Magazine Sep/Oct 2018

I was especially reminded of this when I attended the Staff Dinner & Dance in July. As I looked over the crowd, so many familiar faces smiled back – Janice from the Front Desk, who always welcomes us warmly; Richard from Grillhouse who serves my boys milk when they try to order Sprite; Justin from The 2 nd Floor who introduces me to the latest wines...then there’s the back-of-house team whose faces are not as well-known, but who help ensure The Club continues to run smoothly and efficiently – from our chefs who prepare the delicious food, the HR team that continues to find the perfect hires for our community, and our housekeeping team that keeps our spaces tidy and clean. We recognized many long-service staff at the D&D this year, but I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge these wonderful team members who have served our Club family for over 30 years: • A special thanks to Betty Koh, who has been with us for an incredible 50 years and now serves at Essentials, our convenience store. Betty remembers many of our Members as children and has watched them grow up and bring their own children to The Club. Betty, you are an inspiration! • Chef Tan Gee Say, our Executive Sous Chef, has been an integral part of the family for 47 years and has trained several of our chefs. • Ho Wah Jin has proudly served for 44 years and is now our Senior Housekeeping Steward. • A big thank you to Khng Joo Suan and Sa’at Masuki, both Assistant Service Directors at The 2nd Floor, with 40 and 39 years of service respectively. Both are always so welcoming. • Naresh Kumar, our Service Director at Union Bar, has been with us for 33 years; I’m guessing he knows many of you by name. • Our fitness enthusiasts know Mavis Julian, who welcomes you with a smile to the gym; she’s also been with us for 33 years. • Yvonne Retnam has been graciously and delightfully working with Members at The Club for 33 years and is currently a Catering Sales Executive. Thank you all for the years of dedication and for making The Club what it is – a welcoming community and family. The next time you see these team members in the clubhouse, please say congratulations and thank them for their service. I am looking forward to a fantastic year together. A year of new outlet openings, a year of coming together again in our completed clubhouse, and a year of celebrating our 70th anniversary!

FROM THE President

Dear Members,

Happy Birthday American Club! We are celebrating our 70th anniversary this month, and it’s amazing how far we’ve come in the past seven decades. From our humble beginnings at the Cathay Building in 1948, we’ve grown from 146 to over 3,300 Members today, and we’re happy to count you as part of our Club family. We’ll be celebrating our platinum jubilee all year long – watch out for fun events and surprises! As part of this special occasion, we are unveiling a new Club logo later this month. Our Branding Committee – made up of Members, management and our brand consultant – has been working on this new design since March 2017. The committee put much thought and effort into creating a logo that represents where we’ve come from, and what we strive to achieve in the future. We hope you like the outcome. You’ll start to see this new logo being used on Club collateral and merchandise soon. Along with our 70th anniversary, we’re also preparing for new outlets to open later this year. I know this is welcome news for many of us, as it’s been a challenging few months of construction. The good news is, as of this writing, the Union Bar and new banquet room are nearing completion, with wall treatments and flooring being installed. As with all our new spaces, there will be a period of adjustment as we assess what works and what needs further tweaking. This process takes time and is considerable work for our management and operations team. We appreciate your patience as we strive to get these areas up and running in the coming months. With all the change that is happening at The Club, one thing has remained reliably consistent – our fantastic staff. I’m reminded of how wonderful our team is each time I’m at The Club. Hundreds of Members use The Club on any given day, and our staff is responsible for dozens of magic moments, thoughtful gestures and exceptional occasions of service. I’m sure you can think of a time when one of our team members made your day. They are the magic ingredient in our Club experience and truly make this place feel like a home away from home.

As always thank you for your support.

Kristen

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THE AMERICAN CLUB SEP / OCT 2018