Reflections on attending the CMAA World Conference

Following hosting Jim Singerling, CEO of the Club Managers Association of America in St Andrews in 2000 where he spoke to the Conference of Association of Golf Club Secretaries I was fortunate to be invited the following year to attend the World Conference in San Diego. Apart from 2 years when I could not fly for medical reasons I have attended every year since then at my own expense using holiday time.

Following hosting Jim Singerling, CEO of the Club Managers Association of America in St Andrews in 2000 where he spoke to the Conference of Association of Golf Club Secretaries I was fortunate to be invited the following year to attend the World Conference in San Diego. Apart from 2 years when I could not fly for medical reasons I have attended every year since then at my own expense using holiday time.

In 2001 I had been a manager for 7 years in a demanding post at a prestigious club. I thought that my experience and the professional qualifications I had attained in earlier life and at the Club were substantial, but I observed that the level of professionalism of the American managers was streets ahead of what I had seen in the UK and that this could only be ascribed to the educational programs of CMAA. There was nothing like CMAA in Europe at that time. I was fortunate in meeting several other like-minded managers from the UK and when an invitation arrived on my return to Scotland from Neil Jackson to discuss the feasibility of setting up an organisation similar to CMMA in Europe I readily accepted. Conceiving a good idea is a start, but CMAE would have remained still-born had not Jim Singerling given us then, and subsequently, his whole hearted support. With that, the CMAA Club Foundation financed CMAE to employ an administrator Helen Fullen who worked with the volunteer group of Founder Members to establish an appropriate structure to a point where we could recruit members and ask for subscriptions. That point was reached in 2003.

In addition to that early financial support CMAA has, and continues, to give CMAE access to educational material and invites CMAE members to attend the World Conference free of charge

Jim Singerling after 22 years as CEO retires later this year. The conference in Orlando was his last in post. I, Neil Jackson John McCormack and Jörgen Kjellgren (Sadly John Hunt was unavailable) representing the five past President attended and presented Jim Singerling with a silver Quaich thanking him for his persona friendship to us and to CMAE as a whole.

Undoubtedly the months ahead will see change. I learnt in my position as Chairman of the Certification Panel that CMAA is reviewing in depth their educational programs. This might lead to some changes on the pathway to the CCM. However, I was reassured by statements that CMAA values the vision that the CCM represents the premium international professional qualification for club managers and that everything possible will be done to ensure that an exam passed in one continent equates to that passed on any other. Any proposed modifications will be discussed with Canada, China, Europe, South Africa, South America and other nations where manager aspire to sit the CCM

Albeit retired for 3 years I enjoy attending the World Conference and plan to do so again. I continue to find the time with my peers at the Conference energising. There has always been sufficient educational content in addition to technical items that is applicable to helping one deal better with general aspects of life and the keynote speakers are always inspirational. It is worthy of note that those attending are made welcome by everyone irrespective of the size of the club they represent. Attendance indicates that the person is committed to developing their professional skills and they are therefore worthy of respect.

Attendance at one Conference is an eligibility criteria for anyone who has aspirations to sit the CCM. Irrespective of that I recommend to any reading this article that they consider joining the 2-3000 club managers in San Antonio in March 2015 or at a later conference.

John Duncan CCM

Founder member and Past President 2005-2007