from the president As we all navigate the pandemic in our own unique way, our Members’ usage of the Club varies widely. We understand and respect that some Members have not spent much time at the Club in several months. Please know you are missed, and we look forward to seeing you in person soon. On the other hand, our Club is open, and many of our Members utilize the Club on a daily basis. The Club continues to adhere to protocols that include temperature checks for everyone entering our Clubhouses, masks for our employees and Members as they move about the Clubhouses, hand sanitizing stations and appropriate social distancing where possible. In addition to fitness, indoor and outdoor dining, hair care and the pools, Members use the Clubhouses for workspace as an alternative to their home or office. Our recent events and specials have been a huge success. At the Cigar-B-Que event, our Members enjoyed perfect weather while spread out on the garage rooftop with great food, cigars and live music. It was fun to see some smiles and joy after many months without much of either. The Wine Society held a magnificent evening in the Missouri Room. Our Thursday afternoon grill nights on the patio at the West Clubhouse are a favorite for Members. We even held an event where Members entertained new and prospective Members. These recruitment events will be held monthly and represent a great way for our Members to introduce the Club to prospective Members, which are the lifeblood of the Club. Whatever your comfort level, the Club offers a safe place to dine, work, work out and meet friends and colleagues for a drink or a meal. Also, thank you to the more than
750 Members who completed the MAC COVID-19 survey. Your responses provide excellent insight into how you currently use the Club, what services and amenities you value, what concerns you have and how we can make your Club experience more valuable during this time. Several themes emerged from the responses. F We are pleased to hear that our members largely believe we strike the right tone with our COVID response, have confidence in Club leadership and are optimistic about the future of our Club. F With respect to COVID, those using the Club convey a high comfort level in all areas, specifically fitness, the barbershop, the pools, dining and the hotel. We are pleased that we only experienced a handful of COVID cases among our employees since reopening and that, to date, no case transferred to another employee or Member. F You also offered many excellent ideas on how the Club can enhance programs and services to add more value to your membership. MAC staff intends to incorporate many of these responses into the programs and services offered at the Club. We recently convened a Member engagement task force to, along with the staff, focus on Club life during the pandemic. Our ask is that you continue to share your thoughts, ideas and feedback as to how we can continue to improve our Club and make it more relevant to you during the pendency of the pandemic. You can reply to any of the daily communications, and we welcome your feedback. Additional good news is that our Club remains on stable financial footing. Last month, the Board approved a breakeven budget for fiscal year 2021 that
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recognizes revenue challenges resulting from low hotel usage, diminished banquet revenue and a reduced membership. The budget optimizes operating costs while maintaining excellent Member services and amenities and delays discretionary capital spending as we await clarity surrounding the pandemic. This budget assumes COVID restrictions continue in their current form into 2021. The Board will monitor the situation on a weekly basis and act promptly if the situation merits adjustments to the budget. In the meantime, we continue to conduct long range strategic planning for the Club. Thank you to the Board and staff for their hard work in these areas. The Club offers some exciting events in October. On Oct. 9, we will host the Women of Distinction event. At this event, the MAC will honor seven local women who have been revolutionary in business, civic engagement, philanthropic programs and mentorship. The event will be a hybrid with live and virtual attendees. Spots remain available. Also, the annual Classics and Cocktails will take place at the West Clubhouse on Oct. 15. Please join your fellow Members at the Club at these events. Thank you for your continued commitment to the Club. Our Board, management team and employees continue to work extremely hard to make our Club relevant and sustainable. Our Club is open, and we look forward to seeing and hearing from you and your guests at the Club!
Dan Lett, President Missouri Athletic Club
“Our ask is that you continue to share your thoughts, ideas and feedback as to how we can continue to improve our Club and make it more relevant to you during the pendency of the pandemic.” 2 F Cherry Diamond F OCT 2020
