GCSA of Northern California strategic planning session held at Claremont Country Club

Session establishes a roadmap of activities for the upcoming year

 

GCSAA's Associate Director of Chapter Outreach Steve Randall and I recently conducted a strategic planning session with the GCSA of Northern California (GCSANC) board of directors and Chapter Executive Marc Connerly at Claremont Country Club in Oakland, Calif. 

The mission of the session was to assist an already organized and successful chapter in designing a roadmap of activities for the upcoming year. 

Those in attendance included GCSANC President Sean Tully, Vice President Stacy Wallace, Secretary/Treasurer Brian Boyer, Josh Clevenger, Phil Brown, P.J. Ringenberger, Gavin Dickson, Pete Bachman, Bubba Wright and Past President Gary Ingram. 

Following the board expectations for the session, we conducted a SCOR (Strengths, Challenges, Opportunities, Risks) analysis and identified numerous items in each category.  Through a democratic process, the board narrowed down the list to two priority items in each category with a focus on financial stability, labor issues, engagement of members and working with the Northern California Golf Association. 

GCSANC SCOR analysis

After the SCOR analysis, we moved into a discussion on the mission statement.  The mission statement ultimately communicates what the organization does. Following an in-depth discussion, the group decided changes were needed to better reflect the current mission of the association.  Below is the updated mission statement:

The GCSA of Northern California is dedicated to serving its members through promotion and advancement of our profession.

Following the mission statement discussion, we moved into the vision statement for the chapter. The vision points out how the chapter should be viewed by its members. It also provides a forward-thinking thought process to uncover a bigger picture perspective.

Following a brief discussion, the group decided to update the vision statement.  Below is the updated vision statement:

The GCSA of Northern California brings together turf professionals to support each other while preserving golf and the environment. 

To close out the session, we established a list of goals and action items for the chapter to achieve in the next 12 months.  Those included developing a comprehensive financial plan for cash reserves, increasing turf students and opportunities to join the profession, discussion of collaborative opportunities with the Northern California Golf Association and an increase of superintendent participation in events for the 2018 calendar year. 

We thank the GCSANC board and Marc for participating in the session.  GCSANC is a large and financially successful chapter, but still sees the need for continued improvement. 

If your chapter is looking for assistance in conducting a similar strategic plan, please don’t hesitate to call me and I would be glad to schedule a date this summer for a session.  The sessions last approximately three hours and in addition to laying the groundwork for the chapter, they are a great team building exercise.