True to its name, the Private Club Radio podcast usually covers issues of interest to the golf and country club world.
Tax regulations. Membership retention. The threat from pickleball.
But episode 307, which dropped a few days ago, tackled a subject even more challenging than those: the importance of inclusion, for people with disabilities.
Host Denny Corby’s guest is an expert on the subject. Staples High School Class of 2006 graduate Max Orland has a speech and language disability.
Today — after a career that includes positions with the New York Mets, US Open (center court, for Federer and Serena Williams), Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox and Northeastern University, plus retail experience (with many awards) at Legends @ Yankee Stadium, J. Crew, Under Armour, Vineyard Vines and Nike — he’s working in golf operations at the prestigious Tiburón Club in Naples, Florida.
Max Orland, at home on the range.
It’s an inspiring story, and Max tells it well.
It all began at Staples, where he was student manager for the baseball team.
At the University of Delaware he studied sport management, and assisted the baseball and basketball teams.
Max’s recent country club experience includes 3 years in charge of the driving range at Winged Foot in Mamaroneck. then Ibis in Palm Beach.
Inclusion — in the classroom, sports and employment — has been a hallmark of Max’s career.
Many people have helped him get his foot in a door. Once it opens, he walks confidently through.
Very quickly, he wins over customers, clients, colleagues and managers.
Max Orland
As Max has climbed the corporate and country club ladders, he’s been eager to pay his success forward. That message is the heart of the Private Club Radio podcast.
Interestingly, Max’s sister’s father-in-law, Bobby Silverstein, was a national authority on disability policy. While working in the Senate, he was the behind- the-scenes architect of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Silverstein helped Max navigate through the twists and turns of his journey. He died suddenly a year ago, but Max proudly carries on his legacy.
On the podcast Max describes his early struggles, his pursuit of inclusive education, his rise in the sports industry, and the importance of seizing every opportunity that presents itself.
“Max shares his personal experience on how being a part of mainstream classes and activities empowered him as an individual with an intellectual disability,” the Private Club Radio website says.
“He also discusses the importance of a supportive community, and how being open to change can pave the way for growth.”
“His resilience, determination and unique perspective of focusing on abilities rather than disabilities will leave you inspired and enlightened.”
(Click here to listen to Max Orland’s podcast: “The Power of Inclusion.”)
(“06880” regularly profiles successful Staples High School graduates. To support this work — and many other features of our hyper-local blog — please click here. Thank you!)
Max Orland, with the University of Delaware baseball team.
After explaining to them that I don’t need to share my medical records, I decided to explain why I am disabled. Once they heard the reason, they understood and apologized. They felt terrible after hearing the story.
