Weathering the Storm Naples Yacht Club staff has rallied to fulfill members’ needs since the pandemic’s onset
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aples Yacht Club was at the height of a rollicking season—kicked off by the Welcome Back Gala celebrating the grand clubhouse renovations—when the coronavirus pandemic slammed the brakes on the remainder of the year’s social activities. By early April, NYC quickly pivoted operations and strategized ways to provide extra TLC for members. “We have to give members the Club on their terms. We had the realization that members really are depending on us to keep their space open for them,” says general manager Mike Mooney. These are a few of the ways staff rose to the challenge:
comprehensive missive. “Our members told us they liked how concise we were and what we were telling them,” he says.
A Special Touch: Handwritten Notes
Each of the Club’s 550 members received a personalized, handwritten note in the pandemic’s early days. The effort was launched by Brenda O’Connor, executive director of membership, who divvied up members among staff. “Note-writing is kind of a lost art,” says Mooney. “I had so many people comment that they really appreciated getting a note from the Club. It made me realize that you can send emails all you want but taking time to write notes is really meaningful.”
Meet You at the Dock
As New England states began grappling with high infection rates, many seasonal Naples residents decided to stay put. Many NYC members continued to seek freedom on the water, so NYC’s marina stayed open to provide fuel and docking assistance. The hours of
operation were shortened to 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., with only one staff member on duty to reduce potential contacts. NYC also discontinued reciprocal boater visits until early June “so it was only our members in the harbor,” says Mooney. “When the rest of the Club was shut down, and some other private marinas were closed, our harbor was still open. We wanted to keep some level of service for members who wanted to get on the water. There were a lot of them—and they appreciated it.”
Conscious Communication
While some clubs sent daily emails with ever-shifting updates, the NYC team decided not to bombard members with “white noise,” says Mooney, so the team sent out one weekly,
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Waypoints 2020-2021 | NAPLES YACHT CLUB
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