She’s a Steelers fan that cheers on her team from Binghamton, New York. When her Steelers are not on the field, she enjoys being outdoors, attending live performances and volunteering for animal rescues. Meet one of our Sports ETA mentors Judi Hess.
Judi is the Director of Visit Binghamton. She is responsible for tourism promotion of Greater Binghamton including serving as the primary tourism liaison with elected officials, budget management, strategic planning, marketing program oversight, and managing all aspects of day to day operations of the Convention & Visitors Bureau. You can say Judi has many roles she takes on each day.
“Being a part of a small bureau, I get to wear many hats,” Judi said. “Because of that, I feel very comfortable mentoring in sales, marketing, social media, and branding.”
Judi suggests three things to anyone in this industry:
Put yourself out there
Never stop learning
Get involved
Getting in...
Did you know Sports ETA offers mentoring to members, new and old? The Mentoring and Engagement Committee is here to help all Sports ETA members. We will be spotlighting each mentor to help you get to know them a little better - you may even find that you connect with one of them. This way, when you need a mentor in the future, you already have one in mind.
Meet Hank Pivarnik, CSEE. He recently retired from Hilton as the Director of Sports Sales after 30+ years of service. In that role, Hank oversaw sales relationships between Hilton brands and customers from MLB, MLS, NASCAR, NBA, NFL, and NHL. In addition to sales relationships with USOPC, several NGB’S, sports broadcasting and sports housing entities.
While there was plenty of hard work along the way, Hank really enjoyed the times when he was able to work with Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks at NBA Cares service day during an NBA AllStar weekend. And his work with the Denver Broncos, which gave him a game b...
How to use your mentor.
Your fellow Sports ETA members, especially those on the mentoring committee, each come with unique perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds to our industry’s association. The best part of the diversity of membership is access to these leaders in sports tourism and what you can learn from them. It is not just about having someone to help guide new members through their first experiences, but also an opportunity to get creative and learn. Some of the most pivotal things I've learned in this industry weren’t taught to me in school or any formal education session, but from my colleagues, their experiences and of course my own.
I would encourage anyone to lean on those members of the mentoring committee, whether your assigned mentor or another member of the committee you already know, as a resource to bounce ideas off, seek career guidance, learn from their missteps and successes alike. Someone outside your dest...
Becoming a new member of Sports ETA is an exciting time. Event and tourism organizations are welcomed into a big network of colleagues and introduced to dozens of resources. It can be a lot to take in. That’s where our Mentoring and Engagement committee comes in.
Experienced Sports ETA members volunteer to serve as mentors to new member organizations and first-time Sports ETA event attendees who are new to the sports events and tourism industry. These mentors are there to offer advice, best practices in different areas of the industry, and a friendly face at Sports ETA events.
These mentors are not just there for new members; they can be of help to members who have been with Sports ETA for years. If you have a dilemma and need some friendly advice, one of our mentors will be glad to help you. Or if you are traveling to a city you are unfamiliar with, check out our mentors to see if they can make any recommendations.
This committee of about 40 industry leaders have a...
"I believe that you can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want."--Zig Ziglar
That quote is the inspiration that I use every day. Mentoring, fostering, sharing, and caring are qualities that help us to build strong and healthy relationships both personally and professionally. The key to creating life-long connections is to give as much, if not more than you take.
Staying connected and developing professional relationships takes time, work, and strategy. If you’re trying to improve your professional connections, you should be. These connections will be the key to your professional growth. Here are some tips to follow:
Strong communication skills will help lay a strong foundation. Making yourself clearly understood as well as truly listening and learning from others.
Show respect by being courteous, using non-offensive language, and being courteous of people’s time.
Be open to hone...
The Mentoring Committee was put in place years ago to assist new individuals attending Sports ETA Symposium. For some first-time attendees, it is their first trade show, ever! That was me…. straight out of college. For others, they have been in the workforce, and have attended other trade shows, but never a sports-related trade show. There are many new kinds of attendees and this committee was built to help all of them.
Along with providing a mentor, the committee has added additional resources to assist first-timers. One of those is the blog that is written by mentors – who have been a part of Sports ETA for at least five years. They want to help their colleagues entering this new world of sports tourism. The blogs do not just focus on the Symposium, but important things to know about your membership, other events that are hosted by Sports ETA, fun facts, and more.
Some blogs to look forward to prior to Sports ETA Symposium 2020 are:
The Importance of Building...
People tend to fall on three sides of the networking spectrum:
The people that love socializing and meet all kinds of people
The people that hate networking and skip these sessions or don’t participate
The people that are good at networking and leave with a valuable lead and/or resource
Depending on the day, each of us usually falls into one of these categories when we must attend networking events. Many factors contribute to how we react to networking including the hours worked that day, what’s happening outside of work, and energy levels in general. Please take a moment to learn some networking lessons that may provide positive results while networking at the 2019 NASC Symposium.
Look at this stack of business cards! These are on my desk right now. Can you imagine if your card is located near the bottom of that stack? I’m sure my card is at the bottom of stacks on hundreds of desks around the country. This is a constant reminder that I’...
The countdown is on for the 27th annual NASC Symposium! Before your bags are packed, check the conference website. Then, as you prepare to meet event rights holders, vendors and destination representatives from throughout the USA in Knoxville, Tennessee May 6- 9, you might want to check it again. This will help you ensure the most efficient and effective use of your time!
NASC staff and volunteer members have worked diligently to provide several great resources to assist you as you get organized to attend the NASC’s annual meeting (for the first time or the 27th)! Follow the links below to find answers to many of your questions:
Hotel & Travel
Schedule
Education
Marketplace
NASC FAQs
Blogs
Hotel & Travel:
Traveling to a destination by yourself (especially for the first-time) can seem a bit intimidating. A little advanced homework will reduce potential concerns and set you up for a fun, successful conference experience.
Review your...
We can all agree that visiting potential sites is an integral part of the site selection process for events. However, not all site visits are created equal. Rights Holders are looking for a quick trip to look at the venue to make sure it will work for their needs. Looking at facility specs on paper, or online, is helpful; but, we really need to see the space in person to identify any potential issues, planning the layout, and identifying branding opportunities. While not all Rights Holders are looking for the same experience, there are some common themes we look for to make the most of the visit.
Do Your Homework
Just as we ask for destinations to do their homework before our appointments at Symposium, we want you to do your homework before our site visits as well. Byron Hicks, the Manager of Events for USA Ultimate says, “Know my needs before I come and show me what I need. Don’t show me ball fields when I need linear field space.”...
We are just over a month away from the 2019 NASC Symposium. No, you don’t need to start packing your bags just yet, but you do need to start planning out what you want your week to look like. We just released the education sessions for the 2019 Symposium in Knoxville, Tennessee from May 6-9.
If you are part of a destination looking to attract more events to your city, you may consider sitting in on sessions like “Developing your Destination’s Sports Tourism Program” on Tuesday or “Bidding on NAIA Events” on Thursday.
For the sales and development managers, there are also sessions for building brand awareness, partnership strategies, and valuing sponsorships.
There are more than 25 education sessions planned for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, so there is something for each member of your team coming to the Symposium. Check them all out here.
Also, if you registered for the CSEE course at the NASC Symposium, put on your crisis mode c...