New Secretary & Admin Team Appointments

I am delighted to announce the appointment of Alan Frain as our new part time Club Secretary, starting on Tuesday June 11th. Alan will assume executive responsibility for the day-to-day management, financial control and operations of the club, and will work closely with the Board on broader strategic matters including the development of the Club’s annual business plan and budget. 

After serving for over 30 years with the Bank of Scotland in various senior roles, Alan brings a wealth of business and leadership experience to the Club. Alan is a keen golfer and has been an enthusiastic member of Peebles since moving to the town a number of years ago.  He has also been involved in other sport within our community, as a volunteer coach for the youth section of Peebles Football Club.

Alan will replace the outgoing Martin Kelso as Club Secretary, who will stay with us until the end of June to enable a smooth transition and handover.  Martin has been a valuable servant to the Club over the years and we wish him a very happy ‘retirement!’

Continuing our theme of new faces, we have two new part time administration staff joining the office in the next two weeks, Pamela Sherrard and Sarah Waldie.  Sarah joins us on 12th June from ARK and previously Holland & Sherry, where she has served as Credit Controller, while Pamela moves from Edinburgh University’s Roslin Institute, where she worked as a Legal Administrator and will start at the Club this Wednesday.  As we welcome our new staff in, we say our goodbyes to Mandy Roger who leaves us on June 21st.  Mandy has done a fantastic job for the Club since she joined us last year and I’m sure our members will miss her friendly face around the clubhouse. We wish Mandy all the best in her new role. 

With the aforementioned changes in place, the Board has decided not to re-hire a full-time Club Manager going forward.  This will save the Club money in the face of tough trading conditions, but at the same time we are confident that our new team will continue to serve our members, visitors and guests to the same standards and level of service that the Club attains to. 

I mention the challenges facing us right now - these are industry wide of course and Peebles isn’t immune to them unfortunately.  With an ageing golf population and changing lifestyles, the Club has lost a number of members again this season - and this has also contributed to a broader decline in bar and other revenues.  As we face up to this, your Club needs you more than ever.  For the size of our membership, we have a relatively small group of volunteers, and so we could always do with more. It doesn’t need to involve being on a committee – just lending a few hours a month in your chosen area of expertise or trade; offering a few hours of help at a competition, or putting yourself forward for the social sub-committee, would go a long way to ensuring the club has enough hands on deck to do things we all want the club to do. Don’t always assume someone else is going to do it! It’s everyone’s club so let’s try and move forward together. If you are keen to volunteer in any capacity, please get in touch with me or contact the office.

Finally, the summer is upon is and hopefully you can take advantage of the longer days (once the clouds hopefully disappear!) with the course in fantastic condition and some exciting competitions coming your way, including Championship Week and our Opens. Play as much golf as you can and bring your friends up to enjoy our facilities, whether a round of golf, a drink in the bar, a shot on the driving range or a meal in the restaurant.

Thank you for your continued support.

Ross Duncan | Club Captain