Membership News | June 2012

The Union Club of Cleveland

H H H H H A Platinum Club of America

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Another Gorgeous Wedding at the

W Stephanie Donahue and Ryan Gilley strike a "Just Married!" pose in front of the Union Club.

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hen Stephanie Donahue and Ryan Gilley saw the wedding photo gallery on the club’s website, they found what they wanted for their April 28 wedding reception.

“We’ve been to weddings where you’re in a suburb and you feel like you really haven’t been anywhere,” Ryan says. “We wanted our friends and family who were traveling to the wedding to get a feel for the city and have a little vacation. The Union Club is right in the heart of it all.” Continued on page 3

The Union Club Newsletter

From the General Manager

Welcome to the Union Club

Meet New Members

Summer at the Club Dear members, Sunny summer days are ahead of us. Why not enjoy them at the Union Club? We have fun events planned for every month. For instance, Dividend Happy Hour goes al fresco on the east side of the clubhouse on June 7 and July 26. Also, our staff realized that our new surface lot provides a great spot for a big game of Corn Hole. Come down and join us on July 18! As the highlight of this summer’s events, the Union Club Cleveland Business Leaders are planning a great party that includes a cocktail competition. On Aug. 10, come sample the mixology skills of some of our members, and enjoy great food and music in casual dress under a tent. Make your reservations for this first-time event – it’s sure to be a sellout!

Claudio Caviglia

Technology

New Website Showcases Member Info Want to thank that new member named Kathleen whom you met at the Classical Dinner for her suggestion about a new board member? Want to invite the longtime member named Howard whom you met at lunch in the Grille to join your book club? Can’t remember their last names? Just enter their first names in the new website’s online member roster and get a list of all the Howards and Kathleens at the club. “The new website and the membership roster in particular give members more value through networking and building relationships with each other,” says Joe LaMantia of the Technology Committee. “The new website also helps members interact more easily with the club itself.” Members can maintain and update their own personal information on the website, rather than having to go through the club staff to change their addresses or work titles, for example. They can also hide information, such as home address and cell phone number. If you’d like help getting registered on the new website, please contact Scott Spencer and he will set you up. It’s easy.

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PHILLIP ROBINSON JR. is the executive director of City Year Cleveland, an education-focused nonprofit powered by national service dedicated to addressing the dropout crisis in Cleveland. He and Elizabeth, a marketing specialist for Progressive Insurance, live in University Heights. After meeting and marrying in Washington, D.C., they decided to move back to Phillip’s hometown of Cleveland to be closer to family. In their spare time, they enjoy rooting for the Browns and Cavs (Phil), reading the latest from Stephen King (Elizabeth), and exploring Cleveland (both). JIM BEARDSLEY is chairman and CEO of North Coast Container Corporation, a manufacturer of 55-gallon steel shipping containers. He splits his time between homes in Chagrin Falls and Palm Beach, Fla. A foodie who enjoys fine wine and food with friends, he’s also a member of the American Coaster Enthusiasts and enjoys traveling to amusement parks, especially Cedar Point. Jim is an Ohio State alum and a member of Church of the Saviour in Cleveland Heights, where he serves on the Staff Parish Relations Committee.

Fitness Center

Jump Into Wellness This Month During the month of June, the Fitness Center will offer daily fitness and health tips. From June 18 to June 22, the staff will conduct a different wellness test every day, ranging from body fat percentage to blood pressure screens. In addition, June will inaugurate our “Off to the Races” program, during which we post news of the different races members participate in throughout the summer months. The staff will also have suggestions about races in which you can participate.

Take Aim on Summer Fun With Corn Hole! The Fitness Center will hold a Corn Hole tournament on the lower level of the new garage at 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 18. Also known as bean bag toss, baggo, or bags, Corn Hole is a lawn game in which players take turns throwing bean bags at a raised platform with a hole in the far end. It will be a single-elimination individual event, and the brackets will be selected randomly. Price is $20 per adult, which includes light refreshments, parking, and a prize – if you’re lucky enough to win. Contact the Fitness Center staff to register.

Come check out the new Union Club Fitness Center apparel and accessories. Both ladies’ and men’s items are available.

Yoga Basics Launches in July People who develop a personal yoga practice say they have more energy, a better mood, improved sleep, enhanced athletic ability, and greater focus. They say they’re calmer, too – who wouldn’t be with all those benefits? Beginning at noon on Monday, July 9, certified yoga instructor Jessica Reddick will teach a six-week class in Yoga Basics, intended to help you build a strong foundation for a lifelong practice. The class will emphasize the links among body, breath, and mind. Students will learn to use breath to explore a variety of poses and movements. The class will accommodate students of all fitness levels and body types, from people who have taken a few yoga classes to people who have never set foot on a yoga mat. The class is $60. Please register at the Fitness Center by June 30. The class will take place only if five or more people sign up.

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The Union Club Newsletter

Cover Story

Wedding

Another Gorgeous Continued from page 1

Stephanie suggested the club to her parents, members Kevin and Kelly Donahue. “It was a great idea!” Kelly says. “We knew the club would offer a warm and inviting atmosphere for our guests. It seemed like a wonderful choice for our family." A tour of the club with Scott Spencer, who manages all the club weddings and receptions, fired their enthusiasm even more. Preparations for another reception were under way, and they were able to watch the historic clubhouse undergo the transformation into an elegant party site. “They were so gracious to allow us to nose around while they were setting up,” Kelly says. “Lots of other places wouldn’t have given us that chance.” The club turned out to be a perfect location for the couple and their 180 guests in so many ways. Many of their visiting family and friends stayed at the nearby Wyndham Hotel and were able to walk to

the reception. Some family members stayed in the club’s fourth-floor guest rooms – a quick elevator ride to a comfortable bed after the festivities. Guests who weren’t sleeping over enjoyed complimentary valet parking. The family also appreciated that this reception was the one and only event taking place at the club that night. “At most venues, you’re battling four other events,” says Kevin. “But we had the whole building. In addition, lots of other venues have just one big hall, and everything takes place there. But we had cocktails in the Grille Room, a jazz trio in the Reading Room, and dinner and dancing in the Ballroom.” The big event was as wonderful as they’d hoped. The clubhouse was gorgeous, the staff was friendly and attentive, the food was fabulous, and the twinkling dance floor was full of happy partiers from the moment

"I tell brides that it’s my job to find out what they want and to execute it.”

He

Employee Profile



Makes Weddings Marvelous Scott Spencer says he received the best training for his most visible role at the Union Club at his own wedding. It was a terrible experience – not the part about getting married to Colleen, but dealing with the people who provide wedding and reception venues. “They’d walk us into a room and basically say, ‘Here’s how we do weddings – take it or leave it,’ ” says Spencer, our assistant manager, who books and plans all the weddings and other weekend events at the club. “I didn’t like that cookie cutter approach. I tell brides that it’s my job to find out what they want and to execute it.” Spencer started working at the club in 1997. Before he became assistant manager, he was our dining room manager, a position he enjoyed because the kitchen was so flexible about members’ cravings – unlike at a chain restaurant he was asked to manage. “A member was here the other day to do a tasting for his nonprofit event, and I

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the band started playing. Each part of the reception flowed smoothly into the next. “I lost track of how many of our guests complimented us about the club,” says Kelly. Some of the small details stand out. Among the other appetizers, Chef Matt made tiny toasted cheese sandwiches with a shooter of tomato soup – a tribute to the bride’s grandmother, who always made toasted cheese sandwiches and tomato soup for the kids. “Nothing can be better after a huge event than to have no regrets,” says Kelly. “Everything was wonderful. There’s absolutely nothing we would want to change.” “Our goal was a wedding beyond their dreams for Stephanie and Ryan,” Kevin adds. “The Union Club, with its unmatched elegance and grace, helped make that dream come true.”

Scott Spencer

heard him tell his wife that what he orders for breakfast isn’t on the menu,” Spencer says. “But he orders it so often that I set up a button in the point-of-sales system especially for that item. The kitchen always knows who’s ordering it and how he likes it. I like being able to provide that personal touch.”

– Scott Spencer

Spencer has been arranging weddings since the club got into the business in 2001. There were only about five weddings per year in the early years; now, there are at least 25. In fact, every weekend from the end of August until Dec. 22 is booked. Many weddings don’t involve members, although a member always has to sponsor the occasion. Brides often come in with very detailed expectations for the evening (grooms, Spencer quips, care only about getting a steak and a beer). One bride came in with a photo from Martha Stewart about a special way to fold napkins. One came in with a photo of the salad she had on a cruise ship. Another wanted the kitchen to serve her grandmother’s recipe for scalloped potatoes. “The grandmother came to the tasting and gave her thumbs up,” Spencer says. “The bride was ecstatic. I love it when the couple comes in with concrete ideas like that.” When the special day finally comes, the couples and their families thank Spencer profusely. Then they always ask, “Why are you so calm?” “I always tell them that I’m not the one getting married!” Spencer says with a laugh. “Even when I’m feeling the stress, I try not to show it. That reduces the stress level for the families and helps them enjoy the occasion.”

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The Union Club Newsletter

Recently at the Club

Discussion of Middle East Fascinates Lunch Crowd Did you know that until the 1960s, glitzy Dubai was very poor? People lived in houses made of palm fronds or coral. There was no refrigeration; no one had ever tasted a cold drink. Did you know that 85 percent of all the people living in Abu Dhabi today are expatriates? Did you know that the country wants to move from an oil-based economy to a knowledge-based economy by 2030? Did you know that many people in the United Arab Emirates look askance at democracy, believing that democratically elected parliaments and congresses are too combative to get anything done? That they prefer their royal families? The audience at the May 1 Just Lunch Plus was riveted by this information and more. This event, titled “From Iraq to the Emirates: Stress-Testing Two Clevelanders’ Expectations About the Middle East,” featured presenters with extensive experience in the Middle East, who enlightened 50 members and their friends and took questions. Jim Crane, former Associated Press correspondent and author of “City of Gold: Dubai and the Dream of Capitalism,” was there in person. Linda Abraham-Silver, a club member and president and CEO of the Great Lakes Science Center, was there via Skype, her image projected on a large screen. Abraham-Silver and her family have lived in Abu Dhabi since January 2011. She is working with the government to develop the science, technology, and innovation infrastructure for the emirates’ capital. The government there – worried that not enough students were choosing academic paths in science – sought her expertise

Member Linda Abraham-Silver speaks to members via Skype from her temporary home in Abu Dhabi.

in creating informal science education that excites young audiences, such as that found at the Great Lakes Science Center. She helped create the first-ever science festival in Abu Dhabi this year, which attracted more than 100,000 attendees. Abraham-Silver says she’s had to make relatively few adjustments to working in this very patriarchal culture – which, she says, has a huge cohort of young women eagerly pursuing science and higher education. She dresses more modestly than she did in Cleveland. She has a hard time in meeting rooms and

Reciprocal Clubs

Membership

Connect the Clubs

Tap the Power of One-Four-Oh

Have you visited a private club – a city club, business club, country club, yacht club, golf club, or beach club – somewhere in the world that you wish had a reciprocal relationship with the Union Club? Let Claudio know. Reciprocal clubs are one of the great perks of membership. They allow members to lodge or dine in style, often less expensively, when they travel. Many are great for family vacations, too.

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restaurants because Abu Dhabi has yet to curb public smoking and such places are filled with smoke. But when she and her family drive down the street, they see Starbucks, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and many of the same businesses they see here. However, her children were surprised when they began attending the American school in Abu Dhabi. “Hey, Mom, I’m the only kid who doesn’t speak three languages,” her daughter announced after the first day.

We’re right in the middle of the club’s 140th year! To mark this milestone, the Membership Committee is launching a vigorous recruitment initiative called The Power of 140. The goal is to bring in another 140 members – the lifeblood of the Union Club – by July 2013. Look for details in our next issue. Start thinking about prospects now!

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June

The Union Club Newsletter

Coming Events RESERVATIONS REQUIRED

Check the Union Club website at www.theunionclub.org for details about standing monthly events, including Dividend Happy Hour (1st and 3rd Thursdays), Just Lunch (last Tuesdays), and Seniors Lunch Open Table (3rd Wednesdays).

OUTDOOR HAPPY HOUR THU, 6/7, 5 PM Gather by the club’s east entrance on Euclid Avenue for our traditional Dividend Happy Hour. ANNUAL GOLF OUTING TUE, 6/19, 10 AM Currently, the annual golf outing at the Kirtland Country Club is full; however, interested members will be added to our waiting list, so call the Fitness Center. Your $160 includes golf, cart or caddie, lunch, and hors d’oeuvres. The driving range opens at 10 a.m. for participants, followed by a cookout lunch and welcome at 11 a.m., minishotgun at 12 p.m., and cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at 4:30 p.m. Join in the fun!

BEER TASTING IN THE GRILLE THU, 6/21, 5 PM Lift a glass with fellow members as three purveyors showcase and discuss craft and seasonal selections. CORPORATE ART EXHIBITION OPENING THU, 6/21, 5:30 PM Come to the opening of an exhibit featuring art from the collections of Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals. Curators from both hospitals will discuss the collections. Presented by the Union Club Foundation and the Arts and Culture Committee. $30 includes parking and hors d’oeuvres.

CLUB CLOSED: MON, 7/2 – FRI, 7/6 The club closes for repairs and maintenance and reopens on Monday, July 9.

Group Exercise VINYASA YOGA WITH RACHELE TUE, 7AM Join Rachele Massey in the fourth-floor exercise room to practice “flow” yoga with breath work and meditation. $20 per class or $75 for five classes. CARDIO SCULPT WITH SHA’DA TUE, 12:15 PM Meet Sha’Da Taylor in the Fitness Center for a cardiovascular workout using light weights. $20 per class or $75 for five classes. WALKING CLUB WITH FITNESS STAFF WED, 12:30 PM Meet in the Fitness Center, rain or shine, for a quick half-hour stroll through downtown. Bring your walking shoes.

Save theDate!

CORN HOLE TOURNAMENT WED, 7/18, 5 PM Lob some beanbags and enjoy an evening of fun on the lower level of the new garage. $20 per adult includes light refreshments, parking, and a prize for the winner.

SUMMER PARTY AT THE CLUB FRI, 8/10 Mark your calendars now for the club’s first-ever summer party. On Friday, Aug. 10, we’ll gather outside under a big white tent for an evening of fun. We’ll have live entertainment, five teams of guest bartenders competing for your taste buds, and a cigar bar. Dress is country club casual. Bring your family and friends! 5

FITNESS CENTER SUMMER HOURS From May 28 to Aug. 30, the Fitness Center will be open from 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday (unstaffed from 7 to 8 p.m.). Weekend hours will remain the same.

Christina McNamee, left, and Sha'Da Taylor

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The Union Club Newsletter

Board of Trustees and Officers William H. Coquillette President Brent D. Ballard Vice President and Secretary Geoffrey B. C. Williams Treasurer Linda L. Bluso Howard B. Edelstein Art J. Falco Randell McShepard Jakki Nance Billie K. Rawot Cynthia V. Schulz Daniel P. Walsh Jeffrey J. Weaver Eric V. Bacon Ex-Officio

Did You Know? Now that warmer weather is finally here, how about a picnic in the newly renovated Perk Park on E. 12th Street? The kitchen staff would be happy to pack you a lovely to-go lunch.

Find More on the Web at www.theunionclub.org • Hours • Club staff • Complete calendar of events • Reciprocal clubs • Fitness center • Lunch and dinner menus • Wine features • Membership directory

Call Us at 216-621-4230 Please call the Union Club staff to make reservations for meals or overnight accommodations, check the details of events, schedule a tour, discuss prospective members, or ask other questions. We want to make it easy for you to enjoy all the privileges of club membership!

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