Professional Development

Providence, Rhode Island is a place where history and culture go hand in hand. It’s a town that has something for everyone, which is one of the many reasons Sports ETA 4S Summit is headed there October 8-10. Whether you are registered yet or not, we want to help you get the most out of your trip. You may be coming in early, or staying an extra day, or just want to plan something for your evening off. With help from our friends at Rhode Island Sports Commission, here are 10 things to do around Providence. WaterFire – A multi-sensory experience created by local artist Barnaby Evans, WaterFire has drawn hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city.  The event features nearly 100 bonfires that seem to float gently through Providence’s three rivers.  The smell of aromatic wood smoke, flickering firelight, and enchanting music add to the mystique. Waterfire.org   Walking Tours – Providence’s architectural treasures and rich histo...

The summer 2019 edition of the Playbook is available now.  Download your copy. Inside this issue Creating an Emergency Management Plan Keep in Contact with Your New Contacts NCAA Site Selection and Bid Process In Hosting Events, Collaboration is Key in Virginia's Blue Ridge 2019 Hall of Fame Inductees Member Award Winners Empowerment through Accommodation Fox Cities Takes Events in House We encourage members to share information with your peers. Contact Meagan Grau, Director of Member Services and Engagement, at meagan@sportscommissions.org to learn more about how you can contribute to a future edition of The Playbook.

From The Pulse… The Pulse is a research initiative led by Sports ETA to gauge the interest and thoughts of the sports events industry on critical issues and trends. The Future of Sports Betting It’s been a little more than a year since the U.S. Supreme Court overruled the law allowing sports betting in only four states. Since then, state legislatures have been easing their way through the rules and regulations that could make sports betting legal in their states. Is it something that is on the radar of those involved in the sports industry? In a recent survey commissioned by Sports ETA, a third of respondents said right now they are paying little or no attention to individual states’ efforts to add sports betting. Specifically, nearly half of respondents are paying at least some attention to the legislation, nearly a quarter are aware but aren’t following the progress, one in ten say they are only vaguely familiar with sports betting and less tha...

A record turnout of industry leaders in sports events and tourism attended the 27th annual symposium held in Knoxville, TN from May 6-9 to elect new leadership, honor members with national awards and participate in dozens of continuing education programs led by industry leaders. 

Way back in April, I had the pleasure of attending an etiquette session led by Patricia Rossi at the NASC (now called SportsETA) Women's Summit in Tampa. This was the second annual Women's Summit held in conjunction with the NCAA Women's Final Four basketball tournament. I wrote about my takeaways last year as well. Patricia was the last presenter in 48 hours chock-full of wisdom and knowledge bombs. All 70 attendees were exhausted, and perhaps more than a little sleep deprived, to say the least. You might say she had drawn the short straw. Not to mention, she was presenting to a bunch of awesome women who work in sports...let's just say (and I'm just surmising here), but this industry may be a bit more casual on the etiquette side of things than say, corporate finance. In a nutshell, Patricia rocked the house! She was engaging, hilarious, and an absolute delight. She is a southern belle that (if I'm honest) at first impression, intimid...

It’s back to work for those of us who went to the NASC Symposium in Knoxville last week. As you are getting back to your projects and events, don’t forget about all those contacts you met last week. In the sports events and tourism industry, networking is key and we hope you met a lot of great people at the Symposium to help in future projects. So don’t let those business cards go to waste. Follow-up is key to developing a new professional relationship. Forbes has a few great tips to master the art of the follow-up. Start with a quick email this week. Don’t feel it has to be something long and profound. Simply say you enjoyed meeting them and if you can, reflect back on a point from your conversation, even if it wasn’t about work. Link in on LinkedIn. This is another way to connect days after meeting. LinkedIn also offers many free tools to keep your contacts front-of-mind for both you and them. Plus, you can send them a quick note on their work...

The NASC is excited to congratulate our recent Certified Sports Event Executive graduates. Through this program, these graduates have shown the world they’re serious about making a difference in the sports events and tourism industry. Give a round of applause to these CSEE graduates, as they prepare (or continue) to take the industry by storm. CSEE 2019 Spring Graduates: Danny Corte, CSEE Jamie Patrick, CSEE Billy Bos, CSEE Mark Kowalewski, CSEE John Poole, CSEE Ashley Wilson, CSEE Jeremy Leifel, CSEE Matthew Bosen, CSEE Daniel Gallagher, CSEE Kris Jackson, CSEE Kathy O'Connell, CSEE Luchie Javelosa, CSEE Jarrett Dowling, CSEE Al Stauffacher, CSEE Consuelo Sanchez, CSEE Shaheen Roostai, CSEE Sarah Kirchberg, CSEE Kelsey McLean, CSEE Ashleigh Bachert, CSEE Matt Prewitt, CSEE Kristyn Hawkins, CSEE Mark Hargis, CSEE Clay Partain, CSEE Bill Kelly, CSEE Suzanne Keller, CSEE Holly Kesterson, CSEE St...

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 NASC Symposium is just over two weeks away, which means it’s time to request event overview appointments! The Symposium is a phenomenal way to network and learn more about the industry from the people currently thriving in it. Wondering how to do that? It’s simple! Start by going to the NASC Symposium website to update your profile. Making sure that your profile is up to date is vital because you may not appear correctly in the member directory, which is where Symposium attendees look when requesting/accepting appointments. After that, make your request for all the organizations you would like to meet with during event overview appointments. You will be able to view a list of organization’s that you have a confirmed one-on-one appointment. Once you submit the request, rank each one, while also accepting or declining appointments requested of you, to ensure that you receive the best possible matches.  If you request an appointment, but the other organiza...

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...