NASC Playbook - Spring 2018

Spring 2018

Inside this issue: Lessons From the Women’s Summit How My Mentor Helped Me Member Award Nominations Twelve (12) Questions Every CVB/ Sports Commission Should Be Prepared To Answer Creating Balance as a Servant Leader

National Headquarters

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Telephone/Fax

Letter from the President and CEO ............................1

9916 Carver Road, Suite 100, Cincinnati, OH 45242 (513) 281-3888/(513) 281-1765

Website

www.SportsCommissions.org

Association Management Alan (Al) R. Kidd, President & CEO Elizabeth Young, Vice President

Board of Directors Officers Chair Ralph Morton, Executive Director, Seattle Sports Commission Vice Chair/Chair-Elect Kindra Fry, CSEE, SMP, Executive Director, Bryan College Station Sports + Events Treasurer Janis Schmees Burke, CSEE, Chief Executive Officer, Harris County - Houston Sports Authority Secretary Michael Price, CSEE, Executive Director, Greater Lansing Sports Authority

Directors Janna Clark, CSEE, Sports and Sales Director, Elizabethtown Sports Park John David, CSEE, Chief Operating Officer, USA BMX Don Dukemineer, CSEE, Deputy Director of Sports Tourism, Foley Sports Tourism Matthew Dunn, CSEE Executive Director, Palm Coast and the Flagler Beaches Roy Edmondson, CSEE, Vice President of Sports Business Development, Visit Anaheim Jason Gewirtz, Editor, SportsTravel Magazine Laura Gurreri, CSEE, Director of Sales, Sport York Pete Harvey, CSEE, Director of Sports Development, Buffalo Niagara Sports Commission Jim Hilb, CSEE, Associated Premium Corporation William Knox, CSEE, Director, Grand Park Frank Lett, CSEE, Senior Associate Executive Director/ Director of Sports Marketing, Visit Kingsport Matt Libber, CSEE, VP, Business Operations, Elite Tournaments Kathy Nelson, President/CEO, Kansas City Sports Commission Ray Palmer, CSEE, President/CEO, Pensacola Sports Janis Ross, CSEE, Executive Director, Eugene, Cascades & Coast Sports Kris Smith, CSEE, Director, Detroit Sports

Media & Public Relations Advisers Jackie Reau, Game Day Communications Betsy Ross, Game Day Communications

Letter from Incoming Chairman .................................. 2 Lessons From the Women’s Summit ........................ 3 How My Mentor Helped Me ........................................... 6 Member Award Nominations ....................................7-8 Twelve (12) Questions Every CVB/Sports Commission Should Be Prepared To Answer ........ 9 Upcoming Events ................................................................ 9 Creating Balance as a Servant Leader .............. 11-12

Upcoming Events Chief Executive Summit September 18-19, 2018 | Houston, TX

Open to a limited number of attendees, the Chief Executives Summitprovides an up close and intimate perspective about the issues facing sports and recreation today and tomorrow.

Attendees are active participants in the day’s activities through not only Q&A sessions but group discussion.

4S Summit October 23 – 25, 2018 | Cleveland, OH

Conversations focus on commonalities among our dynamic members, rather than differences. Strategies, services, sales, and sponsorships will be covered between 2 keynote presentations, 25 small group discussions, and off-site excursions in two short days to help you excel in the sport tourism industry.

Women’s Summit April 3-5, 2019 | Tampa, FL

Developed by top women leaders in the sports events and tourism industry, the Summit will inspire you to achieve your career goals.

www.SportsCommissions.org

Letter From The President & CEO Welcome to the start of NASC 2.0 “A record setting Year!”

NASC 2.0 starts in Minneapolis. With the tremendous support of Sports Minneapolis, our committees, sponsors and staff, we begin the historical transformation of our association. This is our largest attended Symposium in the history of our association and a direct result of the great momentum created with our recent changes, enhanced educational offerings: 4S Summit, Chief Executive Summit, and Women’s Summit, and shift towards more transparency and better servicing all members.

Over the last year, we spent countless hours listening to our members across the country to learn more about the products, services, and programs that are most important to you. From a nearly 200 members participating in a town hall on rebranding our association, to countless discussions with a wide number of industry leaders in sports events and tourism, we used your feedback as a basis of a transformative repositioning of our association. This included a comprehensive rewrite of our bylaws to support our new direction.

enthusiasm and renewed vigor; to the Sports Minneapolis team who served as the on-ground foot support for so many aspects of the Symposium; to all of you,destinations, industry partners, and rights holders who remain committed to your association and who are making this symposium the largest in our history.

2018 will be a year of adding to our staff with key, disciplinespecific teammates whose goal each day will be to EARN your respect and support. Through our four pillars we will continue to deliver higher levels of content, expand our programs and services, establish a national advocacy effort, and create irreplacable networking opportunities for you.

Be part of history and Think Big! ALAN R. KIDD

The repositioning supports our new brand promise and value proposition with programs for all members: destinations, industry partners, and rights holders, equally.

We will support each group with a wider, deeper, and more inclusive level of content and service, with a new mission, vision, organizational beliefs, and our 4 pillars of excellence (education, advocacy, resources and networking) serving as our guide.

Minneapolis and Minnesota shined with the 2018 Super Bowl and served as the source for many of the US Women’s Olympic Ice Hockey Gold Medalists. We have included vestiges of those successes utilizing some of the participants to enhance our content. You will have the opportunity to experience the site of Super Bowl LII from the ground floor.

Our educational content is among the best available in the sports events and tourism industry, with several subject matter experts sharing their insights. Those discussions are giving rise to a tremendous opportunity to establish deep working partnerships that bring more value and new products and services to our members.

There are so many people to thank. Thank you to all our sponsors with whom we would not be able to stage this tremendous event; to our volunteers and board committees whoprovided suggestions and hours of support; to our staff – small but mighty who took on the all the changes with

#SportTourism 1

www.SportsCommissions.org 2

Lessons From the Women’s Summit Jennifer Stohl, CSEE, Executive Director, Greater Grand Junction Sports Commission

I had the opportunity to attend the National Association of Sports Commission’s inaugural Women’s Summit in Columbus, Ohio (Go Bucks!) at the end of March. The event, held in conjunction with the NCAA Women’s Final Four tournament was a wonderful experience all-together. Fifty female sport-tourism professionals had the opportunity to build relationships, hear from industry experts, and share best practices.

What impressed me the most about this event was the inspiration I drew from these women - regardless of professional success or market-size - and the encouragement I felt for the future of our industry. I truly walked away humbled, wheels turning, and excited for the next edition of this great event. Topics of conversation included negotiation, mentoring, trends and issues, among others.

I’m not going to lie, it didn’t hurt that for an extra few bucks I got to attend the semi-finals games, in which I witnessed two of the best basketball games I’ve ever seen in my entire life! Despite the fact that my Louisville Cardinals gave a way their chance at the championship game with a little over 11 seconds to spare in regulation, before falling flat in OT, both games were unbelievable!

I’m ashamed, but must admit, I had a 7am flight out the next morning and actually leaned over to ask a friend if she was ready to leave with 3 minutes left in the UCONN/Notre Dame game! Sometimes I forget that being in your mid-30’s does not mean you can’t stay up late every once in awhile, and sleep on the plane.

Digressing back to the Women’s Summit.

You see, this event may have been catered to women in the industry, but the demographic is irrelevant. The lessons and take-aways are universal. As with much of sport...and life.

Here were my Top 5 Take-Aways from the inaugural Women’s Summit: 5. You can learn just as much by getting to know colleagues out of the formal sessions as you can in them. Learn from both.

4. Cross-generational support and mentorship is INVALUABLE. Be willing to mentor and be willing to be mentored.

3. The good news is, if you’re facing an issue, odds are overwhelmingly high that you aren’t the only one.

Be vulnerable, find someone who has been there, and connect.

2. Stay up a little late every now and then! It’s okay, you can sleep on the plane, and the memories just might be worth it.

1. There is no better lesson in sport than the triumph of an underdog. Well done, Notre Dame.

In sport, as in life, the things that mean the most require the most sacrifice and effort.

Needless to say, I’m grateful that she politely told me there was no way in hell she was leaving. I was glad I didn’t, too.

#SportTourism 3

www.SportsCommissions.org 4

t r o p s y n a

y n a

e m i t Greg Pizzuto greg@visitharford.com

Andrew Kurtz akurtz@wicomicocounty.org

Audrey Vargason audrey@visithagerstown.com Becky Bickerton bbickerton@fredco-md.net

Denise Bosmans dbosmans@visitannapolis.org

Marjorie Hampson mhampson@baltimorecountymd.gov

Sally Slater sally@visithowardcounty.com

Christina Ghani cghani@baltimore.org

Cindy Cantor ccantor@ccgov.org

Donna Abbott dabbott@ococean.com

Kelly Rados krados@co.worcester.md.us

l y r a

m m ea

s u . and

t

Cassandra Vanhooser cvanhooser@talbgov.org

Debra Pence penced@charlescountymd.gov

Bennett Wilson Bennett.Wilson@stmarysmd.com

Lee Callicutt lcallicutt@visitmontgomery.com

Carl Smith csmith @co.pg.md.us

M A E

T E

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Sandy Turner sturner @ccgov.org

N O

#SportTourism

How My Mentor Helped Me Jamie Schlagel, CTA, National Sales Manager, West Michigan Sports Commission

A little over three years ago, I was hired as the National Sales Manager at the West Michigan Sports Commission.

I was making the transition from college athletics into an unfamiliar territory of sports tourism and knew that I had to hit the ground running. Developing relationships in the community and eventually on a national level was very important in being successful, but where was I supposed to start? Fortunate enough, I had a great support system in my organization that guided me throughout the process. But still, the tradeshows were something I was not quite sure about because they were all so different. And what is this thing called ‘speed dating’? Do we really have six minutes to get as much information as possible from event planners?

I had the opportunity to attend a few tradeshows prior to my first Symposium in Milwaukee. As I continued to meet people in the industry, they would always talk about the Symposium because it was much different than others.

This made me excited about heading to Milwaukee and eventually hosting in Grand Rapids a year later. As the months approached, I received the emails just like everyone else but still was a little uneasy on what to expect from my first symposium. How do the appointments work, what

educational sessions should I attend, what is CSEE, what is Sports Legacy, etc.? None of the other tradeshows had things of that sort. That is when I received the notification I had a mentor and he was located right down the road from me in good ole Pure Michigan. Mike Price is very involved in the NASC and I knew he would be able to help me with any questions or concerns that I had leading into the show.

Most of the time we ended up joking around and he would tell me to do things that would embarrass myself at the symposium, but I knew better and it was all in good fun. He truly was open to helping me feel at ease and guiding me in the right direction, no matter if our destinations compete with each other for business on a daily basis or not. Having the ability to have a mentor for my first symposium was very helpful and I appreciate the NASC for having a program that allows new people the opportunity to connect with others in the industry prior to arriving at the symposium. It made the experience a lot more seamless and I gained a great friend.

Experience...

The Wild Wild Wet in Lewisville, Texas

Dive In. Move Fast. Play to Win. Westside Aquatic Center

n Seating

for 1,200 spectators

n 75-meter competition pool

n 36 numbered lanes

n Two 1-meter and two 3-meter diving boards

Lewisville Lake Park

n 8

lighted soccer fields

n 10 lighted baseball/softball fields

n Golf, disc golf, cricket, fishing, boat ramps, and marinas

Hotels / Restaurants

n 1800 rooms within minutes of sports venues

n Variety of dining choices for every appetite

Lone Star Toyota of Lewisville Railroad Park

n 8

lighted soccer fields

lighted football fields

n 4 lighted baseball fields

n Permanent concession buildings n 4

VisitLewisville.com

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Member Award Nominations Congratulations to this year’s member awards finalists.

We received a record 70 submissions across all categories.

Finalists for organizational awards include:

Organizational Award Categories Sports Commission of the Year Des Moines Area Sports Commission Erie Sports Commission Greater Cleveland Sports Commission Greater Waco Sports Commission Indiana Sports Corporation Louisville Sports Commission Madison Area Sports Commission Palm Beach County Sports Commission Philadelphia Sports Congress Rochester MN Sports Wausau/Central Wisconsin Sports Authority Sport Tourism Organization of the Year City of Rock Hill Parks, Recreation & Tourism GO Cedar Rapids Lincoln Convention and Visitors Bureau Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau Visit Anaheim Wausau/Central Wisconsin Sports Authority Destination Branding & Marketing Campaign of the Year Des Moines Area Sports Commission Erie Sports Commission Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau Round Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau Seattle Sports Commission SPORTyler - Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce West Michigan Sports Commission

Locally Created Event of the Year Eugene, Cascades & Coast Sports Greater Cleveland Sports Commission Indiana Sports Corporation Lake Erie Shores & Islands CVB Louisville Sports Commission Palm Beach County Sports Commission Richmond Region Tourism Rochester MN Sports Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau Savannah Sports Council Spokane Sports Commission Stafford County Valley Forge Sports Wausau/Central Wisconsin Sports Authority Superior Service Award – Allied Member of the Year MGM Resorts International Sports & Properties, Inc. The Sports Facilities Advisory/The Sports Facilities Management TSE Consulting -- North America

Event Marketing Campaign of the Year Chicago Southland Convention & Visitors Bureau Erie Sports Commission Flag Football World Championship Tour Gainesville Sports Commission Greater Cleveland Sports Commission Greater Lansing Sports Authority Harris County - Houston Sports Authority Lake Erie Shores & Islands CVB West Michigan Sports Commission

#SportTourism 7

Tina M. Gohr - Door County Advocate

Event Owners – Take a time out during the NASC Symposium in the Sports Wisconsin Locker Room!

SOMETIMES IT REALLY IS ALL FUN & GAMES.

WHEN YOU’RE HAVING FUN, WE’RE HAVING FUN.

Whatever your sport, Wisconsin has the ideal venue. Explore your options at sportswisconsin.com

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Twelve (12) Questions Every CVB/Sports Commission Should Be Prepared To Answer Don Flynn, V.P. Business Development, GameDay USA

1. What are facility rental fees and is financial support offered for a first time event? Does CVB/Sports Commission have a grant program? Or perhaps assist with securing discounts on facility rental fees? Is there a bonus paid for reaching pre-determined number of room pick-ups? For one year, or longer?

2. Has there been another event organizer/tournament on this particular weekend? If so, why are they no longer hosting an event this weekend?

3. What other large events or festivals are scheduled the same weekend (or week) that might have an effect on hotel availability and getting around the community easily?

4. Is there another established event or tournament, in the same sport, within 60 miles that may be competing against Event Organizer on desired weekend(s)?

5. What is likelihood of securing same weekend(s) for next year? Next three years? Next five years?

6. What support can CVB/Sports Commission offer leading up to, during, and after the event? i.e. player swag or social, DJ dance party, coach social, radio or billboard ads, free tickets to waterpark, putt-putt, or host outdoor movie? Does CVB/Sports Commission provide webpage specific for the event listing restaurant discounts, top 5 activities for families and other community amenities?

7. What local social media platforms can be utilized for promotion and for how long? From CVB/Sports Commission, City, Facility Owner, Mayors office, local sponsors?

8. Will a public endorsement of the event be provided by the Mayor, CVB/Sports Commission Exec Director or other notable dignitary? If so, in what medium and how often.

9. Will local hotels work with Event Organizers Hotel Booking company and pay rebates when overnight teams stay at participating hotels? Event would be Stay-To-Play!

10. Does CVB/Sports Commission know a local individual that can hire and supervise local officials/umpires/ referees? This individual would be paid for their service

by Event Organizer.

11. Will facility field crew work on wet fields at 3am to prep for 8am games if rain has stopped? This mainly applies to baseball, softball and perhaps soccer and lacrosse.

12. Is Event Organizer allowed to bring in outside Vendors to set-up and sell products?

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Creating Balance as a Servant Leader Kari Lehman & Heather Lawrence, Ohio University College of Business

A former employee of mine called me recently as she was preparing for her first management role. She wanted my advice, knowing that over the past decade, I have taken on leadership of existing teams and built new ones to meet aggressive organizational goals. My thoughts immediately went to all the banana peels I’ve slipped on and where I still struggle in the hopes I could help her avoid the same. Our conversation ended up revolving around creating balance as a servant leader.

Servant leadership manifests in many ways, and is not a hard and fast set of practices. You will see the servant leader getting involved and pitching in where the team needs an extra set of hands, without putting rank-limitations on where he/she is willing to help. The servant leader collaborates with individuals and teams to make decisions, empowering others to stretch their decision-making abilities. The servant leader values the expertise of the team—supporting them by empowering them to lead their own projects or functions.

Servant leadership also ties in nicely with coaching and employee development philosophy. Having implemented coaching training for more than a decade, this too was ingrained in my approach. The concepts of “ask before tell,” and supporting employees in formulating their own solutions while guiding them away from disaster, are integral to servant leadership. In other words, provide guardrails, not directives.

Coming from a client-focused consulting background, my style naturally evolved into what’s commonly called “servant leadership.” If you haven’t heard much about servant leadership, the hallmark is the leader’s orientation to serve others first, as opposed to creating an environment where people serve them. While the concept of servant leadership is timeless, the term “servant leadership” was coined by Robert Greenleaf in an essay he first published in 1970 called, “Servant as Leader.”

“The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served.”

While the practice has evolved, the primary concept remains intact.

There are myriad articles, books, and training programs touting and training these philosophies and their variations.

There are all sorts of reasons why this genre of style is effective; It creates a culture of empowerment, teamwork, service, and fosters innovation. It cultivates employee growth and engagement, the expenditure of discretionary effort, and ultimately high performance.

But we are human, we work in human systems, and we’re not perfect.

As a servant leader, you can easily find yourself spending all of your time responding to the needs of others. You may fall into the trap of doing others’ work in the name of pitching in. And you may feel you’re spinning your wheels, as there’s just too much work to get done and you can’t get on top of it to formulate your strategy. There is and will always be too much work to get done.

It also happens that when the going gets tough and the team is in a crunch, sometimes the leader can default back to the mindset of, “I just need to get this done,” and turn from servant to director. It happens to the best of us. Sometimes it’s necessary, but often it happens in the midst of a timecrunched pressure-cooker of a moment when your team needs you most to be that servant leader.

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Your job is to establish objectives and priorities, and ensure the work of your team is focused toward these priorities. So how do you balance this, with the approach of serving others?

An effective servant leader prioritizes her own needs. Just like the flight attendant reminding you to put your own oxygen mask on first, the servant leader must exercise self-care by creating space for strategic thinking and prioritizing where she spends her time. There’s no magic to this, nor a perfect science, and it requires discipline and sometimes hard decisions.

Here are some tips on how to create balance as a servant leader: 1. Understand the overall vision of your organization, and iron out your vision along with your personal and team goals. Ensure that what you and your team is doing lines up with the vision.

2. Set time for yourself. Really. Do it.

This may be the most difficult part of servant leadership.

It’s easy and often fun to immerse yourself in what your team is working on, and it will always keep you busy and feeling productive. But, you will not be effective by only responding to your team members’ needs. You need to set and communicate objectives and direction, find and implement opportunities for continuous improvement, take time to develop yourself and stay current in your field, and of course, get your own work done. If you don’t set aside time to get above the day-to-day grind, you and your team will flounder.

While you should establish your own cadence, here is a starting point: • Set time at least quarterly to review your progress against the prior quarter’s objectives and set new milestones for the coming quarter.

• Set time to establish your weekly hit list, and manage your calendar. Move conflicting meetings that are priorities, decline meetings that aren’t priorities or if you can add value in other ways.

• Set time daily to get to your work. Many enjoy quiet time either early in the morning or late in the day.

We work best in 90-minute chunks to both create flow, and maintain energy levels.

• Keep your to-do list handy. You can often knock off one or two small items in that 15-minute dead spot between meetings.

3. Consider where your time is most valuable and whether there are more effective ways to get to the same or better outcome. As a servant leader, you are creating an environment where your team members grow and thrive.

Where can you coach versus lead or participate? Are there meetings where you can coach your team member in advance and debrief after to both develop him and free up your time?

4. Allow team members to fail—thoughtfully.

Failure is not inherently a bad thing. Work to create a safe space where employees feel they can innovate, experiment, and try new things. Develop your skills and theirs to evaluate the impact of both success and failure.

Coach them along the way—insert yourself at appropriate touchpoints. Coach them on how to improve, but resist the temptation to jump in and save the day. Allow your colleagues to learn without an “I told you so.” The lessons will go further, and failure is just part of honing a craft.

We are human. While this may be common sense, we continue to spin wheels attempting to get above the noise.

Focus on making progress—not being perfect. Leadership is a craft that takes a lifetime and then some to master. These few thoughts may help you in bettering the culture around you while becoming an even higher performing leader, and foster a higher performing team.

www.SportsCommissions.org 12

We are thrilled to be hosting NASC 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Minnesota has the facilities to host Super Bowl size to pint size events – summer or winter – mobility challenged athletes or athletes looking for extreme challenge. Minnesota destinations can help you execute your ultimate game plan. You’re passionate about your sport. We’re passionate about making your sporting event a sensation! Team up with Minnesota Sports.

SportsMinneapolis.org

MinnesotaSports.org