LRA Worldwide CEO Rob Rush Named Keynote Speaker at National Golf Course Owners Association Meeting

June 04, 2007 (PRLEAP.COM) Sports News
HORSHAM, Pennsylvania/CHARLESTON, South Carolina; June 4, 2007 – Rob Rush, a leader in the rapidly-growing consulting discipline of Customer Experience Management (CEM) and CEO of LRA Worldwide, Inc., will deliver the keynote address at the National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA) event scheduled for later this month. The 12th Annual Multi-Course Owners Leadership Retreat will be held June 19th – 20th at the Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa in Monterey, California; Rush will deliver his keynote the morning of Wednesday, June 20th.

The retreat is designed to bring executives who own or manage seven or more courses together for a dynamic exchange of best practices, innovative ideas and trends in the management strategies, leadership techniques and financial and operational issues unique to multi-course operators. Rush’s keynote will focus on the “secret sauce” that successful companies – in the golf industry and beyond - create to convert engaged, empowered employees into exceptional customer experiences…and the inevitable profitable growth that follows.

“Rob Rush came very highly recommended as a speaker, so we are excited to have him as our keynote,” said Mike Hughes, the NGCOA’s Chief Executive Officer. “Rob has an important message for our attendees to hear. Beyond the architecture of the clubhouse, the upkeep of the greens or the quality of the food at the turn, our ultimate success as an industry will depend on how well we personally and emotionally engage the people playing our courses, whether for the first time or the hundredth. Rob will keep everyone focused on what really matters in our business – our employees, customers and members.”

Rob will deliver his keynote, titled “The Secret Sauce of Customer Experience Management,” as part of a very full day-long agenda featuring speakers from the PGA TOUR and GE Real Estate, among others. Historically, the retreat is renowned for the quality of its keynote addresses. The speaker at the 2006 meeting was Peter Ueberroth, owner and co-chairman of the Pebble Beach Company and former Commissioner of Major League Baseball; the 2006 attendees represented more than 50 ownership and management groups and 1,600 golf courses worldwide.

“This is a great audience for our CEM message,” explained Rush, whose firm works with several multi-course ownership and management groups, including The PGA Tour’s Tournament Players Clubs, Troon Golf and Toll Brothers’ Country Club Division. “With the challenges inherent in the golf course industry, there is always the danger of developing a tunnel vision focus on the issues surrounding real estate, bricks and mortar, equipment and grass. What these executives need to keep top of mind is that golf course management is truly part of the hospitality industry, requiring the same focus and rigor on the ‘people’ part of the equation as on fairways and five irons.”

About the NGCOA:
The National Golf Course Owners Association is the leading authority on the business of golf course ownership and management. The Association represents the key decision makers with ultimate responsibility for golf courses throughout the world. Through advocacy, information resources, purchasing programs and networking opportunities, the NGCOA helps golf course owners and operators run more successful businesses.

About LRA Worldwide, Inc:
LRA Worldwide, Inc. is a leading consulting, organizational development and research company that specializes in Customer Experience Management (CEM). LRA helps companies and brands design and deliver the optimal customer experience across all key touch points using an integrated suite of services that measure and improve service quality, customer satisfaction, employee performance, loyalty, customer advocacy and profitability. LRA specializes in “operationalizing the brand” – turning brand promise and customer strategy into operational reality. LRA’s CEM practice areas include Customer Experience Strategy Consulting, Standards Development & Content Management, Organizational Development & Training, Research and Quality Assurance & Mystery Shopping; these are either deployed together in a strategic manner to continually monitor and improve the customer experience or deployed individually to address a specific tactical client need.

LRA’s clients include some of the world’s leading companies and brands, including Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Hard Rock Hotels & Casinos, the PGA TOUR, Albertsons Supermarkets, the NBA and First Niagara Financial Group. For more information, visit the company’s Web site at www.LRAworldwide.com.

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