca
8 Golf Business Canada