Magazine Mar/Apr 2018

While the excitement of the new spaces is here, we are simultaneously entering a more challenging part of the project, with the Lobby, Eagle’s Nest and Gym all being closed to receive their own makeovers. We are aware that the next several months will require additional patience on our Members’ part (not forgetting that of our staff), and we apologize ahead of time for the inconvenience. Our project team is and will continue to work as efficiently as possible to complete the remaining phases of the project to deliver a new and improved Club to you. Overseeing these changes will be our newly appointed General Manager, Devin Kimble. Devin is an American who is a longtime resident of Asia, having lived between Hong Kong and Singapore for the last 23 years. He holds an undergraduate degree from Yale University and a Master’s degree from the Cornell University Hotel School. After a regional job with Dan Ryan’s restaurant, he established the highly-regarded Brewerkz restaurant and microbrewery, the expansion of whichwas joined by new food and beverage concepts including Wine Garage and Café Iguana. Over the last few years Devin has been working in Hong Kong on the Hong Kong Beer Company, turning it into an award-winning brewery. Devin is also a longstanding member of the American community here in Singapore, having served on boards for the Singapore American School, Hwa Chong International School, the Restaurant Association of Singapore and the American Chamber of Commerce. His commitment to the community here in Singapore is deep and far-reaching. Please welcome Devin to The Club the next time you see him around the premises. He’s officially started at the end of February and is spending a lot of time getting to know the team and Members. As an observer to the GM search process, I can confirm that trying to find a newGeneral Manager for our club was no easy feat – we have a unique and very special culture here and finding the right fit is so important to both Members and staff. For tackling this search with commitment and enthusiasm, I especially want to thank the GM Search Committee, chaired by James Eyring and including Sally Greene, Jenny O’Malley, Joseph Chen, Bill Cornwell and Harvey Glick. These Member volunteers spent an incredible amount of time evaluating, interviewing and weighing the pros and cons of each candidate to allow us to get to this successful outcome. My thanks also to the Members and staff who took time out of their schedules over January to interview each of the final three candidates. Your feedback and observations were a key part of the decision-making process for the General Committee. Finally, a special thank you to Lee Lee, our Senior Director of People Development, for her guidance and support throughout this search, and to Patricia and Vijay for effectively leading The Club seamlessly through this time of transition.

FROM THE President

As I write this message, our new clubhouse is getting cleaned up, with teams of people behind the scenes checking, testing, and re-testing in order to pass the long list of inspections required to obtain our Temporary Occupancy Permit (TOP), and finally be able to open the doors to Members. It’s hard to believe that the first opening phase of our new building is finally here. The sên Spa is spectacular. The little details that the Spa Committee reviewed and discussed over many meetings are evident everywhere you look – from the twinkling lights in the treatment room ceilings and the oversized, comfy seating in the pedicure area, to the private hair service capsules – it is a space that has truly been transformed. The pools look so refreshing – I can’t wait to dive in! Elspeth (our Aquatics Manager) and the Aquatics team have been busy assessing swimmers to get them enrolled in our new swim program, Swim America, and as of this writing, there are still spaces available if you’re interested in signing up. We know our Aquatics team and lifeguards are looking forward to their return back to The Club. Central, our new café, is beautiful and spacious, now with indoor and outdoor seating. There will be a wider variety of healthy grab and go items in addition to Barista made coffees and bakery items. We’ll have smoothies and freshly squeezed juices, plenty of salads to choose from, and sandwiches and wraps as well. I am really excited about the new spaces and outlets, and at the same time incredibly proud of all the work we‘ve done over the past two and a half years to get us to this point. It has been a member-driven design process with hundreds of Members contributing valuable input. Many more Members have volunteered countless days attending meetings, viewing samples, and working out difficult design issues. The knowledge and care our Members have provided in their assistance is immeasurable and we appreciate all your help. When the new spaces open, we know there will be items here and there that will need to be fixed. As with the opening of Thinkspace, it will take up to a year to rectify some of the issues – that is part of the construction and contractual processes. I appeal to your patience and understanding as we fine-tune our processes and let our staff adjust to the new spaces, menu items, and procedures. We are all working hard to make The Club more enjoyable for everyone. As always, we welcome your feedback on ways to make things better. You can drop us a note at redevelopment@amclub.org.sg and we’ll get back to you.

Looking forward to seeing you by the pool,

Kristen

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THE AMERICAN CLUB MAR / APR 2018