Private Club Radio Show

374: The Journey to CCM: Stories of Dedication and Success w/ Stephanie Peters, James Creamer, & Corey Melroy

• Denny Corby

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A behind the sceens look at achieving the prestigious Certified Club Manager (CCM) designation with insights from industry professionals Stephanie Peters, James Creamer, and Corey Melroy. Their stories of dedication, perseverance, and collaboration offer valuable lessons for anyone aiming to advance their career in the private golf and country club sector. They recount their journey, including the rigorous preparation process and the profound benefits that come with this professional milestone.

Listen to how professional development courses like BMI create unexpected bonds and lifelong friendships. Our guests share personal anecdotes about how their career paths intertwined and the importance of networking, mutual support, and resilience, especially during the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The camaraderie and shared experiences provide a compelling narrative on the power of professional relationships in achieving career goals.

For those aspiring to earn their CCM certification, this episode serves as a rich resource of practical advice and inspiration. Learn from Corey, James, and Stephanie as they offer tips on diligent study habits, the importance of forming supportive relationships, and embracing the journey with a positive mindset. This episode is not just about certification; it’s about fostering a culture of continuous growth, professional development, and community within the private club industry. 

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Speaker 1:

Hey everybody, welcome to the Private Club Radio Show Podcast, the industry source for news, trends, updates and conversations all in the world of private golf and country clubs, whether you're a seasoned expert or just getting started out in the industry, just trying to learn with a little peek behind the curtain, welcome aboard. I'm your host, denny Corby. Thank you all for being here. This is the show where we go over all the topics related to private golf and country clubs. In this episode we are going to learn about a type of designation, a type of degree, so to speak, you can get in the club space, called a CCM, a Certified Club Manager. It's like a bachelor's degree, almost, of club management. It takes a couple of years to do. There's a lot of different educational components and so many different layers to it. We're going to talk to people who club professionals, who just got their CCMs, and they're going to talk about the process, what it was like, the ups, the downs, the goods, the bads, and they did something really cool and when they went to one of the BMIs, they realized a group of them were from the same area and they started studying together and developing a really cool group that all went through it together and they talk about what that was like in forming a group and how important that can be, and to maybe, if you're going through the process now or starting to go through the process, this might be something fun to try to do because it helps along the way. When you get different people together, different perspectives, it helps everybody. So and that's what this is all about. It's about learning, educating different points of view, different perspectives, and speaking of different point of views, different perspectives. We have a couple of show partners here and they might not be something you need right now, but always keep them in mind. If you reach out to any of our show partners, let them know you heard about them through Private Club Radio or that's because that's the reason why you're reaching out and they will hook it up for you. We have our friends Kennis, member Vetting.

Speaker 1:

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Speaker 1:

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Speaker 1:

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Speaker 1:

And I have a TV appearance coming up on September, coming up on August 3rd and 4th on the Mike Huckabee show over on Fox gets over 2 million views. So if you would like to look at some fall or 2025 dates, fall winter, 2025 dates, head on over to dennycorbycom. It's a really good time. But Private Club Radio listeners, let's welcome to the show. Recently appointed CCMs we have Stephanie Peters, general manager of Orange Lawn Tennis Club, james Creamer, clubhouse director of Bayhead Yacht Club, and Corey Melroy, assistant GM. Agm at Spring Lake Golf Club. Welcome to the show.

Speaker 2:

I'm Corey Melroy. I'm the assistant general manager at Spring Lake Golf Club. Just recently got the assistant general manager role here. I've been here for about three and a half years and, yeah, just passed my CCM back in May with Steph and James and two other New Jersey people as well.

Speaker 3:

I'm Stephanie Peters. I'm the general manager over at Orange Lawn Tennis Club in beautiful South Orange, New Jersey. I've been here for about seven years in my general manager role. This is my fourth season and recently earned my CCM with the pleasure of studying with Corey and James and we killed it. It would be nice.

Speaker 1:

Confidence. I love it.

Speaker 4:

And I'm James Kramer. I'm the clubhouse director at Bayhead Yacht Club. I've been here about nine years. I actually worked here when I was a kid, back in the day, many, many moons ago and I also just received my CCM exam, thanks to the help that our study group provided me with, because otherwise I wouldn't have made it. I love that.

Speaker 1:

That's so good, so let's get into it. If you were to describe what your role is and what the CCM is and what that means to a total layman so you're meeting someone, you're on an elevator going up in New York City to the top floor, you have two minutes. How do you explain CCM? Two minutes, that's kind of quick.

Speaker 2:

How do you explain CCM?

Speaker 1:

Oh, two minutes, that's kind of quick Limitations, force creativity yeah yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2:

So CCM is definitely. It's a designation that a lot of club managers go for. It's very similar to CPA. So we study rigorously for multiple years. We have about four separate classes that are spread throughout the nation and we have to attend those classes and then we also have to get a required amount of credit hours. So basically one credit is one hour and then also be able to attend conference, world conference, and then also, what am I missing? There's a whole bunch of things. And also I have six years of membership just for the process itself to be able to be eligible to sit for the CCM. And then, once you sit for the CCM, that's when, or before that, when you study. That's really when everything kind of takes off and kind of goes from there.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, I've explained it to my friends and family who are not club people that I didn't go to school for hospitality, that this is effectively my bachelor's degree in club management and specifically, you know that area of study.

Speaker 3:

And then they're like, oh OK, I get it study, and then they're like oh okay, I get it. Yeah, I would definitely add to, you know, what Corey and James both said, that the CCM, I think, really helps to even the playing field. As a female in the industry. You know that, hey, like I know myself just as much as you guys do, and also it really, for me personally, has given me a platform to really then start advocating for myself in terms of what are the next steps professionally for me, you know, and I know, with Corey's recent promotion, and what's in store for James in the future. You know, I think it does really put you on the map in order to be properly, I think, showcased, you know, for a bigger job or a job that might be better suited for what your interests and professional needs would then be.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, just to kind of bounce on that a little bit, the CCM again, it's that designation. The people almost look for it. But then, like Denny you kind of mentioned before, there's a lot of places that don't know about it. I've worked in clubs that don't even know about the ccm process or cma. But it kind of takes upon us to kind of educate those people and get the word out there. I mean, cma is 7 000 national members and there's only about 1500 ccms really, yeah.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I didn't realize it was that that tiny congrats. That's awesome, like no, I knew it was like a number, I guess it's. When you put it in that in that way. Oh man, that is so cool. How now is it? Is it yearly? Like is this an ongoing process, so can anybody just take the test at any time? How does it normally work?

Speaker 4:

yeah, so I mean, it's uh c, it's uh Corey touched on it. Uh, you do need to be a member for six years. There are uh extenuating circumstances If you've been a student chapter member or other things. They'll give you credit for that Uh, but so it's. You know it took me. I started my process in 2019. So it's taken me five years to finish the process. I know people that's taken them six, seven years to complete the process and then, once you attain your CCM, you have to maintain it by achieving education credits at the state and national level, by going to your state, run your state chapter, run education sessions or going to national education sessions such as World Conference, or they still have other BMIs like BMI International, bmi Food and Wine, and that all goes towards your credit base that you have to maintain over a course of five years.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I really do love that. It's designed to keep you current, to keep you engaged, you know, to keep you within the community of your other club managers and colleagues and just to keep you sharp. You know they want the CCMs to be at the top of our profession and the ones really, you know, blazing a trail for now, like the next round, you know, of people to follow.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that's the biggest thing too is like we want to. We had such a tight-knit group because a lot of us were at these BMIs together, the Business Management Institutes, and we formed this relationship and we want the next generation below us or the next people below us to do that as well. And, like James says, two people in the process. I'm about to have a person in the process, so it's like getting them connected so eventually that they feel comfortable and then they start forming those relationships and eventually get their CCMs and kind of go from there.

Speaker 1:

Now. So you guys formed your group from being at the CC or being at the BMIs and realized. Now, were you all friendly prior to that, or was this kind of more what brought you all together, that little bit more going? Oh, you're going through it too. Oh, and we're all within a little bit of like each other. Let's like, let's start hanging out more. How did that all come about? Um, or? Or am I just hoping it's more of like a movie scene than like?

Speaker 2:

I'm, so I'll. I'll start off. I'm the curve ball of the bunch, cause I was out in Colorado for five and a half years, um, and I kind of left New Jersey. I've been in New Jersey my whole life. I took a little hiatus and kind of went out there. So I came back and I knew some people, but I didn't know a lot of people and I met James through a couple meetings and Steph through a couple of meetings, but the relationships weren't as close as they are now because of the BMIs. The BMIs we got time. I mean, it was a week long course and we got time to sit down, have dinner, just enjoy ourselves and then also work in groups. And then at the end of it we were just like, hey, we're all completed with this BMIs, we all have six years, we all have the credits. Let's get this group going and let's start studying and see where we're at and this is our kind of timeline.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I think no no, james, you first, I'll finish up.

Speaker 4:

Nope, ladies first.

Speaker 3:

For me it was really the opposite. You know, I signed up kind of on a whim to go to this BMI course out in Michigan at Michigan State and I walk into the room and a whim to go to this BMI course out in Michigan at Michigan State, and I walk into the room and I want to talk to no one and sit in the corner in the back. So I found a corner spot. For sure it wasn't as far in the back as I wanted it to be Right behind me.

Speaker 3:

Yes, and one by one, as everyone's coming in. You know, I see this guy who I think I might know, and maybe his name is Corey or something like that. Here's James, who is probably the only person I did know on the other side, giving me a little wave and there ended up being, I think, seven of us from New Jersey.

Speaker 3:

They're kind of like happenstance or at least for me it was, and that was really kind of the starting point of like OK, maybe this industry can also provide me not only, you know, with my own professional goals, but the ability to have these great relationships, you know, with my colleagues that have now become really tremendous friendships for me. You know, and it all started, who would have thought at random BMI at Michigan State?

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, I mean, I started my process in 2019, signing up for a BMI at the encouragement of my GM, and I went. I didn't know anybody that was there and all of a sudden I recognized somebody from Jersey, who it was his last BMI, and he told me when you go to these BMIs, talk to people, try to get connected with them, because you're going to find people that are on the same timeline as you and that's going to help you go forward. You can reach out to them for ideas or just guidance or anything. And then COVID happened, so that kind of paused everything. And then, yeah, michigan State, there was seven of us and it's like, oh wait, you have two left, you have two left, you have two. Ok, let's, let's try to get this together and let's say 2024 is the time to knock it out.

Speaker 3:

So then, denny, you know, flash forward a few BMIs and the three of us, you know, plus some friends, have one more left to do. So let's, you know, bang it out, let's go to Arizona, but let's kick it up a notch and rent, like the real world home of rentals, you know, for us to really, you know, to really enjoy not only the education and training, you know, but kind of celebrate this moment of like, okay, like we have been, this the fourth one, it's done, you know, and that, I think, really lends itself to then strategize like, okay, like let's stay, stay in this together, you know, as we now prepare for this, like killer exam Because, you know and Corey, if you shared this already, I apologize you know most people take a whole week long, intensive review- course you know, to go over everything that may be on the test.

Speaker 3:

You know we went to the school of Melroy Zoom class online, right where Corey, you know, and the group you know contributed and really lent itself for us getting it in, you know, and fitting it into our everyday lives and schedule to properly prepare. So you know, james joked before, but there is no way I would have been prepared for this test on my own, without the support of my colleagues.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, none of us definitely agree with that, 100%. I mean. So, yeah, we went to BMI Sports and Rec and myself, steph James and then one other who it was their last BMI and we're like, all right, let's, let's do something about this. And instead of like that week long course that Steph mentioned, we took five months to study and it was I mean, it was almost. It was like let's read the book, let's, let's. Then, after we finished the book, let's get into all the chapters and start reviewing the chapters. And then, once it got to closer, we were like, okay, we're zooming pretty much every day and let's study. And then we ended up all sitting at the same testing center together, all five of us from New Jersey, same testing center. We met for breakfast. I mean, we all got out of there. We were like man, we just bombed that test.

Speaker 1:

And then of course, Steph was fairly confident earlier. I'm going to call a flag on that.

Speaker 3:

If you would have seen me after the test, you probably would have.

Speaker 2:

I walked out of the room like Steph, let's go yeah.

Speaker 1:

So there's what you have to get at least a 75. How many sections do you have to get? At least like a 75% on all of them and if you get a 74 on one, you're like done for the day, like everything is just done.

Speaker 4:

So you have to get over 50% in each section. And there's 10 sections and they're not all evenly sized. There's some that are 30 questions, some of them are 60. So you have to get over a 50% in every section and then an overall of 70. So you know, coming out of that test I was like, all right, I did good in one section, but I don't know if I did good enough to drag that one section that I think I bombed up, and so there were some stiff drinks following the test.

Speaker 1:

All right. So, starting with starting with Corey, what was the hardest section for you, and and then what was the easiest, and now this is all relative to each person, because you all come from different backgrounds and different positions, so it's different things. Things might be easier for you than others, so for you personally, when it came to like the test, what was the most difficult part for you and what part did you like breeze through?

Speaker 2:

See, I'll give you some stats, because we got our grades and everything. So I'll break it down a little bit.

Speaker 3:

My worst section Are you pouring your report card, corey oh yeah, pulling up my report card, turning into a snooze fest.

Speaker 1:

No, I'm kidding, okay.

Speaker 2:

No, so my worst section was external governmental influences. That was a great chapter.

Speaker 1:

There are only 30.

Speaker 2:

Go ahead.

Speaker 1:

Now you got the worst in it, but was that what you thought was the hardest?

Speaker 2:

No, not at all. I thought finance was going to be the hardest finance and accounting we all did going into the test and we studied our business tail off on finance and accounting and, um, to be honest, I think we all breezed through finance and accounting pretty easily and, yeah, it was the the one-off sections. There were a couple one-off sections like external and governmental influences and also, uh, I'm trying to think like communications were like the two, like sections that were like on the back burner. They were like let's just keep them over there. Yeah, so, yeah, oh, yeah. So I I bombed that section pretty good.

Speaker 1:

And then, what part did you kill it?

Speaker 2:

Uh facilities and finance, yeah.

Speaker 1:

Gotcha yeah.

Speaker 2:

So, Steph.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I can't even believe I'm going to say this too, but I did great on marketing and finance. I mean, when you talk about saying a novena before the accounting section, like well, um, and then, similar to Corey, the external governance was the most challenging for me, but that is probably because, again, we kind of breezed over the chapter. Okay, this is easy, and question number one I'll of breezed over the chapter.

Speaker 1:

Okay, this is easy, and question number one I'll never forget it define like the characteristics of a tort law, and I like, draw, hit the floor. I'm like, oh my god, this was no, no, no, are these? Is it like abcd? Is it true? False, is it? Yeah, it's all, it's all multiple choice.

Speaker 2:

Oh, okay, yeah, it's 400 questions of multiple choice and each section is like different. So, like, leadership is 60 questions and then everything else is 40 questions, and then there's a couple like 30 question sections.

Speaker 1:

And then does it change every single time. So you have like no idea what you're running into.

Speaker 2:

Everyone's test was different Yep, everyone's test was different.

Speaker 1:

Man, oh man, Jimothy James yeah.

Speaker 4:

So, funny enough, I actually did best in facilities as well. Yes, and that section felt coming out of the test, I felt good on that. And then membership marketing, I did well in and, funny enough, the one section I was like going into the test, I'll nail this I got no problem. Sports and rec, well, and, funny enough, the one section I was like going into the test, I'll nail this, I got no problem. Sports and uh, wreck and I. I passed it, but I did horrible I don't know why you dropped the ball.

Speaker 4:

Oh, big time sports analogies left and right. You know took my eye off the ball you felt you felt deflated after it was.

Speaker 1:

This is too early for this. My coffee has not even hit, yeah I haven't had coffee yet um, so that that's crazy. So there's people who just go at this solo yeah, I don't know how people do it.

Speaker 4:

Uh, maybe it's their study style and everything. But I have three legal pads of just scribbled notes from our Zoom meetings and everything, and that's how I learn.

Speaker 4:

Everybody has their own learning style and everything like that, but it's again, I mean just the ability to build a community. The amount of people that Corey reached out to that recently passed the test, that I reached out to Steph as well, just to try to get tips and tricks on how to attack it. Like we had strategy sessions on. Like we have eight hours to take the test. If you need to get up every hour, stretch your legs, go get a drink. That might be the best strategy. And, like Corey, I think you got up like what? Six or seven times. I got up twice, you know, just to stretch legs or whatever. And so, like, we really went into this trying to be as prepared as possible and, um, it was because we were able to reach out to other people around the country and be like hey, give us your tips, how'd you pass it? Um, I don't know how anybody does it on their own.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and it'll be interesting to see, like Denny, when things come out like on LinkedIn and stuff like that they post. Usually you'll see like a big group of people get passed when the review course happens. And then there's an online review course in January as well. That's a little bit smaller of a group because it's over zoom. It's like you're staring at a screen for 40 hours, basically intensive throughout the week, and then there's two other proctored tests, and proctored tests are basically like independent study. So there's one in May and then there's one in August. So it'll be interesting to see the trend, because I know for sure that there was seven people that passed this past time in May. There was six of us from New Jersey and then one of one person from Massachusetts, but normally when they do the review course it's like 30 or 40 people pass, so it's pretty big difference.

Speaker 3:

Even something Denny about, like just like just studying again, as, like a grown-up person, I mean, you know, like the last really big, big, big test I took was maybe for my CMP or, you know, even like a college exam. So like you know, what worked for me in my 20s definitely doesn't work for me in my 40s when you have life and decision fatigue, you know, and everything else that you know like comes along the way. So for me, I really do think that part of the reason why I was able to retain it is because the group made it really fun. You know, like I remember this part about accounting because James said something clever or Corey made a joke about this, you know. So it just stuck different because you know, no-transcript.

Speaker 2:

And there were clearly no jokes about torts. There might have been a few, we probably just don't remember.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, there were a lot.

Speaker 2:

Oh man.

Speaker 1:

So when it comes to now having your CCM and I would assume, every club is different, every situation is different, every situation is different. But when you look at similar industries, you have MBAs, phds, and then with those there comes compensation plan differences and there's all these different factors. Is it the same for you all? Is every club different? Do you have to fight your own battle? Do you have to come into it with like a game plan? Um, do, do your club support you? You know what? What was that sort of like? Uh, I know that was sort of like a broader question, but I think kind of you know, chat on that for a few few minutes each.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. So I want to touch on the support side of things. So I worked at clubs that, like I said, support side of things. So I worked at clubs that, like I said, they had no involvement in CMA, they didn't care about the CCM, all that stuff. But then that completely changed when I came to Spring Lake. Basically my boss said, hey, you're going to start doing BMI. I'm like, okay, cool. He's like there's scholarships out there. So New Jersey offers a BMI reimbursement scholarship. So basically it covers the tuition costs, um, and you're talking like $2,000 every single time you sit for one of the BMIs and it covers that. So each one of us, uh, we're getting these reimbursement costs, which was great.

Speaker 2:

So I was doing that and I mean it took me two years from start to finish for everything to be done, because I was kind of on a fast track, real quick to get it done. And another question I asked, like to everyone after the test I was like am I the only hospitality student here? And I was the only hospitality student out of our entire study group. So I've been on the track for CCM since I was in college and it's just interesting seeing everyone's background and where they've come from, because it's mine is so different from everyone else's and everyone else's is everyone is so different from mine. So the support from the clubs and the New Jersey Club Foundation is immense, kind of throughout New Jersey. I mean, james and Steph, you guys can talk about that too.

Speaker 4:

But everyone I've talked to in the group. They get basically full support for this CCM process. By going to chapter educations and then just going out there and chatting with people, they were like, oh, you should do these. And then seeing my GM go through the BMI process as well she got her CCM a couple of years ago, so that kind of like instilled the oh you know what, that's attainable. I got to go chase it, I can go do it. And my GM, my club board they are, you know, the big cheerleaders. They were very proud of the fact that. You know, myself and the group as a whole passed the CCM, you know, and it's, they all come up to their like. Okay, congratulations, you got your CCM. You're not going anywhere, right.

Speaker 3:

And.

Speaker 4:

I'm like I don't have any plans to, but I think to what Steph said earlier. By having this designation, it does allow you to advocate for yourself a little bit more and say you know what I deserve, that, or I'm one of, you know, the top professionals in this field that can do this, you know, and so I think that's it's been huge. I mean my board, my membership here, is amazing. They're so supportive of everything we do and now, paying that forward, like Corey said, I have two people currently attending VMI's doing it. I'm signing more people up to be a part of the CMAA because they saw the success of this group and they saw like, oh, if that knucklehead, James, can do it, then I can.

Speaker 4:

And so they're like let's get us signed up. Let's go chase this down and try to recreate what James and his group had, and that's really rewarding. That's actually been like the best thing seeing my staff talk about it and be like, oh, can I join, can I go to this education or whatever. So it's been great.

Speaker 2:

That's kind of what we wanted to instill. Like, again, pay it forward is like we really want that next. And still like again pay it forward is like we really want that next. Whoever's below us or not below us but younger than us, they're able to take that next step. And I know I mean at Bayhead alone they already have three CCMs. They have two in the process, so they're going to have like five here in a second and over at Spring Lake, like we're we're getting people involved and that's the biggest thing is like we really want to.

Speaker 2:

I want to push these kids a little bit. And again, a lot of them don't come from hospitality backgrounds or understand the industry and then all of a sudden they get involved and they're like whoa, that's pretty cool. And then they're like, whoa, you can travel and go see these things. I'm like, yeah, you can do all this stuff and then you can form relationships and then you can get your CCM and then one day you can hopefully become a general manager and kind of go from there. Everyone's like starting to realize that, which is really cool, and there's a lot of young motivation to push the industry, and that's kind of been a focus for CMA Definitely.

Speaker 3:

Danny, my path looks a little bit different, just in terms of support. You know, support from my guys was like okay, we'll give you the time off to go, you know, like you figure it out after that. But once you get a taste of one at least for me, it made me realize like, okay, I got to figure this out and how I can go again. You know, which is how, like the scholarship money, you know the community of people, like you know, I definitely borrowed the support that James and Corey were feeling from their, you know, like clubs, I think you know, in order to keep it going. But I do find really exciting, no matter what level of support someone's in, when you see someone chasing down a goal, it's exciting and people start to notice right, so it makes everyone work a little bit more focused, you know, it makes everyone a little bit more excited. It gets more people on boards.

Speaker 3:

I mean it can't almost be ignored after that, like, oh my God, steph's done like four BMIs, now she's at conference, now she's sitting for the test, and it made, you know, my like uppers and my current club be like wow, like you're actually going to sit, okay, and then they were just kind of waiting and like, well, baby, like you actually passed and I'm like, yeah, I killed it Right, like I like before, you know, but it definitely got some attention, you know, got people thinking and I think sometimes you need that push to kind of shake things up and say like, okay, well, like we, you know, have to show her the pathway of what's next here professionally Right, because now, like we know that she's really trying to, you know, prepare and market herself to, you know, go after like an opportunity that really then would like excite you professionally you know, so hopefully you've done enough to inspire those around you, right that they'll start.

Speaker 3:

you know the the path that Corey and James have mentioned.

Speaker 1:

So. So. So you've seen the vibe change in your excuse me, in your little community of people there. Oh, my God Beyond oh that's awesome Like whoa like, that's like a really big deal right, I'm like yeah.

Speaker 2:

I think for a lot of us it's like that the vibe change has definitely changed, which is great. I mean it's awesome.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I think it's nice to see that you know the going after the goal, achieving it, that there is almost like an instant then, you know shift, that starts to happen too. It really has made the whole process, I mean, really exciting, because now I'm like all right guys, like what's next? And I think it's so cool when you're able to really be genuinely so happy, like for a colleague who, you know, like when Corey got his promotion, I mean I felt like it was my promotion, I was so excited for him. Um, you know, and I just think that that's a real rarity in any industry. Um, you know, especially in an industry that can feel like competitive in some regards, you know, a pure joy for someone else's success is just huge.

Speaker 2:

Thanks, Steph.

Speaker 1:

So, to start wrapping it up, you are chatting with somebody who is just thinking about starting getting their CCM. So you have two minutes. You're in. That, you're in the elevator. You see this person again this time you're. This time it was going up, now you're going down. They happen to get in the same elevator. It was wild. They creeped, they, they, they followed you to your floor. You now have two minutes to go down. They're like hey, this sounds good.

Speaker 4:

What advice are you?

Speaker 3:

giving them. Corey, you got two minutes Go.

Speaker 2:

Study and enjoy the ride. Yeah, I mean it's. Again, it all comes back to form the relationships and take in every moment where, first off, you get to travel to four different cities five if you include conference explore everything within these five cities, let's say, and then sit down and form that relationship with fellow club managers and just get them talking about it and then put your head in a book and study. That's all I got to say. Start reading PowerPoints and start doing note cards and uh, yeah, I mean it's, it's an intense process, but it it it's rewarding at the end of the day and uh, especially seeing more people go after it and them starting to ask us questions is like even more rewarding, because we want to make sure that they're educated and they feel good to go to. So Steph.

Speaker 3:

That's hoping you'd take over, james. I would just say you know, buckle up. You're going to be in for the professional ride of your life, and here is my card I'm here to cheer you on, love. It Is most likely what I would do, or, if I really like the elevator ride, I'd just text them immediately so that they can contact me. But I I really do think that connection is key and you know, I think that I don't believe that you meet anyone by accident, right? So if I'm in the elevator with this person, and in whatever scenario of life that is, I will always take their hand and help them every step of the way, you know. So I just think that that's something that's also really special about our industry and about this like opportunity to kind of pay it forward. So they'd be stuck with a study buddy, whether they wanted to or not.

Speaker 2:

Best study buddy ever.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, I mean. I would just say absolutely pursue it, chase it. You know the test is daunting. That's at the end. Don't worry about that right now. Enjoy each individual BMI. There's so much information and the BMI's are great, but what you really gain out of those is the relationships and ideas you get talking about so many different things and then you realize, oh wait, my club's not any different than any other club. We're all dealing with the same stuff and we all are trying to come up with the next great idea. That's what you go to these BMIs for. You learn, make these relationships, steal ideas because stealing ideas is great and then buckle down, take the test, help somebody else along the way too, if you feel like you're in a good spot. There might be somebody else struggling. Help them. Help them study, reach out to any of us at any time, and we're always happy to help and give any guidance that's possible.

Speaker 1:

Oh yeah, you guys are awesome. This was so much better than I thought it was going to be alright. I don't know what to expect especially Jersey.

Speaker 4:

Calling up Jersey, you're like, uh oh, years ago.

Speaker 1:

I like bought the book.

Speaker 2:

I didn't want to see that thing again this is brutal so, denny, you're going for your ccm like keep reading certified club magician.

Speaker 1:

No, so, uh. So I I do have a banner made. It's somewhere in like the back of a clock, it's somewhere, but it was. I did a uh cm. I think it was the philly show. This was, uh, 10 plus years ago. So I was like 24, 25. So I was like, oh, I started doing, doing some clubs and I was getting my like little ends and I was like, oh, so I made a banner. It said like denny corby ccm, with like a big, like like asterisk underneath there's like certified club magician. And everybody thought there was this one old dude who was like Certified Club Magician and everybody thought of it. And there was this one old dude who was like you know, we work hard.

Speaker 2:

I'm like, oh, buddy, I get it, I get it.

Speaker 1:

But it was fun. But I changed my hair and everything, so it's not useful. But then also I didn't want to put it in my profile and then kind of be like Michael Crandell CNG. He is certified, so I didn't want to start going down that road. I didn't want to get blacklisted from the CMAA. You know what I mean.

Speaker 2:

I think you should try to do it at the conference that's upcoming. We'll support it fully.

Speaker 3:

We'll be in the front row.

Speaker 2:

Yep, come on guys. This is funny, live a little. Come on guys. This is funny, live a little, come on yeah really, I'm trying to walk here I don't know why I went to Rodney Dangerfield.

Speaker 1:

No respect.

Speaker 3:

You have to find out every now and then. You can't help it.

Speaker 4:

Everybody should find their group, whether you are't help it. No, I mean, everybody should find their their group. Whether you are looking for it or not, there is a group out there for you to help you and whatever you need, whether it's somebody in your state. I was lucky enough to have, you know, wonderful camaraderie with the New Jersey State chapter and the members in it that were chasing this, but we also had a gentleman from Kansas join us, us in our study group. We, you know, uh, build relationships with people around the country. Uh, and that's, that's huge.

Speaker 1:

You know, build, build that, build that network, get those relationships going and lean on those relationships oh, and so for and for the study groups, you would just kind of say, hey, we're going to do like this day, whoever can make it show up, and then, yeah, so this is what we're going to be doing, or? Or did you have to try to? Did you try to have it more strict or in regimented, or is that maybe more towards, like the end?

Speaker 1:

as we got closer, yeah, but more in the beginning, when it was more like, hey, we're going to be hanging out around. This time it's you know.

Speaker 2:

So we, we basically we were like, okay, read the, let's get through the book. All of us read the book. Some read it twice, james and we then set up a schedule and we're like, okay, each week Monday or Tuesday, whatever day usually works best we're going to get on at like 830 at night and we're just going to go. And we're just going to keep going until we feel good. And I mean there were nights that we were on calls until 2 am and we would just go and then wake up the next day, go to work or do whatever. And then, as each week progressed, we finished those chapters off and then we kind of made mental notes of like, hey, we have to go back to this chapter, or hey, we need to spend an extra week in this chapter. Or hey, we talked about leadership week one and it's week 10. We need to go back to leadership because we haven't talked about leadership in 10 weeks.

Speaker 2:

So we got through that whole thing and we got a really detailed, organized list, kind of towards the end of it, of like, okay, monday through friday I mean, it was almost monday through sunday, yeah, it was almost every day uh, two to four to five hours of like okay, we're going through leadership, okay we're going through sports and rec, then we're going to facilities and we're just going to keep rolling and, rolling and rolling and everyone got on. That's the biggest thing. We all had our what word am I trying to think of Challenges? Let's just say to get on. But we made it work. Like James said, we had a gentleman from Kansas that was on too with us and we're like let's just make it happen. I mean they were having tornadoes down there, so I mean there were dogs barking in the bar ground or in the background.

Speaker 4:

I had in the bar ground.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you can leave that out there. I will have said that I mean, it was, it was everything going on. I think I might've had my kids crying one time. Who knows.

Speaker 4:

Kids running by. You know lots of everything.

Speaker 2:

Kids going by. We're like saying hi, there's like other, the significant others, walking by, being like what's going on? Good to see you. But yeah, no, we, we put in the time and I give kudos to everyone part of that group because we I mean mean we sacrificed a lot of hours. I don't want to calculate how many hours, but we sacrificed a ton of hours and we got through and it got put on hold and hopefully our lives are pieced back together after those five months.

Speaker 3:

But we'll see danny mccorry's failing to mention, too he about 10,000 note cards that he would just quiz us with consistently every single night, oh yeah.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 3:

Even on the last day.

Speaker 2:

No, I still got them, even though on the last day, right before the test, we came to Spring Lake and we sat in the boardroom and we studied. We put it up on the monitor, we had our guy from Kansas zoom in, steph zoomed in, and we all just came down here we got a new setting and just kind of reset and just went through thousands of note cards.

Speaker 1:

It was great. Put down the temperature to like 62.

Speaker 2:

Make it real uncomfortable. What's?

Speaker 1:

the answer? I don't know. Thank you guys so much for doing this. I really really appreciate it. Thanks for answering my questions and the answers for everybody else and appreciate you. Congrats on everything.

Speaker 2:

Thanks, denny. Thanks, denny, appreciate it.

Speaker 1:

Hope you all enjoyed that. If you did, make sure you like share, subscribe. Share it with a friend. If you haven't done so already, sign up for our newsletter. Head on over to privateclubradiocom. That's this episode. Until next time, catch y'all on the Flippity Flip.

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Denny Corby

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