President’s Column

from the president

Since 1903, the Missouri Athletic Club’s mission has been to be the premier athletic, dining, and social club for business, professional, and civic leaders and their families in the St. Louis region. Kevin Cantwell, President Missouri Athletic Club This is the last article I will write as the President of the Missouri Athletic Club. Past Presidents’ last articles have been about grandeur and successes. This Board has had many, and I will highlight some, but my last article is about the spirit and soul of the Missouri Athletic Club. The Coronavirus has played havoc on our families, friends, businesses and the economy. The Missouri Athletic Club has not been spared. The Board of Governors and staff have worked tirelessly to make sure we are economically viable when this crisis is over. Three hundred seventy employees had to be furloughed, remaining staff took a 50% cut in their salaries, two clubhouses had to be shuttered, and the institution had to remain a viable entity through a virtual outreach. What was done in a two-week period was unprecedented. This could not have been accomplished if the staff and Board had not worked together, reviewed every scenario, and with many heartfelt discussions, come up with our plan to implement. The most important piece of the plan and the center of all our discussions was the member. The member is the Missouri Athletic Club. We are a unique bastion of many individuals in a community of interest that has been around for 116 years. We have been through the good times, the not so good and the ugly. No matter what, we have a tremendous core group of members that are here and will continue to be here. You have rallied around the employee with the COVID-19 Relief Fund. You have rallied around the Board and staff with the many emails of encouragement and enlightenment. You continue to support the Club by paying your monthly statement. The Board has been using the phrase “we are one day closer to being open” in all of our correspondence. And we are. From the crisis, we will emerge a stronger and better MAC. As we turn the key to open the doors to the MAC, everything we have done will be reviewed with these three simple questions: “Why are we doing it this way, Is there a better way, and Is it really needed?” For 116 years we have been a building with four walls and a roof. In the next 116 years, those walls will be augmented, and the Club will be reaching outside of our traditional operating mode. The walls and the roof will remain, but services provided and access to the Club will be virtualized. The crisis will challenge the MAC like never before, and we have the leadership between the Board and the staff to accept the challenge. What has the crisis shown me personally? We have a staff under the direction of our General Manager Wally Smith that is committed to the MAC. Tough decisions had to be made. Wally, Pam Roth, Chris Mauer, Joe Dietz, Darren Harnetiaux and the amazing team of the MAC worked with the Board to do what was necessary. The member is the MAC, but the heart and soul are these friends that we call employees that make our place premier. Three years have flown by and this past year even faster. I had the privilege to be elected to the Board with MAC members Mark Brandom, Tracy Beckette, John Pennington and Tim Malyszko. I now have the privilege to leave the Board with four lifetime friends that have been a tremendous advocate of the MAC with their talents, commitment and contributions. We are leaving the Board with the next group of leaders that are solidly planted in the crisis at hand. Two months before the Coronavirus was even heard of, we set up the transition from one class to the next. President Elect-Dan Lett has been included in every conversation, meeting and email since the day after his election. The Committee Chairs and the Vice-Chairs have been joined at the hip so the meetings by the new Chairperson is not disruption but a smooth transition. First Vice President Nat Walsh, Second Vice President Jeff Moore, Secretary Gene Frederic and Treasurer Cheri McLaughlin are talented leaders that will keep the train on the track. They are outstanding leaders that have the membership and MAC at the forefront of their decisions. Governor Minges, Governor Arhling, Governor Niedrignhaus, Governor Gross and Governor Pawlitz have been a perfect complement to the other Board members’ expertise and will be in the leadership positions sooner than they realize. Time flies by when you are on the Board. One area that we have tried to maintain throughout this crisis is an open Club even if the facilities are closed. We continue to have Committee meetings, Board meetings, Club Life meetings, and we will have the Election of the new Board of Governors on May 7. This year, if the orders are not removed for social gatherings, the election will be virtual. All the tools are in place to make this happen. Please check the MAC website and social media platforms for videos and bios of these six outstanding members. You will be notified on how to vote online. Please show your support to the Club and these candidates by voting. This is your Club, and they have stepped up to represent you. The past three years have been a whirlwind of activities at the MAC that started with Phase 1 and ended with Phase 2 at the West facility. The Downtown workout areas were redesigned and the fitness rooms were changed. The Downtown Clubhouse is looking like new with work continuing under the Building on Tradition campaign (Robert J. Trulaske Jr. Family Foundation matching grant campaign). The USBWA dinner was added to the MAC social calendar and has been a must-attend event for members. Before this crisis hit, membership had grown, finances stood strong, and capital projects were teed up to meet the members’ requirements. Another key by-law change that this Board championed was the inclusion of all married members as one. No one is considered primary or secondary. The Missouri Athletic Club will remain strong. The next group of leaders is poised to take us to the next level. I want to thank all the Past Presidents that I honored this year with the publication of their article along with the many that time prevented me from recognizing. They are an extremely talented group of leaders that I have been able to ask for advice, receive recommendations and get direction. Finally, I want to thank my wife, Mary, for supporting me through my term on the Board and especially this past year. We have walked side-by-side.

“