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MAC AROUND THE CLUB
MAC LEGEND: Donald Sher
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On March 26, 2021, the MAC celebrated Don Sher Day, marking the 75th anniversary of the longtime Member’s join date in 1946. Looking back at records, MAC administrators are fairly certain there haven’t been any other Members who’ve belonged to the Club for that long. Sher joined the MAC because his father had been a Member since “the war years… around 1917,” Sher guesses. He grew up in University City and remembers riding the bus downtown after school let out. When he and his brother arrived at the MAC, they would play basketball in the gym for an hour and then take swim classes. “We swam in the nude, and when we played basketball, we played shirts versus skins,” he remembers. “We had a locker and we’d get a towel and take the bus home afterwards.” Sher’s father, Louis, had bad arthritis and was crippled when he was in his 30s, so athletics weren’t the main focus of his MAC experience. Louis was a lawyer, and as a fledgling Member, Sher got to know many of his father’s lawyer friends at the Club. Sher eventually went on to become a lawyer himself, graduating from Washington University in St. Louis with a law degree in 1949. He says the social aspect of the Club has been his favorite thing about the MAC as an adult, but he credits the staff when he was younger on their efforts in teaching him how to swim and “just putting up with me.” “Those coaches had to put up with me, and they had a lot of patience,” he says with a laugh. Sher calls himself a “pretty bad athlete… probably one of the last guys they’d pick on the team” and found the MAC’s declaration of Don Sher Day amusing. “I’m honored more than I can say that the MAC would consider to write anything about me,” he says. Sher has fond memories of socializing with fellow lawyers at the MAC while he was practicing and used to dine at the Jack Buck Grille regularly before going to the symphony. “You couldn’t beat the steak, my gosh,” he said. “And the oysters in half shell, and the tomato soup. The food in general has just always been very good.” He recalls taking his family to “superb” Thanksgiving meals at the Downtown Clubhouse and bringing out-of-town friends to dine, as well. “If you wanted to take somebody who had come from out of town somewhere special, you took them to the MAC.” He recalls a time when there was a bad power outage in Clayton. Sher, his wife, his sister and a friend of his called the MAC to see if they could come stay at the hotel for a few days. “We came down and spent three or four days until the power got renewed,” he says. “Those are good memories.” When asked why he has stayed a Member for all these years, Sher answered simply that his family has always enjoyed their time at the MAC. “It has been a family gathering place for us many times. There’s a great sense of community, too,” he says. Sher is also complimentary of the way the Club operated and adapted to change in all the years he’s been a Member. “[The MAC] was very quick in adjusting to the change in race relations, which I welcomed and was glad to see happen. They were also quick to adjust to [the addition of female Members] and made those adjustments. Their boards have been generally wonderful and wellhandled. It’s run so professionally,” he says. Sher is now 94 years old, and the MAC has been a constant in his life for decades. “That’s one good thing about living a long life because [the MAC] has always a pleasant place for us to go,” he says. “We all love the Club.” F
MAC Strategic Plan
The MAC's 2020-2029 Strategic Plan Is Now Available
An investment of time. A processled commitment. A collaborative body of work that captures who we are, what we’re doing, and how we plan to get there. All of these could describe the Missouri Athletic Club Strategic Plan. It has been my privilege and pleasure to serve as chairperson of the Club’s Planning Committee this year. The committee’s structure, as we know it now, was created in June 2015 after the Board of Governors approved a reorganization of the Club’s committee structure. The committee is primarily known for being the keeper of the Club’s 10-year Strategic Plan which follows an annual process to refresh and update both internal department goals and objectives. The plan includes the 10-year financial plan and the 10-year capital plan, which tracks and accounts for all capital expenditures for near term and future capital projects. The goal of our committee is to provide process, continuity, decision support, forward-thinking, leadership, and strategic oversight to support Club leadership and the Board of Governors. During the 2020-2021 planning cycle which began in the spring of 2020, for the first time, we created teams of our Planning Committee members to partner with Club leaders and staff to prepare the materials for the 2020 plan. The Club’s fiscal year begins on Sept. 1 each year, so the financial and capital plan sections are prepared on a fiscal year basis. Most of our Members will find the capital plan section interesting because this is where we capture and assign placeholders for both “have to do” as well as “want to do” items. The items listed in the current year have been approved by the Board of Governors and are a “go.” The nine following “out years” have items listed as placeholders. During the annual budget cycle, and as budget becomes available and circumstances move forward, those items can be moved back, pulled forward or combined with other items as the annual budget is prepared, revised and presented to the Board each year. In 2020, we created two new sections of the plan to reflect the growing importance of these areas of the Club: information technology and club life/CWCs. Member engagement is a priority of the Board and leadership team, and both of these areas have been identified as having an impact on the quality of the experience our Members have while in our Club. Information technology is a significant, growing area that encompasses everything from traditional I.T. issues such as server and P.C. management, to cybersecurity preparation and penetration testing, security camera deployment and integration with our security provider Hackett Security, as well as the new software and equipment deployed to provide our state-of-the-art spinning studio at West. Club engagement, another key focus of the Board, is reinforced by our commitment to being the “Club For Life” and the multi-generational, multi-faceted opportunities our Members have to share common interests and experiences through our Clubs Within the Club (CWC) and Club events. Finally, we have added a new planning tool to the annual plan - the strategic framework. This tool captures on one page the mission, vision, and values of the Club, as well as the Board’s high-level, primary focus areas (pillars), desired initiatives (priorities), and tactical programs (actions). The plan was written this year to tie the individual efforts of each of our internal business lines with the framework, and to align the projects, activities and capital expenditures we discuss and approve with the high-level strategic objectives we capture in this key planning document. Like the traditional content of the 10-year plan, this document is evaluated on an annual basis, updated as needed, and ratified by both the Committee and Board each June. I want to thank the members of the Board of Governors, Wally and his team, and the individual members of the Planning Committee for their outstanding work on this plan and the planning process. As a Member, I encourage you to take the time to look through it. It will provide a window into what the Club is planning, how we plan on doing it, and the value it provides our Membership. F
This column was written by Cheri McLaughlin 2020-2021 MAC Treasurer and Planning Committee Chair
MAC AROUND THE CLUB
HAPPY Boxing is Back THURSDAY, JUNE 10
Summer! Presented by:
One of the Club’s most popular events, the annual MAC Boxing Championships presented by Midwest Regional Bank will be Mark your calendars for the upcoming MAC Happy held on Thursday, June 10. The event which is traditionally held in February was postponed to the new date this year. Hours. In addition to serving up great drink specials, The MAC has a boxing tradition dating back to the beginning of the Club and St. Louis has a long tradition of producing some these events are a great opportunity to meet new of the top boxers in the country. Those two traditions will be on display in the Missouri Room as the Boxing Championships will members and introduce friends and colleagues to the feature some of the best young boxers in the area. Club. No reservations are required. Capacity is limited and the event is always a sellout. Join in the excitement and be a part of this memorable event by becoming a sponsor. There are a limited number of ringside tables and they are reserved for sponsors. Contact jwilson@mac-stl.org to Downtown reserve your sponsorship now. West (Poolside) Wednesday, June 25 Saturday, June 14 General reservations will open on Thursday, April 15, at 10 a.m. Only tables of 10 will be available at that time. Call 314-539Wednesday, July 23 Saturday, July 12 4470 or email downtownevents@mac-stl.org to secure your spot on April 15. On April 22, if there is still availability, individual Thursday, Aug. 14 Saturday, Aug. 23 reservations will open. Premium tables of 10 located in the second row will be available for $2,500 or $250/person. Tables located 5-8 p.m. 1:30-4:30 p.m. in the third row from the ring will be available for $1,500 or $150/person. Don’t miss this memorable night of boxing featuring a delicious meal, drinks, and MAC camaraderie! F
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