Letter from the President & CEO and Board Chair, Mike Price

Letter from the President and CEO

As we move through the first quarter of 2022, several of our members are playing at the top of their game. By no means are these the only markets making big news, but here are a few I would like to highlight: Cleveland, Orlando, Kansas City, and Puerto Rico.

Cleveland has completed a great run of major events all within a short period of time - the NFL Draft, Mid-American Conference Basketball Championship, MLB All-Star Game, and the NBA All-Star Game to name a few. I had the luxury of attending most of these events and can report on the high quality of attention to detail and delivery of each of these major marquee events. Attendees and sports leaders will benefit from the “positive vibes” for years to come.

Orlando recently produced an excellent report at the Leaders Conference, a prestigious international event that took place in London. As many of you who attend international events are aware, the worldwide notion of success differs dramatically from that in the United States. In fact, over the last year, Sports ETA has been articulating these distinctions to extend the concept of success and emphasize the benefit of sports to a variety of stakeholders. More to come on that soon, in the meantime, I encourage you to read the Leaders Report and review some of the thinking.

Kansas City recently appointed our very own Kathy Nelson, as the President of the CVB, in addition to her duties running the Sports Commission. This management combination is a rare accomplishment - especially in a big market like KC. Congrats, Kathy!

Puerto Rico has emerged from COVID and is aggressively pursuing events to the Island. Discover Puerto Rico, President & CEO, Brad Dean was one of the session speakers at our recent Chief Executive Summit and hit a grand slam with his presentation. We are pleased to currently be working with Brand and his team on some new and innovative programs to serve their market. There will be more information to come on those efforts in the future.

I’m looking forward to celebrating the 30th annual Symposium with you all in a few short weeks! Our team is working hard to provide high-quality programming as well as a positive business environment at the upcoming Symposium. The schedule is packed full of top-notch education sessions, 10+ hours of scheduled appointment time, 4+ hours of scheduled open marketplace time, and fun every night! Our content will be once again driven by our community groups, as well as a TED Talk-style stage in the Marketplace that will feature technologies to make your professional life easier.

Safe travels to our members heading to the Symposium – see you soon! Those of you who cannot make it, we will miss you!

THINK BIG!

Al Kidd President and CEO

Letter From the Chair

To say our careers are interesting, fun, unique and any one of a thousand great adjectives may be an incredible understatement. Every day we embark upon a new adventure, not always sure who we may meet, what unforgettable memories our events may create, often not even aware the full impact our events have within the region. Everyone I cross paths with and explain what I do often remark, “how cool!” And you know what? They are so very right.

As my time serving as your board chair winds down, I find myself thinking the same, how cool has this been? Serving our association and this incredible membership is an honor that I will carry with me the rest of my career. But I must admit, I feel a bit guilty. Guilty that, as it always has, this association continues to give more to me then I can ever give it back. I believe that is exactly how our association is supposed to function, the collective is better than the individual. Together over the last 25+ years we’ve fostered one of the most visible, impactful, and resilient industries in tourism. And while we are all competitive and competitors, we’ve done this by being collaborative and gracious with one another. Two qualities that seem to be increasingly rare these days.

Even as our industry and world fell apart during the early days of the pandemic, our members asked how they could help each other get through this and worked with the association to share all resources available to help ALL continue to move forward. In the face of our industries darkest hour, we never lost our desire to be collaborative and gracious. It’s not a surprise, that’s the bedrock of who and what this association and its membership is. Like the athletes we serve, our industry is about teamwork. And I hope that never changes. I’m thankful for the opportunity to serve our membership and support the association that’s given so much to each of us.

Yours in sport,

Michael Price STS/CTA Executive Director, Greater Lansing Sports Authority Board Chair, Sports ETA