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BUSINESS WORLD MAGAZINE
Before anything else, howev
er, they needed a plan. Dustin
recalls spending his first six
months of the job in assess-
ment-mode, figuring out where
the wear-and-tear was, and
making minor upgrades while
preparing for the major one to
come. He also recalls looking at
ways to attract younger mem-
bers. When he came on board,
the average age of the member-
ship was 52 – it’s now down to
41.5.
Lowering that average age was
important, he explains, because
the Royal Glenora Club has al-
ways focused on serving fam-
ilies – including children and
adults of all ages. A few years
ago, they clarified their vision
statement to be “the athlet-
ic and social club that people
want to be a part of for life.” To
better realize that vision, Dustin
focused on junior program-
ming, brought on new staff,
and worked to reshape the cor-
porate culture. He also started
engaging with the membership
in order to create buy-in for the
upcoming redevelopment.
Prior to Dustin’s arrival, the club
had undertaken “piecemeal”
improvements over the last
decade – they renovated their
aquatic centre 10 years ago, for
example, and conducted addi-
tional renovations to the skating
rink and racquet sport courts.
They hadn’t done anything on
the scale of the #2021Project,
however. They knew the mem-
bership would need some brac-
“For almost 60
years, they have
been providing
high-quality ath-
letics, activities,
dining, and expe-
riences – all in a
safe family envi-
ronment and wel-
coming commu-
nity atmosphere.”