Club Management - January/February 2008 - (Page 13) Board Governance New Club Governance Model Works Well at Charlotte Country Club A view of Charlotte Country Club from the golf course’s 18th hole. The Charlotte Country Club management team. From left to right: Jonathan Klins, Robert Lesinger, Sean Elston, Damon DiOrio, CCM, Kelley Klug, CCM, Tom Delozier, CCM, and Lloyd Gillespie. I n our November/December issue, we described how CMAA had developed and approved the Club Governance Model as its standard of excellence in club governance. The new model is the product of several months of study by a CMA A-sponsored group comprising CMA A staff, several senior club managers and three industry consultants. The model rests on a set of principles and best practices in nonprofit governance that have been tailored to the club community. But prior to CMAA even assembling its governance study group, Charlotte Country Club (CCC) in Charlotte, North Carolina, was traveling a convergent road. Damon DiOrio, CCM, general manager of CCC, recently had been named the club’s chief executive officer, and he and the club president were exploring ways to improve governance at CCC. “Our membership and their leaders are truly visionary,” said DiOrio, who was part of the CMAA governance study group. “They arrived independently at many of the principles that are inherent in the new governance model. While we in the study group were approaching the issue from a more academic perspective, our leaders at CCC were looking at what made sense from a functional point of view.” DiOrio has been associated with CCC for 18 years, and has been its general manager since 2001. Although his elevation to CEO was in response to his demonstrated competence as a leader, the action prompted his board to look at other ways to streamline the governance process. “Board members were already leaning in the direction of the new model, and when the initial drafts came out, they were very receptive to its features,” DiOrio explained. “They particularly liked the clarity of roles inherent in the model and saw that clarity translating into more responsive service for our members. They knew that it would take work to educate members, but they saw a streamlined governance model as capable of delivering real value to the club.” CCC provides an excellent example of how the board, the club committees, and the general manager align toward the same goal. Six committees support the board, which keeps its thinking at a strategic level. The board then delegates to DiOrio the authority he needs to run the business and make operational decisions consistent with the strategic guidance of the board. JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2008 • 13
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.