LAKE OCONEE — Harbor Club, a 1,000-acre, family-owned lake and golf community on Lake Oconee, has unveiled a comprehensive new club membership program that provides enhanced benefits to both current residents and outside individuals, families and companies.

In order to bolster and complement its existing member base, Harbor Club has been working with one of the country’s premier club consultant firms, Atlanta-based Private Club Associates (PCA), to find creative solutions to broaden the club member market. At the core of those solutions are the precepts of attainability and affordability.

Attainability

Harbor Club’s new programming is expanding the attainability of a club membership beyond current residents and property owners by opening avenues to non-resident individuals, young adults, families and companies. One highlight of the attainability strategy is the offering of an Executive Membership to those under the age of 40, who are incentivized by a 50% reduction on the up-front initiation fee. Local or regional companies may also join the club and designate employees as active members. The company’s principal member joins at the prevailing initiation fee, while a sliding-scale fee encourages even more people from the same company to join.

Affordability

One of the primary paths to encourage new club members at Harbor Club, both resident and non-resident, is to make membership more affordable by reducing the up-front initiation fee, and that is accomplished by making the reduced fee non-refundable. A new member may opt for a fully refundable initiation fee with the knowledge that it is higher priced at the outset.

According to Harbor Club General Manager, Brandon Matney, the new membership programs are the culmination of a wide-reaching club enhancement program that started three years ago. “We felt it was important to put a polish on the amenities, landscaping and infrastructure at Harbor Club before unveiling the new membership programs,” says Matney. “That has been accomplished with improvements to the golf course that has earned it the #4 ranked course you can play in Georgia. We have also refreshed the interior design of the community clubhouse, added Zumba and yoga classes, refinished the swimming pool, expanded view corridors and introduced a new logo and signage program throughout the community.”

Youth Movement

There also is a more organic path for Harbor Club to tap into the younger club member market. A highly rated new charter school located just minutes from the community is drawing young families to the Lake Oconee area. And the community’s support of the school’s golf team and myriad other activities is creating a welcoming bond between Harbor Club and the parents of the school children.

Additionally, active adults are naturally drawn to the area by the countless water sports and pleasure boating opportunities afforded on Lake Oconee, the second largest lake in Georgia. Harbor Club has made it even more convenient for boaters with the recent addition of a dry stack boat storage, allowing year-round access to one’s boat without the need for a trailer.

PCA principal Stephen Paris affirms that Harbor Club’s programming is now national-class in scope and offerings. Says Paris, “Harbor Club has responded to industry trends with new membership categories and lower joining costs by adding non-refundable initiation fees. Harbor Club membership has always been a great value but with these changes, the club is more affordable than ever.”

For more information on the club membership programs at Harbor Club contact Membership Director Mika Mills at 706-453-9690, ext. 237, or mmills@harborclub.com.