LEADERSHIP MESSAGE

Dedicated to providing leadership, education and services to the ice sports industry.

ISI INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS

MANAGING DIRECTOR Liz Mangelsdorf

CONTROLLER Heather Loller

SKATING PROGRAMS & NATIONAL EVENTS DIRECTOR

Kim Hansen

OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Jeff Anderson

ADVERTISING/TRADE SHOW DIRECTOR Carol Jackson

COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER/EDITOR Eileen Viglione

MEMBERSHIP COORDINATOR Sandey Carlsen

ACCOUNTING ASSISTANT Devan Zimmerman

MEMBERSHIP ASSISTANT Jennifer Carlsen

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Angela Tooley

MEMBERSHIP SERVICES Wendi Osterheldt Shirley Rothrock

ISI OFFICERS

President .................................................Rob McBride 1st

2nd

Vice President ...............................Janice Forbes Vice President .....................................Lisa Fedick

Treasurer ......................................Kevin McCormack Secretary ...........................................Margy Bennett Immediate Past President ................Jim Hartnett Past President ...........................................Jim Lange Member at Large ......................................Gerry Lane Member at Large ..................................Scott McCoy Member at Large ................................Jane Schaber

DIRECTORS

District 1 ...........................................Alane Swiderski District 2 ...............................................Robyn Bentley District 3 ..........................................Tiesha DiMaggio District 4 ..........................Christine Wilson Brinton District 5 ...............................................Larry LaBorde District 6 ................................................Julie Goddard District 7 ..............................Cassandra MacDonald District 8 ..............................Vicky Klinko-Osseland District 9 ........................................Rachel Bruemmer District 10 ..............................................Jane Schaber District 11 ............................................Caroline Baker District 12 .................................................Debbie Lane District 13 ............................................................Vacant District 14 ...................................................Paige Scott District 15 ............................................Randy Winship District 16 ..............................................Cindy Solberg District 18 ....................................................Glyn Jones Builders & Suppliers ............................Doug Peters Instructors .............................................David Santee Commercial Facilities .........................Scott McCoy Public/Not-for-Profit Facilities .............Ed Peduto Schools/Colleges/Universities .Jamie Baringer PSA Representative ...............................Gerry Lane ISIAsia Representative ...............Harry Janto Leo PPIRMC Representative ...................Ryan Shaffer MIRMA Representative .....................Judy Sniffen Education Foundation .....................Don Bartelson Lifetime Honorary Member .........Carol Zdziebko

BOTTOM LINE:

Individual Memberships Sustain Industry Growth

A

SKATING DIRECTOR CALLED me the other day and said, “OK, why sshould I do this? Why should I charge

$15 to each customer who walks in the door to take skating lessons?”

I paused because my first response — my gut response — was: “Well … why wouldn’t you?”

Te ISI is truly a membership organiza- tion and through the ups and downs of running a non-profit business whose sole purpose is to provide services to its members, we wonder — Why haven’t we always required membership? Why would a membership organization allow its members to participate in their program without being part of it? I am not sure I even know the answer to these questions, and I would venture to say that the founding fathers and those that quickly followed in creating the ISI program would not have imagined that the organization would be able to sustain itself without requiring all those involved in the ISI program to be members.

A membership fee to be part of a national

organization is commonplace these days for any activity that kids (and adults) wish to participate in. Whether it is YMCA, USA Soccer or USA Gymnastics, there is a membership fee associated with those programs. We (the ISI) are finally getting back to the basics and realizing that in order to serve our members more effectively, we, too, need those memberships.

Tis decision presents a change for our

Administrative and Professional members, and to be honest, this was my reality several years ago when I headed up ice rink programs at a Dallas arena. Te company had made a corporate decision to require ISI annual membership for all our participants. I will admit wholeheartedly that I was skeptical

and nervous that I would lose customers to the competition. I agonized over making the decision for months. However, I wanted to do the right thing and soon realized that the benefits for both skaters and management far outweighed any argument against the new membership requirement. (Please see benefits outlined on Page 5.) And truth be told, in the end there was ZERO pushback. Customers didn’t complain, walk out of the building or go to the competition. Te new customers didn’t know any difference, and some long- term customers may have inquired about the new fee but only to understand and not to criticize. In my mind, I knew we offered a great product! We had an organized skating school with amazing coaches and no one was leaving that for a very reasonable $15 annual membership fee.

I understand that for some of you,

changing your pricing structure will be frightening and warrant a leap of faith. For others, it will be a no-brainer; some will even report that they have been doing this for years. No matter where you see yourself in this scenario, please keep in mind that you have the support of the ISI office. We are always here to assist you. It is not our intention to make more work for you; we have processes in place to make registering Individual members as simplistic as possible.

As ISI President Rob McBride said in the

spring issue of ISI EDGE, “ISI exists because of you! Your success and the success of your arena programs is our sole purpose of existence.”

We remain steadfast in this thought

process, and with ISI Individual memberships, we will be better able to serve you, your rink, your coaches and your skaters now and in the future.

Liz Mangelsdorf ISI MANAGING DIRECTOR