THROUGH THE GREEN BILL BROWN
President’s Commentary
Pooled
Resources
NGCOA Canada’s Greatest Strength
President Bio Online
The staff of the NGCOA
Canada welcome newly
elected NGCOA Canada
President, Bill Brown.
Access his full bio online
at www.ngcoa.ca.
Hello owners and operators across the country! My
name is Bill Brown and I am the new president of
the NGCOA Canada. My wife and partner
Genevieve and I operate Mont Cascades, an 18-hole
facility in Cantley, Quebec 25 minutes north of
Ottawa. It is a great honour for me to become
president of your association. You could say that
not only have I watched it grow over the past 15
years, I have helped nurture it…
At the risk of repeating the incredible story,
the association began with six owners meeting at
the Canadian Golf & Country Club just outside
Ottawa. Owner Mark Seabrook suggested we
organize a national association and on that simple
suggestion, we six (plus 3 others) invested $1,000
each, borrowed another $19,000 from the Eastern
Ontario/Outaouais ownership group, created a
plan, hired Jeff Calderwood to lead the charge, and
the rest, as they say, is history.
Today we have over 1350 members, an operating
budget of $4 million, and a dedicated team of 22
employees working to help operators run their
businesses more successfully. When I look back, I
am amazed at what we have accomplished, but I
am even more excited about the future as we
embark on new projects and face new challenges.
Current and past projects include our magazine
(recently voted best trade magazine in Canada by
the Canadian Society of Association Executives), 3
regional golf shows, the Golf Business Canada
Conference & Trade Show, property tax advocacy,
charity contributions and junior golf initiatives, and
the successful Golfmax Purchasing Program. We also
recently launched a research department to compile
statistical information to help the golf industry.
In essence, the NGCOA Canada is involved or will
become involved in any issue which will help operators
to operate more efficient and profitable facilities.
struggle to showcase golf operators’ efforts to
operate in an environmentally friendly way and
explain, with scientific evidence, their responsible
business practices in the face of well-meaning but
uninformed activist outcry.
Market saturation. There are simply too many
golf courses (in some areas) or, alternately, not
enough golfers for the product available. Our
challenge is not to compete with our neighbour by
discounting; the challenge is to grow the game by
attracting players from other leisure pastimes;
biking, hiking, tennis, watching T.V…whatever. This
– and not the golf course down the street - is the
real competition. By pooling all resources and
exchanging ideas, we launch initiatives to help
alleviate this shortage of players.
As your new president, I urge every member
to read the magazine, study the emails, use the
Golfmax Purchasing Program, attend the conferences, support the research department…together
we can grow the game and our individual businesses.
I also urge any non-members to think seriously
about joining this dynamic and results-oriented
group of operators!
From humble beginnings, we have arrived as a
powerful organization in Canadian golf. In my
opinion, this is as it should be. Given the hundreds
of millions of dollars that we as a group invest in
facilities, real estate and equipment and considering
the thousands of employees who rely on us, we,
the members of the NGCOA Canada, have the
largest financial stake and the most to gain by
growing the business of golf together.
Wishing you a successful 2007 golf season,
The challenges ahead
Future challenges are many, but a couple emerge
as key themes in the near future, namely:
The pesticide issue. As a group, the NGCOA
Canada can help each individual course in the
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Spring 2007
GOLF BUSINESS CANADA