Highland Springs Country Club GM to retire

Highland Springs Country Club General Manager Mark Stahlman is retiring after nearly four decades of employment at the organization.

Stahlman, 61, said in an interview this morning that he plans to exit around the end of March. He’s served as general manager for 31 years, following six years as assistant general manager.

"It's time for me to do something different and slow down a little bit and enjoy things," he said.

Stahlman said he intends to take some time off and may be interested in a role in the future that's less time-consuming.

"Right now, with being the GM, it's a lot of weekends and holidays," he added.

Stahlman said he informed the ownership of Highland Springs Country Club, Alpharetta, Georgia-based Atrium Hospitality LP, of his plans in October to leave his role at the end of the first quarter. Atrium, he said, has hired St. Louis-based GSI Executive Search, which specializes in country clubs and other tourism and hospitality roles, to find his successor.

Atrium is continuing to explore a sale of Highland Springs Country Club, as Springfield Business Journal reported in November, but a buyer has not been secured, Stahlman said. 

Highland Springs Country Club is a private golf, tennis, and social club that has some 750 members. The golf course spans 200 acres and has 18 holes, and there's a 42,000-square-foot clubhouse, according to past reporting.

Stahlman said as he exits Highland Springs Country Club, he'll miss how "each day is different."

"I like the interactions," he said. "The hardest part for me is going to be missing the interactions with our team and our members."