MARCH 2012

ONE-on-ONE
Shenandoah’s John Loussia:
‘Our Future Looks Bright’
As Shenandoah Country Club
heads into year nine as a
Chaldean-owned establishment,
the executive board is executing
new programs, new initiatives
and creating new committees. Chaldean
News Co-Publisher and Editor
in Chief Vanessa Denha Garmo sat
down with Executive Board Chair
John Loussia and some of the club’s
youngest members inside Shenandoah’s
boardroom last month.
CN: What are some of the significant
changes going on at Shenandoah this year?
JL: Our board will work very hard to
transform Shenandoah to a more family-friendly
club. One of our main goals
will be to recruit younger members and
to introduce programs and activities to
encourage them to become more active
and involved in the club. Some of the
programs include Junior Membership
and Youth Committee (see below). In
addition, we are bringing
family nights back
to the club. We have
an event once a month
geared towards children
12 and younger.
John Loussia is bullish
on Shenandoah’s
future.
CN: How is the financial
stability of Shenandoah
at this point?
JL: Financially the
club is stronger than it
has ever been, thanks in
large part to the members
who worked very hard to negotiate
a settlement of our bank loan in
‘09, and the cost-cutting measures of
the 2010 and 2011 boards. Our goal
this year will be to increase revenues
by 5 to 7 percent over last year as we
work hard to keep our expenses at the
same level of the last two years on a
percentage basis.
We believe that the club has great
Photos by David Reed
potential for a great increase
in revenues over the
next few years. We can accomplish
this by aggressively
marketing the golf course
to the public and our members
and marketing the club
to corporate America and
the community at large.
Finally, we believe that as
the economy improves the
spending by our members and
guests will also increase. Our
members can help us achieve
our goal by supporting and promoting
the club to their family and friends.
CN: Has the club gotten through the
worst?
JL: Absolutely. Our future looks bright.
CN: What have been the club’s membership
trends in the last five years?
JL: Our membership peaked at about
1,000 members when we moved to
Shenandoah in ’05. Due to the economic
turmoil in ‘08 and ‘09 and
the financial difficulty we faced, our
membership dropped to about 550 in
‘09. Membership started to increase
after we restructured our loan in 2010
and we decreased our initiation fee to
$1,000 and our dues to $1,500. Our
membership in 2011 was 768, and our
current membership is 800. Our goal
for this year is to increase membership
to at least 900. We believe that with
our junior membership program and
our current membership drive we will
achieve our goal.
Member guest night is the first
Wednesday of every month in
March, April, May and June. Our
members can invite a non-member
eligible for membership to enjoy the
Shenandoah experience by having
full access of the club, the same as a
member, for that night only.
CN: What are the short-term goals for
the club?
JL: Our short-term goals are to increase
membership, increase revenues,
improve communications with our
members, consolidate our loans and
return the governance of the club to
the members, revitalize the committee
structure and establish a permanent
structure with checks and balances for
the management of the club.
The Next Generation
Blake George, 24, is a third-generation member
of the Chaldean Iraqi Association of America
(CIAAM) housed today at Shenandoah
Country Club. His grandfather, Michael George,
was among the founding members. Today, he is often
at the club with his father Rodney and grandfather
enjoying dinner and some conversation.
As much as Blake loves the club, he felt something
was not right. “I hang out with my friends all
the time but we never hang out at the club,” he said.
Instead, the 20- and 30-something crowd was
at local restaurants and other clubs. So, along with
some fellow Chaldeans, Blake formed the junior
committee. With support of the board, the club created
the Junior Membership group where children
and siblings of current members in good standing
who are 35 or younger can join the club with no
initiation fee and a 50 percent reduction in dues.
Today, with the junior committee, the board
is able to glean a young person’s perspective. This
committee is designed to help develop programs
and events geared towards young members and increase
the board’s knowledge of the needs of youth.
On Wednesday nights, Shenandoah is transformed
into a music lounge where the younger
generation can hang out with friends, eat and socialize.
Event planners Lawrence Yaldo and Andy
Keina from Top that Table transform the overflow
room in the restaurant to a lounge-like club.
“We also suggested appetizers on the menu,”
said Blake, “because when we hang out with
friends at restaurants that is what we eat. We do
The Junior Committee:
Shawn Namou, Alyssa
Loussia, Blake George,
Kennice Farida, Reina
Kalabat, Kristen Sagmani,
Amanda Kassa
and Joey Jonna.
not order the combination plate as we do here
at the club with our parents. As delicious as it is,
it’s not what we want to eat with friends.”
Currently, there are 10 active members on the
junior committee, including Joey Jonna, 31. “I
wanted to be part of something that would bring
business to the club,” said Jonna. “There is a lot of
pride in this place and anything that brings youth
involvement is a positive.”
“I think it is significant because our parents made
such a big investment in this club,” said Amanda
Kassa, “and for the next generation to take over and
want to be involved is a great thing.”
Kassa, 23, is one of the few 20-somethings
who hang out with her friends at the club without
their parents, but she is hoping with the
implementation of the new Wednesday night
look more will follow the trend.
She encouraged nearly 15 of her friends to experience
the first junior club night last month. “I was not
sure how they were going to react but everyone reacted
with excitement and they wanted to know whose
idea was it and how they could get more involved,”
she said. “The reaction was extremely positive.”
The senior members are enthusiastic about
the junior committee’s commitment to the club.
“Blake talked about having dinner with his dad
and grandfather at the club. There is something so
special about hanging out with your son at the club
and being able to pass this tradition on,” said John
Loussia. “So many of us have memories of our parents
at the club on certain nights of the week and
now our children can experience our country club
with their friends and create their own memories.”
56 CHALDEAN NEWS MARCH 2012