As a campus rec professional with a busy schedule, it can be easy to fall into a rut with your routine — making it difficult to get perspective. When you’re in the weeds, breakthrough ideas and solutions occur a lot less frequently.
Therefore, it’s important to break out of your routine at least once a year in order to recharge and get some much-needed perspective. And a great opportunity to do just that includes industry-specific intimate events, which typically max out at 75 people.
Unlike trade shows, where you’re one among a sea of thousands, intimate events allow you to network and really get to know your peers. As a result, you get the opportunity to problem solve and pick other attendee’s brains on issues they too may be struggling with or have already solved. After the event is over, these relationships will last far beyond the event’s dates.
For Yvette Kell, the director of campus recreation at the University of Missouri St. Louis, getting to network with peers is one of the most valuable aspects of the Campus Rec Leadership Summit, an intimate event that occurs annually in early summer.
“I thought the Leadership Summit was great for having conversations with colleagues about everyday issues and challenges,” said Kell. “Some great ideas were generated from conversations and networking. The creative juices were flowing on how we can create better development opportunities and programs for our students and staff.”
Intimate events are also a great opportunity to get to know a small selection of sponsors. You’ll have a sponsor’s undivided attention, meaning they can provide a solution truly tailored to your campus recreation facility, versus a mass-market pitch. At a trade show, it’s impossible to meet with the hundreds of vendors in attendance.
Salvator Canciello, a principal at S3 Design, echoed this sentiment, citing his experience at the annual Summit. “The roundtable format provided a great vehicle for dialogue between attendees to learn how others are addressing common challenges that college and university recreation departments face,” said Canciello. “The most valuable part of the Leadership Summit was connecting with all attendees on a more personal level than you do at a typical conference or event.”
As you plan your 2018 calendar, consider adding an intimate event to your schedule as an opportunity to recharge, network and find solutions to issues plaguing your rec center. I promise you won’t regret it.
Interested in attending an intimate event? Consider the 2018 Campus Rec Leadership Summit, which will take place June 27-29 at the historic Breakers Resort in Palm Beach, Florida. Forty campus rec executives alongside limited sponsors will come together for two days of roundtable discussions, networking and fun. Take away tangible ideas and invaluable connections. Limited spots remain. Email carrie@peakemedia.com while spots last and visit peakemediaevents.com/crsummit for additional details.
