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Hello “Clive” -

I hope all is well. Things have been going great here at my new club. You will be glad to hear that you have many admirers on my Board of Governors. A few days ago a group of them purchased 17 of your books and asked me, since I know you, if you would be willing to sign them. They want to give them to the rest of the Board and Executive Committee as Christmas gifts. Would this be possible to do? I can ship them to you with a return shipment back to me. Although, I have always admired you greatly for your talents, never thought I would also be asking for your autograph. I guess there is light at the end of the “club management tunnel.”

Again, as always I appreciate your professional mentoring and personal friendship and wish you and your family a healthy holiday season.

With kind regards,

Patrick D.

http://poconobusinessjournal.com/featured/seven-hallmarks-of-a-great-workplace

I just finished Norm’s most recent book. For anybody who belongs to a member-owned club this is a MUST read. The humor and wit is sobering. Heck, it might even get a rogue board member or two to think twice about who should REALLY be running the club!

- McRedmond Morrelli

Wow! Am I ever proud to be your aunt! What masterpieces! I always knew you were extremely intelligent and smart – your parents told me so – but what outstanding, clever, witty and humorous works. I don’t claim to understand everything but I did very much enjoy reading your two great books. The only fault I could find is that “Toni Dumbwit” should have been Hortense Thumble. Keep up the great work!

I’ll tell all my friends about the books in hopes that poor Clive gets a few more sales. I’m sure he will appreciate my efforts.

- Toni Kissell

Following in the footsteps of Private Clubs in America and Around the World, Murder and Mayhem.. is a laugh riot from the word go. With a foreword by that immortal philosopher Aristotle himself (an honour he apparently begged the author for ), Murder and Mayhem.. is about just that – the chaos Old Bunbury (greatest, by far, of all the private clubs in the world) is thrown into after one of their members is found bludgeoned to death out past the fourteenth green. Not that Alfie Johnson is missed or mourned in any way; rather, it is the threat of media intrusion and police tape across the golf course that has Bunbury in a tizzy. That, and the loss of their beloved head chef as a possible suspect. All this at a time when the club teeters on the verge of making history by breaking the gender barrier that keeps its Pillow Committee an all-female preserve. Enter Esther, amateur sleuth and cantankerous waitress , who may not be depended upon to get you the food you ordered, but certainly knows more about the goings–on at Bunbury than any one else, and is determined to sniff the killer out , even in the face of death threats.

Narrated by Bunbury’s president Clive Endive Ogive IV (the pseudonym author Norm Spitzig chooses to write this series under), ‘Murder..’ is a gleeful parody of the private club, with its selective membership, distaste of the hoi polloi and a zany cast of uber-rich oddballs with some of the silliest names you’re likely to encounter outside of a PG Wodehouse novel – Eaton ‘Eat-o’ Swank, the cheerfully adulterous Muffy Inglequat, the resident skinflint Hortense Thumble, Danny Bumbery aka Tuxedo Man. Spitzig keeps the plot simple; this isn’t really a conventional murder mystery so much as a peek into the inner workings of the secret universe that is the private club, and the many absurdities intrinsic to breathing its rarefied air. He gifts his hero with a distinctive voice – wry, pompous and unabashedly Republican, with a penchant for digs at President Obama. Bunbury is nothing short of a temple to old school capitalism and certain rigorously upheld standards of behaviour (adultery, embezzlement and golfing being fondly looked upon, but a leaning towards swimming, playing tennis or supporting the Democrats swiftly dealt with) and Ogive its devoted high priest. Another highlight of the book are its illustrations – a sprinkling of grainy black and white portraits of some of its more colourful members, the odd spurious bill of services from a past club president, even a pictorial history of the club’s entrance gates.

As Aristotle himself promises, belly laughs galore!

- Lavanya Karthik

In this post-recession economy, luxury items are often the first to go for many Americans, and memberships to private clubs are not immune to cut-backs that are the result of tenuous financial times. According to research, 51% of the 4,400 private clubs across the country are experiencing financial stress.

The business environment in which private clubs operate is very unique. While generously giving back to society by employing more than 290,000 individuals with a payroll equaling $5.3 billion, they also face the challenge of providing their members with optimum quality, service, and the luxurious amenities to which the members are accustomed, while controlling rising costs. They must also constantly react to changes in government regulations, tax laws, operational advancements, and member expectations.

The foremost expert in the world on the management of private clubs is Norm Spitzig (aka Clive Endive Ogive, IV). “Private clubs are ‘under attack’ by needless bureaucracy, excessive governmental interference and regulation and an increasing array of ‘creative’ new state and federal taxes,” Mr. Ogive explains. “But such an approach is clearly penny wise and pound foolish.”

In an effort to bring recognition to the many benefits that private clubs offer to society, Mr. Ogive has written two widely popular comedies that introduce readers to the wit and wisdom of life in the world’s most exclusive private clubs. His most recent book, Murder and Mayhem at Old Bunbury is the hilarious tale of a private club president and busybody waitress who team up to solve a grisly murder on the golf course of the Old Bunbury Golf Links and Reading Room.

From the intolerable room temperature in the Ladies Card Room to the grave decisions which must be made by the Pillow Committee, this entertaining sequel to Private Clubs in America and Around the World keeps readers laughing at the impossibly funny situations and zany characters who are members of these elite private clubs. To learn more about Mr. Clive Endive Ogive, IV and his newest book, Murder and Mayhem at Old Bunbury, visit www.CliveEndiveOgiveIV.com.

Norm Spitzig, MCM (aka Clive Endive Ogive, IV) is internationally recognized as “the go-to person” in the world of private club management and governance. As such, he is an eloquent and visionary spokesman for the private club industry, both here in the United States and around the globe. His groundbreaking book Perspectives on Club Management – now over 20 years old – continues to inspire and challenge club directors, managers, and students around the world.

Mr. Clive Endive Ogive IV is available for personal appearances, comments, interviews and, readings. For every book purchased on the author’s website (CliveEndiveOgiveIV.com), the author will donate $1.00 to The Club Foundation (ClubFoundation.org), the only 501(c)(3) charitable organization for the private club industry.

Private Clubs in America and Around the World and Murder and Mayhem at Old Bunbury are available on the author’s website, www.CliveEndiveOgiveIV.com and through Dog Ear Publishing (DogEarPublishing.net), Baker&Taylor, Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble, Borders, and other fine bookstores nationwide.

- Todd R