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Town Government & |
Committees: Country Club Management Committee Country Club Management Committee 2007 Annual Report 2007 was a year that saw major changes in the structure and function of the South Shore Country Club, primarily in the areas of golf operations, catering and the restaurant. At the end of the calendar 2006 golf season the Committee decided to bring golf operations in house, staffed with town employees, and to not renew the expiring management contract for the golf operator that had been in place for 15 years. The new Golf Course Superintendent Jay McGrail was hired in November 2006 and took the challenges in hand immediately, making extraordinarily positive changes to the operations and the property which were noticed on opening day receiving high praise from customers. That praise accelerated throughout the season. Holly Taylor was hired as the in house Golf Professional, and similarly made positive and dramatic changes to the golf programs, and to key customer satisfaction areas such as pace of play, lessons and specially segmented programs. The goal was to noticeably improve the quality of the offerings in all areas, to significantly raise the level of customer service and to provide a seamless guest experience. To that end the catering contractor opened negotiations to terminate their existing contract, and was released. The subsequent RFP process surfaced several well-qualified candidates with the winner, Seacoast Catering, a subsidiary of The Lantana, entering into negotiations with the Board of Selectmen for a 3 year lease, recently executed. Seacoast Catering has been very sensitive to customer comment and has worked hard to bring about a positive change. The transitions at the South Shore Country Club were global, requisite and a truly new approach, which left much uncharted territory to conquer, since there was no specific financial history to draw upon due to the nature of previous contracts. The goals of the Committee are to absorb the costs of the transition, such as the lease of major equipment and the purchase of some, to attain financial breakeven, and then to invest capital, with the help of the Building Committee, into the property to reach a level of quality product and service that is sustainable. Once the level of sustainable quality is achieved, which given the 2007 progress should be quickly, substantial contributions to the town revenues will be resumed on a consistent basis, only modulated by the vagaries of weather and the market. This year Jack Gamache’s term expired on the Committee after making very substantial contributions to all areas, but particularly to the complex issues surrounding the new irrigation system. Kathy Curley has joined the Committee and her valuable business experience is most welcome.
Nora Berard, Director of Operations
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