Alexandria, Virginia: Yesterday marked the 90th anniversary for the Club Managers Association of America (CMAA), the largest professional association for club management professionals.
CMAA has evolved from its original roster of 358 members to 6,700 members throughout the United States and abroad, all while remaining faithful to its objective to promote and advance friendly relations between and among persons connected with the management of clubs and other associations of similar character and to encourage the education and advancement of its members.
As detailed in The History of The Club Managers Association of America: The First 50 Years, it was in January 1927 that the CMAA began.
The first annual CMAA Convention began at 10:40 am on Monday, January 24, 1927, at the Hotel Sherman in Chicago, Illinois. It was at this inaugural and organisational meeting of the Association that the first officers were elected, and Colonel CG Holden became the first President.
Following the elections and creation of by-laws, the Convention’s programme included topics still familiar today, such as operating like a business, managing labour costs, communications among the club manager, greens keeper and golf professional, service charges and minimum house charges.
Approximately 100 club managers attended this first meeting, and 10 per cent of the first Convention attendees were female.
Next month, the CMAA will present its 90th World Conference on Club Management and Club Business Expo in Orlando.
In late 2015, the Asian Golf Industry Federation (AGIF) entered into an historic agreement with the CMAA that enables the AGIF to utilise the CMAA’s acclaimed Business Management Institute (BMI) curriculum to deliver similar face-to-face classroom learning to club managers across the Asian region.
To date, two BMI courses have been staged in Singapore and one each in Malaysia and Thailand.