Chris Huston

Experience

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  St. Charles Park District

  Aug 2010 - Dec 2012

  As a front desk attendant, I was the first impression to the public for the Pottawatomie Community Center when registering community members for all programs run through the park district. I needed to gather an immense knowledge of all programs, facilities and local events and provide a friendly personality for those entering the center. Some of my responsibilities can be seen below.• Registered community members for all programs run through the park district and maintained a positive first impression as the face of the Pottawatomie Community Center• Displayed task memorization in registration procedures and balancing a drawer• Effectively communicated with age groups ranging from children to seniors• Delivered consistent customer satisfaction through patience and effective listening Show less I worked as a camp counselor for three summers where I worked with children ranging from 5-12 years old. While working as a camp counselor I learned it was imperative that members of my group work together in a team environment. Additionally I became much more aware of my surroundings and this helped me pay attention to details when planning recreation activities. Some of my duties and responsibilities can be seen below.• Collaborated with up to 6 other co-workers on a daily basis while executing personal responsibilities of safety and communication with parents• Enthusiastically engaged in 40 hours of work per week while maintaining various teamwork skills and leadership qualities when dealing with peers• Motivated campers by generating exciting daily plans that include lunch, snack, pool time, activities, craft and playground time• Monitored the safety of as many as 50 campers at a time Show less While working Friday Live! at the St. Charles Park District I monitor and facilitate a number of programs including a dance floor, sports area, movie room, snack area, and game room for 4-6 graders. While working Friday Live! I had several responsibilities, some of which can be seen below.• Managed the safety of up to 200 children while encouraging and monitoring a fun environment• Organized large groups of 50 children and administered various games such as dodge ball or floor hockey• Utilized patience and cooperation with coworkers in order to ensure the most beneficial environment for staff and children alike Show less

  • Front Desk Attendant

    Aug 2010 - Dec 2012

  • Camp Counselor

    May 2010 - Aug 2012

  • Friday Live Employee

    Aug 2010 - Apr 2012
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  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  Mar 2013 - May 2014

  Programming Intern

  During my time as the Programming Intern for New Student Programs, I was largely responsible for creating, facilitating, and supervising all transfer student programs, as well as some international student programs, and various other programs we ran in concurrence with other student affairs departments. In addition to programming, I collaborated with my supervisor to create a comprehensive, new-student guide for the 2013 Welcome Days, consisting of all student affairs department programs, college events, and new student events. This Fall Schedule Book listed all programs in an organized, concise, but enticing manner with the hope that we could raise awareness for all the different events they had available to them at the University of Illinois. My New Student Programs responsibilities can be seen below.• Oversaw and managed New Student Programs events to prevent logical mishaps• Developed a fall schedule book that incorporated all fall programs the student affairs departments and colleges at the University of Illinois as well as many community organizations• Organized, marketed, and supervised the Experience Illinois transfer orientation sessions for new transfer students• Prepared necessary materials, reserved location rooms, and filled in Experience Illinois sessions with Orientation Student Leader staff • Trained and monitored 35 Orientation Student Leaders on the Experience Illinois Transfer Student Orientation presentation• Created marketing materials such as posters, flier, and social media posts and coordinated distribution to the dining halls, dorms, cultural centers, and other areas all throughout campus• Planned, marketed, oversaw, and presented the biweekly Transfer Souper program which has other student affairs departments give presentations on topics geared towards helping transfer students succeed• Placed orders as large as 2,500 units of marketing material such as t-shirts, staplers, and flyers Show less

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  Kiawah Island Golf Resort

  May 2014 - Sept 2014

  Recreation Intern

  Working as a Recreation Intern at Kiawah Island Golf Resort this summer was a busy and often hectic experience. But it exposed me to a number of different recreation fields over the course of a season. I often facilitated programs in many departments such as Kamp Kiawah, Turtle's Nest Art Studio, Corporate Groups, Group, Teen, and Family events, and Special Events. Also, I often worked closely with the Nature, Beach, and Aquatics programs. I was given the opportunity to supervise staff, plan and enhance special events, and maintain a budget in order to provide effective programming for guests of the resort. In addition, I was apart of the collaboration process for the Kiawah Island Triathlon. The Kiawah Island Triathlon this year welcomed about 500 racers and 2000 spectators. Some of the responsibilities I had while working at Kiawah are listed below.• Collaborated with recreation staff from all departments to implement the Kiawah Island Golf Resort Triathlon which welcomed 500 racers and 2000 spectators• Planned and supervised the setup, facilitation, and clean up of 8 recreation activities for 500 people at the Celebrate the Red, White, and Blue Festival at the Sanctuary Hotel, a Forbes Five Star Award recipient• Created and executed the Quidditch World Cup for 100 children and 150 spectators that included the sale of butter beer, banner decorating for spectators, and play by play announcing for the athletes• Learned glass fusing, pottery, and craft techniques in order to teach Glass Fusing for Kids, Pottery Techniques, and Glass Fusing 101 classes to guests at Turtle’s Nest Art Studio• Managed the daily sales totals and reported all sales information to accounting for the Group, Teen, and Family, Kamp Kiawah, and Turtles Nest Art Studio budgets• Worked between 45-50 hours per week in camps, teen programs, group programs, family programs, corporate events, beach, aquatics, and nature Show less

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  Valley Country Club

  Mar 2015 - Mar 2019

  • Expanded the Youth Department by being promoted as the 1st Director of Programming and became a Department Head within 2.5 years of employment• Oversaw all aspects of the Youth Departments which included Junior Golf, Junior Tennis, the swim team, summer day camps, youth programming, teen programming, and family programming• Diligently recorded financial transactions within the department which assisted in calculating the department budget for FY17, FY18, and FY19• Facilitated all operational aspects of the pool for the summer of 2018 by doing regular chemical testing, opening and closing the pool for the day and year, programming for membership, and becoming Aquatic Facility Operator (AFO) certified• Became the swim team administrator where I represented the Club during league meetings, completely ran and organized home meets, ordered uniforms and sweats for swim team members, communicated regularly with parents, and organized volunteers• Supervised the lifeguards by establishing basic safety and operational procedures, stocking cleaning supplies, ordering uniforms, and scheduling• Restructured the youth registration process to include paperless registration via Logiforms and a comprehensive Junior Guide with all programs for the year• Worked daily with Youth Activities Coordinator to review events and create recaps that included what worked, what did not work, and things to do differently in order to build on the success of those programs• Led a total of 1 Supervisor, 2 Managers, 1 intern, and 13 employees for a total of 17 people• Maximized Department potential by creating and staffing the Youth Recreation Internship program• Performed various internal duties such as serving as safety officer, and planning internal events for staff Show less • Hired as the 1st ever Youth Activities Coordinator at Valley Country Club• Opened the Youth Activities Center (YAC) and created a comprehensive proposal with item price breakdowns, forms, emergency procedures, and a parent handbook• Personally staff the YAC for 11 hours a week to provide supervision for members children to learn and explore• Responsible for planning, facilitating and reviewing all youth, teen, and family programming at the club• Planned and facilitated all recreation activities for club events of over 250 people, including the club’s Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day celebrations• Introduced the Teen Activity Council organization to get teens involved in programming at the club and to get immediate feedback on teen events• Created several program documents from scratch including a comprehensive club calendar that included activities from all departments at the club and a program budget sheet to ensure profits on all programs• Built and painted several reusable club and youth recreation items such as a Cornhole set, Giant Jenga, Schutes and Ladders board, and Face-In-The-Hole picture board Show less

  • Director Of Programming

    Aug 2017 - Mar 2019

  • Youth Activities Coordinator

    Mar 2015 - Aug 2017
• 

  The Ranch Country Club

  Jun 2019 - Jun 2022

  Outperformed net budget expectations by 14% for FY21.Exceeded budgeted revenue by 30% in FY21 in the first year of acquisition by Concert Golf Partners. Managed department labor budget including coaching staff salaries, commission structure, and hourly pay rate to beat labor budget by 13% for FY21.Facilitated all operational aspects of the pool by doing regular chemical testing, opening and closing the pool for the day and year, programming for membership, and becoming Aquatic Facility Operator (AFO) certified.Drastically improved retention of employees through increased commission opportunities, regularly scheduled training and in-services, monthly audits and reward and recognition programs. Introduced an auditing system of all staff to ensure adequate performance of employees and identify employees in need of coaching and performance counseling. Coordinated safety training with outside vendors to ensure appropriate compliance with all state laws and regulations regarding pool safety and reporting. Supervised lifeguards, maintaining employee files with up-to-date CPR, first aid, AED and spinal injury management certifications.Served as the swim team administrator where I represented the Club during league meetings, conducted and organized home meets, collaborated with various vendors throughout the season, communicated regularly with parents, and organized volunteers.Managed swim team's budget, including coach salaries, league dues, swimsuit and apparel purchasing, and pay rates. Show less Improved the quality of several programs by implementing creative programming ideas which resulted in meeting 90% of forecasted summer revenue by March 1, 2022, at least two months ahead of schedule. Grew program participation in summer programming by 63% over 3 summers from 2019 to 2022.Researched, developed, and implemented summer camp training programs for general summer camp training, CPR/AED/First Aid for Adult, Child and Infant, behavior training, and child sexual assault training.Created systems for tracking financial progress and forecasting towards budgeted revenue and expense goals to show financial results to stakeholders on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.Maximized department potential by developing a new internship program for young professionals in the field. Created performance guidelines, conducted candidate search, hiring, onboarding, training and mentoring throughout the internship period.Enhanced teen involvement in the club through creation of the “Counselor in Training” program.Completely facilitated, planned, purchased supplies, and reviewed all youth, family, teen, and early childhood programming.Oversaw the renovation of the Youth Activities Center which required line-item pricing breakdowns, negotiating quotes for services from outside vendors, establishing emergency procedures, and developing a parent handbook.Responded promptly to emergencies to assess situations, administer first aid and coordinate further additional personnel. Show less

  • Aquatics Director

    Jan 2020 - Jun 2022

  • Director Of Programming

    Jun 2019 - Jun 2022
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  Parkwell

  Jun 2022 - Jul 2024

  - Processed payroll on a bi-weekly basis for 3 entities and 200 associates ensuring accuracy while adhering to government compliance, garnishments, bonuses, reimbursements, deductions, and additional company adjustments.- Company-wide expert for Paycom (HRIS) including traditional company processes, training and certification management, payroll, performance reviews, document compliance, performance coaching and more.- Operated as a support and compliance resource for all managers and leaders when navigating performance correction, acknowledgement and investigation of internal complaints, and separation of employment with associates.- Collaborated with insurance broker to review, compare, and select the most competitive benefits package for associates and worked with Paycom and insurance carriers to ensure successful file feed setup.- Facilitated open enrollment period while providing guidance and answering questions for all employees as they made elections.- Created, reviewed, and revised the employee handbook and all policies to ensure compliance and provide clarity for all associates.- Collaborated with the executive leadership team to identify, craft, and manage internal company communications to inform associates of company policy, procedures, initiatives, office and site closures, and holiday pay and schedules.- Served as a member of the Go-Giver committee which was responsible for employee hardship and opportunity funds, community relations and partnerships, and overall charitable initiatives of the company.- Produced, sourced, and distributed the company newsletter on a monthly basis. Show less - Responsible for all elements of the hiring process including recruitment, candidate evaluation, interviewing, selection, negotiation of hiring conditions, offer letter management, onboarding and orientation for hourly and salaried positions at every level of the company.- Successfully facilitated a 21% growth in company size by hiring 61 hourly associates and 6 managers with a net growth of 35 employees in addition to adding three new positions in Q2 of 2024.- Championed an initiative to, and successfully achieved, Top Workplace designation in 2023 and 2024 to assist with recruiting efforts and enhance the overall culture and image of the company.- Researched and developed the ATS system for all hiring and implemented its usage by training managers and developing SOPs to ensure consistent hiring practices and experience for candidates.- Condensed and streamlined the entire hiring process by consolidating all elements of the hiring process from 3 different systems into 1 (Paycom) including job requisitions, job postings, candidate communication, ATS, background checks, and onboarding.- Lead efforts to refine and make uniform the companies position management through the Paycom system, job description review, and formatting and creation of all current and needed job descriptions.- Coached and guided hiring managers through all steps of the hiring process in a comprehensive way so that all managers received support while aligning with company goals and objectives.- Conducted all new hire orientations which included company culture introduction, review of employee benefits, uniform and equipment distribution, and review of Paycom processes.- Created an internal job board as a resource for current associates to notify them of open jobs and company advancement.- Created and distributed weekly hiring reports for all managers and leaders.- Tracked, managed, and administered employee referral bonus program. Show less

  • Human Resources Manager

    Jul 2023 - Jul 2024

  • Talent Acquisition Manager

    Jun 2022 - Jul 2024