Symposium

The National Association of Sport Commissions is excited to share its 2019 Member Award Winners. Every year the NASC honors organizations and individuals in the sports events and tourism industry to celebrate their accomplishments and achievements! There were a ton of impressive nominees this year, and deciding on a winner for each category was incredibly difficult. With that said, our 2019 winners hail from all over the country, from Minneapolis to Gulf Shores. Without further ado, here are your 2019 NASC Member Award Winners: Sport Commission of the Year, Over 500k -Sport Minneapolis, powered by Meet Minneapolis Sports Commission of the Year, under 500k -Spokane Sports Commission Sports Tourism Organization of the Year, over 500k -VisitAnaheim Sports Tourism Organization of the Year, under 500k - Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Sports Event Marketing Campaign  -Savannah Sports Council Destination Branding and Marketing Campaign of the Year, und...

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...

The National Association of Sports Commissions would like to congratulate 2019 NASC Hall of Fame inductees. Each of these members have played a vital role in the success and promotion of the National Association of Sports Commissions and have contributed significantly to the advancement of the sports events and tourism industry. Our 2019 inductees are as follows: Patricia Ernstrom- Vice President of Special Events, San Francisco 49ers Jack Kelly- CEO, World Equestrian Games Pam Gerig-Bland- Executive Director, Palm Beach County Sports Commission Kevin Smith- Founder, OnPoint Sports Strategies, LLC Induction into the NASC Hall of Fame is considered to be the equivalent of a lifetime achievement award. These inductees have typically spent decades in the sports events and tourism industry; they have been leaders in the industry; and they have an extensive list of accomplishments locally, nationally, and even internationally in some cases. Patricia, Jack, Pam, and Kevin...

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...

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...

As I’ve gained more “experience” (another way of stating that I’m getting older) in this industry, I tend to be more straight forward about the positives and negatives of the sports events industry. No need to sugar coat anything. And that’s what I’d like to comment on here, to hopefully save those of you just getting started, a lot of potential headaches. So, here’s the scenario - you’ve just started your career at your local sports commission or CVB as the new sports events’ sales manager. As the new person, you’re fired up because you get to work in sports, and you think you have the sports facilities in your area to do big things.  And you want to get out there and get that first big event for your area, a real home run, as soon as possible. You attend your first NASC Symposium and meet with numerous event-owners and they all sound great. You think to yourself, wow we could do ALL these events in our destination &n...

The appointment portal for the 2019 NASC Sports Marketplace opens next week, Wednesday, March 27. Here are the 5 most important things you need to know:  The portal will be open from March 27 at 9:00 a.m. ET – April 17 at 11:59 p.m. ET. During this time, you will only request/accept/decline/rank appointments for one-on-one slots. The event overview appointment portal will be open from April 22 – April 24. Only the first registered attendee from your organization will have access to the appointment portal. Your organization’s Symposium registration(s) and 2019 membership dues must be paid in full before you can access the appointment portal. Click here to check the status of your organization’s registration and/or dues. Make the most of every appointment. If your organization’s membership profile is not up-to-date, your org...

The 2019 NASC Symposium is right around the corner -- which means we are gearing up for the Sports Legacy Fund Silent Auction! While in Knoxville, make sure you stop by the one and only Women's Basketball Hall of Fame for our Halftime event on Tuesday, May 6. You won't want to miss this opportunity to sip on Ole Smokey Mountain Moonshine, play casino games, network with industry colleagues, and bid on silent auction items! So what can you bid on? How about a WiFi Smart Video Doorbell or a pair of Beat headphones? A throwback prize of a Nintendo NES Classic Mini Console and a $100 Visa gift card! We are constantly adding new items, so check back often to view newly added items. Don't wait, start bidding now. The 2019 Sports Legacy Fund Silent Auction is open for mobile bids until 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 7. To view auction items and place a bid, click here. You will be asked to create a free account. Live action bidding will take place on Tue...