By Erin O’Sullivan
This April, NIRSA members packed vans full of suitcases and students, boarded planes, and crowded onto buses with one tune in mind: harmonizing our values in Music City!
The NIRSA 2014 Annual Conference and Expo, held April 23-26 in Nashville, TN was simply inspiring.
Just ask 2013-2014 Student Leader Mallory Gohl who says this was “hands down my favorite conference I have ever attended!” This conference also saw the largest number of student member attendees—what better proof the association is in caring and capable hands?
With the over 140 educational sessions and presentations, resource-filled Career Opportunities Center, an energizing Expo Hall, and a record-breaking 2,800+ attendees all gathered under one roof on the Gaylord Opryland property, NIRSA 2014 was the perfect place for members to bring their diversity of experiences, backgrounds, and personal and professional priorities.
For some members, like first-time attendee Chris Cody, this was an experience both overwhelming and motivating; for other members, like past NIRSA President Jeff Vessley, this was a chance to renew connections and marvel at the growth and trajectory of the Association.
Chris Cody, Facility Supervisor, University of Texas-Dallas, shares his thoughts on his first NIRSA conference …
I was fortunate enough to win a travel stipend from Star Trac, otherwise I would not have been able to attend NIRSA 2014. I’ve been to other, smaller conferences, but nothing like this one! The first thing everyone noticed was the venue: The Gaylord Opryland. The enormity of the place was astounding. It was the size of an amusement park enclosed in a giant dome. You didn’t have a true conference experience until you got lost at least three times!
I went on a pre-conference trip to view three beautiful campuses and their rec centers. Each was unique and fitted to its university. At each stop, I learned some history about the university, viewed their operation, and asked questions to generate new ideas.
After the facility tour’s hands-on learning, it was time for NIRSA 2014 to officially begin. I walked into Opening General Session and was taken aback. In front of me, filling the large ballroom, were almost 3,000 people. Then it dawned on me, these weren’t just people, they were colleagues. We all were here because we were all striving towards the same thing. I had always known NIRSA was big, but it took a whole new meaning once I viewed so many of us together.
Jeff Vessely, Retired Director of Intramural and Recreational Sports, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, NIRSA President 1992 …
My first stop was the registration area, and I almost didn’t need to leave there! In addition to picking up my conference program and credentials, I immediately met two first-time attendees (like myself, 39 years ago!) from Armstrong Atlantic University, and we had a nice visit while discussing what the ins and outs of conference and their goals in higher education. I promised to be a contact for them, we exchanged business cards, and I sent my first email about an hour later.
Still in the registration area, I had a chance to catch up with no less than twenty long-time NIRSA colleagues! At the Foundation table, I met still more friends sharing this opportunity to contribute to the important ongoing, long-term work of the Association. In such a short time, I had already relived some history, encouraged a few young people to pursue their passion, and put my money where my mouth was, so to speak. I can only hope to repeat this enjoyable activity for many more years.
Opening notes set the tone
Wednesday wasted no time in striking the conference’s opening chord! Starting at 6:15 am buses left the Opryland for the 20th annual Foundation Golf Tournament on the greens of the beautiful Hermitage Golf Course. And they weren’t the only ones up and moving at that hour! Groups also headed off for facility tours, a climbing workshop, and a variety of sessions and clinics within the Gaylord property—allowing members to engage new ideas, obtain new certifications, and improve their skill set—all before Opening General Session!
Also joining the preconference buzz were members heading to work with Open Table Nashville as part of the Foundation’s Community Service Project. “We got our hands dirty and broke a sweat to hopefully make a few people’s lives a little better,” explains Chris Dawe. For more on the multitude of ways members gave back to our host city, check out the event recap.
NIRSA members in action at the NIRSA Foundation Community Service Project, one of many preconference opportunities.That afternoon, over 2,000 attendees gathered in the Presidential Ballroom for the Opening General Session. NIRSA President Kathleen Hatch and Executive Director Pam Watts set the tone for the conference by sharing memories filled with banter, demonstrating how much their differences have helped them learn from and shape one another.
Keynote speaker Connie Podesta then kept everyone laughing as she taught members how to communicate more effectively and advocate for their ideas—“approach others based on who they are, not who you are; it’s about how they see things,” she says. Members also found out who were the circles, squares, triangles, and squiggles in the group—distinctions that were reiterated and chuckled about throughout everyone’s time in Nashville!
From the Opening General Session, members headed to the Expo Hall’s grand opening. “I loved walking through the Expo, eyeing all of the equipment and gadgets that hopefully will one day find a place in my own facility!” says University of West Florida GA and first time attendee, Taysha Blessington. With over 150 vendors, numerous fitness forums, the t-shirt exchange, and non-stop energy, the 2014 Expo demands a recap all its own!
2013-2014 President Kathleen Hatch welcomes members to the Opening General Session at NISRA 2014.Getting in step
The evening concluded with the New Member/First Time Attendee Welcome Social and the Student Networking Social—and these were just the first two of many socials to come throughout the conference! Thursday night would see the Lee Wasson People of Color Social, Friday night had LGBTQI Social and a host of independent socials (including the #RecChat Tweet-Up!), while less formal gatherings of peers and campus colleagues took place throughout the conference. For many members, such as 2013-2014 NIRSA Board Annual Director, Chris Dawe, this networking and reconnecting is at the heart of what NIRSA family reunions are all about!
Chris Dawe, Director, Mount Royal University Recreation, 2013-2014 NIRSA Board Annual Director …
I have been attending NIRSA’s annual conference since 1996 and NIRSA 2014 in Nashville was the best I have experienced yet! I enjoyed seeing the evolving and ever-inspiring work of NIRSA students and colleagues.
I had been on the Member Network for three years, and this year we ended up having an impromptu reunion. It was so cool to see the progression of amazing NIRSA members I’ve had the pleasure of serving with. 28 student leaders have served in the Member Network over the past four years, and many of them are now professionals; their stories of successes and continued friendships were so gratifying to hear. The record numbers of attendees at NIRSA 2014 can be attributed to the work of the entire new leadership. The vision of NIRSA’s future and the groundwork laid four years ago all seemed to be coming to fruition in Nashville.
The networking opportunities were endless as old friendships were renewed and new ones were started—almost always with a NIRSA hug! The People of Color Social, with all the passion of our founders, stands out in my memory. Similarly, the LGBTQI & Friends Social was moving and educational, where I learned that the alphabet soup acronym (LGBTQI…) is now spelled H-U-M-A-N!
Jen de-Vries’ memory was alive and well when a group of her colleagues and friends gathered after the closing session and just simply played; thanks to Alex Accetta and a number of colleagues who brought the idea to life and the toys to make it happen. I think I was even leading the straw javelin contest for a short time!
The Canuck Social is always a highlight, and this year was special with a record number of Canadians in attendance and an ever-growing number of Honorary Canucks. We welcomed President Laurie Braden to the Honorary Canuck family with a rousing version of “Oh Canada” in Kathleen Hatch’s suite!
Of course, the All Conference Social, sponsored by PLAE and held downtown Nashville at the Wildhorse Salon, took the cake…er, pickles, over 10,000 fried pickles that is! This highlight evening also involved 4,000 pork sliders, three floors of fun, six professional line-dancers, and one rockin’ live band!
NIRSA members get in (line-dancing) step at the Wildhorse Salon for the All Conference Social.The Gaylord Convention Center was bursting with research and fresh ideas from roundtables, sessions, and poster presentations. From high-profile speakers to in-depth discussions of specialty areas, attendees had much to take back to their home communities. For members, like Chair of Community & Small Colleges Community of Practice Work Team, Marci Kuhrt, and Past President Tamra Garstka, it’s this empowerment to improve their campus communities, as well as being a part of the association’s great progress, that makes Annual Conference such a key event.
Marci Kuhrt, Director of Recreational Sports, Viterbo University …
I look forward to the NIRSA Annual Conference each year, and this year was no exception. As a professional at a small, four year institution, the conversations I have with my fellow small school colleagues have always been not just educational, but invaluable.
Over the past four years, small colleges and community colleges members have had the opportunity to connect at a social. This year’s turnout was great and I shared many conversations with professionals and students alike. In addition, the small colleges and community colleges roundtable had great attendance and was full of questions, concerns, and idea sharing. I left the social and session very energized about what we do and how we all make it happen.
Out of every conference, I take away something new—a new idea for a program or a way to enhance something we already do, research to share with superiors and peers back on campus, as well as new connections. It is the people that keep bringing me back to this event, and I am thankful for all of the relationships I have developed. I am thankful for opportunity to continuing attending conferences to grow professionally and be with my NIRSA family!
Tamra Garstka, Director, Arizona State University, NIRSA President 2005 …
The NIRSA conference is always a time to learn, reflect with colleagues throughout the country, and celebrate all of the great things we do in our institutions and within NIRSA. Now back at work, my staff and I are still talking about sessions, quoting speakers, and talking about funny happenings from the conference.
Throughout the week, the ed sessions were all very good. Having read the book, I especially enjoyed going to John Ratey’s session on SPARK: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. Another highlight was the Annual Meeting of Members. It was very humorous, while also a great time to get updates from the NSC and Foundation, as well as celebrate many of the award recipients.
I always enjoy the Past President’s luncheon and President’s Council meeting, where we discussed NIRSA values, directions, and ideas. I am always amazed the depth of knowledge within this group of individuals, and I feel honored to be among them.
A bit of play goes a long way
Throughout the next few days NIRSA members, characteristically, balanced a wonderful mix of business and pleasure. Thursday’s Annual Meeting of Members and Friday’s Student Member Connection Meeting and Regional Member Network Connections embodied this.
A very special Take a Student to Lunch (top) allowed a few lucky students to sit down and chat with NIRSA leaders. The #RecChat Tweet-Up (bottom) got the social media minds of NIRSA talking hashtags and engagement. The clearest takeaways from these events—evidenced by every NIRSA rap, Twitter-themed buzz, and running joke—was that NIRSA members are not only finding new and energizing ways to infuse the association’s values into our communities and lives, but also staying fresh, moving forward, and always mindful that a bit of play goes a long way.
One of the most exciting parts of the Student Member Connection Meeting was the closing raffle, which allowed several students the opportunity to participate in a very special Take a Student to Lunch. This highly anticipated event, a perfect fit with NIRSA’s mentoring culture, allowed professionals to take one—or several!—student to lunch that afternoon.
In addition to a free meal, students have the opportunity to network with professionals outside of their home institutions, gain new ideas, and perhaps make a mentor for life! This year, though, a few students, like junior Katherine Montgomery, got a little more than expected; Katherine and other raffle winners attended lunch with some very special NIRSA rockstars.
Katherine Montgomery, Junior at Colorado State University, First time attendee …
My absolute favorite conference experience was Take a Student to Lunch. I was one of the lucky few to get my name drawn to attend lunch with some very special NIRSA leaders, like (outgoing and incoming) Presidents Kathleen Hatch and Laurie Braden, Executive Director Pam Watts, and Mama Lee Wasson, wife of NIRSA’s late founder Dr. William Wasson. As an undergrad and first time NIRSA attendee, it was incredible to sit around a table with such inspiring people, who are so important to NIRSA, and talk with them about my experiences and goals. I felt like I had won the lottery! The lunch truly inspired me and fueled my fire to continue following my passion of campus recreation.
Overall, my first NIRSA Conference experience really was nothing short of amazing! I began by attending the J. Michael Dunn Student Professional Development workshop, where I networked with students from across North America with similar passions to myself. We are the future of NIRSA; we are the future professionals of our field. We learned skills that would help us achieve those goals, while also making personal connections that will last us years to come. Next year, as I return to conference in search of a GA position, I will be putting so much of what I learned into practice.
The ed sessions were a great mix of student-focused sessions along with more general professional-based sessions. As a student level supervisor, being able to learn ways to better motivate my staff and be the best leader I can be was an experience I will carry with me though out my career. Also, by seeing what others schools are currently doing in different programmatic areas, I gained ideas to share with the professional staff on my campus.
I would absolutely recommend that anyone in our field who has not attended an Annual Conference to do so next year. It will be an experience that you will never forget!
Best Closing Session Ever
After all that had already taken place, what more could a Closing General Session add to the NIRSA 2014 experience? The answer is a lot, and it comes courtesy of long-time NIRSA member Tony Clements, who, if the live-tweeting furry can be believed: “#tonyclements #bestever”! Or, take Past President Mike Waldron’s word for it: “I was able to grab a seat in the back of the room and had a great vantage point to watch Tony spin his magic on stage. Without a doubt, the ‘Best Closing Session Ever’—you should have been there!”
Mike Waldron, Associate Director, Texas A&M University, NIRSA President 2011 …
Nashville was my 34th annual NIRSA Family Reunion! Of course, I didn’t know what I was starting in Philadelphia in 1981! The hardest thing is there never seems to be enough time to visit with all my NIRSA family, which keeps growing every conference.
I couldn’t believe it, while sitting at the Honor Award Banquet, we were already closing up another NIRSA conference and getting ready to head home! Where, oh where, did the time go? However, it was almost poetic to watch Mick Deluca honor our friend and colleague Mark Fletcher for his service to NIRSA. It made me wish that Mark could have been there to share in the moment, but then I realized he was! You see, Mark lives on not only through his wife, children, and community, but Mark was there in each of us whom he touched with his special brand of magic.
This reiterated more than ever, as we wrapped up our time in Nashville, what makes the NIRSA Family Reunion so special. It’s the people—the young and the experienced, the mentor and mentee, the client and the vendor, the volunteers and the staff. In short, NIRSA is a constantly changing environment where you’ve wandered into Mr. Roger’s neighborhood and everyone takes the time to ask, “won’t you be my neighbor?” I hope to see y’all in my Texas neighborhood next March where, God willing, I’ll enjoy my 35th NIRSA Family Reunion!
In addition to Womp-It cheer, Tony Daniels’ beat boxing, and the changing face of Mickey Mouse, the NIRSA family was treated to six key closing lessons for how to keep pushing, keep leading, keep being better. “My favorite quote,” Tamra Garstka says, “was that ‘Logic will get you from A to B, but imagination will get you everywhere.’”
With Tony’s keynote, as with our time in Nashville, there was much laughter, much uplift, and much motivation to take home and use in inspiring those healthy communities.
Tony Clements (and the Womp-It) left us all with a Closing General Session to remember!Celebrating a legacy
Those who attended Saturday night’s Honor Award Banquet were treated to a Tony Clements encore performance as members gathered in their swankiest attire to celebrate the friendships formed and renewed, the ideas gathered, and the experiences contributed. This was done while celebrating a man who embodied the NIRSA values we’d been harmonizing—Mark Fletcher, posthumous recipient of this year’s Honor Award.
In addition to honoring Mark, and his family who was present on his behalf, Chris Dawe recalls the significance of witnessing “the passing of the gavel between two amazing women [presidents] for the first time in NIRSA history—both of whom I’m proud to call my friends.”
First time attendees also left Nashville feeling impacted—Taysha Blessington comments, “Prior to attending conference, I had heard about the great things NIRSA does and witnessed the hard work UWF co-workers Mallory Gohl and Mary Pittman put into engaging in NIRSA’s philosophy. Now, after attending NIRSA 2014, I am more excited to see how I can get more involved and contribute to the evolution of NIRSA!”
Bringing it home
Though it can be no small undertaking to attend Annual Conference, the resulting impact is worth it—something Marc Iturriaga, Associate Director at University of Waterloo, knows well.
Marc Iturriaga, MA, RCRSP, Associate Directory, University of Waterloo …
As an Associate Director, I always have a nagging voice in the back of my head asking me if the Annual Conference is just an excuse to travel, rather than an investment for our future. Is there a tangible ROI? Does the cost justify the experience? I have been getting more involved with NIRSA over the last several years—I am a member of the Commission for Sustainable Communities, an avid #RecChat participant, have presented at conferences, the University of Waterloo became an institutional member a few years back and has always attended the conference. But, still, the nagging voice continued…
This year I stretched the budget further to bring three students. And the experience quickly quieted the voices.
NIRSA 2014 was also an opportunity to challenge myself. I am not a social butterfly. I am crazy comfortable with my team but am not one who makes new connections easily. One of my highlights was connecting with new individuals. At our Canuck Social, I met Shawna from the University of Calgary who asked about Sustainability. She showed up days later for a session and became a Sustainability Ambassador! I chatted with presenter Mitch Thomashow about basketball and sustainability, and am still corresponding with him today. A quick exchange of sunglasses with Bill from #RecChat has led to an email exchange that will help bolster a relationship.
NIRSA 2014 was a testament to the work that we all do. The learning opportunities, the networking, the passion, and the sharing were all on display in every facet of the conference. The impromptu chats and reflections I had with staff and students regarding the day’s learning showed an energy and pride that can often wane in our day-to-day work. Those conversations will lead to limitless opportunities to come. Already there is buzz around my office about implementing new ideas—not just to try something different but because there was a deep understanding on how these news ideas gathered at conference mesh with the goals of our department. The students have raved about the opportunity and experience and I know we made the right decision.
NIRSA 2014 met my expectations and more, and made me confident that those nagging voices will continue to be quiet for years to come.
In the end, this is NIRSA—bringing our differences in resources, needs, and knowledge together, putting them all into the “blur and swirl” mix of our Strategic Values, and emerging with concrete examples and action-ready ideas so that we can return to our institutions ready to implement and ready to make the association’s vision of “building healthy people and healthy communities worldwide” a reality.
