Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Subgroup A- Champaign Country Club (prender1, puetz2)



Introduction:  Champaign Country Club is a private country club founded in 1904.  This country club was founded around the game of golf.  It also has a swimming pool, clubhouse with a fitness center, and tennis courts. In order to become a member of Champaign Country club, you need to be invited and have to pay membership dues every month. Above is the country club's mission statement, which describes its dedication to providing leisure and recreation opportunities to its members.




Background: Members of the Champaign Golf Club founded Champaign Country Club in 1904.  These members met with civic leaders to devise a plan to found a country club.  Since its founding in 1904, Champaign Country Club has flourished.  It has undergone renovations to improve the golf course, clubhouse, tennis courts, and its pool. Located in Champaign, IL, its purpose is to serve its 300 elite members in multiple leisure and recreational activities. In order to serve the needs of the members, the club offers an 18 hole championship golf course, tennis courts and a swimming pool both with private lessons, a fitness center, as well as a 37,000 square foot clubhouse used for banquets and dining facilities to accommodate various events. Members are also offered the opportunity to visit seven additional Central Illinois Clubs. In order to keep the club up and running, the members of Champaign Country Club pay monthly dues.




Employment Opportunities: Beside employment for servers, bartenders, grounds crew, and general club maintenance, there are opportunities for employment within the field of recreation and leisure. One example is a Golf Professional. The job's duties include developing and promoting all golf programs within the club, organizing lessons and tournaments, and being in charge of the golf shop. The club also requires a general manager to oversee the club's offerings and programs in the field of recreation. Their goal is to ensure the members are happy and provided with different types of leisure activities.




Employment Requirements: For certain positions, including servers, bartenders, and lifeguards, there is an application available online at Champaign Country Club Employment. For more professional and office positions, one must bring resume and apply in person. The club employs one Golf Professional. In order to become a head Golf Professional there are certain requirements you need to fulfill. One of the requirements to becoming a Golf Professional is averaging a 76 in two rounds of golf. Some Golf Professionals are able to get their foot in the door by being the assistant professional at the club first. Also, it helps knowing other Golf Professionals because they can help you find a job too. Champaign Country Club employs many people to help carry out leisure activities. However, most of these jobs are not geared toward professional leisure service.



Trends & Issues: With the current state of the economy, it may be difficult for some current members to sustain membership within such a prestigious club. Additionally, membership to the Champaign Country Club is by invitation only because accommodations are limited to a certain number of people. High membership dues and the strict invitation policy excludes many people from enjoying what the club has to offer. People are turning to more public options for leisure and recreation to avoid the high costs that accompany private membership organizations like the Champaign Country Club. As a result, many country clubs are lowering their membership dues to deal with the issues of decreases in membership and participation.



Leisure and Benefits:
Champaign Country Club's definition of leisure is to provide its elite members and their families with relaxing and therapeutic recreational activities that include but are not limited to: golf, tennis, and swimming. The club also stresses improvement within these fields by providing lessons and assistance to its members. Additionally, the dining hall is used for a variety of events including wedding receptions and other banquets. In 2010, the club extended its banquet hall to host the American Heart Association's Heart Ball. Not only does the club offer leisure opportunities to its members, but it also extends its services and facilities to organizations hosting events for the community.





Summary: Upon our investigation of the Champaign Country Club through its website, www.champaigncountryclub.com, we discovered various employment opportunities as well as what the club offers to its members. Although they offer a variety of leisure and recreational activities, one can only become a member through invitation only, which is detrimental to some members of the community who cannot afford the high membership fees. There are some employment opportunities regarding leisure service delivery within the club; tennis and swim instructors deliver leisure service through improving the skills of its members. One can also become a Golf Professional; however, a con to this job is that there is only one position available for this club and one must work their way up to become the head professional. A pro to careers within this aspect of leisure service delivery would be doing something you enjoy, while helping the members enjoy their leisure time as well. Within the leisure delivery system, the Champaign Country Club is considered a Private Membership organization. As a private membership organization they are able to not only provide recreational and social activities to members, but also provide community recreation, such as the Heart Ball sponsored by the American Heart Association. Because Champaign Country Club is a private membership organization, it puts limitations on who can enjoy their leisure and recreational activities. It is a privilege to be a member of Champaign Country club, and not everyone is able to afford to be a part of it. Although they provide an extensive network of leisure opportunities, we feel that the limitations they put on membership overshadow the overall goal of leisure delivery, which we think is making leisure available to all members of the community.

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