Community Sponsor Spotlight: The Irons Club

Even before enrolling their daughter, Navy ’38 at Shorecrest, Bill and Kellie Grueninger were veterans of galas and other events at the School, invited by friends who had sponsored tables. When it was their turn to become Shorecrest parents, the choice of school was an easy one.

“I was born and raised in St. Pete, so of course we knew about Shorecrest; and we had a lot of friends whose kids were going there,” says Bill Grueninger, owner of The Irons Club. “Once you do the tour, see the campus, and meet the people, it seems like a pretty cool place. Shorecrest has a very strong community, and it’s great being part of a community with so many like-minded individuals that we have things in common with. We had a lot of friends there; and now we’re making new friends.” 

The Irons Club, a unique, upscale setting that combines indoor golf, dining, social, and entertainment, opened several weeks ago on Central Avenue. Although it’s very new, it has already provided an opportunity for the Grueningers to become Community Partners of this year’s Shorecrest Gala, as well as the upcoming 1923 Society Celebration.

Their contributions to the Gala, included the combination of a full-access membership to The Irons Club plus a few private events; as well as smaller items that raised significant funds during the auction portion of the event. 

Next month Grueninger is providing The Irons Club as a private venue space for the Shorecrest 1923 Society donor recognition event. As a proud new business owner, Bill says, “We built a really cool thing and we want to share it with everyone in our circle, but this isn’t just about being good for business. We are constantly doing this within the community because we’re trying to add value wherever we can, on many different fronts. Ultimately, we just want to help out, and we feel we can provide more value by offering services like this.”