When people hear the name Wellesley Country Club, their first thoughts are of golf, swimming, tennis, fine dining and all of the other activities available at one of New England’s finest family-oriented membership organizations.
But underpinning all of that is a management team that caters to the club’s 760 families and 2,300 members. Founded in 1910, the club constantly seeks to renew itself to stay not just relevant, but best-in-class.
“After almost 100 years, our Board and membership realized we needed new, enhanced facilities, including a new clubhouse,” says Chris Gustus, the club’s Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer. “When it came time to refinance the loans for these projects, we turned to Needham Bank.”
According to Gustus, changing banks was not a difficult decision.
“Needham Bank gave us very favorable terms. More importantly they are an absolute pleasure to work with. The team assigned to us, Brian Annese, Vice President of Commercial and Industrial Lending, and Michelle DeSimone, Vice President of Private Banking, are very responsive – if we don’t connect with them immediately they call back within ten minutes. That’s very important to us.”
Another thing Gustus says he appreciates is the bank’s flexibility and its willingness to take the time to understand how a country club’s finances actually work.
“There is a seasonal nature to our operations. Our members pay their dues from April to October; our busiest period for member visits covers roughly the same span, particularly around golf, “says Gustus. “Needham Bank recognizes that this creates an uneven cash flow stream and allowed us to establish to different lines of credit to deal with this reality.”
The bank has also let the club know that it stands ready to support future projects through conditional loans – a big plus for a club that wants to remain among the very top in terms of
facilities.
“I can’t stress enough how great their service is and how hard they work to help us be successful,” says Gustus. “They are a true partner for us.”
