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CEO's message |
How to spell success? G-I-S
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Now that we’ve had some time to reflect on the 2006 GCSAA Education Conference and Golf Industry Show, it’s clear that it was a success by all measures. Feedback on the show has been overwhelmingly positive, which is particularly significant considering that Atlanta was the event’s third scheduled site after New Orleans and Houston.
This reaction is gratifying. We vowed that no matter where we held the event, and no matter how many people attended, those who did come would have the kind of experience they’ve come to expect from conference and show. Why is this so important?
It’s because we’ve learned that the way our members feel coming out of conference and show largely determines how they feel about the association in general, and to some degree affects how they feel about their profession, their careers and how their year to come may go.
It’s also no small matter that the event was a financial success. Conference and show provides the financial fuel that powers many GCSAA programs and services, so it’s critical that Atlanta helped fill the tank for another year.
Looking ahead to 2007 brings into focus the addition to the Golf Industry Show of the Club Managers Association of America with its approximately 40,000 square feet of exhibition space and about 4,000 new attendees. When the National Golf Course Owners Associtaion joined in 2005, it brought with it about 1,000 attendees and around 10,000 square feet of exhibits. GCSAA, of course, brought about 20,000 attendees and 250,000 square feet of exhibits.
We helped our members manage these additions with the creation of solution centers, which essentially segment the show. Those who might have been concerned that the show would become a hodgepodge of exhibits with no structure needn’t worry; the centers create a natural organization and flow that alleviates that concern.
The event’s scheduling also is designed for a natural flow and to lessen crowding and other conflicts. The GCSAA and NGCOA education conferences will take place prior to the show. The show will then bring all three associations together in one event, and CMAA’s education conference and major events will take place after the trade show. Three days of overlap for the trade show also reduces concern about superintendents and club managers being away from the facility at the same time.
Our vision is clear: to make the Golf Industry Show the show for everything up to the playing of the game, and to have it remain a golf show. We will not bring in partners who are not directly engaged in golf. We are talking with other potential golf association partners and hope to add to the six partners currently in the show. With CMAA joining next year, new partners will not come on board until 2008.
The benefits of this expanded show also are clear. The additions stabilize the Golf Industry Show as the association’s No. 1 asset. New participants broaden our platform to communicate the superintendent’s role in the success of the facility. And without fail, employers attending the show come away with a higher opinion of the profession’s complexity, the contributions of superintendents and appreciation of the deep industry support members receive.
The cooperation among the partners involved in this new show is the best I’ve seen in my 26 years in this profession. Bringing together facilities’ key decision makers makes a positive difference, not just on the industry level, but also in your visibility and career possibilities at your course.
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