2023 Mel Rex Award

Carol Bliss, CCM, ECM

Chilton Club

Carol Bliss has been General Manager/COO of the Chilton Club since 2018, serving as the club’s first female General Manager in its more than 100-year history. The two most recent presidents of the Club, Nettie Houghton and Deborah Davis, wrote nomination letters in support of her consideration for Excellence in Club Management® honors.

“I was on the General Manager Search Committee that selected Carol Bliss in 2018 and President of the Chilton Club Board during the first year of the pandemic,” Nettie Houghton wrote. “Once on board, [Carol] embraced the Chilton Club as if she had always been there. While respecting our history, traditions and culture, she simultaneously set about to establish standards of excellence and put best practices in place for the management of the club.

“The challenges presented by COVID and the shutdown of clubs across the country provided the opportunity for great leaders to emerge,” Houghton continued. “And Carol did just that. Her unique ability to see the big picture while attending to the myriad details was remarkable. She set new goals and priorities, and navigated the ever-changing COVID landscape, seamlessly adapting on a daily basis.”

After helping to steer the club through those challenges, Deborah Davis wrote in her nomination letter, Carol Bliss is now leading the Chilton Club’s advancement to new levels of excellence. “Carol’s ability to translate vision into reality and her oversight of our strategic efforts has resulted in our club’s renewed vigor and excitement, welcoming 98 new members in the past two years,” Davis wrote. “Her understanding of our club’s unique identity, culture and traditions, and her awareness of contemporary issues beyond our club, enable her to bring insightful and strong leadership to our ability to meet our strategic goals.”