National Club Conference moves to Chicago

Private club industry professionals will gather May 19-21 at The Union League Club of Chicago for the National Club Association’s 13th annual National Club Conference. The National Club Association’s premier event convenes industry leaders for educational programming on topics impacting private clubs across the country. The National Club Conference is also conveniently scheduled to allow participants to attend the National Restaurant Show in 2016, which begins on May 21.

Programming will focus on three key themes: Strategic Issues for Private Club Governance; The Club Industry Outlook and Trends for the Future; and Legislative, Regulatory, and Legal Issues for Clubs.

The sessions include:

Industry Outlook: CEO Perspectives
CEO’s of leading organizations in the club and hospitality industries will present on the future outlook for areas that could have a significant impact for private clubs.

Best Practices for Member and Club Communications
This program highlights successful strategies and innovative ways to bolster results at clubs, including ways to leverage marketing communications and involve staff at all levels to increase member satisfaction.

Technology Trends and Outlook for Clubs
Industry experts will address new IT developments that should be on the radar screen for clubs, ways to maximize the club’s IT investment with benefits for the club’s membership, and questions the GM should be asking about the club’s IT infrastructure and how the pieces fit together.

Financial Insight: The Cornerstone of Truly Great Club Governance
Attendees will learn how the Executive Dashboard of Key Performance Indicators and the Financial Insight Model can drive process over politics and personality in the boardroom and support a cultural shift toward fact-based leadership in the club industry.

How to Survive and Thrive with Changes in Leadership
This program provides background on ways to establish clear roles for club leadership, including ways to blend operating styles and perspectives for a win-win situation. It also addresses ways to identify and achieve common goals, overcome challenges and balance the roles and responsibilities of the club’s top leaders.

Fitness and Wellness Trends for Clubs: Keys to Future Success
What will clubs need in the future to address the ever growing level of member interest for fitness and wellness facilities, equipment and programs? How can wellness be integrated into the club’s culture and operations to enhance the member experience? Experts who have addressed these questions and more, will provide their valuable first-hand perspectives.

Legislative/Regulatory Roundtable: How Clubs Are Coping with the Challenges
Industry experts will address recent regulatory developments and how clubs are responding in key areas such as minimum wage increases, new overtime regulations, changes in the classification of independent contractors and new EPA regulations regarding water use and treatment. It will also provide an insider’s guide to what’s going on in Congress and how it could impact clubs.

Legal Issues Confronting Private Clubs
This program will analyze developments in many areas of potential liability for clubs and will cover proactive measures clubs can take to protect themselves. Also addressed will be reasons why some clubs wind up in court defending their private status, how courts are ruling, and what some clubs are doing to put themselves in jeopardy.

Online registration is now available on the NCA website nationalclub.org. Special events will be held at The Chicago Club, The Standard Club, Chicago Yacht Club and Conway Farms Golf Club. Condon O’Meara McGinty Donnelly LLP is the lead sponsor for the 2016 National Club Conference.