Calgary Petroleum Club's new president eager to steer through COVID-19
`Centre-ice of Calgary business' thriving despite challenges posed by pandemic
After being a long and active member of the board of the Calgary Petroleum Club, Grant Zawalsky was very much looking forward to his term as the 72nd president of the club.
The report given at its March meeting confirmed the club was in great shape, having beaten its 2019 fiscal year budget. Then COVID-19 hit — and his term will now be the shortest in the club's history as the annual general meeting could not be held until September, cutting short his time as president by four months.
But Zawalsky, the managing partner of Burnett Duckworth Palmer (BDP) — the law firm he has been with since moving from Edmonton in 1986 — is ready to put his all into leading the club in more than trying circumstances.
General manager Toni-marie Ion-brown says although a few memberships have been lost — either due to feeling cautious about dining out or due to companies needing to reduce expenses — the club has welcomed many new members, keeping the number steady around 3,000.
Much of the success has been due to the massive renovations to the facility and new incentives to attract a younger membership.
The club, along 5th Avenue
S.W. — long referred to as the “centre-ice of Calgary business” — has owned the 60,000-squarefoot, two-storey building since 1958.
Always a major venue for events and meetings, the impressive Devonian Room can easily handle a cocktail reception for 500 and a sit-down of 320 diners. It has a total of 15 private rooms that before the pandemic were very busy for breakfast meetings, business lunches and private dinners.
But the decor needed brightening-up and the decision was made in 2017 to give the club a $7-million interior rejuvenation.
Most noticeable were the changes to the Renfrew Lounge a few steps up from the foyer that opened up the space to the windows along 5th Avenue, allowing for a much brighter room.
It remains very popular and, during this time of spreading out tables for social distancing, requires a booking to get a seat at lunchtime.
Another big decision was to create a special reduced membership category for young professionals. Zawalsky says not only has it resulted in adding many new members, but listening to their needs has meant a number of new offerings.
A new Scotch Club — a club within the club — quickly became a favourite, and its 235 bottles of private label single malt was quickly sold out. A bigger barrel is expected any day and most of the bottles have already been ordered by enthusiasts,
The Scotch Club meets in the Wine Cellar amid the club's prized collection of 7,500 bottles of fine wine. In another cellar are 7,000 more bottles, and if there's one good thing to come out of the COVID-19 restrictions, it is that members are now able to purchase bottles to take home. To date, Ion-brown says $150,000 worth of specialty wines have passed through the front door of the club.
Many other changes to the amenities and structure of the club membership are ensuring Zawalsky's term will see it continue to be healthy. Meetings are down and Christmas parties cancelled, yet the annual father and son Christmas dinner is sold out. If the dedicated members continue to support the club as their choice for dining — great meals under the guidance of executive chef Sean Cutler — and the many booked reservations for 2021 can be accommodated, the Calgary Petroleum Club will be in great shape during his tenure.
Notes:
For the third year in a row, Calgary-based Operation Eyesight has been named as one of the Top 10 Impact Charities by Charity Intelligence Canada. Of the more than 800 charities rated, in the international category it was recognized for the impact it creates for every dollar raised to restore sight and prevent avoidable blindness for people in developing countries. According to the World Health Organization, more than 2.2 billion people suffer from a vision impairment. Operation Eyesight, founded in Calgary in 1963, is a powerful force to address the problem by partnering with local governments and hospitals to reach people who have been underserved in the past.