Private Club Radio Show
Welcome to the Private Club Radio Show, the industry's weekly source for education, news, trends, and other current developments in the world of private clubs.
Hosted by the talented entertainer and industry expert, Denny Corby,
the podcast offers a unique perspective on the private club industry, featuring expert guests, product spotlights, predictions, and more.
Whether you're involved in a golf club management, yacht clubs, athletic clubs, or business clubs, the Private Club Radio Show is the essential podcast for
anyone seeking valuable insights and information on the latest trends and developments in the private club industry.
Private Club Radio Show
479: 100 Members In 100 Days w/ Jeff Thomas Corning Country Club
In this episode of Private Club Radio, Denny sits down with Jeff Thomas from Corning Country Club to talk growth, culture, and what it really takes to move a club forward in a smaller market. Jeff shares the wild moment that kicked off his tenure, yes, a major flood on day one, then breaks down how he aligned departments, rebuilt momentum, and brought in 100 members in 100 days.
They also get into Corning’s master planning journey, including how member surveying shaped the priorities (casual dining and patio, a resort style pool, and year round activities like simulators), what it looks like to keep the board, members, and staff aligned, and why starting with the pool became the smart first move. Jeff explains how Corning partners with the local community through charities, schools, and tournaments, plus the little details that helped revive an 85 year old invitational into a sellout event with a waitlist.
Finally, Jeff opens up about working with a coach, what that accountability looks like, and how it’s strengthened his leadership, confidence, and boardroom approach.
Topics include private club leadership, membership growth, master planning, capital planning, board alignment, member onboarding, club culture, staff retention, community partnerships, and leadership coaching.
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Welcome to the Private Club Radio Show, the show where you get to scoop on life inside private golf and country clubs. I'm your host, Denny Corby, and each episode is a real conversation with club leaders, the pros, the people, and partners who help clubs thrive. We talk leadership, culture, food and beverage, member experiences, member engagement, marketing governance, and so much more. If you want practical ideas, better teams, and a club experience members actually feel and talk about, you're in the right place. Now, welcome to the show. I am chatting with Diff Thomas, Corning Country Club, and what a club he has. That club is a vibe. You've you've been to some clubs where you just walk in and the whole place is just a vibe. The staff is good, the members are fun. It's just such a welcoming, warm environment. And that's just what Jeff has built and helped cultivate at Corning Country Club. And it also just shows a little bit and encompasses what Corning New York also is. So if this is such a good episode, I get to talk with Jeff about, you know, the transformation that uh helped bring Corning Country Club to something that's a really great place to be a part of. I I'm saying this from experience. Jeff asked me to come perform at the club last year and we crushed. It was such a fun night. And just from the moment you showed up, you can tell the club was going to be fun. You can tell the show was going to be fun. The members were excited. It was just, there is energy. But the club is like that all the time. And so we're going to talk about in this episode how when Jeff took over, I'll let him tell the story. But basically, everything hit the fan. A pipe burst, you know, half a million dollars worth of damage. And that was on his first day. And the cool part was he went to his board. He went to the club and said, I'm going to sign up a hundred new members in a hundred days. And I'll let him tell the story. But what a challenge that he put himself to. And spoiler alert, he did it. But it's just a really cool episode just talking about what that was and also just talking about Corning Country Club. And a cool part of the episode is we talked about coaching. And he and I were chatting on the phone just a few weeks ago, just catching up, shooting the proverbial breeze. But um we were just chit-chatting and he mentioned he was, you know, working with a coach. And uh I just started uh re-engaging with a coach myself. So we were just talking about that and we just had a really great open conversation. I really enjoyed that. And we also talk about that here on the episode, why he got coaching, how he got coaching, and how a coach has helped him. I thought that was really cool. And he was, you know, very open and honest with some answers too. So I just love that. And it that just shows like the type of person and the type of club and just what this episode is too. So this uh uh I'm so happy to have him on. This is such a fun episode. Before we get to the episode, shameless plug for myself. If you are looking for a fun member event night for this year or 2027, you gotta check out dennycorby.com. There's excitement, there's mystery, also there's magic, mind reading, and comedy, a ton of laughs, gasps, and holy craps, a lot of engagement, tons of crowd work, a lot of banter. If you want to learn more, head on over to dennycorby.com. Enough about that though. I am so excited for this episode. Private club radio listeners, let's welcome to the show, Jeff Thomas. I also just want to say before we get to the episode, this is just so funny to me. Is I was chatting with Jeff. We were just texting back and forth about what the episode was going to be about. And I just miss kind of understood what he said. So he was talking about, you know, master planning and how he used uh the chambers company. And, you know, we were just going through there. But when I read the text quick, I read it as he's worked with like the local chambers. So I came into this episode like, oh, I'm gonna love how you worked with your local chamber and how they're helping, you know, you help work with them and revitalize the club. And he was like, oh no, that is not not the chambers, not the same chambers. And I knew who the I knew who the other, I know who H. Chambers company is, like, like we all do, like they all have like the master planning stuff. But it was just so funny. And my head just went to like the local chamber, and he was talking about you know, chambers and strategic plan. It was just so funny that we each just came in like armed with two different sets of questions, uh, questions and answers or whatever, but we both just came in with totally different expectations. It's still such a fun episode, so much good content. You're gonna enjoy it. Let's go. So your club's been crushing, dude.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I've been busy, which is good, right?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I mean, you've done a lot in 10 years. Yeah, it's crazy. Now, well, now, now like 11. Um, but that's that's crazy. Where where were you at prior?
SPEAKER_01:I was before that, I was a Rosemark Country Club in Medina or uh Fairlot, Ohio. Before that was a Fox Meadow in Medina. And kind of Fox was kind of the interesting stories because when I first started at Fox, um, it was the bottom of the Eagle Golf portfolio. And we turned it from the bottom to the top in 12 months. And it was it was kind of fun to see the team excited around the vision and changes that we made uh to make that happen. And I've kind of carried a lot of that philosophy over to what we what we're doing today at at Corning. You know, Corning 251 members 10 years ago. Today we got 485, so we're off to a pretty good, pretty good spot.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. For someone who's someone who's never been to Corning, what's what's the vibe of the town like? What's the vibe of the club?
SPEAKER_01:Uh small town feel, uh Corning Incorporated, of course, is there. Great uh downtown atmosphere, but it's uh it's definitely uh more uh more laid back, uh more rural, I would probably say, right? Uh quieter, slower paced. But but this this club now is the uh focal point of the of the community. Everyone wants to uh come to the club and see what's going on and and have their events.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. What what what surprised you most when you showed up in 2015?
SPEAKER_01:Here's a great here's a great story. Um I was driving to the club February 2nd, 2015. There was a flood. It uh a pipe broke in the ceiling, it flooded the whole clubhouse, half a million dollars worth of damage. It took six or eight weeks to put back together, but that was my start at Corning Country Club. Looked like Titanic on the video when you came down the staircase.
SPEAKER_00:There was literally nothing but potential. No, there's everything but but but but growth there then.
SPEAKER_01:True, that's true. It couldn't have got any worse.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. So so was there anything besides besides the redoing everything? Um what did you change first or what did you intentionally not change because you kind of maybe respected the club or the history of corning?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, the first thing we had to do was we had all our departments operate in silos. You know, golf was with golf, the course was with the course, and the clubhouse was the clubhouse. Well, they lacked leadership before I got here. So we had to get everybody aligned on the same page so we could uh start our plan. So that's kind of where it began. And then they had lost a lot of members through the economic downtimes and never really got to recover. So I called all the resigned members and I asked for 20 minutes of their time just to meet with them and show them a vision, show them a plan. And that was only 100 new members in 100 days, and then we're off and running, and now we're at 485.
SPEAKER_00:You got 100 members in 100 days?
SPEAKER_01:100 days. Yeah. That was the plan I told the board. I was going to bring 100 and 100 members in 100 days. I thought it was crazy. And we met the goal, met the plan, and we got the steam to achieve way more than they thought was possible.
SPEAKER_00:That's bonker. I uh I can't think of too many managers who would basically cold call.
SPEAKER_01:That's pretty much what it was. I just uh I sent a letter out first, and I followed for the letter to make sure they received it, and then I wanted just 20 minutes at a time a cup of coffee, lunch, could be a few hidden balls on the range. I just wanted just to tell them how I was going to change the club and make it back to what it used to be. And they all bought in and then we're off and off to run it.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. And and you're a fairly small club. What do you think you and Corning do better than clubs twice your size?
SPEAKER_01:Uh I think we provide a great experience. I think we have a great social calendar. Uh we do the little things really, really well. Like we partner with a local beer company. So we have our own beer called the Country Club, for example. So we take big club ideas.
SPEAKER_00:Delicious, by the way.
SPEAKER_01:Awesome. We take big club ideas and bring them to a small town market, but we're all about feedback, listening, and we're about taking what we hear and uh making that reality. Then when surveys come out, it's kind of like just uh we we know what the results are gonna be because we already had those conversations with people prior.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Being in a smaller club and a smaller market, what are what's what's the hardest part about that?
SPEAKER_01:Um hardest part of this club is probably uh talent. We got to make sure that when we recruit, retain, and develop our staff, we keep our staff because we don't have a a big population to draw for for great line cook servers, um, etc. things like that. So we have to make sure that we take care of our people. We have a people-first mentality that we're always uh treating people with respect and making sure they have a great time. And as a result, we have a lead bartender that's been with us for almost 30 years. We have uh another server that's been with us for 20 plus years. I think there's 14 team members that have been here 10 plus years.
SPEAKER_00:That's that's impressive.
SPEAKER_01:Thanks.
SPEAKER_00:That's impressive.
SPEAKER_01:Thanks.
SPEAKER_00:Did you have that at some of your other clubs too?
SPEAKER_01:Not like I do here. I had I had 10 years, but but not not like this. Um since I've came, we're all family. Nobody really leaves. Um, we've turned over here a little bit is the executive chef. That's turned over a few times, but that was um pretty much they moved on to different roles.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. And and just from doing the show and you know, uh private club radio as and well as just you know performing at clubs, that's probably one of the hardest positions to keep is that chef role. So now you've been at the club 10 years going on. When did you start talking master planning and what was the problem you were really trying to solve when you know starting that process?
SPEAKER_01:Sure. It all went back to our uh mission and vision statements. We're a family friendly friendly club with an exceptional golf experience, but we thought we were lacking on a few things. So to be aligned with that mission and vision, we wanted to uh we wanted to get some good good data to make before we made our decisions. The board knew, kind of knew where they wanted to go. We're all aligned, but we wanted to make sure that we were doing the right thing for the club. So we did a full in-depth survey, and that came back just kind of what we thought it was gonna come back at. Casual dining, patio dining was number one, resort style pool was number two, and then a year, year-round activity such as golf simulators was number three. We found out 92% of the members were very satisfied with the club, which was a strong number. So we were ready to uh to move forward. So after we got that results back, uh we started the master planning process and we shared with the membership what they what the results were of the survey, which is exactly what the membership thought as well. We did uh two sessions with chambers to uh outline the whole plan. We looked at drawings and we looked at uh financials to see how it was gonna go. So our next step now is we were gonna we're gonna present that to the membership in the spring and then go to vote, and then we're gonna phase it out with phase one probably being resort style pools to get the get the ball rolling.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. What what what does success look like for master planning?
SPEAKER_01:For for me, and it's just having having the membership, the board, and the uh the team all aligned, all with the same vision, and then driving towards that goal. We know to get the whole process completed, it's gonna take take a little while because there's clubhouse parts of it, there's also uh locker room parts of it, things like that. But it's so everyone everyone sees that vision, sees that goal, and we're all working together to solve it.
SPEAKER_00:And and when when did you start this process?
SPEAKER_01:We started this process uh last February with surveying, and then we started the master planning process around August.
SPEAKER_00:Oh wow. So then we're hoping that we're gonna be able to do that.
SPEAKER_01:Was there anything okay, sorry? Obviously, we're hoping that we can uh start with uh the pool um next spring and get that uh get that work going.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Was there anything early on that you learned that maybe changed the direction of the plan at all?
SPEAKER_01:Uh maybe just the cost. I want we want to do a little more, but uh the the cost we have to we have to scale it back. But no, it's pretty much exactly what we thought because we're all I'm all I'm always out front of a visible leader, I'm always talking to members. I kind of we kind of knew the pulse of everything. So when we got these results back, it's exactly what the board and I expected.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. How much so from what you thought to what the number came out to, how much more was that?
SPEAKER_01:Oh boy. Probably probably double.
SPEAKER_00:And and and were you were were you also like thinking like, oh, I'll shoot like a little bit higher, and then you're like, oh, that's still double.
SPEAKER_01:Like exactly. Exactly. I thought we could bite off a little more than uh than what we could, but uh it's gonna be good. We'll start with a pool, we'll start with a patio, and then the members can see what it what it's all about, and then uh keep growing the club and making it better.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Uh how have you been handling, you know, the people going like, why are we doing this and why is it gonna cost so much? Or is everybody at this point because you are that very front facing out there, shaking hands, slapping asses, you know, doing all doing all the work, did you kind of already know what they were looking for and they kind of already knew what it was gonna cost?
SPEAKER_01:Through surveying, we had a good price point that we knew we could have we could have uh could attack and the members would support. So we kind of stayed in that price point per month on our monthly capital fee, which is gonna drive this master plan. So we we need data to back up all our decisions.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Do you have any members that are I don't want to say against it, but they're like, I hate this?
SPEAKER_01:Um not not there's a there's a few, but not not a terrible amount. Uh everyone seems pretty supportive right now.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Why why start with the pool?
SPEAKER_01:Goes back to our mission, mission and vision. We want to be that family style club. And uh the golf course, we just completed our golf course um master plan. Last year we completed, we converted all the fairways to luminary bent, XGD drainage and all the greens, removed probably 500 trees, raised canopies on a couple hundred other trees, new car pass. So the golf course is in really, really good shape, which can which is part of our mission and vision. But the pool is showing age. It's a 1993 pool. Uh it's kind of lacking that resort feel. So that's kind of the next uh the next phase of upgrades to continue to to drive the membership forward. We want to get to 500 members by next year. So I think this would set us up.
SPEAKER_00:You're so close.
SPEAKER_01:We are.
SPEAKER_00:Wait, like 15 away or something?
SPEAKER_01:15 away.
SPEAKER_00:That is. So now, you know, you mentioned having to scale back some things. When you're when we're talking about the pool, what what were some of those things that you know were on your like wish lists that now are maybe nice haves versus you know must-haves? Like where like where where did you kind of scale and pull back when it came to the club in terms of budget?
SPEAKER_01:So right now we have uh we wanted to put a fitness at the pool as well. So to kind of share the same going. So you'd have golf simulator, you'd have fitness, you'd have the pool all together as in one campus. So the pool's on a little, or the fitness is on a little smaller scale right now with the simulator, not as big as we quite wanted. Then we're we were talking about expanding the pickleball and tennis ball courts. We're gonna just keep those uh where they are for now. So those are the kind of the areas we scale back to to make the whole project fit.
SPEAKER_00:And then that's starting this year or next year?
SPEAKER_01:Next year. So it'll so it'll um this March we'll uh have a membership meeting. We'll show the plans, we'll show the designs, we'll show the price, and then uh we'll vote, which should pass through, and then uh we'll get every all the contractors lined up for next year.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. And and you do a lot, not to like totally pivot a little bit, but you do a lot with your local community. Like Corning is a very community group of people. How do you, you know, what does a good partnership and a good communal, you know, relationship look like when it comes to you and the club?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, sure. We we definitely partner um with the community. We we like to be involved with the Chamber of Commerce, for example, maybe do a business after hours. Um we definitely like to partner with local charities on golf outings. United Way in the summertime, we do an outing on a Friday and a Monday. So there'll be 200 players on a Friday and 100 players on a Monday, which will that all that money stays in the community, which is great. We do an outing for the food bank, which is nice. So we try to partner in many, many ways. We help out the schools with uh the high school golf team plays here in the fall, which is nice to see all the kids. And we have a great junior golf program. 64 kids were in our PGA junior league, ran by both pros. They do an exceptional job growing the game.
SPEAKER_00:Wow. And and speaking of growing the game in golf, um, when we were chatting, you what have a giant best ball and invitational that's been rushing?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, sure. So that's 85 years old this year. When I got here in 2015, the tournament was kind of dying. There was 52-person teams. Today there's 96 two-person teams, and there's 48 teams on a wait list. And it's uh competitive golf, great food, live entertainment at night, and a lot of camaraderie.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, how how did you how did you change like how did you get that ramped up so much? Like so if you can look back to you know, 2015, 2016, 2017, you know, do you remember like when that tipping point was? Was it a slow kind of incline? And you know, seeing that the numbers were low, what were some of your first things that you were like, hey, let's try doing this. I think this might help get some more people in. Like how like how do you even start to build that up?
SPEAKER_01:So it's all about the little details for us. So in 2015, when I came, I all the better golfers in the area that played that, we contacted them personally and said, you got to give the tournament try. We're changing everything. So we upped the food, we upped the entertainment at night. Um, we gave them a better tea gift. Um, the service was incredible when they pulled in the parking lot from the moment they pulled into the moment they left, service was great. For example, we had uh kids watching clubs on the 15th hole par three. The bag drop was very organized. All the little details were covered so that when you came rolling out in 16, everybody that played in 15 played plus talked more, and it was a sellout ever since it's been growing. But it and we we this is this is a tournament that we work on 365. We're always uh thinking about how to make it better. We always want to enhance the experience of this event. And as a group, um e each year we make things better. So it's uh it continues to grow. And I think it's the premier tournament in the area by far.
SPEAKER_00:That's that's that's that's killer. And you have a strong membership. What does what does a new membership look like? Meaning, you know, because the most important times for the membership are, you know, the first three months, six months, the first year. What what are what are the most important moments, let's just say, in like the first 60, 90, 120 days for new members coming to Corning Country Club?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, to me, onboarding is the most important thing we do. Um so I'll give a tour to the new member. We'll we'll talk about different parts of the club, we'll let them vision themselves doing different things at the club. Then we follow up with department heads reaching out to these to the new members uh 30, 60, 90 days to see, for example, can the golf pro give them a 10-minute lesson and do the how are their golf clubs. Clubs. They have any questions about leagues or tournaments. So it's all about a team reaching out directly and making sure that they can be, they can be heard and answer any questions and and and it's feedback. They're going to give us feedback too to help us grow for the next person we give a tour to. Maybe we miss something that we can enhance and make that better. But our onboarding is our most important thing because then we can also use that onboarding to sell another members membership.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. And and you know, being uh I've I've performed at at your club, I've I've met your membership. I I I would assume, if just based off my experience, there are very outgoing people. And if they don't know somebody who's in their club, they're the first to go over and be like, who are you? Are are you new? Are you a new member? So I could just imagine like a new membership, you know, a new group, a new family, whoever coming in for dinner, and everybody else being like, Who's this? And not asking, just walking over, be like, hey, are you guys new? Welcome. And like, come join us at the table. Like it's a very communal club.
SPEAKER_01:Exactly right. Exactly right.
SPEAKER_00:Now, you you you have a I would say a decent sized club, but you're in a in a smaller market and you're still a smaller club. What do you what can you tell, or maybe what do you say to a GM or another club or something else that's, you know, we're we're too small to grow, or are markets tapped? Like you're in a you're in a you know, I would say uh uh it's similar to like a Scranton area, you know, where where I'm based out of, you know, how do you what do you tell people to answer those questions?
SPEAKER_01:Well, the market's never tapped. If you provide the experience, build it, they will come as my refluence. We use that in staff meetings all the time from the field of dreams. If we if you show them a great time, they're gonna want to be part of that great time. So it's our responsibility to have a full calendar of events. And then when they come on site, they need to feel the special magic every time they come. So we're always um on display, I guess is the best way to say it. We want to make sure that we exceed expectations so that word of mouth travels, because in a small town, it's all about word of mouth. You want to make sure that you're very well respected and well regarded to continue the growth.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. How do you how do you how how do you hold those growth standards without becoming the fun police?
SPEAKER_01:That's a great question. That's a great question. Um never really thought about it before.
SPEAKER_00:Well, because it because again, I'm just thinking about you and the club, and you know, I know how personable you are, and I think sometimes people go, like, you know, how do you walk that balance of like how do you let people still have a good time and enjoy the club without going overboard? So how do you kind of how do you keep the peace?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, we really never have any behavioral problems here. Everyone kind of just acts the way they're supposed to act. Um I think it's the culture we set because I think our our team sets such a good culture that they want to keep they have such a pride in the club that they they know that's the right way to act. I that's why I think we've the culture we set for our team, I think just example sets the example for the membership, which makes it work perfectly. It's a great alignment.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Yeah, I'm I'm thinking back to when when I was there and just like laughing, just watching the just just the people watching was just fantastic. In in in in the best way possible. Just like the the interaction between the staff and the people and the members between each other. It was it was you know, not every club has that, and a lot of clubs want that.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I I know I agree. I agree. All the clubs I've managed have had that. Um maybe something I trained with my team or bring bring with me, but uh we did the same thing at Fox Meadow, same thing at Rosemont, and the same same thing here.
SPEAKER_00:But uh it's also you know, your your your vibe attracts your tribe. So so it could be also you know, you're drawn to clubs that you know have that more of your style, that personality, that familial, that friendliness. Um, because not every club has that, wants that, because every club has their own own personality too.
SPEAKER_01:Totally totally agree. And I think we create that for the members with with our with our team.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Yeah. Now this is gonna be a left turn um because when we were talking, you were you were fortunate. I I was fortunate that you opened up and told me that you are working with a coach. Yeah. Um, and it's funny because I just I just re-engaged with my coach also. So, you know, what what made you decide to work with the coach? Uh, was it, you know, what was happening in your head? Was it the club? Was it a mixture of both? How how did that come up and how did that start?
SPEAKER_01:Um I wanted to be the best manager I could possibly be, and I knew I needed help to get better. There's some things I was probably lacking. And um I've been lucky enough to work with Don Emery for the last few years, and Don just won the Brewer Award winner, and he's been an incredible friend, mentor, and he's taught me so many great things how to how to move a club forward, so I can't thank Don enough.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. So is is the club, is the is the coach uh for you personally, the club, the team, all of it?
SPEAKER_01:Uh me personally. Uh Don and I talk once a month, and then we also talk anytime I have questions or I have concerns. Uh he's always there to uh answer my questions.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. If if if you don't mind and you don't have to answer, what were some of those things that you were lacking or that you thought you were lacking that made you want to enhance or get better?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I think I wanted uh um a little more um what's the best way to say it with capital planning? I wanted a little more expertise on how to drive the process home to the board so I could handle board meetings a little stronger. And I think he's helped me with that quite a bit. And then I like bouncing ideas on team development so we can attract, retain, and develop our team better and have a more people-first culture.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Thank you for sharing that.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, no problem.
SPEAKER_00:No, you know, it it's it's tough to it's tough to admit, you know, you have I don't want to say weaknesses, but it's tough to sometimes admit that you need help or to ask for help. So uh thank you for sharing that. So so what does coaching look like practically? Um like so do you have like homework? Is there accountability?
SPEAKER_01:Like what does what does coaching gives me homework, he gives me books to read, he uh follows up to make sure that uh that we're that I'm doing what he's what he's kind of helping me with. You know, he he delivers great advice, he improves my decision making. I think that's very important. Um his experience is he's done it all firsthand. So his his guidance and experience I I can bring to the club tomorrow to make our club better. Like, for example, he had some ideas on our best ball tournament, how to set a buffet up to look more attractive to the members, for example. We used that philosophy. It worked out phenomenal, and and uh the members really enjoyed the the change.
SPEAKER_00:And it's shameless plug. I had a really good episode with Chef Matt Gilbert and uh super nice guy. And you know, because you're talking about the the buffet, and he worked all over the world in in clubs all over the world. And his his biggest thing was coming from Asia, the big thing is like, is the is the food, is the buffet, is it photogenic? Because over there, they love their pictures, they love taking pictures of the food, they like displays. Um, so like so it's one of those small, you know, you you talk about those those small moments, it's those little details. It's hey, if someone can take a picture and snap it, hey, that's like free PR. Like for just doing, for just thinking a little bit more about, hey, how can we just make this look nicer? Hey, can we cover that up? Can we hide the ugly? Could we put this up on a little riser so it looks cool? Like, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Yep, it's no exactly. That's exactly what we did.
SPEAKER_00:Do you remember what was your first breakthrough that you got from coaching?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. I'm I'm gonna say, I'm gonna say leadership and confidence. There there was there's sometimes maybe I lack confidence in going into a board, a board meeting the right way. And Don helped me gain that confidence, use data, provide the right recommendations to to drive the club forward so that we're always thinking for the future and the members have the better experience. So I'm I'm gonna use leadership and confidence.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. And I'm sure that's how to help, you know, done wonder maybe done wonders, or at least helped you with maybe some some stress and focus also um being being a leader in in your position.
SPEAKER_01:Definitely.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. What does what does what does your coach do that you don't or can't get from a book or from a conference?
SPEAKER_01:Um he's a friend. So if I have a question about a club, I a question about the club, I can pick the phone up and he can answer me within five minutes and he gives me great advice so I can make a better decision. Um I would say it's the number one thing that that it's not only coaches, but he's a he's a good friend. We can solve it, he helps me solve the problem together.
SPEAKER_00:Is is is coaching something that you wish you did sooner, or do you think it happened at the right time?
SPEAKER_01:No, I wish I would have done it sooner. I wish I would have known about it sooner, done it sooner. Because looking back as my other clubs, maybe I could have done some things to to make those clubs even even better than they were.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Was it tough coming in and bringing leadership? Meaning um, you know, you you can go to some clubs where you know you can almost feel like the members run it. And and meaning, you know, it it's hard for them to keep or have a GM there. Yeah. So was this the club that was like it it needed and wanted it? It just needed the right driver.
SPEAKER_01:It's exactly what happened. When I came, the board was running day-to-day operations, the board was kind of running the club. So it was kind of fun to watch the board swing from day to day in the strategic operations, and we made that change relatively quickly. And that's what led to where we are now. It's uh and you know you're worried about the the Easter brunch when I first got here, and now say they're worried about master planning.
SPEAKER_00:How many people are on your board?
SPEAKER_01:We have uh 11 board members.
SPEAKER_00:Healthy size. Yeah. Healthy size. Starting to get up there. That's uh what what what do they say? Like nine to twelve or so?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, twelve twelve is twelve is probably max, right? No more than twelve.
SPEAKER_00:Well, and um and if from from my perspective, it's it's probably the type of board people want to be on and like are excited about because the club is doing fun things and expanding. And now with you know the master plan and the growth and everything that's coming, I'm sure now people are more excited, so they almost want to be a part. Whereas at some clubs are like, don't even ask me.
SPEAKER_01:No, you're exactly right. You're exactly right.
SPEAKER_00:What's uh what's the best compliment a member can give you?
SPEAKER_01:I just like when they come over and uh shake my hand and say thank you, and just uh a big smile on their face, or they introduce me to their family that's in town visiting. That that to me that's what it's all about. I'm a servant leader. I want to please people, make sure they're happy. And uh and you saw that when you were here.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. No, it it really is a really cool place. Um and and it's well, A, just being so close at home, it reminds me of Scranton, too. It's just that very homey feel. And I think Corning also has a lot of people who've been there for a while. And I was just talking to somebody about this in Scranton. It's you know, it's few places where you can mention a name and people go, Oh, do you know my do you know my cousin Bill? And like, oh my god, I know. But it's like one of those you can just start, you can say a last name and people can just go down the rabbit hole and like know people's families and friends and just start connecting the dots.
SPEAKER_01:Same thing, same thing.
SPEAKER_00:Jeff, thank you so much for coming on. Thank you so much for what you're doing for the club world, for your club, and and thank you for opening up here. Uh, because you you did give some really valuable insight and I really appreciate it, especially with like the coaching stuff. So uh thank you so much for coming on. I really, really, really, really appreciate it.
SPEAKER_01:Thanks, Danny.
SPEAKER_00:Hope you all enjoyed that. Jeff, thank you so much for coming on. Thank you for sharing, and thank you for all you're doing for the club and the industry and your community and all that. That's this episode. Until next time, I'm your host, Denny Corby. Catch you all on the flippity flip.
