NGCSA

Greetings! I had already completed a Western Waves column when President Mahar called to visit about chapter affairs. The subject of employing a new Executive Director dominated our conversation. We both expressed our ideas on selecting a successful candidate to lead our chapter forward. It’s obvious we all have our opinions but we agree in the end result…..a stronger, more unified chapter that serves the needs of our membership and promotes and represents the ideals of our profession in an ever changing environment.

A new Executive Director will provide the stimulus to attain these goals. It will be important to make the right choice. This individual will represent you and me! President Mahar requested I write an article explaining the process and some of the attributes the Task Force
Committee and Board of Directors will be seeking. A Task Force Committee was established several months ago to determine the feasibility and process to employ an Executive Director. A timetable was established by the Committee to select an Executive Director by June of 2009. Members have been kept informed through chapter meetings, e-mails, and newsletter reports. The BOD is currently identifying qualified candidates. The interviewing process will soon begin

The responsibilities of an Executive Director position have been published in a job notice as well as a FAQ submission in an earlier Plain Turf. But the discussion between President Maher and myself emphasized that the successful candidate needs to possess the “intangibles”….those traits that are not measurable….a welcoming personality….a credibility in his words and actions….an ability to “connect” with people and facilities….be an “answer man”…..task and achievement oriented…..performance driven. In recent years the golf industry has adopted the “Grow the Game” slogan. Our new Executive Director will need to “Grow the Association.” We need growth in membership penetration, business partnership programs, member participation, member services, and chapter visibility. Ideally the candidate will stimulate and energize our membership base. He needs to not only deal with current affairs, but be a “visionary” and
identify our needs into the future.

OK, many of you are probably asking, “Bill, there is no one person who can do all of this!” I disagree! We have had several exceptional candidates who have made inquiries. It has been assumed that this individual will emerge from the ranks of our association, but the goal is to select a person with the character, talents, industry knowledge, and management skills to accomplish the expanded missions and goals of the Nebraska GCSA.