Photo By Rick Emert | FORT CARSON, Colo. — Keith Stilwell, former general manager at Fort Carson’s...... read more read more
By Scott Prater
Mountaineer staff
FORT CARSON, Colo. — In 2019, Cheyenne Shadows Golf Course experienced one of its most successful years in recent history. It was so successful that Frank Jacobson, Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation business programs chief, nominated the course’s general manager, Keith Stilwell, for a U.S. Army Installation Management Command (IMCOM) award.
Then came 2020 and an international pandemic that sent a shock wave through the U.S. economy. Businesses that were already struggling essentially nose-dived into obscurity, while even healthy ones struggled to simply hold on. Entire industries were forced to adapt to a new normal as local restrictions and customers’ exposure fear limited in-person interaction.
A funny thing happened at Cheyenne Shadows, however. Golfers suddenly began visiting the course more often. The number of rounds-played ticked up sharply. Revenue quickly followed suit and what most predicted would be a dour year for Fort Carson’s golf course, turned into one of its best.
That fact was not lost on leaders at IMCOM as they recently named Stilwell as winner of the Excellence in Management for Golf Award for fiscal 2020.
“Keith and his team crushed it in 2019, but in 2020, they achieved something crazy,” Jacobson said. “What they did during the COVID-19 pandemic can only be described as out of the box.”
Somehow Stilwell and his team managed to get young Army golfers into the game of golf. And, according to Jacobson, those Soldiers have stayed in the game, reversing a nationwide trend that has been ticking downward for more than a decade.
JJ Love, Business and Recreation Division chief for IMCOM G9, said award winners are chosen by a panel of headquarters personnel and IG representatives who evaluate candidates through submitted information.
“What stood out for committee members was Stilwell’s pandemic-related innovations,” Love said. “His team was not only able to get (Cheyenne Shadows) reopened quickly with safety mitigations in place, but they actually expanded their programs. They took what could have been a catastrophic event and turned it into a success through innovation and business acumen.”
Cheyenne Shadows is one of 42 golf courses under IMCOM’s purview and Love indicated panel members considered seven nominees for the Excellence in Management award.
Jacobson said the award also takes many factors into account besides revenue, including leadership of staff and providing superior customer service during a time of increased stress.
Of course, golf is an outdoor activity, and thus, is one of the few activities that can be adapted to meet the social distancing guidelines established by local governments during the pandemic, so it makes sense that Cheyenne Shadows was poised to take advantage of the scenario.
But, Jacobson explained that it’s fairly easy to get first timers on to the course — keeping them coming back is the hard part.
“Keith is a relationship builder,” he said. “He builds relationships with Soldiers. Knows them by name and cultivates a dynamic that he successfully passed on to the staff at Cheyenne Shadows. And, it was that relationship-building dynamic that became so instrumental during the pandemic, as he worked closely with both the Directorate of Emergency Services and (Fort Carson Public Health officials) to establish and maintain safe standards at the course.”
Oddly enough, Stilwell is no longer at Fort Carson. Hired away a couple of months ago by one of the premiere golf courses in the state, he is now the director of golf at Perry Park Country Club in Larkspur, Colorado.
In his absence, Jacobson has since promoted a current staff member to an interim post, who will perform many of Stilwell’s former duties at Cheyenne Shadows.
An award ceremony should occur at some point in the future at Fort Carson. Award winners will receive a congratulatory three-star note from Lt. Gen. Douglas M. Gabram, commander, IMCOM, in concert with the garrison commanders or respective IMCOM directorate program managers.
| Date Taken: | 05.19.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 07.27.2021 14:33 |
| Story ID: | 401826 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 41 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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