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Members Present: Kathy Curley, Paul Casey, Terry Clarke, Kerry Ryan, and William Friend
Others Attending: Jay McGrail, Director of Operations of the SSCC; Jack Manning, from the Town Advisory Committee; and Betsy Keady and Marybeth Wahle of Keady Communications
With a quorum present, Kathy Curley, chairman of the committee, called the meeting to order at 6:40 PM.
Kathy Curley commenced the meeting by introducing Terry Clarke, newly appointed committee member to the rest of the committee. Mr. Clarke provided a short summary of his background and experience and stated he was happy to join the committee.
As the first order of business, Betsy Keady and Marybeth Wahle, of Keady Communications, presented their thoughts with regard to SSCC’s marketing plan and key messages for 2009. They commenced the presentation with an assessment of SSCC’s marketing goals, sub-goals, challenges and target audiences. They then discussed the proper “positioning” of the SSCC brand and suggested several key messages and marketing strategies to enhance the SSCC brand and to achieve SSCC’s marketing goals. The presentation concluded with a discussion of specific grass root marketing initiatives and incentive programs and a review of suggested approaches for the cost effective marketing of the SSCC. Betsy Keady and Marybeth Wahle then participated in the committee’s general discussion of the matters presented and answered the questions posed by the committee members.
Following this discussion, Betsy Keady and Marybeth Wahle left the meeting and the committee addressed the next item on the meeting agenda, approval of the February 23, 2009 meeting minutes. After a short discussion, on motion duly made and seconded, the committee members present, who were also in attendance at the February 23, 2009 meeting, voted unanimously to approve the minutes of that meeting.
At the request of the chairman, Kerry Ryan (with the assistance of Susan Sullivan, Jay McGrail and William Friend) reported to the committee on recent meetings held with the individuals and organizations expressing an interest in operating the food and beverage service facilities at the SSCC when the current lease for these facilities expires, in the spring of 2010. The report included information on the credentials and food service/catering experience of the interested parties, as well as a review of the matters discussed at these meetings, including suggestions made for enhancement of the facilities, the estimated costs of these enhancements, transition issues, operating concerns and other considerations mentioned by the interested parties.
This was followed by a discussion of how best to proceed. It was determined that each of the parties, including the current lessee, would be invited to present their proposals with regard to the food service operations, in separate sessions, to the full committee, as well as any member of the Town Advisory Committee and Board of Selectmen interested in the selection process. It was agreed that these sessions would be held on March 25th. To insure consistency in the presentations and to make certain that each candidate would be equally prepared to address the concerns of the committee at these sessions, it was also agreed that a criteria list, of matters to be discussed, would be given to each of the candidates prior to the meeting. The committee then discussed and agreed upon the questions to be included in this criteria list and asked Jay McGrail to forward the list to the candidates at the time they accept the invitation to the meeting.
The committee then reviewed and revised a draft of the town meeting Warrant Article that amends the General By-Laws of the Town of Hingham to permit a longer initial term (up to ten Years) and up to three additional five-year option periods for the food and beverage facilities’ lease at the SSCC. When this was completed, Jay McGrail was asked to forward the revised Warrant Article to the Board of Selectmen and Advisory Committee for sign-off.
Jay McGrail concluded the meeting with a report on several administrative matters, including an update on the number of permit holders that have signed up for the year, a review of his discussions with the YMCA concerning this year’s swimming pool management agreement and his plans for Kite Day at the SSCC on March 28th. During the committee’s discussion of Mr. McGrail’s report, Terry Clarke suggested that he might be able to locate organizations that would be willing to participate in Kite Day or offset some of SSCC’s costs. Terry Clarke was encouraged to pursue his ideas and to instruct any organization interested in participating in or sponsoring Kite Day to contact Jay McGrail.
Thereafter, on motion duly made and seconded and unanimously agreed upon, the meeting was adjourned at 9:35 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
William K. Friend