SPOTLIGHT ON BRENNAN COAN
1. Your name, your club and your position.
Brennan Coan, Cardiff RSL Club. Duty Manager & Promotions Manager
2. What is your biggest or has been your biggest challenge with the club and your role?
Being in the same club for so long you see a lot of changes. The changes in management are, I find, usually difficult times. Especially if the change comes from not so good circumstances. But I am very happy and feel our club is lucky to be in a great position at the moment with an amazing new management team. Most of us, including me, are new to our roles and we work together really well to help each other out.
3. What has been some of your achievements or highlights since being at the club?
I have worked at Cardiff RSL for the past 17 years. I have gone from a front line casual for my first couple of years and eventually I was given a Traineeship to become a supervisor. Over the 17 years I have done a lot in the club from calling bingo to landing the Marketing/Promotions portfolio after completing my Diploma in Hospitality Operations with the Future Leaders Program and Barringtons. I have been heavily involved with stock control also but my passion is with Marketing for the club.
A major achievement I have recently been involved in is learning along with other staff, Sign Language (Auslan). I have wanted to learn Auslan for a while and we were given the opportunity in 2018. This has given us more confidence to interact with our regular visits from the Deaf Society and helps the club be more inclusive. This will evolve over the next year with more staff learning so we will be an Auslan friendly venue for the Deaf Games that are coming to our area in 2022.
4. Is there a piece of advice or something compelling you have learnt that you can pass on to our readers and up and coming managers.
As I am only new to being a Manager I can only draw from my own insights as a frontline Supervisor and Duty Manager. I think even though we are all so busy, it is Important to step away from the desk and be mindful that there is a club on the other side of the office door that we are responsible for running. Get out on the floor and interact with regulars as well as front line staff. Pick up a few glasses on the way around the club and be a hands on Manager.
5. Outside of the club and your role there. Do you have any hobbies or passions.. tell us a bit about you?
I enjoy playing Indoor Volleyball that I have played since High School (so not that long ago). I have represented Newcastle a number of times playing in State Cups and other tournaments in NSW and ACT. I am also guilty (as I am sure we all are in this industry) of enjoying going out and visiting other venues to see what they offer and are doing while enjoying (most of the time) some beverages. It is what I call an Occupational Hazard but as you know you can’t just sit and enjoy food and beverage at another club without going “Oh I like what they are doing there” or “Look, there is a chair in front of a Fire Extinguisher” It is a tough job but someone has to do it.
6. Do you have any claims to fame? e.g. someone famous has visited the club, you served a celebrity?
Nothing major like Royals or Kardashians but we have some celebrities like Super Hubert (Comedian/Kids entertainer) & Miss Kim (TV star from Romper Room) who live locally and are our local celebrities.
Yahoo Serious (Movie Star) has in the past been a visitor and also a local boy.
Apart from that we get Newcastle Knights players in occasionally.
