Lawrence Country Club G.M. resigns

Frank Argento, the general manager of the Lawrence Village Country Club, has resigned and accepted a position two miles down the road at the Rockaway Hunting Club.

Argento served as general manager of the country club for 26 years, beginning when he was just 23. The club is owned and operated by the Village of Lawrence, and members of its Board of Trustees expressed sadness at Argento's departure at their April 8 meeting, when his resignation was approved.

"I don't think we could have a finer, better individual running our facility," said Trustee Ed Klar, who presented his monthly report on parks and recreation. "He will be sorely missed at our club."

Argento is leaving to become the general manager and chief operating officer of the Rockaway Hunting Club, on Ocean Avenue in Lawrence. The Rockaway club, which says on its Web site that it is the nation's oldest country club, undertook a national search for a general manager before deciding on Argento.

"I have nothing but the greatest admiration for him," Lawrence Mayor Simon Felder said of Argento.

An Inwood native and Lawrence resident, Argento has helped make Lawrence Country Club one of the most challenging golf courses in the area and led an effort to bring a kosher caterer into the facility. "What we have accomplished as a village is second to none," he said at the trustees' meeting. "When you go around to villages with municipal facilities and they come to Lawrence, they know we're special. They know that we have done a lot of things that are very unique and very different."

Village Administrator David Smollett said the search for a replacement for Argento will begin immediately, but there is no timetable for filling the position. Argento has agreed to assist the country club in the transitional period and to continue to help with current projects, such as the renovation of three holes on the course.

"I'm not worried about the Village of Lawrence recreational facility because the staff that is in place there, the people that you have, are loyal, good people," he said. "They know what to do."

Argento has served on the Lawrence school board and is currently a commissioner for Sanitary District 1.

He said he will look back on his years in the community with great fondness. "It was a privilege for me to be here 26 years," Argento said. "I'm proud of what I have learned here and am looking forward to my new venture."

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