CONFERENCE PREVIEW

from PUSH Magazine, Volume 1, Issue 1

Rights Holder Spotlight

CONFERENCE PREVIEW

Sports ETA Women’s Summit

Conference Sports ETA Women’s Summitt Dates A p r i l 1- 3, 2020 Host Destination New Orleans, LA Contributing Writer D r. Je n n i f e r St oll, C SEE Sp ort s ETA Re s e arc h & Ed u c at i on Stoll Sports Strategies, L LC

Rolling into its third edition, the annual Sports ETA Women’s Summit has quickly become a not-to-miss event on the sports events and tourism conference schedule for women f ro m a c ro s s th e c o u n tr y. E a ch yea r, th i s two -d ay c o n f eren c e is held in conjunction with the NCAA Division I Women’s Final Four tournament leadup as will be the case when more than 75 of the industr y’s brightest female leaders gather i n N ew O rl ea n s, L o u i s i a n a A p r i l 1 -3 , 2 0 2 0 to n etwo rk , learn, and grow both personal

l y a n d p ro f es s i o n a l l y.

That has been the goal of the Summit since its incepti o n i n 2 0 1 8 . A s m a l l g ro u p o f l ea d er s, i n c l u d i n g G reater Columbus Sports Commission Executive Director, Linda Log a n , h a d th e i d ea to d evel o p a platform specifically for women in the g rowing and dynamic i n d u s tr y.

Log an noted, “Our Women’s Summit was created to focus on leadership and career developm en t wh i l e p rov i d i n g a p l a c e to share insights on issues fac- i n g wo m en i n th e wo rk p l a c e while also addressing matter s that are specific to the touri s m , s p o r ts a n d even t i n d u s tr y. This initiative has already pro- v i d ed i n s i g h t i n to tren d s a n d o p p o r tu n i ti es fo r th e f u tu re while enhancing our networks and mentoring opportunities.” Logan, a well-respected leader in the industry and one of o n l y a h a n d f u l o f f em a l e p a s t Sports ETA Board Chairs, fa- c i l i tated a Wo m en’s C a b i n et comprised of top female brass f ro m o rg a n i z ati o n s s u ch a s th e

International Association of Venu e M a n a g e r s ( I AV M ) a n d Meeting Professionals Interna- ti o n a l ( M PI ) . H er c i ty h o s ted the inaugural Women’s Summ i t c a p p ed o f f by o n e o f th e best Women’s Final Four tourn a m en ts i n h i s to r y a s N o tre D a m e d ef eated U C O N N i n th e championship game.

Fro m h ea r i n g E SPN ’s D ebb i Antonelli’s heartwarming sto- r y, to l ea r n i n g a b o u t th e i mp o r ta n c e o f m en to r s h i p, th o s e of us in attendance in Co- l u m bu s k n e w we were a p a r t o f s o m eth i n g s p ec i a l . We a l s o knew we wanted that experience to continue into the futu re o f th e a s s o c i ati o n .

Wo rd s p rea d l i k e w i l d f i re, a n d th e 2 0 1 9 Wo m en’s Su m m i t i n Ta m p a , F l o r i d a w i tn es s ed 50 percent growth in registr ati o n c o u p l ed w i t h c o n ten t chock-full of eng aging topics i n c l u d i n g p er s o n a l b r a n d i n g, communicating with confidence, and even a fun and educational lesson on etiquette. M o m en t u m f ro m th e f i r s t two summits is car r ying into 2020’s

even t, wh i ch p ro m i s es t o r a i s e the bar for attendees. Sports ETA staf f and the education s u b -c o m m i ttee d ed i c ated to p l a n n i n g c o n ten t fo r th e 2 0 2 0 Summit have been hard at work g athering attendee feedback a n d bu i l d i n g a p ro g r a m th at aims to foster relationships wh i l e s i mu l ta n eo u s l y p rov i d i n g top-tier education.

N ew i n 2 0 2 0 , atten d ees w i l l b e p r i v y to a wo rk s h o p -s ty l e deep-dive session honing spe- c i f i c l ea r n i n g a n d a c ti o n a bl e s k i l l s th ey c a n ta k e b a c k to th ei r res p ec ti ve c o m mu n i ti es. O n e s u ch s es s i o n w i l l b e l ed by Game Day Communications p u bl i c rel ati o n s ex p er ts Ja c k i Rea u a n d B ets y Ro s s. T h e d u o will walk attendees through c r i ti c a l PR ta c ti c s – i n c l u d i n g

mock-interviews – when times a re g o o d a n d wh en th i n g s d o n o t g o a s p l a n n ed . T h i s ty p e of specific skill development is c r i ti c a l fo r atten d ees f ro m a l l segments and experience levels o f th e s p o r ts to u r i s m i n d u s tr y, including destinations, rights h o l d er s, i n d u s tr y s u p p l i er s, and facility operators.

T h e p l a n n i n g g ro u p i s a l s o bl o c k i n g ti m e fo r s m a l l a n d large g roup discussions on to p i c s p res en ted a n d o th er hot-button topics on the minds of attendees.

Sports ETA desires that each participant to not only walk away from the Summit with n ew s k i l l s, a n d k n ow l ed g e, o u r aim is for them to walk away from this experience with an expanded network of contacts

– c o l l ea g u es a n d f r i en d s – th at th ey c a n c a l l o n th ro u g h o u t th ei r ti m e i n th e i n d u s tr y a n d beyond. Allowing time for inde pth discussion has proven to cultivate the elements of c o m mu n i ty we a re s tr i v i n g to build.

“A s a f i r s t-ti m e atten d ee newly promoted from services to d evel o p m en t at my C V B, I found the Sports ETA Women’s Summit to be extremely valuable last year,” commented Jerrine Lee, Director of Sports Development at Richm o n d ( VA ) Reg i o n To u r i s m . “Not only did I receive education that I’ve used profess i o n a l l y a n d p er s o n a l l y, bu t I established relationships with female leader s in the sports tourism industr y and built my

very own network. I’m look- ing forward to g rowing this network in 2020!”

A tt en d ees w i l l p a r ti c i p ate i n a Wel c o m e Rec e p ti o n to m eet o th er at ten d ees, a n d new this year, the women can participate in a community service project ass em bl i n g hyg i en e k i ts fo r homeless women in the New O rl ea n s a rea . Fo r th o s e th at n eed a m o r n i n g p i c k -m e-u p, th ere w i l l a l s o b e s u n r i s e yoga and yogurt to jumpstart the morning.

In addition to the Summ i t’s c o n ten t, th ere w i l l b e no shortage of fun for attendees in New Orleans. Atten d ee s rec ei ve a c c es s to th e N C A A’s B eyo n d th e B a s el i n e event and have the opportu

nity to purchase discounted tickets to Friday night’s semi-final matchups.

Open time at the Women’s Summit gives attendees th e ch a n c e to ta k e i n a l l th e s i g h ts, s o u n d s a n d fo o d o f o n e o f o u r n ati o n’s m o s t c u l tu re-r i ch c i ti es. L i s ten to local jazz, walk the French Q u a r t er, o rd er a h u r r i c a n e on Bourbon street, or enjoy Cajun cuisine, New Orleans p ro m i s es to o f f er s o m eth i n g for everyone.

Reg i s t r ati o n fo r th e 2 0 2 0 Sports ETA Women’s Summit is open now and the ho- tel ro o m bl o c k c u t-o f f d ate i s Fe b r u a r y 2 8 , 2 0 2 0 . Vi s i t SportsETA.org for more information.

Give your tournament the ultimate game plan – the new world-class, 160-acre Panama City Beach Sports Complex. Nowhere else combines sugar-white beaches and turquoise waters with the Southeast’s best state-of-the-art facilities. Which explains why when the game’s over, the fun is just getting started.