Hurricane Irma passes Cuba and approaches southern Florida on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017. Irma was the most intense hurricane to strike the continental United States since Katrina in 2005, and it was the first storm on record to maintain winds as strong as 185 mph for 37 hours. Photo courtesy of NOAA/NASA
A Hurricane Irma impact report on clubs — the first of its kind — has been released by the Florida chapter of the Club Managers Association of America (FLCMAA) in conjunction with Club Benchmarking and the National Club Association (NCA). Key findings from the 79 surveyed clubs include insurance claims for damages in excess of $27.5 million — including $9.5 million in damages to golf courses — and 5,855 impacted employees. “Hurricane Irma 2017: The Economic, Human and Social Impact on Florida Clubs” captures critical information about the experiences of clubs across the state in preparing for and recovering from a natural disaster.
“For the first time ever, clubs will have vital data on how devastating storms like Hurricane Irma impact clubs caught in the wake of a natural disaster,” says Henry Wallmeyer, NCA president and CEO. “We are pleased to have partnered with Club Benchmarking and FLCMAA to produce this groundbreaking report that will help clubs prepare in the future.”
“This publication memorializes the tragic natural disaster, the impact that it had on clubs, and the important implementation practices to be learned from such an event,” says Beth Sargent, FLCMAA executive director. “No event has been documented in such a way within the club industry before. This publication and the supporting documents will be used to provide managers the knowledge necessary when these events occur in the future — not only in Florida, but with club managers throughout the United States.”
“Hurricane Irma was a storm of historic proportions and even experienced management teams took away some very hard lessons. We felt it was important to capture their experiences and document them in an informative and meaningful way,” says Jim Butler, Club Benchmarking CEO. “Stakeholders in these important community institutions — members, employees and vendors — were deeply impacted by Irma both personally and financially. Our hope is that this report can help to improve what we understand about the importance of preparedness and response planning going forward.”
Details gathered include information about insurance claims, club facility closures and club responses, and the final report offers best practices in natural disaster readiness and recovery.
“Hurricane Irma 2017: The Economic, Human and Social Impact on Florida Clubs” is available to NCA members, FLCMAA members and Club Benchmarking clients. For more information on the report, contact FLCMAA executive director Beth Sargent.