Private Club Radio Show

388: Educational Scholarships and SCUBA Diving w/ Anna Wroblewski

• Denny Corby

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Wondering how a passion for pastry and a chance encounter can lead to a thriving career in the private club industry? Join us as we sit down with Anna Robleski, the assistant manager at Round Hill Club in Connecticut, whose journey is nothing short of inspiring. From her transformative experience at the Augusta National Masters Tournament to her creative endeavors with Chobani Yogurt, Anna unveils the many layers of her professional path. She shares how a pivotal connection at Johnson & Wales University steered her toward Ballantyne Country Club, where she refined her event management skills. Listen as she draws fascinating parallels between scuba diving and club management, and underscores the value of scholarships for young professionals breaking into the industry.

As private clubs evolve to cater to entire families rather than just individual members, modernizing member vetting processes becomes crucial. We explore this dynamic with Kennis, who emphasizes the importance of comprehensive information gathering to make well-informed decisions. Learn about the innovative efforts in places like Greenwich, Connecticut, where creative summits and scholarship opportunities are paving the way for a more inclusive and engaging club experience. We also discuss the challenges and triumphs of convincing club boards to embrace progressive initiatives and the role of family-friendly activities in attracting and retaining members. Don't miss our heartfelt thank you message and a gentle nudge to like, share, and subscribe to stay connected with our podcast!

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Speaker 1:

Hey everybody, welcome to the Private Club Radio Show Podcast, the industry's choice for news trends, updates and conversations all in the world of private golf and country clubs. Whether you are brand new to the industry or a consummate professional, welcome. We are glad you are here. I'm your host, denny Corby Welcome. This is the show where we go over any and all topics related to private golf and country clubs.

Speaker 1:

I am chatting with Anna Robleski, the assistant manager at Round Hill Club in Connecticut.

Speaker 1:

Her and I met at the Creative Summit Ben Lorenzen's amazing, amazing Creative Summit that they have Her and I clicked, just had really great conversations over the past couple of days and kept in touch.

Speaker 1:

We saw each other at a couple of CMA events as well, but what I really liked and enjoy talking about with her is the importance of scholarships and opportunities and taking advantage of opportunities and scholarships, because there are so many resources, there are so many things available for young professionals in the industry to take, to take a part of, to take action on, uh, to use, to take and um, yeah, I just don't think enough people are going after it and uh, so I'm really excited that she's on here talking about that and uh, what we also, uh, connected on and talked about is the parallels, uh, between scuba diving and club management.

Speaker 1:

She's a scuba diver much better than me. I like to dabble in scuba diving a little bit, making sure that you're prepared, staying calm and being able to adapt to unexpected situations, which there is one that Anna talks about in our episode. That happened with her, so it's a really cool, really, really great episode. Can't wait for you all to listen in. So Private Club Radio listeners, let's welcome to the show the assistant manager of the Roundhill Club, anna Robles.

Speaker 1:

Did you always know you were going to be in clubs, or was clubs like a?

Speaker 2:

So clubs were kind of a novelty to me. So I grew up around catering and my dad and uncles owned a deli and catering business, so I was always attracted to the kitchen. And then early high school I just was like, oh, I'm going to be a chef and I want to go to Johnston Wales. So I went to Johnston Wales, double majored in culinary arts and pastry arts and went on to get my food service management bachelor's and then landed in clubs surprisingly after. I just hated being in the kitchen as a pastry chef in a restaurant. But while in school I had the opportunity to work the 2018 Augusta's Nationals Masters Tournament, so a professor had kicked my butt to go do that and then kind of experienced how special clubs were there.

Speaker 2:

And then, when I wasn't happy in restaurants, I reached out to an alumni of Johnston Wales. I was like, hey, how do I get into clubs? How do I do this, what are you doing? And he was leaving Ballantyne Country Club in South Charlotte and he was like how do I get into clubs? How do I do this? What are you doing? And he was leaving Ballantyne Country Club in South Charlotte and he was like why don't you take my job? And I was like, okay, so he had set it up for me to interview at Ballantyne and it just all fell into place. I knew I wanted to get into events, so I really got my footing there we were. I knew I wanted to get into events, so I really got my footing there we were pumping out like 25, 26 weddings a year and really just fell in love with it.

Speaker 2:

That's a lot of weddings, that's a lot of brides COVID hit and just the quarantining piece of being by yourself isn't too fun, and I grew up on Long Island and my family never left. So I was like I think I need to be closer to home. So I just kind of started looking from the Boston to kind of DC area and that radius and landed in Greenwich here at Roundtail Club by coincidence, and now I'm an hour door to door to my family. It's that kind of perfect distance that I have my own life and kind of my own thing but can get home in an hour and go have dinner with my parents or my sister and nephew and just really have that sense of family back into my life.

Speaker 1:

I think what's nice is that like two hour radius from people, because then it's like just that long enough where it gives you that opportunity to like leave, where you don't have to stay like no, I gotta get home exactly.

Speaker 2:

Sorry, um it's. It's nice to not have to be on top of each other and I have such a respect for my hometown and upbringing, but it's nice to kind of have something different now as an adult.

Speaker 1:

Yeah what was, what were you doing for Chobani?

Speaker 2:

So I worked with a crew from Johnston Wales at Chobani Yogurt and we were just doing events really. So three, four times a year I would travel with them and go to large food shows like National Restaurant Association Food Show in Chicago or Natural Food Expo West in LA and just kind of showcase the product and get to meet and talk to people and kind of use the product in creative ways. And that was a lot of fun just networking with other Johnston Wells alumni and getting to see a different side of the food and beverage and event world.

Speaker 1:

Any of that stuff? Has that translated back over into clubs at all for you?

Speaker 2:

Just being creative with product and getting out of the box. Really, that provided an opportunity to see some of the cutting edge technology and product, just because of of the showcases themselves, and now it's cool to see back of house, and it's also cool with being a retail product. They were always on their social media game and that sort of thing and always trying to be a little bit trendy. How can we catch people's eyes? And that has translated over as well of how can you showcase product in this appealing way.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and you've done quite a bit in a short amount of time. What's it like going from you know, I'd say, fairly quick food and beverage to assistant food and beverage to now an AGM? What's that sort of journey been like, and maybe what are some things that you maybe you wish you would have known or learned earlier?

Speaker 2:

So we have a lot of assistants here at Roundhill. So we have an assistant general manager and I'm just an assistant manager. So we have some broad titles, just because the the titles piece to us really doesn't mean all that much. We all kind of just have our different kind of day-to-days and keeping the pieces together. But kind of the quick growth it was just a hunger to keep learning and experience different things and be able to kind of better myself but also like be better each day. So at the end of each day I walk home, living here on property at Roundhill, so on my walk I kind of just reflect of like what did I do well today? What can I do better tomorrow? How was I a good manager today and leader? How can I be better tomorrow? And then after a while that all just kind of adds up and you can kind of progress pretty quickly and having a self-awareness of where you're at and where you're wanting to learn and develop definitely helps with that case.

Speaker 1:

It's 2024 and it's time to change the way you vet your new members. Some traditions are worth modifying. The new member process hasn't changed really in the past 150 years, relying almost solely on social relationships and casual interactions, but lacking in factual data. And this is where Kennis comes in, because the traditional application process tells you very little about someone's behaviors and character. Until now, kennis has created an innovative and confidential comprehensive applicant information gathering process that provides an unraveled depth of information. The world of member vetting has evolved to a new standard and Kennis is your turnkey solution to meet this new industry best practice. You can rely on Kennis to provide the facts that you need to make fully educated member decisions, because what you don't know can hurt your club and your members. To learn a little bit more, or to set up a call head on over to membervettingcom, fill out the form. You're going to have a chat with Paul Dank. It's going to be good, he's a great guy. Also, be sure to check out our episodes of member vetting here on private club.

Speaker 1:

If you're looking for a way for your club to help attract the right members, stand out from the crowds and you don't want to advertise, but you want more exposure in the marketplace, then you need to check out Golf Life Navigators. They are the only resource that helps golfers discover experience and ultimately secure their ideal club membership and golf community home. They're experts at connecting your club with people who will truly appreciate what you have to offer. It's like eHarmony meets Zillow for golfers. If you're interested in learning more, head on over to golflifenavigatorscom, because we've we've known each other on and off. We're not I don't know, but we've like known each other for like a few years just through the uh circles and stuff. Um, and then we saw each other at the creative summit, uh, which was a ton of fun. Um, because that that's a unique thing to go to and to have, definitely, and to have your club support, I think, is a whole different thing, because, like there's one thing to like support someone going to like a cma or an nca, but it's like a creative summit.

Speaker 1:

So I guess what I'm trying to get at is you know you've been progressive, you've been, you know, wanting to do better, be better. Was this something that you brought up to your club and they were like all about it? Was this something you kind of had to fight for a little bit and say like hey, no, this is like stuff that we need. What was that sort of journey? Because I think so many people have amazing clubs where sometimes they're hesitant or they have to fight for some things. Other times there's amazing clubs where the board gets it and they're like, hey, yes, this sounds great. Go learn how to make us better. What was it like for you?

Speaker 2:

So you definitely have some valid points of you have to sell it a little bit, going to something like Ben's creative summit and I know they just wrapped up this year. So anyone who's attended a creative summit or knows Ben knows it's a little bit wacky, out of the box and champions does its own thing and kudos to them because they they crush it over there. But, that being said, if anyone knows the area of Greenwich, connecticut, it's very old school. But, that being said, if anyone knows the area of Greenwich, connecticut, it's very old school. But, that being said, it's changing just a bit, where the classic golf club isn't just for dad, who's the golfer, and he's going to go play his round and maybe you'll eat dinner with him once or twice a week at the club.

Speaker 2:

Mom and kids are really becoming a heavy hitter here at the club and we're needing to keep up with that Cause you know, happy wife, happy wife, happy life and, like you, keep your kids happy and you can keep playing golf and enjoy your time at the club. So there were some things that we needed to do to progress that side of things and having kids want to come to the club and have fun and just really bringing this old school Greenwich club up to kind of par here of what a club should be in the modern day, of just being fun for everyone and just being this lighthearted place where you go to in your downtime and really just enjoyable for whoever does join us here for the day at the club. So the creative segment definitely aided in that of just kind of elevating some of and really just enjoyable for whoever does join us here for the day at the club.

Speaker 1:

So the creative segment definitely aided in us that of just kind of elevating some of our casual activities here poolside and with some of our family events. So was the club on board. Did you have to?

Speaker 2:

fight for a little bit. What was that? What was it like? It took a moment of selling, but it wasn't too hard of a sell. It was how is this going to benefit us and where were we taking it? And I think I had a kind of good enough stance here at the club that if I was asking for something it wasn't coming completely out of left field.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I gotcha. No, that's. That was one of my questions. I was like, oh, you know, because I knew like the you know in the area you're at. So I was like, oh, I wonder if it was like a little battle. I wonder if it was like, oh, man, this is going to be, you know, florida's going to be scrutinizing for it. You've utilized scholarships quite a bit.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I have. So CMA really has a lot of opportunity for scholarship and it's been beneficial thus far. I try to take advantage as much as I can, just to kind of benefit myself and then the club. So my previous club didn't have too large of a scholarship budget. So the first time I went to World Conference was on a scholarship from the Carolinas chapter. And then recently, while being at Round Hill and part of the Connecticut chapter, I tapped in sort of to the whole kind of nationwide club foundation and was able to obtain the Kendall scholarship which pays for all of your BMIs and then your certification exam. So I can't really complain about that one.

Speaker 2:

So it's been great to utilize that and tap into those funds there, because CMA is really just giving away money and sure your club may pay for things. But you can really stretch that and do some other fun things with your own education budget when you utilize some of CMA's kind of opportunities. So I was able to do a BMI World Conference and then a couple other kind of just novelty education trips. Like I went on a field trip with some members out to Willamette Valley and did some wine education out there this year, which was a ton of fun. So can't complain about that one of being able to really go on a couple of different work trips to some fun places at that as well.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, there's one of those. It's like you know, there's opportunities where you look for them and uh exactly so one of those, like you know, the more I'm just learning and stuff as well, it's like, oh my goodness, there are so many opportunities for things and you know, sometimes it might not be the easiest way. Or like, yeah, Any, any lessons that you've learned from scuba diving that you can translate into management.

Speaker 2:

So scuba diving, like anything, is all in the preparation. Um, I recently was in Hawaii actually two weeks ago and one of my friends who's in the hotel world is a certified diver as well. Um, and we were going down on the dive and she actually lost her weights on her descent down. So she just looked at me kind of panicked eyed. I was like are those your weights? Like looked at her and you could just see this kind of like buggy eyed, look, and you can see her chest like starting to go a little bit. I'm like looked at her and I was like make eye contact. I was like it's okay. I took her hands, put them on my vest, we grabbed the weights and, like it's all just about staying calm, I got her weights back in her vest, she figured out her buoyancy again and we were good to go.

Speaker 2:

So definitely see that kind of mentality transferring over into clubs of like.

Speaker 2:

Sure we maybe missed something on our buddy check up on the boat and it happens. Um, events and things in the club world don't always exactly go to plan and it's just about staying calm in the moment and adapting and overcoming and looking to your team and who's on like ready to go and paying attention and moving forward and ready to have a successful event or, in this case, a successful dive and just really being able to take a moment, get everyone's feedback on the floor, calm down and get like everything that we need to accomplish or get a problem fixed or everything back on track and then move forward for a successful event or successful dive. So it really does coincide with each other, just being completely opposite ends of the world really here events to diving, but conceptually it matches up for sure. Just prep, stay calm and move forward with things. But that's really the big thing. But that point you buckle up and you see some cool things down there yeah, thank you so much for coming on.

Speaker 2:

Really, really appreciate it Absolutely. Thanks for having me, Denny.

Speaker 1:

Hope you all enjoyed that episode. I know I did. If you're enjoying the content, like share, subscribe. That's this episode. Until next time, catch on the flippity-flop.

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Denny Corby

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