At the December 16, 2022 Elmbrook Rotary Club (ERC) meeting President Harry Farchman introduced Timon Corwin, General Manager of the Western Racquet Club.
Corwin shared the Western Racquet Club's (WRC) goal to update key areas within the club. The vision is to make the club a member destination where they can socialize, watch live events or enjoy the bar room, dinner, or relax by the fireplace. Upgrades of the dining room, boardroom, bathrooms, and lobby will give the club a new fresh inviting look. To keep the full-time staff employed, there will be various projects available, and opportunities and benefits for the members during the construction phase.
The Project
During the pandemic, private clubs were anxious and unsure of what the impact would be on membership activity, recruitment, and retention. Instead of a reduction, this private club found that membership grew by a net of sixty families. This growth spawned the idea of reviewing the club’s operations and the need for developing a strategic plan for the renovation and remodel of the WRC. The last major renovation was in 2017, changes to the pool deck area.
A focus group was formed, comprised of staff and club members. A blend of feedback from this group on how they want to use the space provided guidance for the architects. The target remodel areas were the bar room, dining room, bathrooms, board room, lobby area and kitchen. From this group, a strategic plan was developed.
Planned Changes
· Bar room area – replacing and expanding the existing bar area to include more bar seating, with adjacent A la carte dining and removal of walls, opening the space, to a fireplace with soft seating. Large screen TV’s will added.
· Dining room - replacing the existing carpet/tile, installing a new wood plank ceiling, lighting fixtures, interior doors, wall treatments, and the removal of the wait station.
· Kitchen - replacing the flooring, ceiling, and upgrading the dish washing station. Upon completion of the kitchen remodel, curbside meals will be available to the members and bar service in the lower level.
· Additional Changes will include upgrade of the audio/visual/Wi-Fi system, current board room to become an A la carte dining room, a built-in host station in the lobby, updating of the bathrooms and new furniture and artwork.
The plan is for the project to be completed by the end of April and the Club fully open for Mother’s Day.
Timon joined the club staff in 2010 as Director of the Tennis Program followed by the appointment of General Manager. Prior to receiving the Tennis Director position at the club, Timon coached collegiate tennis, was a collegiate tournament director, received the Arthur Ash award, named Coach of the Year, played tennis professionally, and was inducted into the Collegiate Coach Hall of Fame. Timon graduated from Brookfield Central High School in 1982, Kalamazoo College, and Marquette Law School. He and his wife have four children who have attended Brookfield East High School.
