The surroundings, hospitality and food are always a hit in New Orleans—especially at Southern Yacht Club—but at the 2022 Americas Regional Conference, it was the conversations and presentations that stole the limelight! The organizing committee, headed by Jenny and Bob Kottler with the support of VP Americas Debbie Gosselin, presented a spectacular agenda.

The conference opened with a session on capital planning, presented by four Member Clubs and Chris Barron of Club Benchmarking, in which data linking good planning and club financial health piqued the minds of the leaders in attendance. This was followed by an excellent presentation entitled “Strategic Planning and Governance,” led by Clay Deutsch of the New York Yacht Club and Royal Yachting Association. Mr. Deutsch related his years of experience in both clubs and business, including at McKinsey and Co and Boston Private Capital, in a manner that brought focus to the critical role of governance and planning in determining a club’s future.

Eight other sessions covered a range of topics from membership development to club fleets. All presentations are now being prepared as audio and video files for posting to the ICOYC website. We will keep you apprised when the files may be viewed.

In the meantime, here is an entertaining and informative 10-minute video on the topic of “What’s the Value of ICOYC?” presented by Leif Sigmond of Chicago Yacht Club.

WATCH THE VIDEO

The conferences and forums of ICOYC are the very heart of our mission. Of course, attending the Americas Regional Conference in person is a phenomenal experience and highly recommended, but much can be gained by reviewing the presentations posted to the website. More important, though, is that the knowledge gained is only of real value when actively conveyed to those who lead our clubs, so they have the opportunity to improve the value of membership for all club members.