It is almost time for Greensboro and the 2011 NASC Sports Event Symposium. Your Cincinnati staff has been busy adjusting the schedule and topics to your suggestions since last summer. Now, the pace quickens!
I’d like to highlight several points:
- The Certified Sports Event Executive program features the final of three installments from the Disney Institute: Brand Loyalty and Customer Service: Disney Style. If ever there was a CSEE program worthy of an extra $250 it is this one! For those of us deeply involved in the CSEE Program we have been waiting for this session for two years. There cannot be any debate over the importance of branding and customer service. We invite all members to join us!
- Our educational sessions have been designed for host organizations and event owners. You will find subjects of great value on the program. I must tell you that we are hearing more and more instances of the lack of due diligence in negotiations between potential hosts and owners of events. Perhaps this was inevitable: our industry has grown so quickly that mistakes are bound to be made. Unfortunately, most of those we hear about are preventable.
This year’s sessions are designed to help all parties do a better job serving the needs of the participants in each event. It is, after all, it’s about them.
- The NASC Sports Marketplace looks, at this writing, bigger than ever. View a list of registered attendees. We know you like that, and have worked very hard to increase the number of event owner members of the NASC. The more members we have, the more will attend the marketplace. There are a few important items I wish to stress:
First, you will have more than three weeks to request your appointments! This is a full week more than last year.
Second, be sure to go to the NASC web site and make sure your profile says exactly what you want it to say. That profile will be used by host organizations and event owners to evaluate an appointment.
Third, you will receive your list of appointments two weeks before Symposium! Use this time to prepare for your meetings! Be certain you understand what each other needs and if you can meet those requirements. If this sounds like a parallel to our personal lives, it probably is: a new relationship will be as productive as advance preparation makes possible. And, lasting relationships are always based on true connections, not smoke and mirrors. It is a reliance on this latter temptation that can lead to difficulty. OK, Dr. Don…enough already!
Finally, please refer to the NASC Symposium website for answers to your questions! We established this website because the details of the event had become involved enough that a separate site was needed. After answering some questions a few days ago I asked the member if they were aware of the website. The answer was, “I only know about the one where I sign in.” So, if you are in need of up-to-date information on Greensboro, please go to www.NASCsymposium.com.
See you in Greensboro!
Don
Donald G. Schumacher, CSEE
Executive Director
National Association of Sports Commissions
