Nov. 17, 2025

469: Sweetest Gig in Clubs - BTS At Hershey Country Club w/ Kevin O'Brien

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Ever wondered what it’s like to run a private club inside one of the most iconic hospitality brands in the world?

In this episode of The Private Club Radio Show, we go behind the scenes with Kevin O’Brien, General Manager of Hershey Country Club, to explore what it takes to lead a club that sits at the intersection of tradition, luxury, and the sweetest brand in America.

With over 13 years at Hershey Entertainment & Resorts, Kevin brings a rare perspective on:

  • Leading a private club within a corporate hospitality structure
  • Building a culture of internal growth and leadership development
  • Balancing guest experience across resort and member expectations
  • Managing multiple outlets, teams, and operations under one vision
  • What makes the Hershey model unique — and what other clubs can learn from it

From food and beverage to full club operations, Kevin’s journey is a masterclass in consistency, adaptability, and sweet leadership. 

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00:00 - Welcome And Episode Setup

00:30 - Meet Kevin O’Brien And Hershey CC

02:26 - The Hershey Ecosystem Explained

06:16 - Career Path Inside Hershey

12:32 - Operating Lessons From F&B To Parks

18:27 - Pace, Continuity, And Club Relationships

24:05 - Corporate-Owned Club And Courses

27:55 - Legacy, Founders Day, And Culture

31:10 - Human-Centered Leadership Habits

37:15 - Snowstorm Banquet And Two Left Shoes

42:05 - Brand Quirks, Chocolate Martinis, Requests

48:25 - Stadium Radio Mishap With Steve McNair

53:20 - Networking, Mentors, And Closing

WEBVTT

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Hey everybody, welcome to the Private Club Radio Show, where we give you the scoop on all things private golf and country clubs from mastering leadership and management, food and beverage excellence, every engagement secrets, board governance, and everything in between, all while keeping it fun and light.

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Whether you're a club veteran, just getting your feet wet, or somewhere in the middle, you are in the right place.

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I'm your host, Danny Corby.

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Welcome to the show.

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In this episode, we are talking with someone who has one of the sweetest gigs in the club industry.

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Literally.

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We're chatting with Kevin O'Brien, who's the GM of Hershey Country Club, part of the larger Hershey Entertainment and Resorts company.

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And if you think this is your typical private club, think again.

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See, Kevin has spent the last 13 years growing within the Hershey system, rising through food and beverage operations, revenue operations, the hospitality leadership, and the park itself.

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Before now, taking the reins at one of the most unique clubs in the country.

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And in this episode, we dig into what it's like to manage a club that's part of one of the world's most popular and most recognizable brands.

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We talk about how the team balances resort operations with private club expectations, the importance of internal promotions and building talent from within.

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We also talk about what Kevin's learned from managing multiple outlets and cultures under one roof, under one conglomerate, and why leading at Hershey is more about golf food or facilities.

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It's really all about the people behind it.

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So if you've ever wondered what it's like to run a private club inside of a corporate brand or that's part of something larger, or just one of the coolest clubs in the country, this episode is for you.

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Big shout out, big thanks to some of our show partners.

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You hear about them here on the channel, as well as myself, Danny Corby, the Denny Corby Experience.

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One of the most fun magic, mind dreaming, and comedy shows you can bring to your club, guaranteed.

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I've done over 350, probably over 400 clubs at this point.

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But there's excitement, there's mystery, also there's magic, mind dreaming, and comedy, a ton of laughs, gasps, and holy craps.

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If you want to learn more, head on over to dannycorby.com.

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2025 is sold out.

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Beginning of 2026 is pretty full, but uh second half of the year a little bit more open.

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But if you want to ask about dates, head on over to dannycorby.com, shoot me a message, and we will chat.

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I'm also really active on LinkedIn.

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But private club radio listeners, let's welcome to the show Kevin O'Brien.

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So, you know, most people they hear Hershey and they think chocolate.

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You know, probably people in our world think more complex hospitality.

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But how do you describe the Hershey ecosystem to people?

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Sure.

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Um, so we it I have a lot of practice at this because even when we're hiring employees, sometimes the employees don't necessarily understand.

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We have to kind of walk them through in the beginning.

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Yeah.

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Um so uh Hershey Entertainment Resorts, we are a um a private, um, privately owned uh hospitality and tourism company.

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And our biggest assets um and most well known is Hershey Park Amusement Park.

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But then beyond that, we have these supporting assets of that exist of lodgings.

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So the Hershey Lodge, the Hotel Hershey, um, we have the Hershey Camping Resort.

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Um, and then we also have other what we call legacy assets, which the Hershey Country Club is one of them.

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Um it was started by Mr.

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Hershey, and so um it's uh um yeah, it's very near and dear to what his legacy is.

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Um so we are basically a hospitality and tourism company.

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Um we run operations, whether it's park operations, golf, hotels, you name it.

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Um but we we have the Hershey brand on us.

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Um so we have the use of some of these iconic trademarks, um, both in our naming as well as in just you know a lot of the collateral that we do.

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Um but at the end of the day, those brands belong to uh the Hershey Company, which is the one that most people are more familiar with.

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They're a global manufacturing company um that started with uh caramels and chocolates and through um decades has kind of diversified in the candy sphere as well as now really, especially in the salty snacks, they've really made a lot of um progress in that in that arena in the last few years.

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Um so yeah, so they are a publicly traded, enormous global manufacturing company of uh of food, and we are a tourism company that um, you know, hosts people and um and we uh try to make them happy and make their debt.

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So uh um the we're basically sister companies because we're owned by the same entity.

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Um so uh the Hershey Trust, which is what Mr.

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Hershey effectively left his fortune to um with the means of of supporting the Milton Hershey School, which again is another one of the assets, but the Hershey Trust basically is private endowment.

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Um and that is really existing to support the school.

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Um, but basically the profits that our organization makes um goes as a dividend that's paid to the school um via uh via the trust.

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Um and then on the chocolate company side, on the on Hershey Food side, um the trust is basically the majority stockholder and pretty much probably always will be the majority stockholder.

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So that makes them in theory their owner, even though they're publicly traded company.

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So um so that's kind of the the the shortest version of that that I can give.

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No, it's uh it kind of thumbs it up.

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Yeah, it's it's it's it's such a you know it's a big operation, then you start hearing about it, you're like, oh, that really is a big operation.

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Yeah, yeah.

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And I think the the the thing that further adds to the confusion for some people is like the town of Hershey, I mean it's a town.

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And so you know, if if you're a person who owns a dry cleaner, you might call it Hershey Dry Cleaners.

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Now that doesn't necessarily mean that like it's part of our company.

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Um so so you get you know, you get a little bit of confusion of people that maybe are newer to this area where they're like, well, where does the where where do the borders of this whole thing begin and end?

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Um um but yeah, so that's that's kind of um the the history and I mean I could go deeper, but that's that's the well I mean in history you've been you've been in the Hershey family of entertainment and companies for many years now, right?

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Uh yes.

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Uh next year will be my 20th year.

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Um which um boy, I'm getting old.

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But uh it's crazy to think.

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Um yeah, it doesn't seem like 20 years ago when I joined the organization, but um um but yeah, it's been a fun ride.

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And um I'm fortunate to have kind of gotten a lot of different opportunities within the organization.

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Um, you know, and and I think one of the things that I tell people when they when they come to work for us is um there's such a diverse uh canvas of careers that you can opt to look at within this organization without actually changing employers.

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Um and I think I'm kind of um I'm a good example of that.

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When I started with this company, I was working in the park operation, food and beverage.

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Um, and then um I got promoted from there and was running basically the revenue operations of the park as the assistant GM.

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Um, probably about 13 years ago, I came over to the club as the AGM um and was running basically everything except golf.

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So I didn't run golf operations or turf, but clubhouse maintenance, food and beverage, recreation.

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Um, and I did that for three years um before then moving over to Hershey Lodge, one of our lodging properties.

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So, like right there, you count like, okay, so you got a theme park, a golf course, and lodging.

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I mean, that's those are three very, very different things.

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Um and uh, but they all again they all exist within our umbrella.

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So that was uh really just one of the blessings that that I've had with kind of being in the organization.

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And then I came back over to golf about a year and a half ago as the GM.

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Um, and the nice thing for me is like coming back to the property.

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I kind of already was familiar with it.

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Uh I knew some of the members, and so it was kind of good to reacquaint with them, but at the same time, um, some of our staff here had had you know worked here 10 years ago, so it wasn't like a bunch of new faces.

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So that's again, it's it's a nice blessing to have um some longer-tenured staff that that know their way around the venue and know the legacy and and kind of have the It's also gotta be neat too.

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Sorry to me interrupt, but it's also gotta be cool from you know, I don't know how many people like follow you or like know of you in that area, but at least it's like to me, it's cool that other other employees see you maneuvering.

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So now, you know, who knows?

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Because I I I I don't know, I uh hopefully you tell the uh uh CEO story, but to me it's kind of like, oh, you know, someone younger who might have been at the hotel or maybe still is, and then now it's like, oh, I'm going over the club.

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And it's like, oh, like what's the club about?

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So now it's like you may have brought somebody more, like, you know, help them maybe find their career path.

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It's just neat that like, you know, that they get to see this movability happen.

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Yeah, I mean, it is nice to be able to because I it's not uncommon that whether it's our interns or um, you know, just some of the the beginning managers, but we'll do I don't say career fairs, but but we'll do we'll do networking events where you kind of just get to talk about, hey, what what got you here and what's your background?

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In all the Percy companies.

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Yeah, yeah, that's cool.

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It's really cool.

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It's it's not, you know, I can speak to a lot of different things just because I've I've seen a lot of different things.

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But um, but yeah, I, you know, it's you you mentioned the the visibility of kind of going from one division to the next.

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And uh I remember um uh a really dear friend of mine um who I don't work with, he was one of my college roommates, but um we're just best of friends.

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And um, you know, he's been with the same employer for quite some time too, and he doesn't work in in the same sphere that I do.

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But um, but I remember, you know, when I moved to Hershey and uh and he was like, Oh, what are you doing?

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And I told him about the the park job.

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And then, you know, years later it's like over in golf.

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And then when I told him I was leaving golf and going to resorts and you know, uh hotels, and and it this just kind of blew his mind that, like, you know, wait, you're you're still working for the same company.

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And I said, Yeah.

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And he goes, you know, I've never forgotten this.

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He said, You're either really good at your job or really bad at it.

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And they just don't want to fire you to give you the the the unemployment.

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Like, is this one big game of past the trash?

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What's going on?

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You know, so uh I I I actually use that.

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I I kind of bust that out in in a lot of these career sessions with people, um, you know, just to be a little self-deprecating.

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It's pretty funny.

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Just come stay here.

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They'll never get rid of you.

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Like I said, yeah, yeah.

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That's all I had.

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Just keep moving around.

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Yeah, yeah.

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So funny.

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That's so funny.

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Well, what was it like?

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So you you've worked all these different spots.

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It was there a common theme looking back now, you know, that now that you're because you know, to me, like I'm gonna focus more on clubs and stuff, obviously.

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But like, you know, looking back, has there been a common theme in maybe your management and your style?

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Maybe it's the hospitality, but it's like looking through the core things of everything.

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Has there been like a common theme there?

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So I think um really just kind of going back to just core skills.

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Um, I came to the organization as a food and beverage person, and my original job was food and beverage dedicated.

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Um, the first promotion I got, um, where I was the assistant GM at the park and I was overseeing revenue ops, it was the first time in my career that I actually had a job that wasn't dedicated food and beverage.

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Now, food and beverage still rolled up to me as a revenue operation, but I had multiple revenue operations and um, you know, ticketing, uh, the games department, um, you name it.

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But that was the first time that that it was like, wow, I'm no longer just a food and beverage professional, um, which uh for me uh I loved because the learning opportunity of now all of a sudden learning these other uh disciplines.

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I mean, there's a lot to them.

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You know, ticketing operations are very, very different than food and beverage.

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And food and beverage is is is such its own discipline and and has all of its lessons that you learn from from um from operating and uh you know, and and restaurants are different than bars, and bars are different than catering, and catering is different than you know, premium services and stuff.

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So it's it's it you know, food and beverage, you can work a long time in food and beverage in a lot of disciplines and not get bored.

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Um, and I was never bored, but but I think the the skill set for me that kind of carried through was I think that the food and beverage component and and those of us that that have worked in that region know like, hey, margin management and being efficient and and being able to kind of be as profitable as you can um is really what set you apart.

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Um and so I I think just learning how to be a good operator and a good problem solver while at the same time being efficient.

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Um I learned those lessons young and they've served me really.

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I mean, I I still use them uh all the time.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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And and working in the parks, that's a lot of you probably encounter more situations rapidly.

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So like if something comes up, like you can probably you can you probably have to adapt also too, just because the amount of people coming through it, and and I'm sure because it's all the same food and beverage stuff, but you put it inside of a theme park, that changes probably everything.

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Because people can drink and have fun, but you really don't want them drunk because then they're either going to be oblivious you know, annoying, puking on rot.

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You know what I mean?

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There's so many different layers of stuff and oh yeah, yeah, and and um it's interesting too, because even you know, concessions within the amusement industry is very different than concessions other places.

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I had a background in concessions and professional sports.

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So to your point, heavy drinking.

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Well, then you come into um a theme park environment where there's little to none of it.

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Um and so um, yeah, I I think the things that you you learn quickly the things you had to stay ahead of, and then like, hey, if this pops up in the middle of the season, this could be a problem, or how do we keep it from popping up in the middle of the season?

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Um, but the thing that people used to ask me all the time, um, you know, with us, you know, we're not obviously in Florida, so we're not 12 months a year running a um a uh a theme park.

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Um, but they they would always say, like, well, what do you do in the off season?

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And and I would laugh because I'm like, well, we don't really have an off-season.

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Like, well, yeah, but I mean like in the winter.

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I was like, well, and this just goes to show how much simple things like technology change the game.

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Um, you know, the park um has so many different subsets within it of operations.

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And one of them is just like um signage.

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Like they they have their own creative team that can make signs.

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And, you know, in a park of that size, you make a lot of signs.

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Uh well, the food and beverage operation, the signage that we would make every year was our menu boards.

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Um, so they would make the menu boards that would go be the placards that would go up in the concession stands every year.

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And I remember we had to have our entire pricing strategy done by the end of January every year, because we're then handing these files over to an in-house printer, so to speak, that basically has to print all these menu boards.

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But it takes about six weeks to do that.

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So, so in order for the park to be ready when it opens on opening day and have all this stuff in place, you had to basically have your pricing strategy done by the end of January.

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And for us, you know, a lot of the suppliers work on a calendar year too.

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So they might say, hey, our price increases will roll out one week into January.

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It's like, okay, well, that might change a lot of what I'm doing.

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But if there's things that, like, hey, we want to look at a chicken tender that has less writing on it this year, like you want a product cutting.

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So there was all this research that you wanted to do, and it's crammed into this small window of time that you had to get done.

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And people always thought, like, oh, you just must sit around board in January.

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And I I would always tell them, I'm more stressed out in January than I am in July because uh it I'm racing this deadline.

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And of course, now come spend a day.

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Yeah, and with the advent of technology now, it's hilarious because it's all digital menu boards now.

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So, like, you don't have to do any of that.

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Like, I mean, you still have to have a pricing strategy, but then you can just hit a button and hey, they're all updated.

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You know, it's just crazy.

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Um, but yeah, well, um, 20 years ago that was like that, but now it's like Disney and Universal, they probably change it by the hour.

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So yeah, oh yeah supply and demand.

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Yeah, absolutely.

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Um so yeah, it's just a different world.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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And and your boss now was your boss from years ago too.

00:16:33.039 --> 00:16:39.919
Just talking about, you know, because I thought that that was really cool when when we were talking uh before the recording.

00:16:40.080 --> 00:16:47.919
Um we were talking about like like networking and just how you meet people and like you know, you meet people in different spots, you never know how it's gonna come back being like full full circle.

00:16:48.320 --> 00:16:56.639
And and now your your current boss basically, like you guys were Yeah, so it it is it's a good networking story.

00:16:56.799 --> 00:17:04.960
Um so I'll start by saying, um, well, first of all, Denny, you're my hero because you're doing what I like I dreamed of doing when I was younger.

00:17:05.039 --> 00:17:06.319
I wanted to be in broadcasting.

00:17:06.480 --> 00:17:13.359
Like so I remember being in college and and being the poster child of the kid that didn't know what they were gonna do when they grow up.

00:17:13.440 --> 00:17:15.920
And I still tell people I don't know what I want to do when I grow up.

00:17:16.079 --> 00:17:20.240
But um, I kind of when I chose a major, um, you know, you had to.

00:17:20.319 --> 00:17:23.200
It's like sophomore is over, you gotta time to launch here, kid.

00:17:23.359 --> 00:17:28.799
Um, and so I majored in um communication studies with a concentration of radio TV broadcasting.

00:17:28.880 --> 00:17:32.640
And and my dream was like to do professional sports broadcasting.

00:17:32.720 --> 00:17:35.039
Like I thought, like, this is amazing, this would be incredible.

00:17:35.200 --> 00:17:49.839
Um, and um, and I was going to school in upstate New York, and when I got out of school, um I I had some small level things, although most of them were after I moved out of New York, um, despite New York being this huge media center, it was it was actually easier to find work outside of New York.

00:17:50.000 --> 00:18:01.920
Um, but um I remember my introduction to what I'll call my real career, um, which was uh it ended up being a professional sports, but it's been food and beverage.

00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:08.559
I was living in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the um it was the year that the Panthers got uh the NFL franchise.

00:18:08.640 --> 00:18:10.319
And so they were like the talk of the town.

00:18:10.400 --> 00:18:11.759
They were like the biggest thing ever.

00:18:11.920 --> 00:18:22.160
And I at the time was just working in restaurants um and uh waiting tables bartending, um, you know, living the the 25-year-old you know life that you live, um, especially as bartender.

00:18:22.400 --> 00:18:26.240
Yeah, maybe play golf in the in the day and go to work at night, uh all that fun.

00:18:26.480 --> 00:18:40.400
But um so they had this hiring fair, and um I got hired by the company that um had the contract for the Panthers um for that first season, um, basically just working in the suites, um, uh overseeing like a block of suites on game day.

00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:48.240
And the the the that company then got the contract um to open the Washington Commanders Stadium the following year.

00:18:48.400 --> 00:18:55.200
And um, there are two very, very different openings because when we opened Carolina, like the stadium was built and basically ready for the Panthers.

00:18:55.279 --> 00:18:56.480
So it was like waiting for them.

00:18:56.720 --> 00:19:02.240
Whereas with the Commanders, the stadium, I think, was still being built the day they kicked off.

00:19:02.319 --> 00:19:03.920
Like it was, it was it was a nightmare.

00:19:05.680 --> 00:19:06.799
Oh, it was brutal.

00:19:06.960 --> 00:19:07.839
It was so bad.

00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:14.319
So um It was a very rough opening that did not go well and like you know, left scars.

00:19:14.480 --> 00:19:22.079
And um, for me, the job that I got hired into was a much, much bigger job than I had with the with uh with Carolina.

00:19:22.160 --> 00:19:32.480
So um it really, you know, it's one of those times in your life where you recognize like I am grossly in over my head here, but I'm just gonna work as hard as I can to kind of you know be a successful.

00:19:32.559 --> 00:19:35.359
And if they fire me at the end of the year, so be it.

00:19:35.519 --> 00:19:38.240
But but it's not gonna be because I didn't try my hardest.

00:19:38.400 --> 00:19:38.640
Right.

00:19:38.799 --> 00:19:45.599
Um and so the other dynamic that happened during that was the Cook family, um, Jack Ken Cook Sr.

00:19:45.759 --> 00:19:46.640
had passed away.

00:19:46.720 --> 00:19:54.880
And um uh so his son, John Ken Cook, was basically the owner of the team, but it was just until the estate was being settled.

00:19:55.039 --> 00:20:00.880
And as the estate settlement went, uh Daniel Snyder's ownership group is the one who basically bought the team.

00:20:01.119 --> 00:20:08.240
So going into that second year, um, we had been running the suite operation in the stadium.

00:20:08.400 --> 00:20:16.400
Going to that second year, we lost the suite operation because Snyder awarded it to um a company, Bethesda, that I guess he worked with in other functions.

00:20:16.480 --> 00:20:18.319
It kind of didn't matter that we had a contract like that.

00:20:18.640 --> 00:20:20.240
Yeah, yeah, okay, whatever.

00:20:20.480 --> 00:20:29.759
So um, because it was a football count um and it was not a domed stadium 12 months out of the year, you're oftentimes um sent in the offseason to work other events.

00:20:29.920 --> 00:20:37.359
So I was out in Seattle opening up the Mariner's New Stadium, and I got a phone call from one of the guys that I worked with, but not for.

00:20:37.519 --> 00:20:46.720
Um his name was John Lawn, and he was the CEO, uh, he was the uh general manager of um of our group there at the stadium.

00:20:46.880 --> 00:20:49.279
And he said, I have some good news and bad news.

00:20:49.519 --> 00:20:51.119
I was like, okay, what's bad news?

00:20:51.359 --> 00:20:53.920
He said, Well, um, we lost the suite contract.

00:20:54.000 --> 00:20:59.599
You know, Snyder hired this other company, so we we you you you basically don't have that job anymore.

00:20:59.680 --> 00:21:01.119
And I was like, huh.

00:21:01.440 --> 00:21:06.640
Well, I don't know what the good news is, but it better be really good because that's really bad news.

00:21:06.880 --> 00:21:18.160
And uh and so he said, Well, um the the commanders have agreed to put a major capital investment in the stadium with in-seat service on the club level, and it's gonna require a lot of infrastructure.

00:21:18.240 --> 00:21:22.240
And I need somebody who basically run the club level, the club level bars, the in-seat service.

00:21:22.319 --> 00:21:25.039
And I know you're already familiar with the stadium, and I know you work hard.

00:21:25.200 --> 00:21:34.400
Now, we didn't know each other that well because the first couple of seasons, I was really on the catering side of that business with sweet catering, and he was on the concession side.

00:21:34.480 --> 00:21:42.079
So even though our offices were like literally eight feet from each other, we barely talked to or even saw each other because we just worked in different parts of the stadium.

00:21:42.559 --> 00:21:47.599
Um but um but he had always been a straight shooter and and um so I was like, yeah, okay, that that sounds good.

00:21:47.759 --> 00:21:50.880
My entire family's on the East Coast, so let me come back and and and do that.

00:21:51.039 --> 00:21:57.599
And um, over the course of the next then three years or so, he and I worked really, really closely together and just had a lot of fun.

00:21:57.680 --> 00:22:11.359
Um and um, you know, he taught me a lot of lessons about just um leadership and and at the same time, um he was very, very good at making you feel both empowered as well as confident in your job.

00:22:11.599 --> 00:22:15.839
Because at the time when I first got there, it was by far the biggest job I'd ever had.

00:22:16.079 --> 00:22:18.720
I probably wasn't qualified for what I got hired for.

00:22:18.880 --> 00:22:25.920
But within two years of just being around John, um, he was really good at kind of giving you credit for things you didn't even do.

00:22:26.000 --> 00:22:27.839
And you're like, uh, you know, I didn't do that, right?

00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:29.039
And he goes, No, no, that was fine.

00:22:29.279 --> 00:22:30.720
You know, it's like, okay, cool.

00:22:30.880 --> 00:22:39.119
Um, so you just kind of grew as an individual and and you you became more empowered and you eventually just became more confident in your abilities.

00:22:39.200 --> 00:22:42.480
And you know, those things really serve you well as you kind of move forward.

00:22:42.720 --> 00:22:52.559
Um so fast forward, um, I ended up leaving professional sports with that same company and and um taking on a convention center role that was like down in North Carolina.

00:22:52.720 --> 00:22:55.680
Um kind of offered a little more stability at the time.

00:22:55.759 --> 00:23:00.319
Um, and you know, you didn't have to move every six months to handle an opening someplace else.

00:23:00.480 --> 00:23:04.079
Um but um he and I stayed in touch.

00:23:04.160 --> 00:23:06.240
I mean, we're good friends, and I had a lot of respect for him.

00:23:06.400 --> 00:23:11.279
And so um it was probably, I don't know, four or five years later he reached out with this opportunity in Hershey.

00:23:11.359 --> 00:23:14.640
And at first I said, no way, I really enjoy living in North Carolina.

00:23:14.720 --> 00:23:17.519
I don't, I'm not, I'm I'm a Northeast kid, I don't want to move back up north.

00:23:17.599 --> 00:23:19.279
This is this is great being in the south.

00:23:19.440 --> 00:23:28.240
Um, but he did something smart where um after I I think I turned him down two or three times, he's like, why don't you come up with your wife and just look at the look at the opportunity?

00:23:28.480 --> 00:23:36.799
And you know, when we did that and we came to Hershey, and you just saw like what the town was like, it became very apparent that it was a great place to raise a family.

00:23:36.960 --> 00:23:39.759
And so it, you know, at that point, it's like, yeah, we we should do this.

00:23:39.839 --> 00:23:41.119
This is a good opportunity.

00:23:41.279 --> 00:23:47.839
Um, so the job that I got hired for was actually the job that he was vacating because he had been promoted um into uh into higher one.

00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:49.920
So I reported to him, which was nice also.

00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:53.920
You know, you're coming into something, and the one thing you know is like, okay, I know my boss is.

00:23:54.160 --> 00:23:57.599
Um, but now as the years have gone by, um, he's done well for himself.

00:23:57.680 --> 00:23:59.200
He's now the CEO of our organization.

00:23:59.359 --> 00:24:08.559
He's done a great job overseeing a lot of, you know, just the expansion of the company as well as some of the challenging times, you know, the challenges of COVID and and and you know, what that did to the industry.

00:24:08.720 --> 00:24:11.359
Um, so he's just proven himself a very adept leader.

00:24:11.519 --> 00:24:18.880
But um, but you know, having somebody like that that you know is in your corner and and you know, you still learn things from is a great value.

00:24:18.960 --> 00:24:23.440
And and for me, um, you know, I I tell that story to the same thing.

00:24:23.519 --> 00:24:46.559
I tell it to to younger people to talk about just the the value of relationships and how um, you know, hey, um, it's really easy to just get somebody's name and connect on LinkedIn and LinkedIn's great, but but the human factor of what we do is is big and and staying in touch with people and you never really know the opportunity that you might find based on on people you know or people they know.

00:24:46.799 --> 00:24:52.400
Um and um it's it's just everything we do in in hospitality is a people it's a people business.

00:24:52.640 --> 00:24:54.400
I mean, you gotta you gotta be good with people.

00:24:54.480 --> 00:24:58.720
And um, yeah, that is that has served served, I guess, both of us well.

00:24:58.960 --> 00:24:59.359
Yeah.

00:24:59.759 --> 00:25:07.279
Yeah, and I'm and I'm sure being in your role, you've probably seen a lot of people who get into hospitality and you're like, Do you really want to be here?

00:25:07.440 --> 00:25:08.240
Like, yeah.

00:25:08.799 --> 00:25:10.319
You realize what the job is, right?

00:25:10.480 --> 00:25:11.920
And like you know you work on tips.

00:25:12.240 --> 00:25:12.480
Okay.

00:25:12.720 --> 00:25:13.039
Yeah.

00:25:13.279 --> 00:25:14.400
Especially as a customer.

00:25:14.480 --> 00:25:19.920
You know, you go places and you're like, you're aware that I'm supposed to tip you, right?

00:25:20.640 --> 00:25:22.880
You know, I can see your facial expressions.

00:25:23.279 --> 00:25:24.240
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:25:24.400 --> 00:25:26.319
It it it's it really is mind-boggling.

00:25:26.559 --> 00:25:31.279
I I kind of think this is not the industry for people to just you know spin their wheels to act like it.

00:25:31.359 --> 00:25:32.400
That that's not what it is.

00:25:32.480 --> 00:25:35.519
There's there's yeah, other ones you can do that in that probably pay you better.

00:25:35.680 --> 00:25:38.480
But um, but yeah, that's it's mind-boggling.

00:25:38.559 --> 00:25:39.839
And you're right, you still see that.

00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:40.240
Yeah.

00:25:40.480 --> 00:25:44.799
And it it it has it been unique, and I I'm just I'm shooting from the hip here.

00:25:44.960 --> 00:25:50.160
Has it been unique because I'm I'm thinking about your previous positions.

00:25:50.480 --> 00:25:52.559
All of them are very fast-paced.

00:25:53.039 --> 00:25:54.799
Clubs are a little bit slower.

00:25:55.039 --> 00:25:55.359
Yeah.

00:25:55.599 --> 00:26:10.160
Has have you has that and and and and by slower, you know, I'm just thinking, you know, it probably there probably is things, there are there there are things that pop up and things, but compared to like convention center and amusement parks to clubs, like I think probably a slower pace.

00:26:10.240 --> 00:26:13.519
But that's that has to be nice because now after years of finally doing all that.

00:26:13.680 --> 00:26:24.559
But I think because you're in all those positions, because you had a lot of rapid fire thinking on your feet, now when something happens at a club, you know, you're you you have so much in your Rolodex.

00:26:24.799 --> 00:26:30.960
Wow, now I'm I'm dating my, you know, you have so much already in your experience that now you it's almost just like, oh, all right, been there, done that.

00:26:31.200 --> 00:26:31.519
Yeah.

00:26:31.759 --> 00:26:39.599
Yeah, there's definitely a continuity factor that exists in in the club industry that um, at least for me, I find very appealing.

00:26:39.759 --> 00:26:43.440
Um, you know, to kind of compare it even just to convention center work.

00:26:43.519 --> 00:26:51.359
Um, you know, you could have this great group that comes in over the course of like three or four days in a convention center and and they they're spending a lot of money.

00:26:51.440 --> 00:26:54.559
You know, they're great, they're the exact kind of business that you want to have.

00:26:54.880 --> 00:26:59.839
But if you've never served them before, those four days are going to have a lot of discovery.

00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:06.400
Um and and you are to a certain extent at the mercy of how good the event planner is.

00:27:06.559 --> 00:27:11.039
Um, because if if they if they're really good at their job, they've prepared you for what's coming.

00:27:11.200 --> 00:27:17.920
If they're just okay, you're gonna get a lot of curveballs that you have to then figure out in in real time.

00:27:18.079 --> 00:27:29.440
And and and you also have to kind of be able to keep your team focused, like not let them get frustrated by curveballs because it's like, hey guys, I understand that maybe the event planner should have told us this, but this is what we do.

00:27:29.519 --> 00:27:31.200
We we deal with curveballs every day.

00:27:31.279 --> 00:27:34.079
So don't let it, you know, don't let it knock you off kilter.

00:27:34.319 --> 00:27:39.039
Um, so um there's definitely not as much of that in the club industry.

00:27:39.119 --> 00:27:59.200
And and um, you know, I had a a gentleman that I I you know, he was he was a mentor of mine years back, and um it was it was long before I worked in the club industry when I was very curious about it, and I was kind of asking questions, and he said, well, and and and he he said it funny because he's like, Well, the bad thing about the club industry is the guest never leaves.

00:27:59.359 --> 00:28:02.160
And and by that he meant like you see the same people every day.

00:28:02.319 --> 00:28:02.559
Yeah.

00:28:02.799 --> 00:28:07.920
Now, I kind of I I laughed at that, but I I kind of think it's the exact opposite.

00:28:08.079 --> 00:28:24.000
I think that's the great thing about the club industry is um that you get to know your guests and and you find out what makes them tick and you find out, you know, not just where they're from or hey, you know, where their kids go to school, but they they just you learn their hot buttons and and the things that really engage them.

00:28:24.160 --> 00:28:28.480
And you can't do that to the same degree in lodging.

00:28:28.640 --> 00:28:37.839
Um, you know, you you the sure you might have some guests that come every year, but generally speaking, you're dealing with a new guest, a transient guest, and everything that you do.

00:28:38.000 --> 00:28:41.440
Whereas in the club, um you really, really get to make relationships.

00:28:41.680 --> 00:28:44.319
And um, I personally have really enjoyed that.

00:28:44.400 --> 00:28:47.519
I I think it's one of the blessings of what we do in this industry.

00:28:47.680 --> 00:28:56.240
Um and I I can't remember if I told you this story before, but my my my daughter's a freshman in college and she's going to school um down in the state of Florida.

00:28:56.480 --> 00:28:59.359
And um, so this is the first time she's left home.

00:28:59.599 --> 00:29:08.960
And I had four different instances of members, and none of them related to the other one, but they're all members that um you know spend the winter in Florida.

00:29:09.039 --> 00:29:09.359
Yeah.

00:29:09.599 --> 00:29:16.160
And um, they randomly stopped by or called me and they're like, hey, I'm heading down to Florida next week with the family.

00:29:16.240 --> 00:29:17.759
We'll be there the next five months.

00:29:17.920 --> 00:29:20.000
Like, if your daughter needs something, you call me.

00:29:20.079 --> 00:29:23.279
And I'm like, how did you even know my daughter goes to the common quarter?

00:29:24.559 --> 00:29:29.519
Like, I but that's that kind of extended family feel that the industry has.

00:29:29.680 --> 00:29:32.240
And I think it's it's so unique to this industry.

00:29:32.319 --> 00:29:35.039
There's not a lot of other things that I can really compare that to.

00:29:35.200 --> 00:29:36.960
Um and and I love it.

00:29:37.039 --> 00:29:38.559
And but it's not for everybody.

00:29:38.720 --> 00:29:39.519
I mean, it's amazing.

00:29:39.599 --> 00:29:43.200
I meet people, I tell them what they what I do, and people are like, oh, the members must be tough.

00:29:43.440 --> 00:29:44.720
Like, the members are great.

00:29:45.039 --> 00:29:46.720
I love the members, they're awesome.

00:29:46.880 --> 00:29:53.839
Um, and I mean they're the lifeblood of what we do, but but they're people, and and you know, getting those connections is you never get tired of that.

00:29:53.920 --> 00:29:54.480
It's awesome.

00:29:54.640 --> 00:29:55.119
Yeah.

00:29:55.359 --> 00:29:59.440
And and and the club's cool because you are privately owned.

00:29:59.599 --> 00:30:02.960
So So you're not a member owned club and you're part resort club too.

00:30:03.119 --> 00:30:13.279
So you have you have your members, you have your membership, but you also you're also open to non-members and people coming coming to experience Hershey.

00:30:13.440 --> 00:30:15.839
And you have a in uh you have what two courses?

00:30:16.000 --> 00:30:17.920
Like you you have you have a big piece of property.

00:30:18.240 --> 00:30:18.960
We do, yeah.

00:30:19.039 --> 00:30:21.119
So but but you're right, it's a big differentiator.

00:30:21.440 --> 00:30:32.240
Being corporately owned, um, because some of um some of what we do and and why we do it and how we do it, um, it's just so different than than in a fully member-owned club.

00:30:32.400 --> 00:30:35.680
Um but yeah, we we have two courses, 36 halls of golf.

00:30:35.759 --> 00:30:54.880
Um actually technically we have um um 45 halls of golf because we also have Spring Creek, which is a uh a public course, uh it's a public um nine-hole executive course that um we kind of run, but also we'll like in partnership with Milton Hershey School because the school wants to develop um a golf team and have the you know the kids learning golf and stuff.

00:30:54.960 --> 00:30:57.039
So um uh but that's a public course.

00:30:57.119 --> 00:30:59.119
It's kind of across the street from where we are.

00:30:59.200 --> 00:31:04.480
Um but the east and west course um really are are the private, um, the private venues.

00:31:04.640 --> 00:31:11.200
The west course is the original one, um, and the east course was uh was built in the 80s, but it's pretty neat because they're totally different.

00:31:11.359 --> 00:31:15.119
Um uh the east course is a uh a George Fazio design.

00:31:15.200 --> 00:31:24.160
It just has those those brutal greens with the soft shelves that you know you you think you hit this perfect approach shot, and then you walk up and your balls 20 yards off the green.

00:31:24.319 --> 00:31:27.039
You're like, what happened?

00:31:27.279 --> 00:31:30.240
Um but our West Course is our more iconic one.

00:31:30.319 --> 00:31:31.759
You go by uh what was Mr.

00:31:31.839 --> 00:31:37.680
Hershey's home, uh High Point Mansion on the fifth hole, which is a par three, it's probably our most iconic hole.

00:31:37.839 --> 00:31:41.839
Um, and um uh you just kind of traverse the original property.

00:31:41.920 --> 00:31:43.119
It's it's pretty neat.

00:31:43.359 --> 00:31:51.599
Um but yeah, I I think the um I guess the assets that we have and how we kind of get to use them is is is fun.

00:31:51.759 --> 00:31:56.319
I mean, it's it we we really get to do um some different things.

00:31:56.640 --> 00:32:04.720
Um we start every year, usually in in May, with a Founders Day event celebrating like the founding of the club, where um Mr.

00:32:04.799 --> 00:32:17.039
Hershey, after his wife had passed away, uh like I said, his mansion's like right on the property of the of the club, um, he literally moved into the second floor of of the mansion, and the first floor served as the original clubhouse.

00:32:17.279 --> 00:32:22.640
Um so um, I mean, just again, you talk about you talk about million and billionaires.

00:32:23.119 --> 00:32:24.799
You don't see benevolence like this.

00:32:25.039 --> 00:32:30.240
Yeah, I mean, he was truly a unique person, um, and and very, very humble and down-to-earth.

00:32:30.319 --> 00:32:45.599
Um, so one of the events that we do is called Founders Day, where um we basically kick off the season um and um people they don't exactly play the original track of how it was laid out, um, but the whole numbers kind of change a little bit based on the routing.

00:32:45.759 --> 00:32:51.279
Um, so now like the first hole you're playing is from the front lawn of the mansion, because that's what the first hole used to be.

00:32:51.440 --> 00:32:56.880
Um and um now, do we make people also shoot with like old school golf clubs and stuff too?

00:32:57.119 --> 00:32:59.200
Like you really make it go all out.

00:32:59.519 --> 00:33:04.799
I mean that if if we had a heavy inventory of persimmon clubs, that would be pretty awesome.

00:33:05.039 --> 00:33:16.400
Um but yeah, no, I think they gotta make it over like the pants with the high socks, like the hats, the whole there there are some that will come in in some uh interesting getups, which I you know we we always appreciate.

00:33:16.559 --> 00:33:21.839
But uh yeah, it would be neat if you could really kind of bring it completely back in time like that.

00:33:21.920 --> 00:33:24.400
That would uh that would be a fun, a fun thing to do.

00:33:24.559 --> 00:33:25.039
Yeah.

00:33:25.279 --> 00:33:25.599
Yeah.

00:33:25.839 --> 00:33:39.759
From your whole your whole experience, Hershey and all uh the stuff before, are there any like habits you learned early on when it comes to like all of these spaces that you've brought with you that like you just always always have?

00:33:39.920 --> 00:33:48.400
Like is there like a habit or just something like uh a core, something like you learned early on that you just no matter every position, you've like always brought it with you?

00:33:49.119 --> 00:34:07.599
I I think um when you have the responsibility of employees, um, and whether they're your direct reports or whether um you know they're the entire employee um uh staff, uh you have to be human in in what you do.

00:34:07.759 --> 00:34:14.480
I mean, the the days of of the leaders just yelling and screaming and barking, like those things, thank God, have died.

00:34:14.639 --> 00:34:17.760
Um, and and you just don't you can't survive that way managing people.

00:34:17.920 --> 00:34:30.000
But um, but I think just showing people your humanity, um, you know, if you hear like, hey, this employee, their their pet died or their or their grandmother died, like just you know just touch bases and say, hey, how are you doing?

00:34:30.079 --> 00:34:31.760
It's just something that we can do for you.

00:34:32.000 --> 00:34:34.639
Um it it really it leaves a mark.

00:34:34.800 --> 00:34:38.159
And and as somebody who, you know, I mean, I've experienced these things.

00:34:38.239 --> 00:34:47.039
And when my employer um would unexpectedly send flowers to a funeral or have people reach out and do things, you're like, wow, like I I wasn't expecting that.

00:34:47.119 --> 00:34:48.719
Um it just totally caught me off guard.

00:34:48.800 --> 00:34:51.440
So I think the human element of what we do is huge.

00:34:51.519 --> 00:35:05.360
And I think it it really, really goes far when you're able to show people, hey, I understand kind of not necessarily everything that you do in terms of all the components of your job, but I understand how difficult and challenging it can be.

00:35:05.519 --> 00:35:22.159
Um and and one of the um one of the tricks that I've used, um, again, back in my uh going way, way back, you know, in my time in Carolina when I was working in in uh at football, well, in the offseason, I I actually worked in a convention center too, the where I was a banquet server.

00:35:22.239 --> 00:35:24.639
Um and so, you know, I got banquet trained.

00:35:24.719 --> 00:35:26.159
So like I know how to carry a tray.

00:35:26.239 --> 00:35:27.360
I know how to stack a tray.

00:35:27.440 --> 00:35:30.960
Um, you know, like I know how to clear a room from being a banquet server.

00:35:31.119 --> 00:35:47.679
And um when I moved over from the golf club over then into the convention center, it was pretty entertaining because you know there was a large staff there, a large staff of of uh employees that you need because the convention center was pretty big.

00:35:48.000 --> 00:36:00.960
And um, the first time we had a big uh meal event where like the entire staff is there, I made sure at some point during that event that I went out and just started busting tables and then walking a tray.

00:36:01.199 --> 00:36:08.800
And it was just to kind of make people know, like, I know how to do this and I've walked in your shoes and like I can help you when you need it.

00:36:08.960 --> 00:36:23.920
You know, now it doesn't mean that every day that I'm running out and busting tables, but but I think when you're able to kind of just send those little subtle nuances to people to be like, now I I kind of know what, like, I know what you're going through, or I know like, hey, if you're gonna do this for 1500 people, that's a lot of trades.

00:36:24.000 --> 00:36:24.559
I get it.

00:36:24.719 --> 00:36:32.559
Um, you know, and and when you have those opportunities, just pitch in and help, and and you're not doing it to show, it probably sounds like I'm saying you're doing it to show off.

00:36:32.639 --> 00:36:33.679
That's not how I mean it.

00:36:33.840 --> 00:36:50.400
Um you're doing it to kind of lend some credibility to yourself, but at the same time make them understand like, hey, like if you're having a bad day and there's aspects of this that are challenging for you, or you feel like, hey, if we just did this, it would make this thing better.

00:36:50.559 --> 00:36:55.519
Like when you're able to kind of show that you've walked in those shoes, I think you instantly become more approachable.

00:36:55.679 --> 00:36:58.400
Um and as leaders, we just have to be approachable.

00:36:58.480 --> 00:37:02.239
Like people have to be able to come to talk to us because they're gonna talk to us about a lot of different things.

00:37:02.320 --> 00:37:04.719
And not all of them have to do with their job descriptions.

00:37:04.880 --> 00:37:08.079
Um so I have just found that that's been a really, really useful trait.

00:37:08.239 --> 00:37:13.519
Like when you're able to show people, yeah, I I kind of have some knowledge about what to do and how to do this.

00:37:13.599 --> 00:37:15.679
And um, it comes in pretty handy.

00:37:15.920 --> 00:37:20.800
Well, I think it probably also helps it lets people know they can't mess with you either.

00:37:20.960 --> 00:37:23.920
Like it's almost like you know, you can't BS a BSser.

00:37:24.159 --> 00:37:31.119
So it's it's like, you know, if someone says something to you, you're gonna you're gonna know right off the bat, like, hey, that's not really gonna take that long.

00:37:31.199 --> 00:37:34.639
Or that's you, you know, you so it it's it's it's yeah.

00:37:34.880 --> 00:37:46.079
And just being able to do, especially now, which I you know, I'm sure I and this is like a big like assumption, but I would assume you know, you probably have had some staffing issues, as has everybody at certain points with different events.

00:37:46.239 --> 00:37:52.320
So you've probably more recently than you might have like to admit how to grab a couple more tables or clear some things.

00:37:52.559 --> 00:38:14.639
And I think that's what I see often too now is um between between good clubs, I shouldn't say good, good clubs, bad clubs, but like, you know, good, good leaders, okay leaders is you know, I can almost tell too, like I see a lot more club leaders taking, you know, going in the kitchen, running, you know, like I'm I'm I'm doing a show and they're like, hey, listen, I gotta go help in the back, like kitchen's crazy.

00:38:14.800 --> 00:38:17.599
And they just like pick up and go, and I was like, hell yeah.

00:38:17.840 --> 00:38:18.400
Yeah.

00:38:18.639 --> 00:38:18.880
Yeah.

00:38:18.960 --> 00:38:24.079
I I have a silly um a funny story about this, and it's a day that I'll never forget.

00:38:24.320 --> 00:38:31.119
Um when I was working uh at the lodge, um So we we were fortunate that we had a lot of repeat business.

00:38:31.199 --> 00:38:33.280
So a lot of the groups that we would get, we would get every year.

00:38:33.360 --> 00:38:38.239
And there was one of them that would come in January, like probably second or third week in January every year.

00:38:38.320 --> 00:38:41.360
But a big group, probably like um, you know, seven, eight hundred people.

00:38:41.599 --> 00:38:46.239
And um, they would have like a plated dinner um on one of the nights that they were there.

00:38:46.480 --> 00:38:59.199
Um now the the the great part of this slice of business is the fact that, you know, in January in central Pennsylvania, that's typically not when people are planning conventions, like, hey, yeah, let's go someplace where it's snowing and cold.

00:38:59.280 --> 00:39:01.119
Um but we'd had this group for like decades.

00:39:01.280 --> 00:39:02.400
They're just a great group.

00:39:02.559 --> 00:39:11.840
Um and uh when they they came into town, I think on a Sunday and the plated meal event, I think was like that Tuesday night.

00:39:12.079 --> 00:39:15.840
And on Monday night, it blizzarded.

00:39:16.000 --> 00:39:18.480
Like, I mean, I think we got like two feet of snow.

00:39:18.639 --> 00:39:20.559
So the group is already in-house.

00:39:20.800 --> 00:39:24.719
So um, so you don't have to worry about the group getting there, they're already there.

00:39:24.960 --> 00:39:27.599
But the employees, they're not there.

00:39:27.760 --> 00:39:30.639
Like they have to commute to work, and of course, they're all snowed in.

00:39:30.800 --> 00:39:40.159
Um, and one of the things that we used to do to try to kind of help ourselves in these situations is like, oh, well, hey, if we know a weather system's coming in, we'll free up some rooms for employees to stay in.

00:39:40.239 --> 00:39:47.199
So, you know, hey, the AM cooks and the AM housekeepers, they're already here and you don't have to worry about major employee shortages.

00:39:47.280 --> 00:39:50.559
Um, but this group is big enough that they used up our room inventory.

00:39:50.639 --> 00:39:52.480
So we couldn't have, it was like the perfect storm.

00:39:52.559 --> 00:39:57.039
You couldn't have employees already there, and then you got this snowstorm that was brutal.

00:39:57.280 --> 00:40:00.079
And I remember going into that day thinking, this is gonna be a long day.

00:40:00.239 --> 00:40:05.840
Like, I need to make sure I'm getting there early because you know I don't even know if we're gonna have enough people to get the continental breakfast out.

00:40:05.920 --> 00:40:13.679
Um, so I probably woke up at like 4:30 in the morning and I'm getting dressed in my closet and it's it's like pitch black because I don't want to turn on lights and wake people up.

00:40:13.840 --> 00:40:17.679
Um, and so I I uh I knew like I was probably gonna have to dig my truck out.

00:40:17.840 --> 00:40:23.280
So I threw on my snow boots and I just grabbed my work shoes and kind of threw them in the truck and I get to work.

00:40:23.599 --> 00:40:26.559
And uh, you know, and that was an adventure in and of itself.

00:40:26.719 --> 00:40:37.199
But uh but by the time I got to work, um, I go to change out of my snow boots and I realized I picked up two black shoes, but they're both they're different shoes, they're two left shoes.

00:40:37.519 --> 00:40:47.360
So now I can either keep my snow boots on and look like an idiot all day, or just throw on these two black shoes that actually looked a lot alike, but there were two left shoes.

00:40:47.519 --> 00:40:49.599
So I'm thinking like, oh, I'm an idiot.

00:40:49.760 --> 00:40:52.960
Okay, well, this is gonna be painful, but we're wearing two left shoes all day.

00:40:53.199 --> 00:40:53.440
No.

00:40:53.599 --> 00:41:01.519
And then the the perfect storm that I just kind of described of happening where now, like you have 700 people that you have to do this plated meal for.

00:41:01.760 --> 00:41:08.320
And um we had six banquet servers to do 700 people plated meal.

00:41:08.400 --> 00:41:14.639
Um, and so any manager that was around, like, we just grab like, you need to come over here, you need to help us just kind of get this food out.

00:41:14.719 --> 00:41:17.519
We did like a crash course to like show them how to like carry a tray.

00:41:17.599 --> 00:41:18.960
But we didn't even care if they didn't know how.

00:41:19.039 --> 00:41:21.360
It's like just get food out of there, it's fine.

00:41:21.519 --> 00:41:24.320
But I remember one of the more experienced banquet servers.

00:41:24.480 --> 00:41:28.159
I basically was paired up with him, and he's like, All right, uh, we got this third.

00:41:28.320 --> 00:41:30.320
And I'm like, the third of what?

00:41:30.400 --> 00:41:31.760
And he goes, the room.

00:41:31.840 --> 00:41:32.880
And I'm like, what?

00:41:34.880 --> 00:41:36.960
Third of the room, I guess two of us.

00:41:37.039 --> 00:41:39.760
Um, but it was like it was fun.

00:41:39.840 --> 00:41:50.159
And I know it sounds crazy to say it was fun, but it you knew that you were so screwed, regardless of what was gonna happen, that it was like, hey, we're just gonna knock this out.

00:41:50.239 --> 00:41:57.199
And thankfully, the the guests, um, they were farmers and agrarian people, and they couldn't have been more understanding.

00:41:57.360 --> 00:41:58.400
Half of them were trying to help us.

00:41:58.559 --> 00:41:59.920
We're like, no, no, no, sit down, sit down.

00:42:00.480 --> 00:42:02.480
You'll have to clear the table, we'll take care of it.

00:42:02.639 --> 00:42:07.679
But it it's a day I'll never forget uh because you know, obviously I'm running around two left shoes all day.

00:42:07.840 --> 00:42:15.679
But um, but you know, what you were asked to do that day, you knew you're probably gonna go the rest of your career and not have to do something like this.

00:42:15.920 --> 00:42:16.079
Yeah.

00:42:16.320 --> 00:42:22.559
And being able to put a happy face on this as if like this is gonna be awesome was kind of like the only thing you could do there.

00:42:22.719 --> 00:42:27.360
And even in hindsight, like I tell the story, I laugh because I just think the whole thing was just so ridiculous.

00:42:29.440 --> 00:42:33.679
Because you can imagine anything that happens that day is gonna be funny.

00:42:33.760 --> 00:42:36.400
Like, like I'm like some like somebody goes, Can I get some salt and pepper?

00:42:36.480 --> 00:42:37.119
Oh, yeah, okay.

00:42:37.280 --> 00:42:38.800
Like you you just laugh and walk away.

00:42:38.880 --> 00:42:42.480
Like you gotta get out a hundred meals in what, 10?

00:42:42.719 --> 00:42:43.519
Like it's silly.

00:42:43.760 --> 00:42:47.920
Yeah, I mean, it was just it was absurd, but uh, but I'll never forget that day.

00:42:48.079 --> 00:42:49.519
And uh yeah, yeah.

00:42:49.679 --> 00:42:54.239
And some people start calling me loopy after that because I'm two left shoes, and they're like, hey, loopy's here.

00:42:54.320 --> 00:42:55.679
I'm like, yeah, thanks, thanks for that.

00:42:56.000 --> 00:42:58.159
Your dogs must have been barking.

00:42:58.480 --> 00:42:59.440
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:42:59.760 --> 00:43:00.960
Ooh, blisters.

00:43:02.239 --> 00:43:10.719
Um so working in the Hershey, you know, well, I'll I'll just call it the Hershey conglomerate of of things.

00:43:10.880 --> 00:43:19.599
Have you in I would assume club club people are, but like when you're in amusement parks and hotels, I'm sure you get like really weird requests.

00:43:19.679 --> 00:43:29.679
Have you ever had like some crazy just Hershey things that because of where it's at, people like, can I get a 2,000 pounds of kisses like melted in the tub?

00:43:29.840 --> 00:43:32.639
Like, do you ever get just real weird stuff?

00:43:32.960 --> 00:43:40.800
Yeah, you know, so I I think one of the things that's funny is um, you know, because you have this association with this brand.

00:43:40.960 --> 00:43:48.480
Um, when you go places, I have now learned, like, if I go to a convention or or anything, I need to bring chocolate with me.

00:43:48.719 --> 00:43:52.639
Because when I show up, everybody says, the Hershey guy didn't bring chocolate.

00:43:52.719 --> 00:43:55.280
And you know, you get shamed on that like once or twice.

00:43:55.360 --> 00:44:01.039
And you're like, all right, I am bringing chocolate every time I go someplace because, you know, everybody wants to throw it at you.

00:44:01.199 --> 00:44:08.960
Um, so like that's one of the things I've learned is yeah, always travel with chocolate if you work for Hershey because people are going to expect you to give it to them.

00:44:09.199 --> 00:44:14.639
Um one of the more recent requests that I got here at the club, I was kind of alluding to Mr.

00:44:14.719 --> 00:44:15.760
Hershey's mansion.

00:44:15.840 --> 00:44:23.519
Um, so I had somebody who wanted to propose um to their future fiance, literally uh uh in front of the mansion.

00:44:23.760 --> 00:44:28.960
Um, and and you know, there's some intricacies of that that are a little bit challenging because part of it is you got a golf hall there.

00:44:29.039 --> 00:44:31.599
Um, but then the other part of it is we don't technically own the mansion.

00:44:31.679 --> 00:44:35.840
So I can't just be like, yeah, just stroll through the mansion and like get get engaged there, and yeah.

00:44:36.000 --> 00:44:40.960
So uh so there's stuff like that that you kind of have to navigate.

00:44:41.199 --> 00:44:53.920
Um and then probably one of the more common ones, um, one of the neat things that that I think the destination has done is in the uh the beverage pro uh program that we run, um, we we generate chocolate martinis.

00:44:54.400 --> 00:44:54.880
So good.

00:44:55.039 --> 00:44:56.960
Yeah, Hershey branded chocolate martinis.

00:44:57.199 --> 00:45:02.239
And so we like we came up with like, okay, this is going to be the signature Hershey chocolate martini.

00:45:02.400 --> 00:45:10.960
Um, but to do that, we literally had to meet with the Hershey company to get their blessing for the brand to be on a cocktail, you know, because they're not they don't sell Hershey liquor.

00:45:11.039 --> 00:45:20.559
Um you know it's so so you gotta make sure that with these brands that you're treating with the respect and and at the same time understanding like I don't own this brand, you own this brand, so I have to make sure that you're comfortable with this.

00:45:20.719 --> 00:45:33.119
Um so and this is kind of going back several years, but originally we started out with like just this signature martini, but then since then we've we've expanded this portfolio where there's probably, if I had to guess, like six or eight different branded martinis.

00:45:33.280 --> 00:45:36.559
There's a Reese's peanut butter cup one, there's like a special dark one.

00:45:37.039 --> 00:45:39.840
Uh Twizzler's one, like they're all cocktails.

00:45:40.000 --> 00:45:44.559
And in each instance, the Hershey Company has to approve it and you know, and like we send photos.

00:45:45.199 --> 00:45:45.599
Try it out.

00:45:45.679 --> 00:45:46.239
Yeah, of course.

00:45:46.559 --> 00:45:49.360
Um so it's it's been a fun venture over the course of time.

00:45:49.519 --> 00:45:53.760
Um but probably the most common request I get is people say, Can you send me the recipe?

00:45:53.920 --> 00:45:55.920
Um, you know, they always want to know what the recipe is.

00:45:56.000 --> 00:45:57.199
And and we're happy to share it.

00:45:57.280 --> 00:45:59.599
It's not it's not anything really esoteric.

00:45:59.679 --> 00:46:07.519
Um, but um, over the course of time, one of the things that's been interesting is some of the the liquor suppliers that you've used, you know, they might go by the wayside.

00:46:07.679 --> 00:46:18.320
So um I know with like the peanut butter cup one, what it started out with, you know, we had to kind of change it because you could no longer get this one, you know, Caribbean peanut butter rum that we were buying.

00:46:18.400 --> 00:46:20.400
Like it just like couldn't get it anymore.

00:46:20.559 --> 00:46:22.719
So uh you kind of almost had to start from scratch.

00:46:22.800 --> 00:46:28.400
So so those are very those are the Hershey things that kind of that come up from time to time that are that are fun.

00:46:28.559 --> 00:46:29.199
Yeah.

00:46:30.079 --> 00:46:31.280
That's really funny.

00:46:31.519 --> 00:46:32.000
Yeah.

00:46:35.679 --> 00:46:38.000
So you you become the guy, like the the candy guy.

00:46:38.079 --> 00:46:40.559
He always has candy, which is probably a good or bad thing.

00:46:40.960 --> 00:46:41.840
His kids are coming up.

00:46:41.920 --> 00:46:42.960
Hey, do you have do you have candy?

00:46:43.039 --> 00:46:44.320
It's like, don't ask that, please.

00:46:44.559 --> 00:46:44.800
Oh yeah.

00:46:44.960 --> 00:46:46.880
And and I and honestly, I still forget.

00:46:47.039 --> 00:46:51.760
Like, um, yeah, I I it's ridiculous.

00:46:51.920 --> 00:46:56.239
And then, oh well, and then this past summer, I was going down, um, I was on vacation.

00:46:56.320 --> 00:47:02.239
I was gonna be down in Georgia playing golf, and there was a a course down there that that um, you know, the private course, but they were gonna let me on.

00:47:02.320 --> 00:47:04.480
So I thought, okay, well, I gotta bring them chocolate.

00:47:04.639 --> 00:47:09.679
So the night before I went to leave, um, you know, I ran out, bought like two bags of chocolate.

00:47:09.840 --> 00:47:13.599
And then um, I'm home and I'm packing my bags, getting ready to go.

00:47:13.760 --> 00:47:16.079
And my daughter walks in and she's eating chocolate.

00:47:16.159 --> 00:47:18.320
I'm like, Where did you get that?

00:47:18.480 --> 00:47:20.079
She's like, oh, there's a bag downstairs.

00:47:20.159 --> 00:47:21.280
I'm like, no, no.

00:47:22.800 --> 00:47:24.079
How was it for you?

00:47:24.960 --> 00:47:25.760
So yeah.

00:47:26.079 --> 00:47:28.960
Like the next day now, I gotta go out and buy more chocolate.

00:47:31.119 --> 00:47:35.519
So yeah, this is uh this is the tricky things about a life of a Hershey person.

00:47:35.920 --> 00:47:36.320
Yeah.

00:47:36.639 --> 00:47:37.199
Yeah.

00:47:37.760 --> 00:47:38.079
Yeah.

00:47:38.639 --> 00:47:38.960
Yeah.

00:47:39.119 --> 00:47:39.519
Yeah.

00:47:40.000 --> 00:47:43.679
Um, this is this is really good.

00:47:44.159 --> 00:47:44.960
This is good.

00:47:46.239 --> 00:47:54.719
Um, I can give you um, I can give you a really silly story that really doesn't have to do with Hershey, but but has to do with my stadium life, if you if you want that one.

00:47:54.880 --> 00:48:05.199
Please um so we um that first year when we had opened um the Commander's Stadium, and I was telling you, you know, it was it was a rough year.

00:48:05.280 --> 00:48:06.719
If things could go wrong, they did.

00:48:06.800 --> 00:48:10.559
And and even things that you thought like you were prepared for, you weren't.

00:48:10.800 --> 00:48:34.800
Um and one of the standard things that I think uh it probably to this day still happens, um really the day before a game, you had to turn in all your radios um um to the safety and security team because they would reprogram them and make sure that the channels had integrity of like, hey, this is Stadium Ops and this is you know janitorial services, this is food and beverage, whatever.

00:48:34.960 --> 00:48:38.159
Um, and they just had to make her all these frequencies were very dedicated.

00:48:38.320 --> 00:48:43.920
And so it was the, I'm pretty sure it was the first Monday night football game that was hosted in that stadium.

00:48:44.000 --> 00:48:48.880
Um, and the commanders were playing um the Tennessee Titans and Steve McNair.

00:48:49.199 --> 00:48:53.360
And um, so the the uh the crowd was pretty pumped up about this.

00:48:53.440 --> 00:48:57.920
They they they were looking forward to this game and Monday night, and you know, and we're like, hey, it's our first Monday night.

00:48:58.000 --> 00:48:59.440
It's pretty, it's pretty neat.

00:48:59.679 --> 00:49:03.360
And um, so I'm like running around sweet level the entire time.

00:49:03.519 --> 00:49:13.119
Um and um the guy was a senior vice president of the Redskins, and now I knew his name because the opening had gone so poorly that like I had to meet with him several times.

00:49:13.360 --> 00:49:23.280
Um but but like we weren't exactly like you know close buddies and like you know, hey, he's gonna call me in my free time to see if I want to hang out.

00:49:23.440 --> 00:49:31.920
Um and so all of a sudden in like the second quarter, I hear him on our frequency, which he was never like, you know, he was never on our radio frequency.

00:49:32.079 --> 00:49:35.519
And he's like, Hey, O'Brien, I need to meet with you.

00:49:35.679 --> 00:49:36.320
Where's O'Brien?

00:49:36.480 --> 00:49:38.559
And I'm like, oh, this cannot be good.

00:49:38.719 --> 00:49:40.239
And so I'm like telling where I am.

00:49:40.320 --> 00:49:42.239
And of course, he couldn't be farther away from me.

00:49:42.320 --> 00:49:47.199
So now over the course of the next like three minutes, like we're doing radio calls saying, like, okay, I'm going this way.

00:49:47.280 --> 00:49:48.800
He's like, stop talking on the radio, call me.

00:49:48.880 --> 00:49:50.800
And of course, there's a bajillion people in the stadium.

00:49:50.960 --> 00:49:52.639
You can't connect a cell phone call.

00:49:52.719 --> 00:49:55.039
So um, I'm I'm still talking to him on the radio.

00:49:55.119 --> 00:49:56.719
And every time I do, he yells at me.

00:49:56.960 --> 00:49:59.760
So when I finally meet up with him, he's like, Give me your radio.

00:49:59.840 --> 00:50:02.719
And I was like, Well, I'm like, I don't even know what I did wrong here.

00:50:02.880 --> 00:50:04.960
And uh, and so he starts walking with my radio.

00:50:05.039 --> 00:50:06.800
I'm like, Well, what what are you doing?

00:50:06.960 --> 00:50:09.519
And he's like, You didn't get your radio program.

00:50:09.760 --> 00:50:11.840
And I said, No, they all got they all got brought down.

00:50:11.920 --> 00:50:14.880
They, you know, safety security didn't they they reissued them to us.

00:50:14.960 --> 00:50:15.679
I I I did.

00:50:15.840 --> 00:50:18.880
And he's like, Well, your radio's feeding into Steve McNair's helmet.

00:50:18.960 --> 00:50:20.079
The Titans are destroying us.

00:50:20.239 --> 00:50:22.000
They're like, who's this O'Brien guy?

00:50:22.159 --> 00:50:33.599
So apparently, like all of my radio communications that night were feeding into Steve McNair's helmet while he was trying to call plays on the field.

00:50:33.760 --> 00:50:41.840
And um, my only regret in life is I never got to meet Steve McNair because I would have liked to have been like, hey, I don't know if you remember this game.

00:50:42.000 --> 00:50:43.119
I'm that guy.

00:50:45.519 --> 00:50:46.239
Question for you.

00:50:46.400 --> 00:50:47.599
Does this sound familiar?

00:50:47.760 --> 00:50:49.360
Yeah, we need more cheese.

00:50:49.519 --> 00:50:58.719
Like you start like just wondering what if so, what were you saying that he was hearing in his helmet?

00:50:58.800 --> 00:51:02.320
Like, like what sort of things were you probably saying that he's getting?

00:51:02.400 --> 00:51:04.320
Like, what in the world is going on?

00:51:04.800 --> 00:51:16.000
So, on suite level, like uh pre-game and right around the time the game's beginning, you're you're putting out calls because basically all the food has left the kitchen, but it's going into pantries around the stadium.

00:51:16.159 --> 00:51:19.760
And then from the pantries, the staff will then run it to the individual suites.

00:51:19.920 --> 00:51:27.199
But you generally want to have like you don't want the suites on one side of the stadium to like be done with service and the other ones haven't started yet.

00:51:27.360 --> 00:51:37.039
So like you're you're kind of like a big traffic guard of like, okay, hey, you know, commence, you know, firing pizzas and sending this stuff out, and you're like just shooting those kind of communications out.

00:51:37.199 --> 00:51:54.320
But then once the once the game is started, um, there was a select group of suites that I typically wanted to get updates on, either because they were VIPs or potentially like player family suites, or they might have been a suite that just on opening day things went really poorly.

00:51:54.400 --> 00:51:57.039
So I want to make sure like everything in that one's pretty good.

00:51:57.360 --> 00:51:57.679
Yeah.

00:51:57.920 --> 00:52:03.199
So I was probably making radio calls asking for status updates on those suites.

00:52:03.280 --> 00:52:07.599
Um, you know, because that stadium had literally 204 luxury suites.

00:52:07.679 --> 00:52:08.880
It was two levels of suites.

00:52:08.960 --> 00:52:19.199
So if I was individually going to check that myself, it would probably take more than the first half to make it to all of them because you know, you you're running around basically doing loops around the stadium.

00:52:19.280 --> 00:52:21.519
And of course, if you go into the suite, somebody might talk to you.

00:52:21.599 --> 00:52:29.280
So, you know, you're you're it you needed to be able to communicate with a bunch of people in a short amount of time to make sure that things were as they should be.

00:52:29.519 --> 00:52:35.519
So yeah, so I was probably just, you know, hey, sweet, you know, 123, where are we at with like this?

00:52:35.679 --> 00:52:37.280
Did they get their tenderloin?

00:52:37.360 --> 00:52:40.400
You know, uh yeah.

00:52:40.480 --> 00:52:46.159
So uh I really would have liked to have met Steve McNair just so I could uh seeing if he remembered that.

00:52:46.320 --> 00:52:46.960
Yeah.

00:52:48.159 --> 00:52:49.440
Is he dead now?

00:52:49.679 --> 00:52:50.639
Yeah, he passed away.

00:52:50.960 --> 00:52:52.719
Passed away um unexpectedly.

00:52:53.199 --> 00:52:57.679
Um he actually got murdered, I think, by his wife or or girlfriend.

00:52:57.760 --> 00:52:58.239
I forget.

00:52:58.320 --> 00:53:00.559
But yeah, it was it was uh very controversial.

00:53:00.719 --> 00:53:03.519
But yeah, yeah, yeah, unfortunate story.

00:53:03.679 --> 00:53:06.159
Yeah, maybe I'll take that out.

00:53:06.320 --> 00:53:06.480
No.

00:53:08.719 --> 00:53:09.440
Well, what happened?

00:53:09.519 --> 00:53:11.280
He was hearing voices in his head, he just went nuts.

00:53:11.360 --> 00:53:12.239
Yeah, yeah, that's fair.

00:53:15.360 --> 00:53:16.000
Yeah.

00:53:17.280 --> 00:53:19.280
Kevin, thank you so much for coming on.

00:53:19.360 --> 00:53:22.320
Thanks for sharing your story, story of Hershey, what you guys got going on.

00:53:22.400 --> 00:53:23.360
This was all so much fun.

00:53:23.440 --> 00:53:25.280
Thank you so much for being a guest.

00:53:25.679 --> 00:53:26.880
No, I really appreciate it.

00:53:27.039 --> 00:53:29.360
I uh I and thanks for being patient with me.

00:53:29.440 --> 00:53:39.920
I know when um when we had first touched base, uh I I was really, really excited about doing it, but I kind of felt like, hey, I I I need more time to to to be a better guest.

00:53:40.400 --> 00:53:45.280
I'm putting a lot of pressure on myself with the whole broadcasting thing of wanting to kind of be good at this.

00:53:45.440 --> 00:53:52.000
So uh so yeah, but no, I I'm I'm I'm honored and and privileged that you asked me, and uh it was really enjoyable.

00:53:52.159 --> 00:54:02.639
And um, it's always fun to just talk a little bit about um you know your surroundings and and the things that that make them special to you and the people that have that have made it special along the way.

00:54:02.719 --> 00:54:03.039
So thank you.

00:54:03.119 --> 00:54:03.679
I really appreciate it.

00:54:03.840 --> 00:54:05.199
And you have such a cool spot too.

00:54:05.280 --> 00:54:07.760
That's like, man, this is like the story, the spot, like everything.

00:54:07.840 --> 00:54:11.599
It's just it was all perfect, though a good perfect storm.

00:54:12.239 --> 00:54:13.119
Yes, yeah, yeah.

00:54:13.440 --> 00:54:14.639
That's funny, though.

00:54:17.519 --> 00:54:18.480
Good stuff.

00:54:18.800 --> 00:54:21.519
Kevin, thank you so much for coming on.

00:54:21.920 --> 00:54:24.079
What a cool story, what a great journey.

00:54:24.239 --> 00:54:31.679
I love the stories of people's journeys that we're able to bring on here and share with the rest of the industry, and as well as to have them in the industry as well.

00:54:31.840 --> 00:54:32.559
So, so cool.

00:54:32.719 --> 00:54:34.559
So many great perspectives and different stories.

00:54:34.639 --> 00:54:35.840
I absolutely love it.

00:54:36.480 --> 00:54:37.679
But that's this episode.

00:54:37.840 --> 00:54:39.280
I'm your host, Andy Corby.

00:54:39.440 --> 00:54:41.760
Until next time, catch y'all on the flippity flip.