CONFERENCE 2017:

An Energetic, Education- Packed Event!

aptly describes the atmosphere of this spring’s 58th

EXHILARATING — one word that annual ISI conference &

trade show, a joint venture this year with the Minnesota Ice Arena Manager’s Association (MIAMA).

From the vibrant, new ISI branding

seen on apparel worn by ISI staff and board members, to the educational sessions led by industry experts and the keynote address by Hall of Fame speaker and author Steve Gilliland, the environment exuded a renewed energy and passion that was both invigorating and contagious.

On May 30, ISI President Rob McBride

welcomed attendees to the four-day event, May 30 – June 2, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Bloomington – Minneapolis South and unveiled ISI’s new logo as well as other key changes to the organization’s membership services and benefits. Tese innovative, new and improved practices were also announced in the spring issue of ISI EDGE magazine, timed to arrive in members’ mailboxes on the cuffs of McBride’s “state of the union” address. (Please see Page 9 for more details.)

Te ISI is truly experiencing a rebirth

with new ideas, all centered on making our members’ businesses successful,

Steve Gilliland

which in turn strengthens the industry as a whole and helps us achieve our overall goal of creating lifelong ice sports participants.

Following McBride’s address, Gilliland

treated attendees to an entertaining and thought-provoking keynote entitled, “Enjoy the Ride.” His message reminded the audience to “check their passion” and live in the moment to experience true joy in life.

ISI University once again produced

more than 100 industry graduates eager to take home and incorporate their newfound knowledge into their workplace. (See Page 18 for more information.) On-ice demonstrations by Kori Ade, most known for her role as coach of 2014 Olympian Jason Brown, and former Olympic pair skater Doug Ladret were also conference highlights, as were tours of Shakopee Ice Arena and Braemar Arena and the induction of the 1980 Miracle on Ice Olympic Men’s Hockey Team into the ISI Hall of Fame. (All of this year’s awards recipients can be found on Pages 10-13)

OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF ATTENDEES …

Here’s what attendees had to say about their experience at the 2017 ISI/MIAMA Ice Arena Conference & Trade Show:

John Harrington, Buzz Schneider and Dave Christian of the 1980 U.S. Men’s Olympic Hockey Team

ON THE INSTRUCTORS ...

Kori Ade presents with great energy and enthusiasm and shares a ton of knowledge and experience. Both the on-ice and off-ice sessions were excellent. I love her knowledge and enthusiasm for the sport of figure skating. Her breakdown of all elements and references to ISI as she spoke were very encouraging! Te on-ice session and demonstration of skill development and technique were not only easy to understand but also entertaining. She and Doug Ladret made three hours of ice time fly by! I especially loved her reference to ISI skill levels as she presented. Her TAPS presentation was beyond words.

Scott McCoy is always personable and

brings a little excitement to his sessions. He is very engaging and I enjoyed that he gave us an activity to exemplify the budgeting topic he was presenting. As always, Toni Cooper was fantastic. Rob McBride is always a good speaker. He is very knowledgeable and I believe a great leader that guides our industry. Listening to some of the things he has done within his own business is a great way for us to learn. You can literally feel the amount of passion he has for this industry while he is presenting. Te amount of knowledge he has on any topic is amazing. I always find sitting in his classes a pleasure and a learning experience.

Loved the branding and marketing

session with Tiesha DiMaggio. So many great ideas! She was extremely insightful on her topic and brought a lot of value to the session. I went with another coach to Tiesha’s presentation on branding and use of websites and social media to drive business as a coach or school. We went with reservations on the use of these things for branding as a coach, and she absolutely changed our minds.

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