Page 55 - GBC Spring 2017 eng

Associate Publisher • Nathalie Lavallée
It all started 25 years ago with one man’s vision! Mark Seabrook, owner of Canadian Golf & Country Club in Ottawa, ON, wanted the owners (the entrepreneurs), who have the most financially invested in our industry, to have a voice. He gathered a small group of like-minded owners who believed in his vision and they hired an Executive Director, Jeff Calderwood, to further develop their plan.
Fast forward 25 years and that same Executive Director, now CEO, with the help of a very talented staff team, has built one of the strongest and most well respected golf associations in the world. I recently attended a few meetings south of the border and it makes me proud to see the genuine respect for the NGCOA Canada.
We recently received an email that speaks to that respect, “I admire the hard work and creativity that I see at NGCOA Canada. You are clearly adding value for your members. Yours is an entrepreneurial organization and as an entrepreneurship professor, that is high praise.”
From 0 to 1260 members, 0 to 160 supplier partners, 0 to hundreds of member benefits and I don’t see an end in sight because we are an organization that is truly member-centric. We do not enter into any partnerships unless there is a clear member benefit.
Your Success
Is Our Success!
MEMBERS’
We are approached every day by suppliers who want to financially support the Association in return for an endorsement, but if it does not pass the test of member benefit first, the discussions don’t go any further. We have never opted to have an answering service unless the office is closed. Why? Because we want to speak directly to our members.
You have a staff team working very hard for you. In my 25+ years of working in various industries, I have never worked with a group of individuals who care more about the success of the stakeholders they represent. Every day they push harder because they believe in the Association’s mission and vision of ‘providing business support to golf courses throughout Canada and to focus on the long-term best interests of those same stakeholders.’ Your success is our success!
I recently heard a member say, ‘you guys should stop introducing new programs, I’m having trouble keeping up with it all’ but I tend to disagree with that statement. The benefit of having such a big basket of offerings for our members is that we have something for everyone.
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We have never taken the ‘one-size fits all’ approach with our programming. In our opinion, choice is the way to address every course’s individuality.
So don’t let our ‘Basket’ overwhelm you. Take a read through the following pages that highlight ‘what’s new,’ visit our website at ngcoa.ca to find out what’s in the basket or ask our staff to walk you through each benefit – this is the best time of the year to do that. You will then be well equipped to pick and choose what works best for your course!
I encourage you all to join Mark Seabrook, the man with a vision, who will be chairing our Conference November 18-20 in Ottawa, as we celebrate the NGCOA Canada’s 25th anniversary and Canada’s 150th anniversary!
Here’s to an early start to the 2017 season!
Nathalie Lavallée Chief Operating Officer NGCOA Canada nlavallee@ngcoa.ca
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