Spring is here and I couldn’t be more thrilled to hear about how the snow continues to be great pretty much anywhere and everywhere you go!
I’m sharing this month’s notes a bit later than usual because we have been waist-deep in planning for the year ahead. Our goal of reshaping the vision and future of SIA to best serve the industry continues to guide how we approach every aspect of the organization. This means we’re looking at how we can revamp membership in order to deliver greater value to our members, taking a deeper dive into research and data (our mission: to provide a greater depth of actionable data), putting together a new and improved Ski Mechanics Workshop and exploring more educational tools for industry stakeholders. And, this is all just a sliver of what we see as potential opportunity for the future! We look forward to sharing all of our plans after our May Board Meetings.
Speaking of the Board, it’s my pleasure to introduce SIA’s newest Board Members. At the annual SIA meeting, these leaders were voted in and confirmed to join the Board:
Chris Licata (Tecnica Group USA); Alex Draper (K2 Sports); Johan Malkoski (C3); Brooke MacKenzie (Kjus); Eric Tung (Fera); Elysa Walk (Burton); and Chico Bukovansky (DaKine). Additionally, Mike Noonan (Marker Vokl USA) was named Chairman.
They join Mike Adams (Amer Sports); Ron Steele (Group Rossignol); Wendy Carey (Seirus Innovation); Mike West (Westlife Distribution); Rhonda Swenson (Krimson Klover); Kim Miller (Scarpa NA); and Mark Muedeking (legal).
We are lucky to have such a diverse and dedicated board. Please remember to thank them when you see them next!
Back to our planning process. We continue to meet with members and talk to stakeholders to gather more info and perspective from across the industry. In April, SIA will host its first Think Tank in Park City. Specific to Utah participants, we will spend the day examining the future of the industry and what SIA can do to better serve our members. It’s our hope to then roll these Think Tanks out regionally and nationally to get as many of you involved in the conversation as possible.
What can you do to get involved in the meantime? Join a committee! We’ve recently updated the committee line-up and are excited to launch them on May 1. These committees include:
- Industry Awards: Recognizing important contributions to the winter industry.
- Industry Stakeholders: Identify how the industry can work more closely (nationally and regionally), including regional shows, rep groups and buying groups.
- Advocacy: Ascertain key topics of interest to the winter industry; how best to educate membership; and what (if any) action SIA/industry should take.
- New Talent: How to attract new talent and diversity to the industry.
- Research: What research and data tools are most needed by the industry.
- Retail: To address issues specific to retail.
- Trade Show/Demo: Provides input on the future of trade show, trade show programming, and the grant program.
- Winter Participation: A look at how the industry can work together to positively impact participation.
- Ski Mechanics Workshop: How can SMW best serve the needs of the suppliers and retailers.
We’ve already received several emails from people interested in joining a committee. Please reach out to Bill Stone [email protected] to sign up to join whichever is of most interest to you.
As I mentioned above, we are looking at ways we can enhance our memberships and deliver more value. If you can spare 5 minutes, we would appreciate you completing the following survey about what benefits are important to you: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TKPL2S9
And one final house keeping note…..as a benefit to current or new members that pay their annual member dues in full and submit their booth space deposit by May 31, we will honor last year’s show pricing. This is an important heads up, because on June 1, prices will go up. Watch your inbox this week for an email communication specifically about locking in pricing for 2018.
As always, please feel free to reach out with any comments or concerns. Your opinion matters.
Make some turns!
Nick
