Letter from the Chair

Letter From Your Board Chair

Networking = The action or process of interacting with others to exchange information and develop professional or social contacts. This is the definition Oxford Languages provides for what many of us experienced at Symposium, in Birmingham, AL. While it of course is accurate, it doesn’t seem to really capture what Symposium meant to our membership. It was much more than that, it was a reminder of why our association is so unique, and the people that make our industry special. That’s why we THANK YOU for choosing to attend, because you are the association. Without you there is no networking, no exchange of ideas and lessons learned, no fun stories of potentially haunted hotels, no ability to form relationships that lead to impactful change in our home markets.

As I reflect on the week, here are a few of my favorite highlights. What were yours?

• June 23, 2022 is the 50th anniversary of the enactment of Title IX. The breakout session discussing this important legislation has led our association to explore how we can provide opportunities across markets to honor and celebrate this important milestone.

• Jackie Reau moderated one of the most impactful sessions I’ve heard as she helped navigate us through the 16th

Street Baptist Church bombing and the effect it had on the civil rights movement, and the growth and change that occurred from this incredible tragedy. We can’t thank Dr. Martha Bouyer and Lisa McNair enough for educating us and sharing their impactful and meaningful perspective.

• Future funding for destinations continues to be an important topic, especially as we slowly emerge from this ongoing crisis. It was evident by the incredible turnout for the session on tourism improvement districts, led by

Roxanne Steinhoff - Civitas Advisors, Ray Hoyt - Tulsa Regional Tourism and David Attaway - Placer Valley Tourism.

• We also launched new communities to provide opportunities for like members to exchange ideas and better support the industry and association. The College Town, Outdoor Rec, and Parks & Recreation Communities had plenty of interest and will officially be launched in 2022.

While we didn’t come together in person as an association for 901 days, 2022 provides us multiple opportunities to come together. We encourage you to attend the Chief Executive Summit, 4S and of course the Sports ETA Symposium in Fort Worth, TX. Which is only 182 days away from our time together in Birmingham. Enjoy the holiday season and I look forward to “networking” with each of you at our Sports ETA events.

All the best,

Mike Price, STS Executive Director, Greater Lansing Sports Authority Pure Michigan Sports Sports ETA Board Chair