Michael Murray has been named the new manager at the Chattanooga Golf and Country Club. Mr. Murray was last employed by the Vestavia Country Club in Birmingham where he served in a variety of positions, most recently as assistant general manager/clubhouse manager. VCC is a 1,100 member club.
"Michael has a great passion and energy and is very excited for the opportunity to lead our club into a new era of great success," said Tom Baird, president of Chattanooga Golf and Country Club. "Over the past several years, his current club has been on the leading edge in making investments in areas such as child care and fitness and completed projects similar in scope and nature to our Family Activity Center/Pool Complex. His experience in these areas will be invaluable to helping direct our project, fulfilling our mission of providing Chattanooga’s most desirable golf and country club member experience and being a 'Step Above The Rest' as Chattanooga and the area’s premier country club."
Earlier in his career Mr. Murray served as an executive chef and holds the professional certification of Certified Executive Chef. "He brings extensive experience in leading successful and innovative food and beverage operations and we look forward to Michael’s leadership in working with Chef Ben and our food and beverage team to take our food and beverage operations to the next level," said Mr. Baird.
Mr. Murray grew up in Aberdeen, Scotland just a few miles from the hometown of Donald Ross, the original designer of the Chattanooga Golf and Country Club golf course. Mr. Murray completed his hospitality management and culinary degree at Aberdeen College and worked as a chef for several years for Marriot’s European Hotel Division.
Mr. Murray moved to Florida in the early eighties, working for several hotels and restaurants. He then moved to Tuscaloosa, Ala. where he was the executive chef at NorthRiver Yacht Club for three years before moving to Birmingham as the executive chef at VCC. After many years at VCC, Mr. Murray took a leave of absence to build and operate two restaurants. He then returned to VCC, taking over as director of Food and Beverage and was promoted to assistant general manager/clubhouse manager.
Mr. Murray has been married to his wife, Sandra, for 35 years. Mrs. Murray is originally from Atlanta, but spent most of her childhood summers with her grandparents on top of Lookout Mountain. Mr. and Mrs. Murray have three grown boys and a granddaughter, Maggie. Their oldest two sons have followed in their dad’s footsteps; Christopher is clubhouse manager at the Alotian Club in Little Rock, Ar., and Cameron is on the management team at Greystone Country Club in Birmingham. The youngest son, Michael, will attend Jacksonville State University starting this fall. Mr. and Mrs. Murray said they are thrilled to be moving to Chattanooga and being part of the CGCC family.
Mr. Murray's official start date will be April 5 and plans are being made for a welcoming reception.
"The search process that resulted in Michael’s appointment was an extensive process," said Mr. Baird. "We were assisted in the process by Kopplin & Kuebler, the leading firm in providing executive search services to the private club industry. We received over 50 applications for our position. These were narrowed down to 10 and then to five candidates that the club’s search committee invited to the club for in-person interviews. Finally, two candidates and their spouses were invited back to the club to meet members of the club’s staff and final interviews. Michael was the unanimous choice of the search committee and the Board.
"We have a great club and Michael is the person that can take us to a new level of member service and satisfaction. Thank you all for your patience and support through this process."